‘Ukulele lovers had a nice surprise last Monday. Multiple Grammy winners George Kahumoku Jr. and his son Keoki Kahumoku offered an intimate ‘ukulele workshop in the opening day of E Kanikapila Kakou 2010. We checked it out, and even tried
‘Ukulele lovers had a nice surprise last Monday. Multiple Grammy winners George Kahumoku Jr. and his son Keoki Kahumoku offered an intimate ‘ukulele workshop in the opening day of E Kanikapila Kakou 2010. We checked it out, and even tried to learn a few things in the four-stringed instrument.
The Kaua‘i Beach Resort was all about Hawaiian music. Father and son split the students between those who wanted to learn how to play slack-key style and those who simply wanted to learn more about playing the ‘ukulele. The elder Kahumoku took upon the challenge of teaching slack key.
The charismatic George Kahumoku Jr. said Japanese are crazy about the ‘ukulele. He once did a workshop in Japan, and every hour, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., 1,000 students would show up, armed with their instruments.
Thankfully, only about 14 people showed up for the workshop, allowing a much more personal mood for the class.
‘Ukuleles come in four sizes. The smallest is the soprano, also known as the standard. The concert, or alto, is a little bigger and a tad louder than the soprano. The bigger tenor is usually the choice among professionals, it offers plenty of fret-board real state for lots of finger-picking, and the louder sound allows it to keep up with a band. The biggest ‘ukulele, the baritone, is preferred by most guitar players because it has the same tuning as the first four strings of a guitar.
E Kanikapila Kakou 2010 will be featuring different Hawaiian artists every week, until April 1.
For more information on upcoming events contact Carol Yotsuda at 245-2733 or giac@Hawaiilink.net.
