HIMELE and Ke Kula Mele to Offer Symposium

April 24, 2024 • Addison Ching • Education and Training

HIMELE and Ke Kula Mele School of Hawaiian Music will offer a steel guitar symposium this fall.

The 2024 Northern California Steel Guitar Symposium will be a one-day only workshop designed for beginners and/or existing steel guitarists who have some experience on the steel guitar and would like to take their playing to the next level by learning new pieces and exploring practice strategies.

The symposium will be offered on Sunday, September 29, 2024, at the Odd Fellows Hall in Cupertino, California. The symposium will follow the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association 2024 Festival which is scheduled for September 26-28.

Three separate classes will be offered by Ke Kula Mele director Alan Akaka. Classes will be offered so that participants can take advantage of all three if they so choose.

The Starter Class will work on basic technique (straight bar and forward slants), palm blocking, p-tahs, production of better tone, and TAB reading. Students simply need to bring a steel guitar and mini amp even if they don't know how to play it.

Students from a previous Northern California Steel Guitar Symposium. PC-Alan Akaka

The SG Symposium will work on techniques the steel guitar is known for including glissandos, lilting voice and rich tones. The class will work on two songs and explore techniques for transforming notes into "music".

The SG Pa‘ani & Fill class is designed for the steel guitarist in a band or kanikapila who is expected to lead the group into a song, the next chord, fills gaps between music phrases and play an instrumental or pa'ani when instructed. Various background fills and ideas for improvising melodies will be introduced.

Class materials will be provided for all three sessions. Each session is limited to 20 participants.

Tuition for the Starter Class and the SG Symposium class are $100 for each class. Tuition for the SG Pa‘ani & Fill Class is $150.

The Starter Class can be combined with either the SG Symposium Class or the SG Pa‘ani & Fill Class for $225.

All three classes may be combined for $300.

A public kanikapila will be presented following the last class. Non-student participants will be assessed a $5 participation fee to offset the cost of the venue.

Additional symposium details and registration information can be obtained from the symposium website.