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Hawaiian slack key and steel guitar
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Genre
Hawaiian slack key and steel guitar · Around 1832 King Kamehameha III brought Mexican vaqueros to Hawaii to teach the population how to work with cattle, and according to many historians the guitar came with them. Hawaiians tuned the strings down to an open chord: slack key, or kī hōʻalu. In the 1880s Joseph Kekuku slid a metal bar over the strings, the beginning of the steel guitar. From the 1910s that sound conquered America and later coloured country music.
Listening
Listening tip. Gabby Pahinui, the great name of slack key, sings and plays Hiʻilawe. Listen to the guitar: can you hear how the low strings keep running like a bass while he plays the melody above?
Hi'ilawe · Gabby Pahinui, 1978
Hula Blues · Sol Hoʻopiʻi, 2012
Radio Hula · Ledward Kaʻapana, 1994
See also
Categories: Genres