Tag Archives: fingerstyle guitar

Punahele – Ray Kane

Songsacoustic guitar, altered tuning, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, g wahine tuning, Hawaii, ki ho’alu, nanakuli, open tunings, peaceful guitar music, punahele, Ray Kane, Raymond Kane, relaxing music, rosewood taylor, slack key, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

Here is another Ray Kane cover – this time his classic song Punahele. According to the Dancing Cat liner notes, Punahele (“favorite” or “pet”) came to Ray “one night in 1938 at Zablan’s Beach in Nanakuli. ‘Back in those days there were no cars, it was pitch black. So I sit there in the dark in the nice cool breeze and I hear the waves bouncing on the sand and see the moonlight flicker on the water. It inspired me, something so nice. So mellow. That’s what gave me my inspiration.’”
Similar to other songs Ray composed on the beach (Keiki Slack Key for example), this mellow laid back songs exemplifies Ray’s nahenahe approach that to me represents the archetype of ‘old style’ slack key. Like Keiki Slack Key, Punahele is one of the first slack key songs I learned, and has stayed on my setlists ever since. I recently improvised a few new licks into the song, and recorded a half dozen takes – some 5-6 minutes long. I think this short three and a quarter minute version gets the point across though. Hope you enjoy.

Home Abroad – Slide Guitar

Songsacoustic guitar, altered tunings, big island, blues slide, Elixir strings, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, kona coffee, Open D, Open E, open tunings, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, slide guitar, taylor guitars, thumbpicks

From the vaults, here is a slide guitar song I wrote called Home Abroad. I used to play a fair amount of slide guitar, but I don’t play it much anymore. I figured I’d either have to go all in on the slide or not, but couldn’t just dabble with it – so I decided to work on other areas instead. This is a fun leftover from when I dabbled with it though. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 3/18/09.

Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór

Songsacoustic guitar, altered tuning, celtic guitar, fiddle tunes guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, kona, Martin Simpson, O’Carolan songs, Open D, open tunings, Pierre Bensusan, relaxing music, rosewood taylor, slack key, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, Tony McManus, tranquil song, Turlough O’Carolan

Here is my arrangement of Si Bheag, Si Mhor (Little Fairy, Big Fairy), reportedly the first song composed by famous 17th century bard Turlough O’Carolan. This version of the song is played a little on the slower side of what you normally hear, but I may record a slightly more uptempo version later on. I think the song works well both ways to be honest, one of the many interesting things about it. Hope you enjoy.

Glass Ball Slack Key / Chicken in the Straw

Songs2008, brittni paiva, chicken in the straw, dancing cat, fingerstyle guitar, fingerstyle ukulele, glass ball slack key, Hawaii, Holualoa, ka’apana, Koaloha Pineapple Soprano Uke, kona coffee, kona hawaii, led kaapana, led live, ledward, Pineapple Sunday, slack key guitar, turkey in the straw

From the vaults, Glass Ball Slack Key is a favorite chestnut (or kukui nut) of uke players throughout the islands. Also known as “Chicken in the Straw” or “Turkey in the Straw” in Hawai’i (though different from the Bluegrass / fiddle song), this is a fun little ditty that is sure to please aunty or uncle. I learned this song watching and listening to the great Led Ka’apana (it’s also on the classic Led Live CD). Many other ukulele players have covered the song over the years as well. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 3/6/08.

Holualoa Blues

Songsblues guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Holualoa, kona coffee, kona hawaii, open g tuning, slack key guitar, taro patch, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, taylor guitars

From the vaults, here is a demo version of my tune Holualoa Blues. This song is primarily a blues piece, but with some slack key influence as well. Done in open G / taro patch tuning. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 10/11/07.

Banks of the Ohio – Thumbpick / Bluegrass

Songsacoustic guitar, banks of the ohio, berlin, Bill Monroe, bluegrass, boutique mics, darlin’ say that you’ll be mine, ear trumpet labs, edwina, Elixir HD Light, Fingerstyle, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, grand concert, guitar, large diaphragm condenser microphone, Malachi Graham, Neumann TLM 102, oregon, portland, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor guitars, thumbpicks

Here is my Clarence White inspired arrangement of the Bluegrass classic, “Banks of the Ohio,” played fingerstyle with a thumbpick (rather than flatpicked or cross-picked).

Cannonball Rag – Ukulele Cover

Songs2009, Cannonball Rag, fingerstyle guitar, fingerstyle ukulele, Hawaii, Holualoa, Koaloha Conert Uke, Merle Travis, ukulele

From the vaults, here is a version of Cannonball Rag I improvised on the uke one day back in ’09. The uke is a little out of tune, but sometimes it’s hard to get those friction pegs to stick. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 2/3/09.

In a Little While – U2

Songs2000, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Bono, classic rock, fingerstyle guitar, instrumental guitar cover, Larry Mullen Jr, relaxing guitar. Rode nt-5, Taylor 310, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, taylor guitars, The Edge, US

Here is a demo version of my arrangement of the U2 song “In a Little While,” from 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind. This was recorded a few years back when I was using dreadnaught size Taylors, before I got hip to their smaller, more comfortable guitars. The mix is a bit more compressed than what I’ve been doing lately, but it gets the job done. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded at Goldsmith Studios in October, 2011.

Every Breath You Take – The Police / Sting

Songs1983, andy summers, classic rock, every breath you take, every move you make, fingerstyle guitar, instrumental guitar cover, relaxing guitar. Rode nt-5, sting, Taylor 310, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, taylor guitars, the police

Here is a demo version of my arrangement of The Police song “Every Breath You Take” I recorded a few years back. I was using dreadnaught size Taylors back then and the mix is a bit more compressed than what I’ve been doing lately, but I think it works for this song. Weren’t The Police great? Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in October, 2011.

Plaid Blues (Acoustic Blues Improv)

Songsacoustic blues, acoustic guitar, blues guitar, blues improv, fingerstyle blues, fingerstyle guitar, Taylor 412ce-R

This little improv bit, dubbed Plaid Blues, was recorded between takes of another song I was working on and needed a break from. Sometimes it’s good to switch gears while recording (especially when recording at home) and work on another song or just do some improvisation and see what comes out. You may not always get a polished result, but you can return to working again on whatever it is you took a break from with a refreshed feeling.

Nick Borho

Slack Key & Fingerstyle Guitar