I did so partially to make a set of charts that fit my own requirements, but also as a trial run for the software id written to generate arbitrary chord diagrams. I intended to learn this piece for ukulele, but it sounded so good on guitar i just couldnt resist recording it. Slackkey guitar is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in hawaii and uses open tunings. Viewing 6 posts 1 through 6 of 6 total author posts 08072018 at. Loosening the keys an introduction to slackkeystyle.
The most traditional tuning has the g and c courses tuned in octaves, rather than the exact same note. The names of some tunings vary between genres, for example in hawaiian music, for slackkey guitar, an example would be the taro patch, or open g tuning, with strings lowhigh dgdgbd. Starting with the basics, george touches on the ukulele and its accessories and then turns to the basic tuning in slack key c and the. A short video on what is and what isnt a taropatch ukulele. Nov 02, 2016 verse dm c gm f dm c indo china, capa jumps jeep, two feet creep up the road gm f dm c to photo, to record meat lumps and war, gm f c gm dm they advance as does his chance oh cm dm c ver. It adds some lower notes to the range of a concert ukulele, with a range of g 3 d 6 e 6.
Once considered standard, this tuning was commonly used during the hawaiian music boom of the early 20th century, and is often seen in sheet music. I thought id use a iv iv i vamp like in white sandy beach as the main turnaround. This led to martin producing a 4 string variant and the concert scale was born. If you know nothing about tuning a stringed instrument, check out this video on how to tune a guitar from world famous guitarist and songwriter james taylor. These instruments are made of the celebrated hawaiian wood, named koa, and are susceptible of a very high degree of polish. They normally use the same tuning as a standard ukulele. In this tuning, you can use all your familiar chord shapes, but youll obviously need to adjust the firststring fingerings. Online ukulele tuner slack key ukulele tuning g c e g ukulele tuning tutorials from online ukulele tuner slack. They were once common in a concert size, but now the tenor size is more common for sixstring taropatch ukuleles.
It can be difficult to extend your fingers for certain alternative. So as an early variant of the rajao, the tuning was similar also. These days with nylon strings and digital tuners, tuning is not so much of an issue. Manu kai is played solo on the steel string guitar in taro patch tuning. If youre not familiar with the slack key sound, i would recommend immersing yourself in it before. This tuning is also known as open g, since the open strings are tuned to the notes of a. The tenor ukulele the taro patch this ukulele is probably the second most popular from all ukulele classes, next to the standard ukulele. Mel bay want to play beautiful hawaiian melodies on your ukulele. We have an official taro tab made by ug professional guitarists. Taropatches evolved from the portuguese rajao, a 5string instrument that is a bit louder than regular soprano ukes due to its slightly larger body size, and offers a more sonorous. Ki hoalu hawaiian slack key guitar, is a fingerstyle guitar artform created. In terms of an instrument, a taropatch ukulele is one which has six or eight strings in four courses for example, a tenor uke with six strings, two of which are single strings and four of which are double courses, is considered to be a taropatch ukulele. It is only natural that some ukulele players in hawaii would retune. We saw how the portuguese used the word taropatch in relation to the ukulele.
They simply dropped the rajao 5th string to give an ukulele reentrant c tuning, then the courses were doubled. This video covers a lot of details about tuning in general, and you can apply the same principles to tuning a ukulele. Anyway, i had a taropatch uke built, david newton guitars out of beaumont texas did this one, as well as its sister, a 4 stringer. My noodling based on the workshop soon turned into a simple song that is still part of my play rotation. It has become a library of turnarounds and chord shapes in taro patch. Talsma string instruments traditional ukuleles taro patch ukulele. Still have one, and enjoy playing it, but nothing like the uke. Feb 03, 2019 kalanis hawaiian slackkey taro patch tuning chord chart open g tuning. That said, we also offer a taropatch set we did it for a fellow getting a custom instrument. Cm6 bm6 b dim bb9 bb7 bbn6 bb6 db9 bbdin bbaug dbm7 baug amaj7 dbmaj7 db7 am6 adim aaug caug ebmaj7 eb9 eb7 bm ebn6 dbn6 eb6 ab9 db6 abmaj 7. Shop now and receve free shipping on your order today. The most commonly used slackkey guitar tuning is open g taro patch.
Online ukulele tuner slack key ukulele tuning g c e g youtube. A couple of weeks ago, i released my very own set of standard gcea and baritone dgbe ukulele chord sheets. To create this open c tuning, you tune the astring down one whole step to g. He taught a 90 minute workshop on basic slack key in taro patch tuning, and i was immediately hooked.
Start with the basics of taropatch tuning and quickly move up to some fairly complicated slack key songs. But since the strings come in pairs known as courses, theres room to get creative. It does not matter if your standard tuning is gcea. Taro patch, wahine f, wahine g major 7th, and wahine d major 7th. In the early 1900s, the taro patch body was incorporated into a new eightstring instrument that used standard ukulele tuning on its doublecoursed strings. Hawaiian slack key guitar frequently asked questions.
