Slack Key Guitar: Ki Hōʻalu, the Soul of Hawaiian Music

Slack key guitar, known in Hawaiian as ki hōʻalu (to loosen the key), is a fingerpicking tradition that developed entirely in Hawaii over more than a century and a half. It is not a style imported from elsewhere. It emerged from the meeting of the Spanish guitar with Hawaiian musicians who tuned it their own way, developed their own techniques, and produced a sound that is immediately and unmistakably Hawaiian.

What slack key guitar is

In standard guitar tuning, the six strings are tuned to E-A-D-G-B-E. In slack key playing, one or more strings are lowered (slackened) from this tuning to create an open chord: when all strings are played open without any fretting, they ring out as a complete chord. The most common tuning is open G (D-G-D-G-B-D), which gives a warm, sustained sound.

The playing style is fingerpicking: the right-hand thumb provides a steady bass line on the lower strings while the fingers play melody and harmony on the upper strings simultaneously. This independence of bass and melody, one player essentially doing the work of two, is what gives slack key its richly layered sound. A skilled slack key player sounds like a small band.

How it developed in Hawaii

The guitar arrived in Hawaii in the 1830s with Mexican and Spanish vaqueros (cowboys) hired by King Kamehameha III to manage the wild cattle that had been introduced to the Big Island decades earlier (1793 gift from British Captain George Vancouver to Kamehameha I). These cattle had multiplied unchecked across the Big Island's open range, and the king needed experienced horsemen to bring them under control. The paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys, from español) learned guitar from these Mexican vaqueros and began experimenting with tunings that suited their own musical sensibility and the Hawaiian vocal traditions they already knew.

Over the following decades from the 1840s through the early 1900s, Hawaiian families developed their own slack key styles and tunings, passing them privately within family lineages as closely guarded treasures. This secrecy was partly cultural: the music was a family possession, part of the family's identity and heritage. A family's tuning was its own intellectual property long before that term existed, and teaching it to outsiders was not expected or welcomed. Some families would not even play their tunings in public where others might hear and replicate them. This tradition of private, oral transmission meant that slack key remained largely unknown outside Hawaii and even largely unknown between different Hawaiian families until the twentieth century.

The Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s changed this profoundly. Encouraged by the broader revival of Hawaiian language, hula, and navigation, slack key players like Gabby Pahinui, Raymond Kane, and Sonny Chillingworth began performing publicly, teaching openly, and recording commercially. The decision to share family tunings with the wider world was controversial in some Hawaiian families but ultimately allowed the music to survive and flourish. Slack key found new audiences among Hawaiians who had grown up hearing it at home but never learned to play, and among mainlanders encountering it for the first time through recordings and concerts.

Tunings and playing style

There are dozens of named slack key tunings. Each has its own character and is associated with different songs and players. Open G (taro patch) is the most commonly used. C-wahine (open C major with a distinctive high string) is known for its lyrical quality. Vesterdine and Mauna Loa tunings have their own devotees. Learning slack key typically means learning tunings one at a time, each opening a new sonic world.

Slack key songs often follow a three-part structure: an introduction establishing the tuning, a melody section, and a turnaround or ending. The music tends toward the gentle and reflective, matching the pace of island life. Songs are often about places, about the ocean, about love and longing, topics also central to Hawaiian music more broadly.

Masters of slack key

Gabby Pahinui (1921-1980, born Philip Kunia Pahinui) is the figure most associated with the public flowering of slack key guitar. Born in Honolulu's Kaka'ako district, Pahinui learned slack key from family members and neighbors in the Hawaiian community. His 1946 recording of "Hi'ilawe" (with the Wai'alae Glee Club) became one of the most beloved Hawaiian songs of the 20th century and introduced slack key to a generation of listeners who had never heard it clearly recorded before. His recordings in the 1940s through 1970s were among the first to systematically document the tradition for broader audiences.

The guitarist Ry Cooder, who heard Pahinui's recordings and traveled to Hawaii to meet him, recorded with Pahinui in the 1970s (the 1975 album "Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band Vol. 1" and subsequent albums), helping bring him to mainland and international attention. Cooder's respect for Pahinui as a master musician introduced slack key to rock and folk audiences who might never have encountered Hawaiian music otherwise. Pahinui's sons Cyril (1950-2018), Bla (1952-2016), and Martin (born 1955) all became significant players and teachers, carrying the family tradition forward.

Raymond Kane (1925-2008, "Uncle Ray" to students and fans) was known for his mastery of multiple tunings and his willingness to teach openly. Born on O'ahu, Kane learned from family members and spent decades perfecting his technique. He was a National Heritage Fellowship recipient (National Endowment for the Arts, 1987) and one of the first slack key players to publish instructional materials. Sonny Chillingworth (1932-1994), from Waimanalo on O'ahu, was known for his delicate touch and innovative compositions. Keola Beamer (born 1951), from a prominent Hawaiian musical family, has been particularly active in teaching, recording, and documenting the music through books and instructional videos. His work preserving family tunings and styles has helped ensure that knowledge that might have been lost with individual players has been documented for future generations.

Ledward Kaapana (born 1948), from Kalapana on the Big Island, is known for his virtuosic speed and his synthesis of slack key with other guitar traditions. Dennis Kamakahi (1953-2014) composed more than 300 songs and was a multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winner (Hawaii's Grammy equivalent). Today slack key guitar has an active community of players across Hawaii and a growing international following. The annual Ki Hōʻalu Slack Key Guitar Festival in Honolulu (running since the 1980s) and regular programming at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center both present the music, and the Grammy category for Best Hawaiian Music Album (established 2005) has recognized slack key artists repeatedly.