In my MUS107 “Music in World Cultures” cable TV class, I tell my students to consider many aspects of experiencing live music, not just the performer, the performance itself, the music (and lyrics), and the choice of instruments.
How you experience music has a lot to do with the space you’re in.
Microphones on stage are not always used to amplify. They can exist to record.
It’s fairly easy to tell if the sound from a musical instrument is amplified or not. You hear the amplification through speakers.
It sounds different when amplified.
Dancing makes me feel alive and free. And it also brings back many fond memories.
In the “mixers” the women line up and wait for their turn to dance with a man who leads in a dance around the room until it’s time to join the queue again. This is Maui on a Saturday evening on the parquet wooden floors of the Omori Dance Studios at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center (MACC). In London, it was the opposite — the women were in short supply at Friday night CEROC dances, and the men had to queue for their turn.
Maui College Choir prepares for spring concerts entitled Earth Songs.
First I met the conductor, Celia Canty. Then I saw the college choir perform. Next I wrote reviews.
Now I accompany the singers, arrange for them to perform, and blog about their upcoming performances.
I asked Celia about her choice of songs for the Spring 2012 concert. “They all have to do with the earth,” she replied in a recent interview. “The songs are from all over the world, and the choir sings them in original language. But ‘earth’ also has another meaning, too — as in planting trees, jasmine flower, etc.”
In the beginning, the choir was a collection of individuals with separate voices and universes. After weeks of rehearsing, they blend into one single sound. It requires hearing oneself and hearing others. Celia Canty, who has perfect pitch, can hear if someone sings out of tune. She says it’s both a blessing and a curse to have this ability to hear absolute pitch, as it’s sometimes called.
When we arranged to have the college cable TV crew film the singers, it was intended as a concert performance with no audience. I would have preferred a video of a rehearsal, for that’s far more interesting than a concert. At a rehearsal, one gets to learn. One gets to see how the raw material becomes refined into something beautiful. See the video below of a rehearsal of the popular Chinese folk song — Jasmine Flower, which Puccini used in the opera Turandot and which I once arranged for harp (PDF) because I loved it so much and wanted to play it.
Watch short video clip: Celia Canty rehearses Maui College Chorus on harp
Performances (all free):
Now in its 6th consecutive year, every Wednesday evening George Kahumoku’s Masters of Slack Key Guitar in Napili gives visitors a dose of the real Hawaiian aloha — a must see.
One early evening in February 2011, I met a Hawaiian man carrying several guitars (in cases) and pushing a small trolley full of sheet music. I pointed to his guitars and asked, “Do you teach guitar?”
“Yes, I teach slack key guitar. Want to learn?”
Slack-key guitar is a genre of guitar playing that is native to Hawaii. Slack refers to the loosening of the tuning pegs such that different open tunings allow a more natural sound.
“No. I don’t have time now. My husband plays the guitar.”
“Tell him to come to my class. Here’s my card. I’m George Kahumoku.”
“He’s not here. He’s on tour on the mainland. A solo guitar tour,” I said.
“He’s a guitarist? A professional?”
He had a strange expression on his face. Later I guessed that he was probably pondering, “How did a professional guitarist come to Maui and I didn’t know about it?”
George Kahumoku, or Uncle George as he is affectionately called, is Hawaii’s Renaissance man. Winner of several Grammy and Hoku Awards, he is a master slack key guitarist, songwriter, world-traveling performer, high school and college teacher, artist and sculptor, storyteller and writer, farmer and entrepreneur. Needless to say, George has been there, done that. He knows many people.
The second time I met George was in a computer training session. Sensing my curiosity about his “Masters of Slack Key Guitar ” concert that Thursday evening of 10th March 2011, he gave me two tickets for the McCoy Theatre at the Maui Arts and Cultural Centre.
The third time we met in the Maui College canteen. I mentioned that I was looking for a piano to practise on. He told me he was teaching that evening and could give me access to a grand piano.
The fourth time we met was that evening, to deliver an autographed copy of a new book that was signed at an event that Robert Bekkers played at. We interrupted his Hawaiian guitar class. “Come to my show at Napili tomorrow,” invited George Kahumoku, Jr. as we exchanged contact details after the class and near his truck.
Napili is a place north of Lahaina and Kāʻanapali on the west side of the Wailuku mountains. The short way to get there is the treacherous and dangerous way on shoulderless roads. The longer way is the safer way south, east, and north. There is no path across or through the Wailuku mountains to reach the west side that is famous for romantic sunsets. We had the lame excuse that we were performing at the Four Seasons in Wailea last Wednesday and could not drive the 40 minutes to see his weekly show at Napili.
