Slack-key guitar
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Slack key guitar, or Kī hō‘alu in Hawaiian, is a style of music originating in Hawaii using an acoustic guitar fingerpicking style. The strings of the guitar are mostly tuned to notes lower (i.e., "slacked") than that for a standard guitar tuning. Sometimes the tuning is a major chord, although it could also be a seventh, a sixth or (rarely) a minor chord.
In the oral-history account, the style originated from Mexican cowboys in the late 19th century. These paniolo gave Hawaiians the guitars and taught them the rudiments of playing, and then left, allowing the Hawaiians to develop the style on their own. (Musicologists and historians suggest that the story is more complicated, but this is the version that many Hawaiian musicians prefer.) Slack key guitar adapted to accompany the rhythms of Hawaiian dancing and the harmonic structures of Hawaiian music. Hawaiian music itself, which was promoted under the reign of King David Kalākaua as a matter of national pride, combined rhythms from traditional dance meters and imported military marches, and drew its melodies from both chant (mele and oli), Christian hymns (hīmeni), and the popular music brought in by the cosmopolitan peoples of the islands (although principally Americans).
The music didn't receive a national American audience during the Hawaiian music craze of the early 20th century, and outside of Hawaii, Hawaiian music came to be identified with steel guitar and ukulele. As a result, by the Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s, slack key came to be seen as one of the most genuine expressions of Hawaiian music, and experienced a surge in popularity, principally by Gabby Pahinui, Leonard Kwan, Sonny Chillingworth, Ray Kane and the more modern styles of Keola Beamer, his brother Kapono Beamer, and Peter Moon.
Currently, the music is most well-known (outside of Hawai'i) through George Winston's Dancing Cat record label, which puts out well-produced albums where the music is showcased in a solo, classical guitar-type setting. Some other popular players include: Ledward Kaapana, Ozzie Kotani, Cyril Pahinui, Dennis Kamakahi, George Kahumoku, Jr., and his brother Moses Kahumoku.
Slack key guitar relies on numerous different tunings, with some tunings only commonly used for a single song, or by particular players. The most common tuning is Taro Patch, which is a G-major tuning.
Common slack key tunings
| Common Slack Key Tunings | Notes Used |
|---|---|
| Open D | D A D F♯ A D |
| D Wahine | D A D F♯ A C♯ |
| Taro Patch | D G D G B D |
| G Wahine | D G D F♯ B D |
| C Major | C G E G C E |
| Mauna Loa | C G E G A E |
| C Wahine | C G D G B D |
| C 6 | C G C G A E |
| Old Mauna Loa | C G C G A D |
| Open C | C G C E G C |
| F Wahine | C F C G C E |
| Open F | C F C F A C |
| Double Slack F | C F C E A C |
Kī hō‘alu is often characterized by the use of an alternating-bass pattern usually played by the thumb on the lower two or three strings of the guitar, while the melody is played simultaneously on the three or four highest strings using any number of fingers. Many kī hō‘alu players incorporate various embellishments such as harmonics (chimes), the hammer-on, the pull-off, slides, and damping.
Slack key guitar is also known as kī hō‘alu, which means literally "loosen the key."