Tag Archives: open g tuning

LIVE 130 • Slack Key Number 1 (Taylor 412ce)

Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, apogee one, blue sky guitar, dancing cat, Endlessly, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, hawaiian guitar, john hardy preamp, ki ho’alu, love, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, open g tuning, open tunings, peace, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, slack key #1, slack key number one, Sonny Chillingworth, Taro Patch, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, thumbpicks, waimea cowboy

Here is an alternate take of Slack Key No. 1, the classic showpiece of slack key master Sonny Chillingworth. I first heard it on the Dancing Cat release “Endlessly,” and it also appears on his 1964 solo release “Waimea Cowboy.” The Waimea Cowboy version sounds like it was recorded on an electric guitar, while the version on Endlessly was recorded on acoustic guitar. Both versions are very similar, though with some slight differences. I have incorporated elements from both versions in the arrangement I play. Hope you enjoy.

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

LIVE 115 • Mino’aka (Alt Take)

Slack Keyacoustic guitar, altered tunings, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, harmonics, Hawaii, keola beamer, ki ho’alu, nick borho, open g tuning, open tunings, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, Slack Key, soliloquy, Taro Patch, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert, tranquil song

Here’s an alternate take of Keola Beamer’s Mino’aka (Smile), from his awesome Soliloquy album. Soliloquy is one of my favorite Dancing Cat era albums from Keola and a highly recommended listen. Keola’s book is one of the first I picked up when I really delved into the slack key style years ago, and this was one of my favorite songs featured in the book. In fact, I also recommend Keola’s book for beginner to intermediate fingerstyle players who are looking to learn some slack key. Although the version I recorded here is at a slightly faster tempo, I hope it still captures the original’s relaxed feel. 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 097 • Kaiminani Slack Key (Alt Take)

Slack Keyear trumpet labs, edwina, kailua kona, Keahole Point, Ki Ho'alu, Kona International Airport, Kona Palisades, Mamalahoa, open g tuning, OTEC beach, peaceful guitar music, Pine Trees beach, Queen Kaahumanu, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, Taro Patch, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, taylor nylon, tranquil song, Wawaloli

Here is an alternate take of my original slack key song, “Kaiminani Slack Key.” The song is named for Kaiminani Drive in Kalaoa, North Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Kaiminani Drive is a main mauka-makai road that connects the Queen Kaahumanu and Mamalahoa highways (lower and upper roads, respectively). It also runs through the Kona Palisades neighborhood where I lived for a number of years as a child. Back then, the neighborhood was less developed, and my friends and I would build tree houses and play in the vacant lots. We could also watch the planes come and go at Kona International Airport at Keahole Point (KOA), and had easy access to then-uncrowded OTEC (Wawaloli) and Pine Trees (Kohanaiki) beaches. Hope you enjoy.

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

LIVE 067 • Waimea Ride (Slack Key Improvisation)

Live, Slack Keybig island, Hawaii, hawaii ranch, Holualoa, kamuela, Ki Ho'alu, mauka, open g tuning, paniolo, Slack Key, Taro Patch, Taylor 310, Taylor 310e, waimea cowboy

Today’s song from the vaults, “Waimea Ride,” is a slack key improvisation that blossoms from a familiar type of descending figure. Though often used as part of a turnaround, this type of walk down has also been featured as a melodic device in a number of songs, most notably Leonard Kwan’s classic signature tune Opihi Moe Moe. I also recall Ozzie Kotani using it in some of his songs. Anyway, I thought the descending figure and overall pace of this improv might evoke the picture of a Paniolo riding downslope on horseback, ergo the title. 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, 1/11/08.

LIVE 086 • Silver Threads – Slack Key Improv

Fingerstyle, Open Tunings, Slack Keybig island, blue sky guitar, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, Ki Ho'alu, kona coffee, mauna loa tuning, nick borho, open g tuning, Slack Key, Taro Patch, Taylor 912ce

Here is an improvisation I did based on Leonard Kwan’s famous slack key arrangement of “Silver Threads Among the Gold.” This classic tune is a popular piece in the slack key repertoire and often one of the first things people learn when exploring Drop C tuning. Most listeners of modern day Hawaii radio will recognize Silver Threads as the slack key passage quoted in the intro to Country Comfort’s Waimanalo Blues, a beloved song in the islands in its own right. Hope you enjoy.

