Aloha Music Camp, February, 2012

For a variety of reasons, I signed up for a week of Hawaiian cultural immersion called Aloha Music Camp.  The members of the famous Beamer family were the main teachers, accompanied by other famous musicians and teachers (Kumu).   I was a student (Haumana).

I had no idea who or how many would be at this camp.  It could have been kids.  It could have been all Hawaiian natives.  I expected the students to be really good musicians of all ages who wanted to mingle with the best and mostly lived in Hawaii somewhere.  The tuition was $1,400.00 for the week, which included lunch and dinner and all classes and evening concerts.  Because of the caliber of teaching talent, I thought this was a bargain.  I suggested it to some island friends, however, and they thought the price was high and they couldn’t attend for the whole week.  I was there from 9:00am to 10:00pm daily Monday through Friday.

To my surprise, Sunday afternoon, after the SuperBowl, I was one of about 60 haoli adults, average age about 60, from Canada, the US, many from California.  I met around six people from this island and maybe a couple more from other islands.  

The first night the Kumu talked about their classes and what they hoped to achieve.  We were asked to go to the same class at the same time each day.  There were four class times, about 1 ¼ hour each.

Kaliko with wife Joy

Hawaiian language was my first session.  It was taught by Kaliko Beamer-Trapp.  Kaliko is related to the famous Trapp family.  He won a scholarship to Hawaii and became beloved by the Beamer family and they adopted him.  He speaks fluent Hawaiian.  He is so proficient; he is on the official committee that creates Hawaiian words for new American words.  He has an online website where you can learn Hawaiian language.  We learned the alphabet and how to pronounce it.  Then we learned how to pronounce words in general.  Later we learned “ka” and “ke” which mean “the”.  We also learned how to describe something, which you do by adding descriptive words after the “thing” you are describing.  Then each day we learned some songs in Hawaiian where we had to pronounce correctly and learn the meanings from the songs.  He passed out flash cards as well for some common things.  It was an introduction, the purpose being for us to be inspired to learn more on our own, which I hope to do.

My second session was also taught by Kaliko which was beginning ukulele.  We learned chords in the key of C and later in the key of G.  We practiced the chords by singing the songs we had in the language class.  I played ukulele 50 years ago when I was a lifeguard one year.  One lady had never picked up a ukulele in her life and took the class.  It seemed like just two of us were true beginners.  The rest of the class just wanted another ukulele class.  This was nice because we could hear how it should really sound from the experienced players.

I did not have a ukulele to use for the class.  They offered the use of a very inexpensive one for the week.  There were two others left by “Jim” to use.  Carol, a lady I hung out with later, picked out a beautiful koa ukulele from Jim.  I was immediately dazzled by the beautiful wood tones and the extra shiny surface that brought out the wood grain even more. She said it sounded lovely.  I couldn’t wait to hold that ukulele.  But Carol had it.  At the end of the session, she put it back in the case and gave it back to Jim saying she enjoyed playing it, but she preferred her Kohala brand uke.  A local ukulele player I met named Cheryl had a uke made by a well know luthier, Dennis Lake.  Dennis was also the teacher for the ukulele making class. 

Later, I found Jim and asked him about the koa ukulele.  He said he is a dealer for this manufacturer, Kanileʻa  and was just in Oahu visiting the factory and picked out three to sell at the camp.  Naturally I bought the koa uke from him.  I call it Hinuhinu which means shiny.

Konabob

At lunch I found some ladies who looked interesting and sat with them.  It turns out they have been coming to this camp for years.  They remembered it when it was held on Molokai.  They talked about the former manager, Mark, whom they didn’t like, and how they like Konabob, the new manager.  They said they came because Herb Ohta Jr. was the ukulele instructor.  Herb does not sing, so he uses more interesting strumming and finds melodies to play, not just chords.  He has several instrumental recordings and is in high demand for performances.  I sat with him at dinner once.

After lunch the session I took was beginning hula with Maunalani Beamer, Keola’s wife.  She is the spirit of Aloha in a woman’s body.  I love her smile and her hula style and her personality.  Everyone was still sort of mourning the death of Auntie Nona Beamer, the Mother of Keola, who taught hula and Hawaiian culture and wrote songs and stories.  She was the life blood of the camp.  To me, Maunalani was what I imagined Nona was like.  She explained that the Beamer style of hula was 1,2,3,4 – step, step, step, step.  Whereas many other hula teachers teach step, step, step, touch.  The main movement is called the leva.  By lifting your foot, then the other, and moving your hip as you lift, you create the swaying hips of the hula.  It seems simple, but was actually quite difficult.  My one hip went one way, but the other did something else when it was its turn.  We learned how to change direction and the names of the directions, and some other simple steps, like pointing your toe one after another.  Your hands are a whole other dimension.  She kept it simple by saying you cupped your hands like holding water, and if you moved your fingers in that beautiful graceful way, it is as if you were gently touching sand.  I was exhausted after the first day of this, so I did not take the next hula class taught by Uluwehi Guerroro, a very famous hula teacher, dancer, singer and accompanist.  He also has recorded a couple CD’s.

