NahenaheNet Essays
Aloha mai kakou....Some people think I'm a Hawaiian music purist. I'm not. Sure, I love traditional Hawaiian music, from old-time performers like Gabby and Auntie Genoa through today's standard-bearers like the Brothers Cazimero, Ho'okena, and Kaipo Hale. Nothing gives me chicken-skin like listening to a master chanter like Keali'i Reichel, Pua Kanahele, Kalena Silva, or Kalani Akana. But I also like rock, jazz, fusion, contemporary instrumentals, and other forms of music. Heck, I love the Beach Boys. When I attended the Guitar Institute in LA back in the 80s, I went from playing Van Halen covers in the morning, jazz standards in the afternoon, and some of the most bizarre jazz-rock fusion you ever heard at night. There was not too much Hawaiian music happening on Hollywood Boulevard back then, and to be perfectly honest I really didn't think about Hawaiian music much while I was there.
I can take it when contemporary Hawaiian acts take traditional songs and try to make them a bit more palatable to today's younger generation. I can take it, to some degree, though CoverMania is still one of my pet peeves. I can handle a hip-hop or Jawaiian beat, and modulations. I can even tolerate a change of time signature, though that's not heard too often.The one thing I absolutely, positively refuse to tolerate, is to listen to someone butcher the lyrics of a Hawaiian song, be it a standard or an original song.
Unfortunately too many local recording artists are indifferent or just plain lazy when it comes to doing their homework. I must admit I was guilty of this when I was younger. I'd listen to a song, and even though I didn't understand Hawaiian, I would transcribe phonetically what I heard on recordings. There are two problems with this. First, you can't always trust your ears. Secondly, how do you know the artist you are listening to knows what they are singing?
Its a little easier today, there are many more resources for people wanting to learn the language, or even just check to make sure that they have the right lyrics and are pronoucing the words correctly. One vowel mispronounced can make a huge difference! A glaring example of this is a recent remake of Reverend Dennis Kamakahi's beautiful Koke'e. Nice contemporary beat, even high school kids who don't normally listen to Hawaiian music might like it. However, in one verse the artist (who shall remain nameless) sings "...i ka noe po'ae'ae" instead of "i ka noe po'ai'ai." What's the difference? The difference between the beautiful encircling of clouds on top of a mountain, and an armpit.
One other example of "Hawaiian language abuse" occurs when someone goes and takes a year or two of Hawaiian language classes at a Community College, maybe a night class at KS/BE, and thinks they are now qualified to write Hawaiian songs. Stop! Think! A large number of the songs that we consider classics and traditional songs today were written by people who spoke Hawaiian as their first and primary language. There are very few among us that fit into that category, and I'm not one of them. Think about the people today that write beautiful Hawaiian songs, like Larry Kimura, Keali'i Reichel, Kawai Cockett, Manu Boyd, Robert Cazimero, Kaipo Hale, Puakea Nogelmeier, Ki'ope Raymond, Bill Panui, Rev. Kamakahi, Keao NeSmith, Ilei Beniamina and Haunani Apoliona, just to name a few. Though only a few are native speakers, all have been speaking the language and composing for years. Their depth in the language goes beyond what they learned in a classroom or read in a book.
This is not meant to discourage people from learning to be haku mele. I hope that this encourages those of you who are striving for this lofty position to do your homework. I am. I recently pulled out a few compositions that I wrote as a second-year Hawaiian language student on Maui. They were so bad I couldn't even clean them up. It was straight to the trash can and back to the drawing board. My more recent work has been getting better, though I still consult with more seasoned composers before I think of showing the mele to anyone else or plug in my tape recorder. I have yet to compose a song that did not contain what could have been very embarrasing mistakes that I overlooked, and it took inspection by a respected kumu and haku mele to bring them to my attention. This process, called paka, is very important. I know people who have been writing songs for years who still show their mele to someone else before recording it, or giving it to someone else to record.
There are too many knowledgeable people out there for recording artists to continually brutalize the language. Call the Hawaiian Language department at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, UH-Hilo, or any of the community colleges throughout the state. Keali'i Reichel and Puakea Nogelmeier have started a program with the 'Ahahui 'Olelo Hawai'i where they will assist a recording artist or composer. They will make sure that you are pronouncing the Hawaiian language correctly, and can assist aspiring haku mele with their compositions. It's not free, but considering that what you put on CD will last a few hundred years, its a worthwhile investment. Do the right thing, do your homework before you record that song!
The 'Ahahui 'Olelo Hawai'i can be reached via email at ahahui@aloha.net.
'O au me ka 'oia'i'o,
Keola
Feedback to keola@maui.com.