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Papa’s ʻOkolehao is a piece I’ve written in memory of my grandfather – Francis Kealiʻinohopono Beamer. Papa Beamer was a rancher and wonderful musician. In his younger years my grandfather would occasionally enjoy a drink of “ʻokolehao” a common beverage in those days, made of fermented pineapple juice. If you brewed it right, it could pack quite a wallop! My grandfather remembered that his father had an old rocking chair with a small wooden cask strapped to the bottom. The cask was draped with an old blanket. The blanket was needed so that when he rocked his chair, he’d gently stir the brew, somewhat surreptitiously, so his very Christian wife would not notice!
I tried this drink once with my friends in high school and we almost got caught! Yikes!
This piece has a nice flow to it and it is from one of my CD’s for Dancing Cat Records entitled, “Soliloquy – Ka Leo O Loko”.

• • Level: Intermediate
  • Tempo: Moderate
  • Tuning: C Wahine or Keola’s C
  • Length: 2:23
  • 46 Bars / 4 pages

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This detailed lesson is for members of kbeamer.com. Listed below are some of the guitar techniques covered in this lesson:

• • • slurs (ascending and descending) and hammer-ons
    • re-inforcement of Left Hand Thumb Position in kī hōʻalu
    • playing and sustaining melody
    • triplets
    • connecting notes as an important paradigm of kī hōʻalu

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Please be careful of your left hand thumb position in measures 7 and 27. Bring your thumb down more towards the middle of the neck in these sections. If your LH thumb is higher than than, you are not going to be able to make these stretches.
The key to the musicality of “Papa’s ʻOkolehao” lies in the smooth execution phrasing. Try to play the entire piece is played in a smooth, legato (connected) fashion. We call this nahenahe, a sweet satisfying sound.
me ke aloha
Keola Beamer
Maui, Hawaiʻi
After you have finished this piece, you are done with the Intermediate Realm! Congratulations! Now is your chance to go on to the Advanced Realm!