Luau Party Planning-Fun Times Hawaiian Style

A Hawaiian luau is an excellent idea for a party. This is the type of party that will be remembered by all who attend for a very long time to come. It is more than just your basic outdoor feast. It is a fun time filled with unusual entertainment, music, food, beverages, decorations and dress. It is a great way to share the tropical island paradise with your friends and family without having to spend a fortune in bringing them there. If you are interested in bringing the Hawaiian islands home I will give you some insight on how to make this possible.

Aloha! Play another song on the ukulele will you? If you have ever been to Hawaii or at least familiar with some of the traditions then you will have heard of the ukulele. This is one of the most popular and traditional instruments on the island. The name ukulele translates as jumping flea. Over one hundred years ago Portuguese sailors introduced the instrument to the native Hawaiians and soon after the ukulele became known as an Hawaiian instrument. Some other popular instruments you will hear being played on the islands are the slack key guitar and the steel guitar. The slack key guitar was first made popular by Elvis Presley in his Blue Hawaii album. These instruments are the sound of Hawaii and you should definitely add them to your luau party planning checklist. A band would be ideal, but expensive, so if your budget is tight go to your local music shop and pick out a variety of Hawaiian tunes.

Although the music for your luau party planning would not be the first item on your party to-do list, it is still a critical item that must be checked off if you are truly interested in delighting your guests with the look and feel of the tropics. The music helps create the atmosphere and this is crucial to your success.

If you are fortunate enough to have a large backyard, then your location for the party is a snap. If you are not so lucky then you will either want to have your party at a friend or relatives house. Luau parties are best if there is ample outdoor space. They are normally large parties, but you could certainly get away with a smaller venue if  your guest list is under 25. Along with your music selections, the decorations will help pull everything together. Whether large or small, if the atmosphere is set properly your luau should be a grand affair.

The reason most luau parties are outdoors is because of the menu and the entertainment. Often times people love to have a pig roast when opting for this type of party. To go with it they may have a band or a DJ, and play many outdoor games. The menu would also include a variety of tropical fruits and beverages. Some popular games to include in your luau party planning might be crab football and body art. Crab football is much like soccer and would require a large area to play in. If you don’t have the yard space then body art would be a fun choice for the kids. You can create prizes for the best work.

Some other things to consider purchasing for your luau are; tiki torches, tropical flower arrangements, candles, rum and mix, luau themed invitations, a limbo pole (for your hula dancer), grass skirts and leis (flowered necklace). By using a combination of the things listed above you will have the means to have a great Hawaiian party. All you must do now is create a workable plan to put everything in order to ensure your parties success.

Famous Hawaiian Musicians

There are three distinctly types of Hawaiian guitar: ukulele, slack key guitar, and steel guitar. The most famous and most notable Hawaiian guitarists did not only play guitar (ukulele, slack key, or steel guitar) par excellence. They also either revolutionized the way a type of guitar is played, or brought Hawaiian music to a wider audience through use of their instrument. They made Hawaiian music transcend from Hawaii to US mainland and beyond.

Hawaii has produced many renowned guitarists, but these are some of the most famous.

Tau Moe Family

Tau Moe was a Samoan who moved with his family to Hawaii when he was 11. He learned to play steel guitar from M.K. Moke, and later married another steel guitar player named Rose. The couple joined a traveling show, performing Hawaiian music to international audience. The couple had two children, Lani and Dorian. When they grew up, Lani and Dorian joined Tau Moe and Rose. The family was dubbed the” Aloha Four.” Tau and Rose lived as far as Germany, Japan, India, and Lebanon. It is even said that they performed for Adolf Hitler during Nazi Germany. Tau Moe and his family helped spread Hawaiian folk music and hapa haole music worldwide.

Gabby Pahinui

Born in Honolulu in 1921, Charles Philip “Gabby” Pahinui was a key in bringing slack key guitar from the “back porch” of Hawaiian homes into a bigger audience. He is also dubbed the “folk hero of the Hawaiian music” for he was a force behind its resurgence.

A musical wiz, Gabby had no formal music education. He played in cafes, restaurants, and night clubs for more than 40 years, and spent 10 years producing albums and holding concerts.

Gabby’s early interest was American jazz. He would later meld jazz with traditional Hawaiian music and slack key guitar, a musical ingenuity he was particularly famous for.

Gabby recorded his first song in his early 40s. Entitled Hi’ilawe, the song became a hit.

The Sons of Hawaii

The Sons of Hawaii consisted of four famous Hawaiian guitar players. Founded by Gabby Pahinui and Eddie Kamae (ukulele), the group also included David Rogers (steel guitar) and Joe Marshall (bass). They released their first album in 1962. In 1960, The Sons of Hawaii was the highest paid Hawaiian group in the state.

Eddie Kamae

Also born in Honolulu, Eddie Kamae was a ukulele virtuoso. He was famous, foremost, for promoting “Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance.” Before founding The Sons of Hawaii with Gabby Pahinui, he played with Ukulele Rascals and Ray Kinney’s Orchestra. Eddie’s unique plucking methods revolutionized the way ukulele is played. This multi-awarded guitarist has also produced films promoting Hawaiian music and culture.