Any steel string guitar that happened to be available was put into use, and. The taro patch tuning or g tuning is a favorite of many slack key artists as its timbre and flexibility are remarkable. The taropatch, the name comes from taropatch fiddle and early hawaiian slightly derogatory name for all ukuleles as it was used by the landed anglo settlers to describe the instruments played by the portuguese indentured labour as they worked the taro fields, with its 8 strings in 4 courses, is a very traditional string configuration dating back to the birth of the ukulele itself. If you are just beginning with us and coming from another guitar style, you might want to begin by. Renewed interest began with the hawaiian renaissance of the 1970s, but progress was slow until the 1990s, when a statewide network dedicated to taro patch restoration was created. Simply buy any two reentrant concert ukulele sets, and there you are. Home forums slack key guitar taro patch tuning tagged. Hawaiian slack key guitarist jeff peterson has spent over a decade transcrbing music in standard notation and tablature for slack key guitar and ukulele. Click on the tab to download the pdf, and watch the reference video to learn to play this piece. I havent been very successful in finding info, most of my searches have led to pages like this. An early ukulele cousin is the taropatch, an instrument with eight strings set in four courses of two strings each, tuned to the standard mydoghasfleas. Mar 25, 2020 slack key guitar ki hoalu is a traditional hawaiian way of tuning and playing the guitar. Simply buy any two concert ukulele sets, and there you are. It was the common reentrant tuning used on the ukulele today.
This means it can reach notes as high as a concert. Most slackkey tunings can be achieved by starting with a guitar in standard tuning and detuning or slacking one or more of the strings until the six strings form a single. On guitar, its d g d g b d, low to high, like the delta blues guitarists openg tuning. Chords for three old time hawaiian slack key guitar tricks.
The eightstring instrument took on the name of its predecessor, becoming known as a taro patch fiddle or simply a taro patch. Loosening the keys an introduction to slackkeystyle ukulele. D tuning for ukulele what became known as mainland tuning, c tuning for taropatch. This is the ukulele version of the taro patch tuning, the most popular of the many open tunings used by slackkey guitarists. Viewing 6 posts 1 through 6 of 6 total author posts 08072018 at 11. Kalanis hawaiian slackkey taro patch tuning chord chart.
Starting with the basics, george touches on the ukulele and its accessories and then turns to the basic tuning in slack key c and the appropriate picking patterns, basic chords and chord shapings. Jul 06, 2017 an early ukulele cousin is the taropatch, an instrument with eight strings set in four courses of two strings each, tuned to the standard mydoghasfleas. Instruments with 6 or 8 strings in four courses are often called taropatches, or taropatch ukuleles. We have the 1970s taro patch 8string ukulele in stock in our collection. Well, i tried to get the mandolin thing going, but never really took to it. Strumming all the open strings with this tuning gives you a c major chord instead of the normal c6 of. Taropatch also refers to a slack key open g tuning on guitar and ukulele. This first one was a quick sound check, but i ended up liking parts of it so thought id upload it. Having more frets than the standardtuned ukuleles, the taro patch ukulele essentially has a broader range than its. In this episode of uke minutes, the longawaited slack key tuning drop g, for all of you who wanted to try it. This tuning is also known as open g, since the open strings are tuned to the notes of a g major chord g, b, and d. Sheet music is available here for over 175 slack key songs and over 40 songs for ukulele and all playing levels.
The basic tuning is the same as the 4 string ukulele, gcea. Selected ukulele methods and music, 18941920 177 28. Having more frets than the standardtuned ukuleles, the taro patch ukulele essentially has a broader range than its higher counterparts. The ukulele guitar is smaller than the taropatch guitar and has but four strings, the tuning of which is the same as the taropatch deprived of the fifth string fig. Actually, the thinking has been done for me by a friend who wants one. My thoughts so far is a fan braced concert body with perhaps a tad wider neck. In the april 1917 issue of cadenza, coleman was identified as a prominent teacher and solo ist of the pacific coast, has practically all of his life associated with native. Southern california music company, 19121914, 45 pp. Most slackkey tunings can be achieved by starting with a guitar in standard tuning and detuning or slacking one or more of the strings until the six strings form a single chord, frequently g major. Besides being a local food source, taro patches are oases of hawaiian culture and connection to the land. But in bluegrass music, open g can mean g b d g b d. One week free thanks to, you can now take video lessons with mark online.
Tuning is open g, often called taro patch or spanish tuning. I decided to play around with taro patch tuning on my logg ukulele. Free slack key ukulele chord charts and diagrams gceg. Can someone help educate me about this taro patch instrument. Most slackkey tunings can be achieved by starting with a guitar in standard tuning. I use my trademark hammeron and pulloff ornaments, including discordant notes that are not heard directly but are played for a percussive effect. Learn to play slack key style ukulele is a comprehensive instruction into the art of playing great solo ukulele slack key style.