Hawaiian music is a unique blend of several early influences from abroad with ethnic Hawaiian chants. It has spawned the adaptation of guitar to several distinctly Hawaiian sounds and styles, notably slack key and steel guitar.
The general history of Hawaiian music begins in the mid 1800s, when visitors from all over the planet came by sea to Hawaii, bringing with them instruments such as the violin, guitar, ukulele, piano, accordion and flute. Hawaiian music was rooted in old religious chants and hymns, which the native Hawaiians then mixed with the musical rhythms, sounds and instruments they heard from international visitors, immigrants and missionaries. Secular music was influenced by a variety of people including those of Mexican, Italian, German and Burmese descent.
Hawaiian music is also distinguished by its steel guitar style which was invented and developed in Hawai'i, largely by accident. In adapting the guitar to suit their own musical styles, Hawaiians often used a steel object and later a crafted steel bar to slide along the strings, producing a unique tone which was then integrated into the developing Hawaiian sound. The exact origins of the style and its technical inventor are widely debated; but three individuals -- Hoa, Davion and Kekuku -- may have discovered the technique independently of one another and are credited as its inventors. The steel guitar was featured in several Hawaiian bands in the early 1900s, as well as on some of the earliest recordings of Hawaiian music. |
