'Ohana La'au - Family Tree | Ben Kaimana Diamond

'Ohana La'au - Family Tree

by Ben Kaimana Diamond

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1.	In Memory of Nicholas Allocca 03:12	info	buy track
2.	Swimming Upstream 03:03	info	buy track
3.	Red Tree 01:45	info	buy track
4.	Father's Day 02:39	info	buy track
5.	Bob's Song 02:04	info	buy track
6.	Ke'ala's Mele 03:13	info	buy track
7.	I Didn't Know (Live) 05:39	info	buy track
8.	Slow Turn 03:27	info	buy track
9.	Malasadas 03:49	info	buy track

about

Ki ho'alu, which literally means "loosen the key," is the Hawaiian name
for the solo fingerpicked style unique to Hawai'i. In this tradition, the
strings (or "keys") are "slacked" to produce many different tunings, which usually contain a major chord, or a chord with a major 7th or a 6th note.

Slack key derives its unique sound from techniques such as "hammering -on" and "pulling-off." These techniques mimic the yodels and falsettos common in Hawaiian singing. Harmonics and slides are also common.

The roots of slack key can be traced to the 1830's when the guitar was
first introduced to the islands by the Spanish and Mexican cowboys who were hired to teach Hawaiian cowboys how to handle an overpopulation of cattle.

My slack key journey was launched by a chance listening at Tower
Records in 1996. It was love at first sound. This year, in addition to
Hawaiian tunings, I've included an Irish C tuning and a variant in open D.

credits

released December 5, 2009

Mahalo to Len and Dan for lending your talent and time.
Mahalo to Lisa Doll and the members of LIFGC for your support.
Mahalo to Jeff Curtis for teaching me DADADE tuning.
Mahalo to Gabriel, Jordan, Noah and Sara, as always, for everything.

Ben Diamond: Guitar, Vocals, Ukelele.
Dan Doll: Dobro on "Father's Day".
Leonard Rosenberg: Nashville-style Guitar on "Father's Day".

© 2009, Ben Diamond. Photos: Ben Diamond.
ben-diamond.com
Email: lihslackkey@aol.com

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about

Ben Kaimana Diamond New York

It was love at first sound.

I've been playing guitar since 1981 and I started playing Ki ho'alu (Hawaiian slack key or "open" tuning) in 1996. Over the years, I've studied Slack Key with Hal Kinnaman and Keola Beamer. ... more

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