Tag Archives: taylor grand concert

Wayvvs Crashin

Songsacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, hawaiian guitar, Hawaiian koa, ki ho’alu, koa taylor, Line Audio CM4, nick borho, Open D, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, slack key, taylor grand concert, Taylor K22ce

Here’s an isolated track that I recorded for a collaboration a few years ago. That particular collaboration didn’t end up coming together, so I thought I would release this track as a stand alone piece. Hope you enjoy.

Bron Yr Aur (K22ce)

Songsacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaiian koa, Jimmy Page, koa taylor, Led Zeppelin, nick borho, open C6, open tunings, peaceful guitar, physical graffiti, relaxing guitar, taylor grand concert, Taylor K22ce, Telefunken M60, Welsh Countryside

Bron-Yr-Aur is probably my favorite Led Zeppelin acoustic song. Written by Jimmy Page about a tranquil cottage in the Welsh countryside, the song is meditative and bucolic; it always puts me in a different place whenever I hear it or play it. This version was recorded on my Taylor K22ce.

Bantry Girl’s Lament (912ce)

Songsacoustic guitar, bantry girls lament, blue sky guitar, celtic guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert

The Bantry Girl’s Lament is a traditional Celtic song which dates back to the early 1800’s. The ‘lament’ is for the soldiers who were called off to fight in the Napoleonic wars, but I find the melody is more wistful than maudlin. My fingerstyle version is based on Martin Simpson’s version from his fine album “Leaves of Life.” While Martin used a Drop D tuning for the song (or rather its equivalent on Baritone guitar), I play it here in open G6: (D-G-D-G-B-E). To me, this is a peaceful, meditative song that gives pause. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 912ce (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD Light strings) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

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.

Opihi Moemoe (improv on K22ce)

Songsacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, ear trumpet edwina, Hawaii, hawaiian guitar, Hawaiian koa, koa taylor, nick borho, open G, open tunings, opihi moemoe, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, slack key, taro patch, taylor grand concert, Taylor K22ce

Here’s a recently found recording where I’m improvising some ideas around Leonard Kwan’s classic slack key song Opihi Moemoe. One of the most popular songs in the slack key repertoire, this song has been covered by everyone from Ledward Kaapana to Chet Atkins. Opihi MoeMoe is a fun piece that lends itself well to improvised variations, and everyone seems to bring something a little different to this deceptively simple song. Hope you enjoy.

Bach Cello Suite #1 Prelude (Alt Take)

SongsBach Cello, baroque guitar, blue sky guitar, BWV 1007, classical guitar, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, peaceful guitar, prelude, relaxing guitar, steel string, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert

Here is an alternate take of the Bach Cello Prelude (BWV 1007) on guitar. I fell in love with the Pablo Casals recordings of the Bach cello suites a few years back. The prelude to the first suite is oft adapted for guitar, but it’s still a great piece to play. Hope you enjoy.

Every Breath You Take by The Police

Songsacoustic guitar, Beyerdynamic MC 930, blue sky guitar, every breath you take, Hawaii, honolulu, I’ll be watching you, nick borho, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, st louis heights, sting, Sting fingerstyle guitar, Taylor 412ce, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, The Police (band)

Here is a fingerstyle cover of “Every Breath You Take,” the hypnotic signature tune from The Police. Many stories surround the writing, recording, and subsequent success of the song – for example one interesting tidbit is that Sting apparently wrote the song while sitting at Ian Fleming’s writing desk on his famous Goldeneye estate in Jamaica. With its classic guitar part, “Every Breath” has a mellow / dreamy feel seemingly at odds with its borderline creepy lyrics – though some may find the song is a tad less sinister as an instrumental 🙂 Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Honolulu, Hawai’i 8/25/14.

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.

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.

Nick Borho

Slack Key & Fingerstyle Guitar