It's like trying to describe the color green to somebody who hasn't seen it by saying that it's not blue and not yellow in the rainbow, but someplace in between. The sound is very familiar in some ways and yet very unique as well. It comes from deep feelings. It has tremendous feelings of the moment and yet of nostalgia. It speaks in a language all its own, a language of longing, of happiness, of sensitivity and strength.
Slack key is so full of aloha , of goodwill.
Like the musicians say, to play slack key properly, it has to come from the heart. It's such an individual thing, and no two people play alike. Without the individuals, there wouldn't be traditions. We have also recorded acoustic steel guitar in duets with slack key, a combination which has never been done on record. The first recording was of the late Barney Isaacs on acoustic steel with George Kuo on slack key.