In conventional guitar tuning strumming produces a discord, but the Hawaiians retuned the strings to make a harmonious chord - a style known as 'slack key tuning'. By the 1930s the steel guitar had been combined with the ukulele, an instrument introduced by the Dutch and so strongly associated with Hawaii, and was being melded into the light-hearted, romantic music of the island popularised in films as diverse as My Little Grass Shack to Elvis' masterpiece Blue Hawaii in 1961. Today the steel guitar is instantly recognisable as Hawaii - it conjures up images of beautiful hula dancers swaying their grass skirts under palm trees as the sun sets behind them on another perfect tropical day. But there are still many seaside restaurants on every Hawaiian island, especially Oahu, that you can hear steel guitar just like Joey Kekuku used to play.
Air is simplest, though some cruise-liners still sail to Hawaii.
The Big Island Slack Key Guitar Festival is held on the third Saturday of every July on the island of Hilo. If you want to know what steel guitar types talk about, The Steel Guitar Forum is the place to start. All text and images 2000 Lonely Planet Publications . All rights reserved.