Tag Archives: mauna loa tuning

LIVE 127 • Ki Ho’alu (Gabby Pahinui Slack Key Cover, Taylor Nylon Guitar)

Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, dennis kamakahi, Gabby Pahinui, Hawaii, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, mauna loa tuning, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, open tunings, Ozzie Kotani, peaceful guitar, Pure Gabby, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, taylor nylon

Here’s an alternate version of my take on Gabby Pahinui’s classic instrumental simply and appropriately titled “Ki Ho’alu,” which of course is the Hawaiian term for “slack key.” I probably first heard this song on the stellar “Pure Gabby” album, although it has appeared on other compilations and been covered by numerous slack key artists, including Ozzie Kotani’s excellent version. My version is inspired by Gabby, Ozzie, and also Dennis Kamakahi who was prolific in the Mauna Loa tuning.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce grand auditorium nylon string) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 123 • Punahoa Special (alt take)

Slack Key, Uncategorizedblue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, fred punahoa, fred punahou, Hawaii, ki ho’alu, mauna loa tuning, nick borho, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, Taylor guitars, taylor nylon, Telefunken M60

Here is an alternate take of “Punahoa Special,” this one recorded with a Telefunken M60 microphone. Punahoa Special is a signature showpiece of legendary slack key master Fred Punahoa. This is a song I was fortunate enough to learn directly from Led Ka’apana, one that Led had in turn learned directly from Fred himself. Though Fred Punahoa never made a full album under his own name, he did make a notable appearance on the Waimea Music Festival album, in addition to fostering amazing talents of the next generation such as Led and Sonny Lim. “Punahoa Special” is an often covered song in the slack key canon, and might also be the most popular song in Mauna Loa slack key tuning. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce grand auditorium nylon string) and a Telefunken M60 microphone.

103 Minutes Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Instrumental Music

Slack KeyAli’i Drive, big island, blueskyguitar, City of Refegue, Hawaii, Higashihara Park, Holualoa, Honaunau, Honokohau Harbor, Hookena Beach, Kahaluu Snorkel Beach, kailua kona, Kailua Kona Pier, kainaliu, kalaoa, Kaloko, kealakekua, Keauhou Bay, ki ho’alu, King Kamehameha Hotel, kona coffee, kona district, Kua Bay, Magic Sands, mauna loa tuning, nick borho, North Kona, Old Airport Beach Park, peace, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, South Kona, Taro Patch

For your listening pleasure here is another collection of Ki Ho’alu a/k/a Hawaiian Slack Key guitar instrumentals. This compilation is an alternate mix from another one recently posted on my other channel (Blue Sky Guitar), and includes a few classic chestnuts – or rather, kukui nuts maybe – as well as original songs. The songs here are both energetic and relaxed, though I’d say the overall vibe is relaxing. I like to listen to some of those longer “relaxing music” videos while working on the computer and became inspired to produce some videos featuring my own performances. Hope you enjoy.

LIVE 117 • Makalawena (alternate take)

Fingerstyle, Open Tunings, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, altered tunings, anchialine ponds, apogee one, big island, classical guitar, Fingerstyle, Hawaii, Hawaiian coot, kailua kona, Keahole Point, Kekaha Kai State Park, ki ho’alu, Kona International Airport, love, Mahaiʻula Bay, makalawena, mauna loa tuning, Neumann TLM 102, open tunings, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor nylon guitar, tranquil song

Here is an alternate take of “Makalawena,” an original song I named after a charmingly beautiful and relatively isolated beach on the Kona Coast. Makalawena is part of that long stretch of white sandy beaches you see right before landing at Kona International Airport at nearby Keahole Point. The beach is generally accessible via a short hike from the neighboring Mahaiʻula Bay section of Kekaha Kai State Park. I remember camping out at Makalawena as a kid, exploring the rare anchialine ponds with their delicate red shrimp, and swimming in the waters of the bay. Today still, the neighboring marsh is a protected nesting ground, home to rare birds such as the Hawaiian coot. The song’s bridge seems to capture the strange sense of converging energies that I feel in special places such as these. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce grand auditorium nylon string) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

77 Minutes Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Instrumental Music

Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, big island, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, hanalei, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, kapaa, kauai, ki ho’alu, love, maui, mauna loa tuning, nick borho, open tunings, paia, peace, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, Taro Patch, taylor grand concert, tranquil song

For your listening pleasure here is a collection of Ki Ho’alu a/k/a Hawaiian Slack Key guitar instrumentals. This compilation includes both energetic and relaxed tunes, though I’d say the overall vibe is relaxing. I like to listen to some of those longer “relaxing music” videos while working on the computer and became inspired to produce some videos featuring my own performances. Hope you enjoy.

