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©2000 by Ely Music/Pub |
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Learning to Steel in Hawai`iby Beat Iseli (Beat, pronounced Bet, is a recent HSGA member from Winterthur, Switzerland. Here's how to connect with him: Obergasse 5, 8400 Winterthur, Switz.; phone 052-213-24-23.)
Our First Two Visits Taking a few surfing lessons and then paddling out to the waves in front of Waikiki was another aspect that thrilled me. In the evening we used to go to hotels that featured Hawaiian music and I was struck by the beauty of the sound of the steel guitars. Unfortunately, we couldn't hear this instrument very often. Younger bands seemed to do without it. On our next visit, three years later, we listened to many different Hawaiian bands and singers and slowly started to get an idea what island music was about. Personally, I didn't like the reggae influence very much, but enjoyed the Brothers Cazimero and the Peter Moon Band, although I missed the sound of a steel guitar. So going to the Halekulani where Alan Akaka and the Islanders played became a habit, and we always loved the beautiful music and the peaceful sunset mood. Being a guitar player myself, I had taught classical guitar and I am still playing in a blues/rock band; I was intrigued by the sweet, harmonically full sound of the steel. One evening I approached Alan and asked him about the tuning of the steel guitar and the technique involved. Alan gave me his address and encouraged me to write if I had a question. My Lessons with Alan I arrived in Honolulu on 21 July and went to see Alan at the Halekulani. He expected me and quickly organized the schedule of our classes: every Tuesday and Thursday morning he would come to my hotel for an hour of teaching. So Thursday morning I was eagerly awaiting my teacher for the first steel class and, perfectly on time, Alan stepped into the lobby casually dressed, with an acoustic steel guitar for me to practice on. I was taught how to hold the bar, how to use the picks, and then I already had to play using an open A tuning, which was new to me then. I didn't have much trouble with the diagram music, as I had already used a similar notation when playing ragtime guitar. The time passed quickly, and I was left to practise the first exercises on my own. The next few weeks Alan progressed quickly, introducing me to the E tunings and teaching me how to slant the bar. I was very happy when I got to play the first Hawaiian songs, like "Song of the Islands", "Aloha 'Oe", and "Sweet Lei Lehua". It was quite difficult to come to terms with the reverse slant exercises, but playing C# minor and C6 tuning was a real discovery to me. Alan was a great teacher; he was very patient and motivating. With him, I learned a new technique and musical language, but he also stressed the importance of musicality, of playing "Hawaiian" style steel guitar. I practised as much as I could without neglecting my wife and my two and one-half-year-old daughter Claudia too much. In between we also managed to visit Maui for three days and tour Oahu a few times. Sad To Leave Hawai`i Now I'm back in Winterthur, a small city in Switzerland, and my time is taken up with preparing classes, correcting papers and attending meetings. But whenever I find a few minutes, I sit behind my '55 Fender lap steel guitar which I bought after my return, and practice exercises and songs. Sometimes I also listen to records and try to find out what the steel guitarist is doing, and when I hit the right notes I get a real kick out of it. In addition to that, I'm encouraging my friends in the band to get into a few Hawaiian songs we might add to our repertoire. Looking back at the too-short four week holiday, I'm really very happy with what I've learned, thanks to Alan Akaka and this visit to Hawai'i will certainly not be my last one. 
HSGA * HAWAIIAN
STEEL GUITAR ASSOCIATION Homepage URL: www.hsga.org (hsga@lava.net) Last updated: 07/23/02 by Gerald Ross (gbross@umich.edu) |
