Tag Archives: fingerstyle guitar

Meadows Slack Key (912ce)

Songsacoustic guitar, big island, blue sky guitar, Elixir Polyweb, fingerstyle guitar, geckos, Hawaii, hawaiian guitar, Holualoa, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, Mamalahoa Highway, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, open G, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, slack key, taro patch, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert

“Meadows” is a slack key song I wrote during a full moon in Kailua-Kona. I think the song was influenced by the night air and night sounds – the occasional chirp of geckos, the distant sounds of traffic on Mamalahoa Highway and the waves in the ocean. Hope you enjoy.

Punahoa Special (alt take)

Songsblue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, fred punahoa, fred punahou, Hawaii, ki ho’alu, mauna loa tuning, nick borho, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, slack key, taylor 414ce-NR, taylor classical guitar, taylor guitars, taylor nylon, Telefunken M60

Here is an alternate take of “Punahoa Special,” this one recorded with a Telefunken M60 microphone. Punahoa Special is a signature showpiece of legendary slack key master Fred Punahoa. This is a song I was fortunate enough to learn directly from Led Ka’apana, one that Led had in turn learned directly from Fred himself. Though Fred Punahoa never made a full album under his own name, he did make a notable appearance on the Waimea Music Festival album, in addition to fostering amazing talents of the next generation such as Led and Sonny Lim. “Punahoa Special” is an often covered song in the slack key canon, and might also be the most popular song in Mauna Loa slack key tuning. Hope you enjoy.

Mino’aka – Keola Beamer Cover (Alt Take)

Songsacoustic guitar, altered tunings, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, harmonics, Hawaii, keola beamer, ki ho’alu, nick borho, open g tuning, open tunings, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, slack key, soliloquy, taro patch, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert, tranquil song

Here’s an alternate take of Keola Beamer’s Mino’aka (Smile), from his awesome Soliloquy album. Soliloquy is one of my favorite Dancing Cat era albums from Keola and a highly recommended listen. Keola’s book is one of the first I picked up when I really delved into the slack key style years ago, and this was one of my favorite songs featured in the book. In fact, I also recommend Keola’s book for beginner to intermediate fingerstyle players who are looking to learn some slack key. Although the version I recorded here is at a slightly faster tempo, I hope it still captures the original’s relaxed feel. Hope you enjoy.

Slippery Slack Key (Nylon String Guitar)

Songsbig island, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, nick borho, nylon string slack key, open G, open tunings, slack key, taro patch

Here is another version – this one recorded on a nylon string guitar – of my song “Slippery Slack Key.” Also known as the “Slippery Fish Slack Key,” this is a fast paced and fun to play slack key song that saw various incarnations in my set a few years back. The slippery runs were inspired in part by the fish in the waters off Kailua-Kona. Hope you enjoy.

Fronds in the Wind (alt take)

Songsacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, honolulu, ki ho’alu, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, open G, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, slack key, taro patch

Here is an alternate take of a slack key song I wrote called “Fronds in the Wind.” Hope you enjoy.

Meadows

Songsacoustic guitar, big island, blue sky guitar, Elixir Polyweb, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, ksm141, Mamalahoa Highway, nick borho, open G, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, shure, slack key, taro patch, taylor 310ce

“Meadows” is an original song I wrote during a full moon in Kailua-Kona. I think the song was influenced by the night air and night sounds – the occasional chirp of geckos, the distant sounds of traffic on Mamalahoa Highway and the waves in the ocean. This version was probably recorded within a year of when I wrote it. Hope you enjoy.

Lily (Original Slack Key, 912ce)

Songsacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, ki ho’alu, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, open tunings, original fingerstyle, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, slack key, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert

Here is an original fingerstyle tinged slack key song I wrote a number of years ago called “Lily.” Hope you enjoy.

Fair Wind (K22ce)

Songsacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, fair wind cruise, fingerstyle guitar, Kealakekua Bay, Keauhou Bay, koa taylor, Line Audio CM4, nick borho, Open D, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, taylor grand concert, Taylor K22ce

Here is an early version of my song “Fair Wind,” recorded not long after I wrote it. There is a boat of the same name that ran snorkel / dive cruises to Kealakekua Bay out of Keauhou Bay – still does – and my parents took me and my friends for a cruise on it for a number of my birthdays.

77 Minutes Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Instrumental Music

Songsacoustic guitar, big island, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, hanalei, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, kapaa, kauai, ki ho’alu, love, maui, mauna loa tuning, nick borho, open tunings, paia, peace, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, slack key, taro patch, taylor grand concert, tranquil song

For your listening pleasure here is a collection of Ki Ho’alu a/k/a Hawaiian Slack Key guitar instrumentals. This compilation includes both energetic and relaxed tunes, though I’d say the overall vibe is relaxing. I like to listen to some of those longer “relaxing music” videos while working on the computer and became inspired to produce some videos featuring my own performances. Hope you enjoy.

Wonderful Tonight – Remix

Songsacoustic guitar, apogee one, blue sky guitar, Elixir HD Light, Eric Clapton, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, honolulu, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, Pattie Boyd, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, rosewood taylor, st louis heights, Taylor 400 series, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

Here is a remix of my fingerstyle rendition of Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight. Eric wrote the song about his then-wife Pattie Boyd, who had already inspired great songs from Eric and previous husband George Harrison. This song has been the theme to many a high school prom, and its simple yet tasteful melody has held up over the years. In keeping with that, my arrangement here is fairly straight forward: it doesn’t move around the neck very much or have any unusual chord voicings. Hope you enjoy it.

Nick Borho

Slack Key & Fingerstyle Guitar