(excerpt coming soon)… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson The best system of notation for the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar is called Tablature. I was the first to use tablature for our art form when I realized its potential for kī hōʻalu. I included it in the first method book ever written for Slack Key Guitar which I wrote and… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson I hope you’ve enjoyed your tenure as one of my haumāna (students). If you’ve come this far with me, then you’ve experienced the joy of making the music. It is one thing to hear recordings, to follow the notes and appreciate their beauty, but it is a far more evocative experience… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson It is the philosophy of the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar that good music doesn’t come from the ego, it comes from the heart. To play with aloha in our hearts, we must learn to make the way of aloha an integral, “living” part of our own existence. Perhaps, the first step… Read More
An Excellent History of The Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar prepared by Dancing Cat Records & George Winston… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson Introduction We will start with the C Wahine Tuning, (also called “Keola’s C” because of my extensive use of this tuning over many years). It is one of the easiest and most user friendly tunings available for the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, plus it has the added bonus of sounding very… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson A chromatic scale is a scale ascending and descending in half steps, the smallest interval in western music. To play a chromatic scale on the guitar, begin on the open strings. Then play the note on the first fret, second fret and third fret, continuing up to the twelfth fret, and… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson Left Hand Reach Development Exercise (Also known as The Spider Exercise) This is a great exercise that is VERY effective in left hand training. The movements of the fingers in this exercise are encountered in many styles of guitar playing. They are so basic and occur so often that early mastery… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson Introduction to Exercises When you thoroughly understand the basic playing position, the free stroke and the rest stroke, the next step is to train the right and left hands to function smoothly in preparation for the pieces in this tutorial. To this end, the more you practice these technical exercises, which… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson The rest stroke produces a substantial tone and is occasionally used to accent a melodic line. As this is an important technique, especially in the more advanced pieces, the student should acquire at least a working understanding of it. To prepare for the rest stroke, place the index finger of the… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson There are two basic strokes for the right hand in Hawaiian Slack Key guitar: the free stroke and the rest stroke. Both must originate from a good right hand position. Most slack key is played with the free stroke which, when executed correctly, produces a clean, strong sound. Elements of the… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson Bring the right hand over the sound hole and relax it completely from the wrist. Place the palm of the hand parallel to the surface of the soundboard. To achieve good sound quality, it is important to keep the hand in this relaxed position at all times. Right hand position When… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson The position of the thumb is important in left hand technique. When playing a nylon string or classical-type guitar, the thumb of the left hand should move along the center and top of the back of the neck (see left illustration). It may be placed slightly higher on the neck of… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson Basic Playing Position Holding the guitar properly is essential to good guitar technique. In one method the body of the guitar is held over the right leg. The right arm comes over the side of the instrument and forms a clamp with the leg so that the guitar is braced firmly… Read More
kbeamer.com > Instruction > Beginning Realm > This Lesson Let’s review the simple tools that you will need. A guitar (nothing fancy – any guitar will do: electric, acoustic, nylon, steel string – it doesn’t matter!) PDF Reader (or similar software) to download and view my PDF tablature and music files. A modern web browser to hear me demonstrate the… Read More