LIVE 110 • Punahoa Special

Live, Slack Keyblue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, fred punahoa, fred punahou, Hawaii, ki ho’alu, mauna loa tuning, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, Taylor guitars, taylor nylon

Today’s song is the joyful “Punahoa Special,” a signature showpiece of legendary slack key master Fred Punahoa. This is a song I was fortunate enough to learn directly from Led Ka’apana, one that Led had in turn learned directly from Fred himself. Though Fred Punahoa never made a full album under his own name, he did make a notable appearance on the Waimea Music Festival album in addition to fostering amazing talents of the next generation such as Led and Sonny Lim. “Punahoa Special” is an often covered song in the slack key canon, and might also be the most popular song in Mauna Loa slack key tuning. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce grand auditorium nylon string) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 105 • Hilo Rag (alt take)

Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, dennis kamakahi, ear trumpet labs, edwina, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, ki ho’alu, mauna loa tuning, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, sons of hawaii, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, taylor nylon

Here is an alternate take of Dennis Kamakahi’s song, “Hilo Rag.” This is a super fun song to play and one of my favorites from Dennis Kamakahi’s oeuvre. Better known for lyrical songs like Koke’e, Hilo Rag makes me wish I heard more of Dennis’s instrumental work. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce grand auditorium nylon string) and an Ear Trumpet Labs “Edwina” microphone.

LIVE 109 • Banyan (Alternate Take)

Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, banyans, banyans surf spot, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, kona, mauna loa tuning, nahenahe, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, taylor nylon

Here is an alternate take of my song “Banyan” (a/k/a “Banyans,” or “Banyan Tree Slack Key”), a slack key style song I wrote years ago on nylon string guitar. I used to play my gut string ‘beach’ guitar (an old Ibanez) around beaches and surf spots in Kona like Magic Sands, Banyans, and Old Airport. So I guess this song is partially named after the surf spot, but also after some banyan trees near Magic Sands – some of which have since been cut down – or even majestic banyan trees in general. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce grand auditorium nylon string) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 104 • Ki Ho’alu

Live, Slack Keyblue sky guitar, Gabby Pahinui, Hawaii, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, mauna loa tuning, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, open tunings, Ozzie Kotani, peaceful guitar, Pure Gabby, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, taylor nylon

Here’s my take on Gabby Pahinui’s classic instrumental simply and appropriately titled “Ki Ho’alu,” which is course is the Hawaiian term for “slack key.” I probably first heard this song on the stellar “Pure Gabby” album – a must own – although it has appeared on other compilations and been covered by numerous slack key artists, including Ozzie Kotani’s excellent version. My version is inspired by Gabby, Ozzie, and also Dennis Kamakahi who was prolific in the Mauna Loa tuning.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce grand auditorium nylon string) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 093 • Hilo Rag (Dennis Kamakahi)

Live, Slack Keyblue sky guitar, dennis kamakahi, ear trumpet labs, edwina, Hawaii, Ki Ho'alu, mauna loa tuning, nick borho, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, sons of hawaii, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, taylor nylon

Hilo Rag is a super fun tune to play from Dennis Kamakahi’s oeuvre. Better known for lyrical songs like Koke’e, Hilo Rag makes me wish I heard more of Dennis’s instrumental work. I was fortunate enough to meet Dennis and son David years ago and see them play, both on stage and in smaller back porch style jam sessions. I remember Dennis dressing sharp in his kind of urban paniolo style, complete with boots and cowboy hat. Like I say, this is such a fun song to play I can never just play it once when I’m running through songs (and will be posting an alternate take on my other channel soon). Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce grand auditorium nylon string) and an Ear Trumpet Labs “Edwina” microphone.

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Tag Archives: mauna loa tuning

LIVE 127 • Ki Ho’alu (Gabby Pahinui Slack Key Cover, Taylor Nylon Guitar)

LIVE 123 • Punahoa Special (alt take)

103 Minutes Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Instrumental Music

LIVE 117 • Makalawena (alternate take)

77 Minutes Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Instrumental Music

LIVE 110 • Punahoa Special

LIVE 105 • Hilo Rag (alt take)

LIVE 109 • Banyan (Alternate Take)

LIVE 104 • Ki Ho’alu

LIVE 093 • Hilo Rag (Dennis Kamakahi)