The Live Ukulele Podcast

"Kōkeʻe" - Kani Ka Pila Classics: ʻŌlelo Breakdown


Listen Later

Pronouncing the Hawaiian language correctly is one of the many important ways foreigners should respect the people, place, and culture of Hawaiʻi. In this episode, I walk through the basic pronunciation of Reverend Dennis Kamakahi's classic song, "Kōkeʻe."

Follow along with the words here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XsKAZqHEMVpDwDKFnSXGCxOFxJEwqwIb/view

This Kani Ka Pila Classics series on The Live ʻUkulele Podcast aims to provide malihini a better understanding of the lyrics to popular ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi kani ka pila songs. Since these songs are enthusiastically sung and strummed more often than others, they're also unknowingly mispronounced by more people.

By ensuring you're saying the words correctly, you preserve the meaning of a song, demonstrate your effort to honor the language, and bring a greater depth to your presentation of Hawaiian music that can be both felt and heard.

Because I am poʻe haole (caucasian) in Hawaiʻi who plays Hawaiian songs and has the privilege of playing ʻukulele for - and with - Hawaiians, I am extremely anal about using the correct pronunciation. These episodes are a small way that I can give back to the Hawaiian music scene by educating fellow malihini.

I have studied Hawaiian at UH Maui with Leinoa Kong and Kīʻope Raymond, and later with Lanakila Mangauil, Kaliko Beamer-Trapp, and others. While I am not a fluent speaker, I am certainly versed enough to assist other English-first speakers in avoiding the main pitfalls of sung Hawaiian.

Resources:

-Hakalama practice: https://oleloonline.com/0404p-hakalama-practice/

-Ka Alala with Malu States: https://www.kaalala.com/

-Malu on pronouncing "Hawaiʻi": https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ky8xgn7appQ

Support the show

Join my newsletter! It's free and I won't spam you. Get updates on new lessons and access to exclusive resources: https://liveukulele.com/signup/

Support the podcast:

  • Become a supporting member: https://liveukulele.com/register/supporting-member/?coupon=SUPPORT5
  • Buy video lessons or a book: https://liveukulele.com/store/
  • Use my Sweetwater affiliate link next time you need to buy some gear! https://sweetwater.sjv.io/9WbER0.

Gear I use to create this podcast: https://liveukulele.com/about/my-gear/#recording

CREDITS
- Hosted, produced, edited, and mixed by Brad Bordessa
- Theme music by Brad Bordessa: "Fallout," "Eat You," and "Sister's Got a Gun" available on https://bradbordessa.bandcamp.com/

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Live Ukulele PodcastBy Brad Bordessa

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

34 ratings


More shows like The Live Ukulele Podcast

View all
The Book Review by The New York Times

The Book Review

3,851 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,489 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,071 Listeners

The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast by The Fretboard Journal

The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast

347 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,147 Listeners

Ukulele Underground Podcast by Ukulele Underground

Ukulele Underground Podcast

38 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,337 Listeners

Revisionist History by Pushkin Industries

Revisionist History

59,032 Listeners

The joe gardener Show - Organic Gardening - Vegetable Gardening - Expert Garden Advice From Joe Lamp'l by Joe Lamp'l

The joe gardener Show - Organic Gardening - Vegetable Gardening - Expert Garden Advice From Joe Lamp'l

1,844 Listeners

Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda by Alan Alda

Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

3,734 Listeners

Strong Songs by Kirk Hamilton

Strong Songs

1,955 Listeners

Ukulele Stories by Cameron Murray aka KAMUKE

Ukulele Stories

3 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

12,964 Listeners

The Ukulele Podcast by John Atkins

The Ukulele Podcast

13 Listeners

Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus by Lemonada Media

Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

10,604 Listeners