hawaiian guitar tips needed

Subject: hawaiian guitar tips needed
From: lingolucky
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 06:25 PM

I would surely appreviate some tips on playing Hawaiian guitar in the old time way (pre-dobro)--tuning, available instruction literature or cassettes. Lingoluck

Subject: RE: hawaiian guitar tips needed
From: Mike Billo
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 09:37 AM

There is a book titled "Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar", by Keola Beamer and published by Oak publications that's excellent.

The "Taro Patch" or "Spanish" tuning of (low to high) DGDGBD seems to be pretty prevalent.

Subject: RE: hawaiian guitar tips needed
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 28 Oct 99 - 11:37 AM

I've been using this tuning for years:
From bass...G,D,G,B,D,G. It's great because you can re-tune the high string for many effects, ie. down to F for blues, down to E for Hank Williams. 'Course the same tuning can be done with less tension like this: D, A, D, F#, A, D.

Rick

Subject: RE: hawaiian guitar tips needed
From: Dani
Date: 29 Oct 99 - 11:09 AM

Go here:

http://www.dancingcat.com/

and follow the slack key links. Lots of people don't know the other sides of George Winston. If you go to hear him play the piano, it's a quirky treat when he pulls out a guitar and plays some of this music that he's really found a connection with.

Happy hunting, lingoluck.

Dani

Subject: RE: hawaiian guitar tips needed
From: lingolucky
Date: 29 Oct 99 - 12:25 PM

Subject: RE: hawaiian guitar tips needed
From:
Date: 29 Oct 99 - 12:39 PM

thanks, especially to rick. i will try your tuning, though i am a novice at this style. i have a friend who is in his 90s in a ukulele band. he told me that he used to play hawaiian guitar and i loaned him one that i made--basicaLLY JUST A BOX with a neck, fretless, tuned dobro style in GBDGBD, open G with lines drawn on the fret instead of frets. I printed the chords down the neck--A, BFLAT, C, D, etc. It sounds pretty good in the hands of a good player. But he remembers another tuning, and I am trying to learn as he relearns. thanks to all Lingolucky

Subject: RE: hawaiian guitar tips needed
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 29 Oct 99 - 06:56 PM

Hey Lingo, got somethin' for you. This was taught to me by an old fashioned steel guitarist many years ago. use your left hand ring finger to reach behind the bar, grab your second string and pull it up a semi-tone (or a whole tone if your strong) . It gives a pedal steel "raise" effect.

Rick

Subject: RE: hawaiian guitar tips needed
From: Mudjack
Date: 29 Oct 99 - 09:54 PM

I try to keep an old bowled back guitar tuned in DADF#AD and it really is a relaxing lay around kind of guitar time. I highly recomend "Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar MASTERS" Instrumental collection on Dancing Cat records 08022-38032-2 on CD.
I have slid a nut adaptor over the nut to raise the strings so I can play it with a heavy bar but that gets you back to the Dobro style.
Mudjack

Subject: RE: hawaiian guitar tips needed
From: lingolucky
Date: 30 Oct 99 - 02:43 PM

Subject: RE: hawaiian guitar tips needed
From: lingolucky
Date: 30 Oct 99 - 02:48 PM

thanks for that tip, rick. mudjack, your tuning seems like the old-time tuning i was looking for. when i think of hawaiian guitar, i do think of the raised nut, which makes any old guitar a steel guitar. the one i built does not even have any frets, just lines drawn on the wood.

Subject: RE: hawaiian guitar tips needed
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 30 Oct 99 - 04:48 PM

Lingo, I've always wanted to make one like you've described. Are you computer literate enough to send a picture through the e-mails? I'm vaguely computer literate enough to down load it. If you want to, my e-mail is [e-mail]

Thanks

Rick