Hawaiian Vocal Music Styles
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TobyChadwickHawaiian Vocal Music Styles
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TobyChadwickMusc 351 Lecture 2
Chant and style of Vocal Music
There is usually a musical outlook and a cultural outlook in this class.
HawaiI with the role of vocal music, traditional music.
Two Hawaiian terms Mana spiritual power the divine power instilled in every person and Kapu
refers to Tapu , restricted or sacred.
The Mana and kapu are in the texts. only some chants could be performed by chiefs/leader
Logogenic means originating from the word
Looking at terminologies for music in Hawaii.
- Kahiko meaning ancient/traditional
- auana meaning more contemporary/modern style
With Kahiko we have two distinctive songs
Mele meaning song/poetry/music/words
Mele oli music without dance
Mele hula music with dance
Listening to Kuluwaimaka, b 1845.
The contour of the melody is rather flat usually a interval minor 3rd
Usually having 2-3 pitches. The rhythm comes from the mele, no pulse/meter
The musical style is geared toward you understanding the text. CONVEYANCE of POETRY
Expression in olioli or mele oli
Hawaiians have over 40 terms for what you do with your voice. (what you do with your voice)
Listening to Olioli ()
It is like heightened speech.
There are four basic styles of chants (singing style).
Olioli a very general style that encapsulates what we have talked about (previously)
Kepakepa is close to speech, like a rap. (texts are so important they have to remove music and
dance chanting there genealogies)
Ho ae ae used for romance, more expressive slower melody in the chant. Love songs
Ho ouweuwe used for tangis, some cases stylised to sound like crying.
Function and subject content (with text)
Mele pule prayer chants
Mele inoa name chants
Mele pana place chants
Mele mai gentials chant
Mela Hula -structured movement or dance is added in.
Looking at Kawika David king David Kalakawa. A mela inoa
Listening to the Kawika done as a hula. Performed by Vicki a master hula
The ehe, is a vocabol (meaningless) but they add expression
It was composed in 1880, making use of popular song in the time, which was couplets.
There are less vocal techniques.
The logogenic is also related with the dance.
Listening to Kawika by the brothers cazimero
Mark Kealii Hoomalu trying to reach young people with his music, making it hipper.
Kaona the hidden meaning in the text
Thinking about the boundaries and in place of tradition.
Mahua two genders. (a thing prior to colonisation)
In places of like French Polynesia, or cook islands we do not have the old chants etc, they have
been abandoned
Lalau no breaks, continual. (like kepakepa), also like the Maori waiata, Moteatea
Maori waiata
Very similar mana important, it could be brought to somebody from a good performance or taken
away from a bad performance.
Idea of oral tradition and how the elders could learn very quickly using that technique.
Moteatea usually laments usually something in the first line which is the composer experiencing
something that brings back the memories
Karakia usually spoken, sometime like kepakepa
Karanga a welcoming, a call onto Maerai, performed by females who arent pregnant or on their
period. The feeling in the voice, is important speaking about the spirit involved with the tone and
her posture.