LIVE 055 • Sunday Slack Key (early version, nylon string guitar)

Fingerstyle, Live, Slack Keybig island, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, kailua kona, Ki Ho'alu, Slack Key, sunday slack key, Taro Patch, thumbpicks

I originally wrote Sunday Slack Key as a single string melody, using fretted notes on only one string (and the other strings only open). Playing the melody on only one string is a concept I picked up at a jazz guitar clinic – I seem to remember Tal Farlow or Jim Hall proposing the idea as a means for chord melody – and the idea can be useful when arranging a fingerstyle song. Eventually I added a few fretted notes on some other strings, mostly to fill out the bass, yet the fretted notes of the melody remain mainly on one string. The name for the song came to me on a simple, relaxed Sunday, and seemed appropriate. This is an early version of the song recorded not long after I wrote it. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a nylon string guitar in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, 6/01/06.

LIVE 049 • Long Mountain Rag

Fingerstyle, Liveacoustic guitar, Alternate Tuning, apogee one, big island, double drop d, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, guitar rag, Hawaii, john hardy preamp, Ki Ho'alu, kihoalu, long mountain, love, mauna loa, Neumann TLM 102, peace, rosewood taylor, Slack Key, Taylor 400 series, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks

Long Mountain Rag was named in honor of Mauna Loa (Hawaiian for “Long Mountain”), the Big Island of Hawaii’s largest mountain and also the largest active (though not erupting as of this post) volcano on Earth. Measured from its base on the ocean floor, Mauna Loa is the second tallest mountain in the world, topped only by neighboring Mauna Kea (whose peak is 120 feet higher). Long Mountain Rag was influenced by both Bluegrass and Slack Key musical styles. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and an Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina microphone.

LIVE 054 • Jonquils of Spring

Fingerstyle, Live, Open Tuningsacoustic guitar, altered tunings, apogee one, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, john hardy preamp, love, Neumann TLM 102, original fingertyle, peace, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, rosewood taylor, Taylor 900 series, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

An improvised portrait, Jonquils of Spring features a melody outlined with harmonics and played with a slightly wobbly tempo. A cool sunny spring day helped bring out the mood, and relatively fresh set of strings helped bring out the chimes. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 912ce (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD Light strings) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 053 • Purple Orchid

Acoustic, Livebig island, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, Ki Ho'alu, kona coffee, relaxing music, Slack Key

Today’s demo from the vaults is Purple Orchid, a mellow slack key song played on nylon string guitar. The picture of me is in an ohana I had in Kailua Kona. Most of my recordings from this period were either done in that ohana or down by Magic Sands beach. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

LIVE 052 • Kona Snow

Acoustic, Livebig island, coffee trees, Hawaii, Holualoa, hualalai, kailua kona, kona coffee, kona snow, relaxing guitar, relaxing music

Kona Snow is another improvisatory piece recorded for my “Awake Again” project, which included a handful of songs that were connected by mostly shorter and improvisatory ‘transitions’ such as this. This song is named for the early spring blooming of the coffee trees on the slopes of Hualalai. People merrily dubbed the effect of white blossoms covering row after row of coffee trees “Kona Snow.” At the time I recorded this song, I was living next to a coffee orchard in Holualoa, Hawaii, just mauka of Kailua Kona. The setting amidst a wonderful agricultural tradition over a century old inspired me probably more than I knew at the time. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 6/20/09.

LIVE 051 • Hand Dancing

Acoustic, Liveacoustic guitar, big island, fingerstyle guitar, hand dancing, Hawaii, Holualoa, kona coffee, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, Taylor 310, tranquil song

Hand Dancing started out as an introductory fingerpicking study I wrote for students back when I was teaching guitar full time at a music store. I kept the song in my set for a number of years, playing it on both nylon and steel string. This version was recorded as a demo for my “Awake Again” project. The wallpaper shows me with my old Taylor 310ce that I used to record this song. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 6/20/09.