When the Four Seasons manager called this past Tuesday afternoon to cancel what would have been our second Wednesday performance, the initial disappointment turned into a blessing in disguise. “Bring your guitar,” George had phoned Robert that Wednesday morning. We drove the hour journey to Napili Kai Beach Resort where the show was to begin at 7:30 pm.
Unlike the McCoy Theatre, the Aloha Theatre at Napili was an outdoor stage inside a huge marquee. Everyone was dressed in colourful Hawaiian shirts and dresses. We were the exception, too formally in black and white. When we arrived at 7:40 pm, a young man was playing a tune I recognised. Enthusiastically I said to George,”Robert can play the duet to this. Who is that?”
“He’s my student,” said George.
The young man was Peter deAquino, who together with his first cousin Garrett Probst of the Ukelele Boyz co-host the weekly shows of George Kahumoku, Jr at Napili.
After George told his stories and played his songs, he invited Robert on stage to play a solo. George then invited Peter deAquino to play Tico Tico on the ukelele and Robert to jam on his concert guitar in accompaniment. Thereafter the special guest of the evening, Jeff Peterson, son of a Hawaiian cowboy on Maui, entertained the guests with his stories of Hawaii and various styles of guitar playing. What went through my mind was this: how nice it is to know your roots so well — to be able to share stories of your grandparents and your roots and use words from your own language to describe your culture and values. Was this the slack key guitar tradition?
There was more to come. The real fun of the evening came after the intermission when the Ukelele Boyz, Sterling Seaton, Jeff Peterson, and George Kahumoku all played together. What a great idea to host a weekly show and invite different guitarists to play! It was sheer joy to watch them banter on stage and jam to various styles: Hawaiian, folk, rock and roll, etc. No words can describe that wonderful evening in Napili. In those 2.5 hours, the performers communicated the essence of a Hawaiian aloha through their stories, conversations, and music.
I concluded that this Wednesday show is a MUST for all visitors to Maui. I was glad that Uncle George insisted we come to this show. Mahalo!
Relevant links:
A solo guitar concert before dinner, before a private viewing of a new commission in a one bedroom apartment in Wailuku on the island of Maui.
There is a grassroots movement of turning one’s home into an art gallery and concert hall. I sincerely believe it. Live music is not confined to grandiose concert halls for 2,000 people. Similarly art, especially contemporary art, that is works of living artists, is not destined for museums, waiting to be curated and valued.
Living composers and artists are creating new works every day.
There are not enough concert halls to hear their works or museums to view their works.
Hospitals, schools, hotels, and restaurants have unleashed their walls for art exhibitions. Similarly concerts are being staged in alternative locations. Venues can serve more than one purpose.
What about one’s home? A home is your castle. Home is where the heart is. It’s the last place of safety and tranquility. Why should you turn it into a concert hall or art gallery? Because you turn a concert and an art exhibition into a very special event —- one with a personal touch that is unique only to you, the host.
Last evening, we hosted a small intimate guitar solo concert in our one bedroom apartment in Maui. Dutch guitarist Robert Bekkers gave a half-hour performance of four pieces he will play in Boston next month. We were privileged to sit so close to hear this private performance.
After dinner, Maui-based artist Frances Ku revealed her latest work — yet untitled piece in watercolour. I had asked her to paint one for our piano guitar duo for years. We are always looking for new original artwork or photographs for our concert invitations, posters, publicity, and CDs.
“Wow!” was the unanimous and simultaneous reaction. She had neither signed or framed it yet — literally hot off the press, still drying.
Could we have invited more people to this private event? Yes and No.
We wanted to. But we did not have enough chairs, wine glasses, and plates.
Next time, we should just ask our guests to bring their own.
It goes to show that a concert and/or an art exhibition can take place whenever there is a will to make it happen. Even in one bedroom apartments — as we have experienced in Amsterdam and now, Maui!
Note: Robert took photos of this painting and immediately made a CD cover for the new CD Live at Duke 2010, pictured below.
Conversations inspire artists. Works of love and labour do also. Living in a place with panoramic views in Maui is another.
“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Thomas Edison
Creativity requires inspiration. It takes a spark to light a fire. Where does that spark come from?
Maybe it’s more like 20% inspiration that fuels the 80% perspiration — the 80-20 rule. One idea may start a chain of events, like the idea of getting a guitarist to go on a solo concert tour by himself. Most of his time is spent practising, preparing CDs for sale, getting concert bookings, making travel arrangements, and doing the actual work of performing and traveling.