You could also take Beginning or Advanced slack key guitar from Keola Beamer.  Ozzie Kotani taught Intermediate Slack Key.

Dr. Sam blessing the ti leaves

The last class of the day became ti leaf sandal making.  Monday we drove to a coffee farm in Holualoa and picked ti leaves after Dr. Sam Gon, our instructor, blessed the leaves with a chant.  Dr. Sam was also the Oli teacher.  Oli means chant.  Chants are performed ceremonially often in Hawaii.  It is almost like a song.

My sandals

Dr. Sam weaving

 

Auntie Elaine

The last class was over about 4:30pm and dinner didn’t start until 6:00.  Since David and I only have one car, I hung out in the hotel lobby the rest of the day.  Luckily, musicians can’t sit around doing nothing.  Usually they got together in the lobby in a circle and played Hawaiian songs.  Alan Akaka, the steel guitar teacher, usually led the gathering, called a Kanikapila.  Auntie Elaine was there playing her uke with long beautifully manicured nails.  A Hawaiian song would be suggested, then the musical key would be decided, then everyone would begin to play and sing.  Since it was a big group, at least someone could remember the words to the song.  Most everyone seemed to know the tune.  If you are experienced, and you know the key in which the song is played, you can play most anything even if you have never heard it.  At this point, since I barely knew three chords, I was content and honored to watch and listen.  I think this part of the day was the most fun for me. Alan would usually “talk story” between each song.  “Talk story” is telling a personal story about how you learned the song or where it came.  Alan, Kaliko and Keola were particularly good at this.

Lobby Kanikapila with Alan Akaka

During dinner I tried to sit with interesting looking people and find out who might actually live on island that I could get to know.  Besides these folks I will talk about later, I met several others who had never attended camp like me.  One was a luthier.  One had been playing banjo professionally for 30 years and took steel guitar for the first time.  One had been playing slack key guitar for years and years all by himself.  There were several couples.  The man usually took an instrumental class and the wives took hula or lei making.  I really admired the people who took an interest in a new instrument for them.  There must be nothing like learning slack key guitar from Keola Beamer, who has two songs on the Descendants’ soundtrack.  A couple of the teachers have grammy awards.  I forget which ones.  I particularly enjoyed meeting Madeleine Brandli, a recorded ukulele musician in her own right, who was a student at the camp.

Keola Beamer

Monday night after dinner the teachers gave a concert.  Tuesday evening was open mike.  I skipped this to go home and practice my new ukulele.  I was exhausted as well.  Wednesday night they played the movie being made about the life of Nona Beamer.  Thursday was the Beamer family concert night. 

Friday night was the night everyone had to perform what they learned in their classes.  I had two performances.  Then I discovered that my ti leaf sandals were given an oli chant blessing so I had to stand on stage again.  Our hula class performed the song Pupu Hinuhinu which was written by Nona Beamer.  It means shiny shell and is a lullaby.  I just loved the music and the hula that went with it.  I can play it and sing it on my ukulele now.   The Hawaiian language class and the beginning ukulele class were combined into one performance song:  Wahine ʻIlikea.  The language class sang and the uke class played.  I was in the back row playing chords, hopefully the right ones.  It was fortunate that so many experienced players were in our beginning class.  Someone looked at me funny once, maybe because I have a hard time strumming.  I don’t want to strum too loudly because my chord fingers don’t always hit the strings correctly in time for the strum.  Not pretty.

Saturday morning was the closing ceremony.  We had lots of speeches, chants, lei presenting, and even a communion of sorts when we all shared a plate of Hawaiian sweet potato and taro.  Of course we all sang Hawaiʻi Aloha, the state song.  This song will have to be the first one I learn because it is always sung at the end of just about any occasion.  Everyone holds hands in a circle during the song and raise them together at the end.

We all said our goodbye’s and got addresses and phone numbers and took pictures.  The next camp is scheduled for July 1 to 5 here in Keauhou.  I get a $500 discount on tuition if I recommend someone new and they attend, so now is your opportunity!  David bought steel guitar picks and bar from Alan Akaka before he left, so I may get a discount for him.  My dilemma will be whether or not I am ready to take anything but beginning ukulele again.   

Follow through so far consists of the Tuesday ukulele class held in the lobby of the Keauhou Beach Resort, the Wednesday night Kanikapila there, Thursday morning smaller Kanikapila with Alan, and practice on my own.  I just learned of a new class on Fridays.  I have to keep those calluses on the tips of my left hand.  The chords I know I can find and play, so far.  However, the list of chords is endless.  I bought a book today that has three different choices for F, so that if I can’t reach the strings one way, hopefully I can find another way to play the chord.  I’ve already figured out that I can play the chords I know and skip the ones I don’t.

Kona Kanikapila

Wednesday night from 6 to 8 there was a Kona Kanikapila.  Over 90 musicians gathered in a large circle and played Hawaiian songs, mostly from the book "He Mele Aloha".  It was quite inspiring.  I am looking forward to participating Wednesday evenings, even though I haven’t even heard most of the songs, let alone know how to play or sing them.  There is a lot of joy in that room.

Hinuhinu