The Hawaiian Steel Guitar and Its Great Hawaiian Musicians

Rating:
Summary: An excellent source of information on Hawaiian steel guitar.
Review: Sponsored by the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association, The Hawaiian Steel Guitar (and its great Hawaiian Musicians), edited and compiled by Lorene Ruymar, stands as the ultimate reference work for people interested in the Hawaiian steel guitar, much in the same way as Bob Brozman's "The History and Artistry of National Resonator Instruments". In this book Lorene Ruymar has condensed the 100 year history of this quintessential Hawaiian instrument into 200 pages. Packed with photographs, drawings and reprints of various types, this book gives you a lot of information. Contributions are included from over 70 different people, including Jerry Byrd, Bob Brozman, Mike Perlowin, and many others.

There are seven chapters in this book, with each chapter containing several articles by various authors. Chapter 1 discusses the origin of the steel guitar. Chapter 2 documents the steel guitar's spread throughout the world, from Sweden to Tonga, with special mention of the steel guitar's acceptance into other forms of American music such as blues and country music. Chapter 3 discusses the various mainland schools, cultural influences and instruction methods. Chapter 4 is devoted to short biographies of many steel guitarists around the world. Chapter 5 covers the physical development of the steel guitar, including acoustic Hawaiian guitars, resonator guitars, lap steels, table steels, and pedal steel guitars. This chapter contains many photographs of various steel guitar models, both acoustic and electric. Chapter 6 discusses the many playing techniques developed over the years, and includes a very complete list of common steel guitar tunings. Chapter 7 is all about the Hawaiian guitar today.

This is a wonderful resource and good reading for the steel guitar fan. You can't miss the cover, with a painting of Sol Ho'opi'i holding a National tricone guitar.