Inspiration comes from conversation with people who stimulate us, like the recent gourmet dinner in the home of a composer and his chef-turned-knitter wife. That evening in Kula led to a private viewing and a house concert the following week.
Works of love and labour inspire us to try something of our own or remind us when we were in the “flow.”
Some people move to environments that are conducive to their creativity.
Every morning we wake up to the following scene, when the sun appears above the slope of Haleakala in Maui.
Even from inside the apartment, we can look through the floor to ceiling glass and admire the harbour and the volcano. This is what inspires me to write my blogs. This is what inspires Robert to create the CD covers and concert posters.
Every visitor that has come to our intimate house concerts in Wailuku has marvelled at the spectacular view from the balcony. From here, we can hear the outdoor concerts at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. Elton John is visiting on 24th and 25th of February 2011. Perhaps that’s an occasion to discuss what inspires artists, musicians and other creators — on our balcony.
It’s not just good salesmanship skills of persuasion that got the transaction but also likeability, a concept coined by SEO expert Bob Sommers. Anne Ku concludes that you can be likeable on the phone, on stage, via e-mail, and in an online chat. Likeability is one cause of transactability. It is especially important if you are dealing with strangers.
Yesterday I had an unusual encounter in Wailuku (in Maui). I went to a garage sale with a list of things I wanted to get. Nearly 2 hours later, I bought things that were not on my list.
To use the above items, I’d have to wash them first (except the bronze hooks) and create opportunities to use them. I’d have to find space in my apartment in Hawaii to store them until I find use for them. What I really wanted were book cases and a bed (mattress etc).
What happened? The owner did an amazing sales job on me. She nearly sold me her used water filter container, small kettle, fruit basket, and other things that are not THAT important right now. I am still wondering how I spent $20 and 2 hours on buying things I did not want. I can only conclude that she is a brilliant sales woman.
She was persuasive but not pushy. She seemed well-connected. She was helpful. Most of all, she was likeable. I enjoyed listening to her talk about her life, her 15 years on the island, and her passions, interrupted by her attempts to sell me everything she owned so she could get out of here.
I concluded that her likeability made me vulnerable to transact with her. I became a buyer of her goods without intending to.
Maui-based search engine optimisation (SEO) and communications expert Bob Sommers, also known as the likeability guy, created the concept of likeability. He postulated several laws of likeability which he examines in a series of articles on his website. They are short and easy to read. I will learn tons about how to deal with strangers and get them to like me and engage my piano guitar duo. His article “How to be dislikeable in one easy step” is a must read for everyone who is competent but comes across as being arrogant —- a common misperception of talented but introverted musicians and professors.
People tell me that art, ornaments, and clothes are hardest to sell at yard sales. I remember a golden piano clock I had bought brand new while touring the west coast of England. It was handmade and interesting. As soon as I brought it home, I saw there was no place for it in my Victorian cottage in London. Friends who visited remarked that it was kitschy. At my open house declutter sale, I was surprised that somebody wanted to buy it as a present for his wife.
Dare I conclude the following:
Yard sales, like house concerts, are great ways to exchange local and useful inside information in addition to getting rid of things quickly at a discount.
Part 1: Yard sales, garage sales, moving sales, open house
Newcomers without affiliation or local connections, such as tourists or short-term visitors to Maui, depend on published and public information to get around. They pay the highest prices for the fewest choices. Locals know where to do their shopping, when to avoid the queues, and how to negotiate the best deals. Newcomers don’t have that advantage.
Public and published sources such as newspapers, free ad-based bulletins and magazines, posters, and online websites are not the earliest or most comprehensive broadcasters of information. There is an inverse relationship between information availability and value — the more available it is, the less valuable. I don’t know how true this is, but I’m finding out on this island of Maui.
This morning we woke up early to drive to a Yard Sale. Also known as garage sale, it is a popular American phenomenon but very uncommon in the Netherlands. In the latter, it’s a national activity conducted on one day of the year — Queen’s Birthday on 30th April.
In the USA, people open up their garages or spill over to their front gardens and sell anything or everything, whether they are leaving home or not. You can spend your weekends on a yard sale shopping spree, the way the English do pub crawling on a Friday night. Some people make a habit of visiting yard sales, often queuing with other fanatics before the doors open at 7 am. Some of these folks resell the items at their own yard sales.