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

LIVE 084 • Kaiminani Slack Key

Slack Keyacoustic guitar, big island, blue sky guitar, blueskyguitar, ear trumpet labs, edwina, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, kailua kona, kaiminani drive, kalaoa, Keahole Point, Ki Ho'alu, Kohanaiki, Kona International Airport, Kona Palisades, Mamalahoa, open g tuning, open tunings, OTEC beach, peaceful guitar music, Pine Trees beach, Queen Kaahumanu, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, Slack Key, Taro Patch, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, taylor nylon, tranquil song, Wawaloli

Here is an original slack key song I named for Kaiminani Drive in Kalaoa, North Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Kaiminani Drive is a main mauka-makai road that connects the Queen Kaahumanu and Mamalahoa highways (lower and upper roads, respectively). It also runs through the Kona Palisades neighborhood where I lived for a number of years as a child. Back then, the neighborhood was less developed, and my friends and I would build tree houses and play in the vacant lots. We could also watch the planes come and go at Kona International Airport at Keahole Point (KOA), and had easy access to then-uncrowded OTEC (Wawaloli) and Pine Trees (Kohanaiki) beaches. Hope you enjoy.

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

LIVE 048 • Slack Key #1 by Sonny Chillingworth

Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, apogee one, dancing cat, Endlessly, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, john hardy preamp, Ki Ho'alu, Neumann TLM 102, open g tuning, open tunings, slack key #1, slack key number one, Sonny Chillingworth, Taro Patch, Taylor 412ce-R, waimea cowboy

Slack Key No. 1 is a classic showpiece of slack key master Sonny Chillingworth. I first heard it on the Dancing Cat release “Endlessly,” and it also appears on his 1964 solo release “Waimea Cowboy.” The Waimea Cowboy version sounds like it was recorded on an electric guitar, while the version on Endlessly was recorded on acoustic guitar. Both versions are very similar, though with some slight differences. I have incorporated elements from both versions in the arrangement I play. 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 041 • Magic Sands – Slack Key Guitar

Fingerstyle, Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, big island beach, ear trumpet labs, edwina, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, kailua kona, Ki Ho'alu, Magic Sands, open g tuning, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, rosewood taylor nylon, Slack Key, Taro Patch, Taylor 400 series, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, taylor grand auditorium, Taylor guitars, taylor nylon guitar, tranquil song

Here is a slack key style tune I wrote a while back while hanging out around Magic Sands beach in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. I originally wrote it on an old nylon string guitar. While I have a recording of this song played on steel string already posted, I wanted to go back and do a recording with my nylon string Taylor as well. There aren’t many songs I like to play on both steel and nylon, but this is one of them for some reason. Hope you enjoy.

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

LIVE 034 • Holualoa Blues

Fingerstyle, Live, Slack Keyblues guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Holualoa, kona coffee, kona hawaii, open g tuning, slack key guitar, Taro Patch, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, Taylor guitars

From the vaults, here is a demo version of my tune Holualoa Blues. This song is primarily a blues piece, but with some slack key influence as well. Done in open G / taro patch tuning. 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, 10/11/07.

LIVE 014 • Fronds in the Wind

Live, Open Tunings, Slack Keyfronds in the wind, open g tuning, performances, Slack Key, Taro Patch

Here is my song, Fronds in the Wind. I recorded several slightly different versions, but liked this one best. Hope you enjoy.

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

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Slack Key and Fingerstyle Guitar

Tag Archives: open g tuning

LIVE 130 • Slack Key Number 1 (Taylor 412ce)

LIVE 115 • Mino’aka (Alt Take)

LIVE 097 • Kaiminani Slack Key (Alt Take)

LIVE 067 • Waimea Ride (Slack Key Improvisation)

LIVE 086 • Silver Threads – Slack Key Improv

LIVE 084 • Kaiminani Slack Key

LIVE 048 • Slack Key #1 by Sonny Chillingworth

LIVE 041 • Magic Sands – Slack Key Guitar

LIVE 034 • Holualoa Blues

LIVE 014 • Fronds in the Wind