LIVE 047 • Keiki Slack Key on Steel String Guitar

Fingerstyle, Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, altered tunings, apogee one, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, Ki Ho'alu, love, nahenahe, Neumann TLM 102, open G, open tunings, peace, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, rosewood taylor, Slack Key, Taro Patch, Taylor 400 series, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

Not long ago, I posted a nylon string version of the Ray Kane classic “Keiki Slack Key.” Here is a similar version recorded around the same time, but on steel string guitar. Keiki Slack Key (not to be confused with the Sonny Chillingworth song of the same name) is one of the first slack key songs I transcribed, and has stayed on my setlists ever since. To me, Ray Kane is probably the best example of an ‘old style’ slack key player, and his tracks are always nahenahe. I never got to take a lesson from Ray, though I did get to speak to him and his wife Elodia on the phone once, not long before he passed – a cherished memory. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 045 • Transition One (3/16/09)

Acoustic, Blue Sky Guitar, Liveacoustic guitar, big island, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, kona coffee, love, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

Here is an improvisatory piece recorded for a project I had a few years back. The idea behind the project, called “Awake Again,” was to have a handful of songs that were connected by mostly shorter and improvisatory ‘transitions’ that would act as both glue and palette cleanser between the slightly more structured songs. The wallpaper shows me with my old Taylor 310ce that I used to record this song. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 3/16/09.

GEAR 509 • Taylor Grand Concert Guitars (feat. 912ce)

Acoustic, Gear412ce, 412ce-R, 812ce, acoustic guitar, apogee one, eq, fingerstyle guitar, gotoh 510, Gotoh tuners, guitar for recording, john hardy preamp, love, Neumann TLM 102, peace, rosewood taylor, short scale, Taylor 900 series, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert, Taylor guitars, tonewoods

Today, we explore the essentials and benefits of Taylor’s smallest full size guitar, the Grand Concert (GC for short). Grand Concert guitars have a model number that ends in “2” such as the 912ce featured here, and are offered in a variety of styles.

The advantages of Grand Concert guitars is that they are super comfortable, super playable, and super easy to EQ alone or in a mix. These are short scale guitars, which means easier reaches because the frets are slightly closer together and an easier playing feel because of slightly lower string tension. Soundwise, the Grand Concert has a wonderfully balanced EQ and controlled overtones that make it perfect for fingerstyle and recording applications. Grand Concerts sound great on their own and also sit well in a mix with other instruments. Also note, this is Taylor’s featured size for 12 fret models, where the neck joins the body at the 12th rather than the 14th fret. The 12 fret models have a punchier sound that is perfect for roots music.

Overall, Grand Concerts are perfect for fingerstyle and light strumming. They are comfortable to play, and their focused and articulate sound make them great guitars for recording and stage use. Of course they’re also very nice to play at home.

GEAR 507 • My Taylor 412ce-LTD (Rosewood / Spruce)

Acoustic, Gear412ce, 712ce, 812ce, acoustic guitar, Alternate Tuning, bone nut, bone saddle, East Indian Rosewood, ebony, EIR, Elixir, eq, fingerstyle guitar, gotoh 510, Gotoh tuners, grand concert, guitar for recording, harmonics, k12ce, notched diamond inlays, open tuning, Ovangkol, short scale, sitka spruce, Spring Limited, Taylor Fall Limited, Taylor guitars, tonewoods, top wood, torrefied spruce, Tusq

After doing several tangential videos on the acoustic guitar I’ve been using for performances, lessons, etc. on this channel (see links below), I thought it would be fun to do an overview of the guitar and its features for those who are curious. The guitar is a Taylor 412ce, a Fall Limited Edition with what was then a non-standard wood combination of Rosewood/Spruce (400 series typically used Ovangkol/Spruce) that also featured notch diamond inlays not normally used on 400 series guitars. In addition to the grand concert size body and short scale length, I also touch on how the top has aged, the addition of Gotoh 510 tuners, and replacing the nut / saddle with another Tusq set.

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Slack Key and Fingerstyle Guitar