Kauai Information > Kauai Music

As you exit the plane on Kauai from the mainland, one of the first sounds to greet you will be the rhythm of the Hawaiian music. Listen for the sound of the Hawaiian slack key guitar. Slack key guitar is a common Hawaiian instrument although not many know how to prepare a guitar for the slack guitar sound.

Slack key guitar has been played on the Islands for more than 150 years. The first guitars probably came to Hawaii with Spanish and Mexican vaqueros hired by Kamehameha III to control wild cattle on the Big Island.

The vaqueros quickly taught the native paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) to ride and rope, and sitting around a campfire at night, to play the guitar. The Hawaiian cowboys ('paniolo', possibly derived from "hispañola) adapted the instrument. They loosened or "slackened" the strings to create harmonies more in tune with singing than the piano keyboard, which was rare on Kauai. Slack key guitarists play in a finger pick style, often with a steady rhythm to accompany hula dancing and singing, while tuning their guitars down or up to match the range of the singer.

The tradition continued to grow and evolve, and today's players, in developing their individual style, draw from family techniques and tunings handed down within families for generations. Like the chant and the hula, slack key guitar has become another way of telling the story of the Kauai people and culture from one generation to the next.

To listen to Hawaiian music while planning your Kauai vacation go to http://kkcr.org.