Freshly brewed coffee and well-marked signs (mentioned in Craigslist website) lured us to upcountry Wailuku. I had expected a lot more items on sale. We were a day too late. The sale started yesterday morning. Only motorcycles, martial arts tools, DVDs, and other items I did not need were left. While trying in vain to find something I wanted to make the uphill drive worthwhile, I overheard Robert asking about good beaches for surfing. I was curious how the family made a living on the island, given the high cost of living and the downturn in the economy. As nobody else was about, we learned a lot from chatting with the owners who had moved to the island 4 years ago.
We left with a desk lamp for $7 and a snorkeling set (flippers, snorkels, mask, and shoulder bag) for $5.
On the way back, we spotted two boxes on both sides of the road: MOVING SALE. Again, we were too late. Most of the things had gone the day before. But this did not stop us from making conversation with the owner who told us the importance of filtering our water and other local matters.
One can see that a yard sale is not just about the quick disposal of possessions at a discount. It’s also a way for newcomers to find out things that are not mentioned in guidebooks such as shopping tips to save money in a place where it could easily become unaffordable. The average price of petrol at $4 per gallon is considered the highest in the USA, despite being only half of what we used to pay in the Netherlands ($8 per gallon).
Like house concerts, yard sales are places where people gather and chat. Information is exchanged. Communities are built at a very local level. Of course, this would be less likely if the seller is moving and leaving the place for good.
I am reminded of my own attempt to declutter and empty my home in London to move to the Netherlands years ago. I baked cakes and cookies to lure people to visit and stay. Not everything was sold or given away. I got to know my neighbours better. Letting go was the hardest part. Perhaps that’s why I still keep the photos online.
Classical guitarists and their luthiers develop relationships that pianists almost never have with their piano builders. Dutch guitarist Robert Bekkers, who plays a Hihorst concert guitar from Amsterdam, meets American luthier John Decker in Maui and tries his handmade guitars.
A luthier is someone who builds guitars, i.e. a guitar maker or guitar builder. A lute player is someone who plays lutes.
Classical guitarists are very different from pianists in that they are more likely to know their instrument makers than not. I may be biased because of my duo partnership with a classical guitarist who is curious to try new guitars of luthiers he meets.
The builder of his Hilhorst guitar makes only 6 guitars a year, two at a time. Each time he finishes a pair, he invites Robert Bekkers to visit him in his workshop in Amsterdam. Each time, Robert hopes that he has not built a better guitar than the one he bought in 2005, to be assured that he made a good investment. At the same time, he is honoured that he can try out the newborns before they get sent to their final destinations.
Unlike pianos, guitars take less time to build. They are often the result of one person’s dedication —- handmade in a workshop and not manufactured in a factory. The ownership is clear: the luthier designs and creates his own unique product. He usually has a philosophy and approach to making his guitars. Robert’s Amsterdam-based luthier Jeroen Hilhorst, for instance, builds concert guitars, i.e. for the concert stage. Other luthiers follow the tradition that has passed down from father to son, keeping the shape, size, feel, and sound as close to the original concept of a guitar as possible.
Recently I discovered the Guitar Master Works website of Maui-based luthier John Decker. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a Rotary Club of Maui Thursday luncheon and quickly struck up a conversation about guitar building and book publishing. Dr John A. Decker, Jr was not born a guitar builder but became one after working in different fields. The story of how he decided to build guitars is a fascinating one.
We followed John to his workshop one Wednesday afternoon after an interesting conversation over an enjoyable lunch in Cafe O’Lei in Wailuku. John’s philosophy to building graphite guitars was influenced by the need to have an instrument that could withstand changing and harsh outdoor conditions. [Readers can also take a virtual tour of John’s workshop.]
As a physicist, Dr Decker addressed the challenges of building a guitar that could last in humid, tropical climates. Many characteristics of the guitar are results of compromises: weight vs the thickness of the soundboard, stiffness of the neck, kind of wood used, etc. As an entrepreneur, Decker experimented with different designs and construction. The guitars on display in his office were all different, as Robert found out in the ensuing hour.
Four days after his visit, Robert Bekkers reflects. “These handmade guitars of John Decker I tried recently have a very even sound — no unwanted resonances or dominant strings. Because of the sandwiched soundboard, there’s no bracing. Apparently there’s less impact of the tropical climate on the wood. The inlays are remarkable. Beautiful local woods (like koa) used — and that one which the neck made of hardwood felt as thin as paper. Very comfortable. The cover on the guitar head is something I’ve never seen before — a mermaid-like figure that’s iconic of the Hawaiian islands.”
Concert Blog 