CULTURE OF MUSIC HAWAII

Early Hawaiian music consisted of chants using only two or three notes. Later, melodies became more elaborate, using as many notes as in most Western European music. Some chants go with dances, and some are to be performed without dance. Today, of course, Hawaii is no stranger to Western popular music and art music, which is studied in schools and universities there and performed by professional Hawaiian symphony orchestras. But there is now an increased interest in preserving the beauty and grace of Hawaiian dance, chant, and instruments among Hawaiians.

The Hawaiian language uses only the consonants H, K, L, M, N, P, and W, which are pronounced as we do in English . This makes Hawaiian song lyrics sound very different from English song lyrics, in which vowels are run together.

Native Hawaiian instruments are generally constructed from natural materials found in the island environment, such as seashells, bamboo, logs, gourds, coconut shells, animal skins and teeth, and rocks. The following lists some Hawaiian instruments:

• The conch shell is a large seashell played like a ceremonial fanfare trumpet. When blown strongly, it can be heard for miles
• A wooden drum is made from a section of hollowed-out coconut tree trunk, with shark skin for a drum head. The drummer plays it with one or both hands.
• Hollow bamboo poles are open at the top and closed at the bottom. Each player pounds two pipes of different lengths on a mat or the ground.
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