Don Ho

Who could forget Tiny Bubbles and Pearly Shell? Both were as famous as its singer and slack key guitarist, Don Ho. A former member of the United States Air Force, Don Ho had also made appearances in many television shows such as I Dream of Jeannie and The Brady Bunch, and later had his own television show, The Don Ho Show.

Sol Ho’opi

Sol Ho’opi was the most famous steel guitarist of the 20th century. He has also appeared in a number of movies including Waikiki Wedding and some Charlie Chan films.

The Ukulele – A Traditional Hawaiian String Instrument

The ukulele, or uke, is a Hawaiian stringed instrument. This instrument was developed in the late nineteenth century in Hawaii, and was based on a small instrument similar to a guitar brought to the islands by immigrants from Portugal. In particular, three cabinet makers are credited as the inventors of the first ukulele. The Portugese immigrants were known to play folk songs on the dock, where native Hawaiians were impressed not only by the sweet sounds of the instrument, but also the fast fingers of the players. Roughly translated, the name ukulele means jumping flea, a reference to the action of the player’s fingers.

The ukulele’s quick rise in popularity has been credited in part to the ardent support of the instrument by King David Kalakaua, the last king of the Kingdom of Hawai’i. Serving from 1874 until 1891, he was in office when the first ukuleles were played in 1879 and 1880, and soon made them an integral pat of royal performances. Several members of the Hawaiian royalty learned how to play this instrument; it also became popular with Hawaiians from all walks of life, including fishermen and taro farmers. Today, the ukelele is often associated with music from the Hawaiian islands due to its use in popular music originating there.

During the early and mid twentieth century, this exotic instrument also gained popularity on the mainland of the United States. This is due in part to the Panama Pacific International Exposition, which took place in San Francisco throughout 1915 and featured a guitar and ukulele band hailing from Hawaii. The popularity of this exhibit at the Expo launched a fad for Hawaiian-themed music on the mainland during the Jazz Age of the 1920s.

This enjoyment of all things Hawaii would continue following World War II and the resulting popularity of tiki culture. The ukulele fit right in with this midcentury fad. From the 1940s through the 1960s, over 9 million inexpensive plastic ukuleles were produced to satisfy the demand from Tiki aficionados. Today, the ukulele can be found in many musical styles around the world. It is particularly popular in Japan.

The ukulele is known as a relatively inexpensive and portable instrument, making it a favorite of amateur players since the 1920s. On the other end of the spectrum, some of the most valuable ukuleles, made from Hawaiian koa wood prized for its tone and attractive coloration, can cost thousands of dollars.

A subset of the guitar family, most ukuleles have four strings. The sounds emanating from a ukelele depends on its size and how it has been constructed. There are four common sizes of this instrument: baritone, tenor, concert, and soprano. The soprano, the smallest uke, is the original size. In Hawaii, it is known as the standard ukulele. Athough traditional ukuleles have a body shaped like a figure eight, similar to the body of an acoustic guitar, there are also oval ukuleles (sometimes referred to as a ‘pineapple’ shape), boat paddle shaped bodies, and occasionally square bodies, which are often constructed from a wooden cigar box.

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The Roots of Hawaiian Ukulele Music

Hawaiian ukulele music has only recently been given the respect it deserves. During the early part of the 20th Century, the ukulele became a trendy instrument that was associated with romanticized ideas of the Hawaiian Islands. While there may have been some genuine curiosity and respect for the musical heritage of these islands, the ukulele was principally popular at that time because its predisposition to open tunings, easy fingerings and easy chording made it a favorite of musicians who didn’t take learning it all that seriously. There are some truly great Hawaiian musicians, however, and there music was as serious and difficult as was anyone else’s.

Slack Key music is one of the most characteristic forms of Hawaiian ukulele music. The music is associated with the Pacific islands on the whole, but most Americans will be familiar with the types that come from Hawaii. The ukulele, in this type of music, fully sheds its easy-to-play label. This music generally requires the performer to play two parts, at least, on the instrument, rather as one would expect of a classical guitarist. It is one of the most exotic sounding types of music and has been an influence on some popular music.

A discussion about Hawaiian Ukulele music wouldn’t be complete without Don Ho, one of the island’s most famous performers. Ho made the ukulele famous by writing music that was popular enough to make it onto the charts. Instead of the more folksy types of music that most people associated with Hawaiian music, Ho added layers of complexity, a band comprised of very skilled performers and touches of other musical influences, such as jazz. This is the Hawaiian ukulele music with which the most people, by far, will be very familiar and remains one of the most popular today, long after it was recorded.

Playing actual Hawaiian ukulele music requires a real instrument. Ukuleles are easily imitated, but the actual instruments are complex affairs with expensive wood and precision standards of manufacture. A proper ukulele doesn’t have the tinny sound associated with the cheaper models. In fact, there are different voices of ukuleles available and many of them have very lush, deep sounds to them that make them very beautiful to listen to. When the right music is played on them, they truly do invoke the islands and the Pacific, but none of the frivolous tourist versions of either.

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