Sounds of Hawaii

FredPeyer



Waves rushing up and down the beach forevermore

Conch shells calling along the shore

Trade winds whispering their song

Nene geese honking to Hawaii we belong

But the most beautiful sound near and far

Is the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar

  • Author: Alfred Peyer (Pseudonym) (Offline Offline)
  • Published: February 14th, 2018 04:03
  • Comment from author about the poem: Slack-key guitar is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii. Its name refers to its characteristic open tunings: the English term is a translation of the Hawaiian kī hōʻalu, which means "loosen the [tuning] key". Most slack-key tunings can be achieved by starting with a guitar in standard tuning and detuning or "slacking" one or more of the strings until the six strings form a single chord, frequently G major.
  • Category: Unclassified
  • Views: 35
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Comments6

  • Michael Edwards

    Typing this listening to the lovely sound of the SKG having read your super little poem - great stuff Fred.

    • FredPeyer

      Thanks Michael, the poem is not much, but the music is great.

    • Lorna

      Thanks for the beautiful music this morning Fred! I'll go look for more of him........ when in college I had a friend from Hawaii - Alene Kalemome Richardson - she said Kalemome (if I spelled that correctly) meant "Pearl of the Sea' - I always wanted to visit Hawaii after that......She was part native and part English missionary background - and she missed Hawaii every single day she lived in New England.

      • FredPeyer

        Thank you Lorna! The Hawaiian word for pearl is 'momi' and the word for ocean is 'kai', so pearl of the ocean would be 'momikai' or ocean pearl would be 'kaimomi'. The translation for pearl of the sea is 'momi o ke kai'. But you know, names are not always written exactly and can differ from the actual word.
        Am glad you like the music.

        • Lorna

          It must have been kaimomi - sounds closest to what I remember - thanks Fred

        • Heather T

          Thank you for sharing some of the romance of your paradise. A beauty!

          • FredPeyer

            Thanks Heather! Yes, there definitely is romance here in these islands. We get about 20,000 destination weddings (people who marry here, but live somewhere else). I love the music and am glad to share it.

          • Goldfinch60

            Super write and sounds of your wonderful world Fred.

            • FredPeyer

              Thanks Goldie. Let's be honest, the poem is nothing special, but I do like the music. It is not everybody's style, but I guess it does not hurt to listen to it at least once. 🙂

            • orchidee

              A fine write and clip Fred.

              • FredPeyer

                Thanks orchie, a not so fine write but great clip as far as I am concerned.

              • BRIAN & ANGELA

                Thanks FRED ~ so so romantic ~ so so nostalgic ! It made me want to catch the next plane to Honolulu ! I am an acoustic Guitarist (Country & Folk) and I have played a Horizontal Hawaiian Steel Guitar ~ with a steel ~ and as you say it is tuned to G major with open chords as is a "slacked guitar" this was obvious because when he played the "open strings" it was a G major ! When we were kids we had throw away Guitars where the arm was so warped the strings couldn't reach the frets. We tuned the GUITAR to G Major and played it horizontally (Hawaiian style) with a BOTTLE NECK on a finger of our LEFT HAND ! The Hill Billies in the Appalachians also used to "Bottle Neck" ! The GUITAR is an awesome instrument and so portable ! Thanks for sharing ~ Yours HARMONICALLY ~ BRIAN

                • FredPeyer

                  Thanks so much for your great comment, Brian! I do like the steel guitar as well. Never played it though.



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