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He Mele Aloha: A Hawaiian Songbook
WILCOX, Carol, Kimo Hussey, Vicky Hollinger, and Puakea Nogelmeier., He Mele Aloha: A Hawaiian Songbook. Honolulu: ‘Oli ‘Oli Productions, L.L.C. (P.O. Box 10558, Honolulu, Hawai’i, 96816), 2003. xiii, 290p. ISBN 0-9742564-0-4 (pa). $24.95. Index, Bib, Illus.
He Mele Aloha: A Hawaiian Songbook serves as a compendium of Hawaiian music for ‘ukulele – providing lyrics, chords, histories and translations for 283 titles dating from 1830 to the present. Carol Wilcox and Vicky Hollinger compiled the songs that make up He Mele Aloha, Hollinger and Kimo Hussey applied the chord structures to the songs, and Puakea Nogelmeier edited the Hawaiian lyrics and English translations. This collaboration brings years of knowledge to the topic. Wilcox is an ‘ukulele enthusiast and author of Sugar Water: Hawai’i’s Plantation Ditches. Hollinger grew up playing the ‘ukulele, collecting songs as she played. Hussey has spent a lifetime playing ‘ukulele, recorded the album Eminent ‘Ukulele, and helped start the non-profit Pacific Music Foundation. Nogelmeier is an associate professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language and has contributed to numerous Hawaiiana titles.
He Mele Aloha, along with preserving Hawaiian musical tradition, is designed to be an ‘ukulele workbook. The book includes an ‘ukulele chord chart featuring many of the more common chord shapes, and a very brief introduction on the ‘ukulele for the absolute beginner. Also included is an extremely brief introduction to music theory that guides the reader on how to transpose the provided chords to different keys.
The songs are printed in an easy-to-read format, with chord changes indicated just above the lyrics. The necessary chords for each song are diagramed at the top of each page, reducing the amount of page flipping required to learn or remember a chord. These features serve both new and experienced players well. Despite the provided chord shapes apply only to the ‘ukulele, He Mele Aloha can also be used as a resource for musicians on other instruments with the ability to follow the chord progressions.
The translations and histories of the songs are another valuable feature of He Mele Aloha. Although the song histories are generally quite brief (1-3 sentences), they provide quick insight to the song’s origins and notable performances. For readers without a Hawaiian language background, the translations are indispensable for discovering the meaning behind the songs. There is even a short history of the Hawaiian language in the introduction to assist readers in understanding the translation process.
One drawback from the informal presentation of the music is the difficulty in learning new songs without prior knowledge of how they sound. The book does not include any formal sheet music with notation that would assist in learning a song that is unfamiliar to the reader. Wilcox states this was intentional, believing it would motivate readers to further pursue their Hawaiian music interests by seeking out recordings or support live performances of unfamiliar songs. However, for a newcomer to Hawaiian music, tracking down 283 songs may seem like more of a challenge than an invitation to learn more. A companion CD or website with excerpts of the songs to familiarize the reader with the melody would be a welcome addition to future editions.
In addition to the songs, He Mele Aloha features a bibliography focusing on the Hawaiian music tradition. An index is also included that arranges the songs by original composer. One feature that makes the book extremely usable for the performer is its spiral binding, however, for preservation purposes, libraries may consider rebinding the volume since high use may lead to losing many of the pages.
Overall, He Mele Aloha is an outstanding resource for readers interested in boosting their Hawaiian song repertoire or never running out of songs at their next sing along. The book includes some nice features to assist the beginning ‘ukulele player and to provide some historical and cultural perspective to this rich musical tradition. He Mele Aloha would be an excellent addition to diverse music collections and collections focused on Hawaiian and Pacific Island culture.
He Mele Aloha: A Hawaiian Songbook serves as a compendium of Hawaiian music for ‘ukulele – providing lyrics, chords, histories and translations for 283 titles dating from 1830 to the present. Carol Wilcox and Vicky Hollinger compiled the songs that make up He Mele Aloha, Hollinger and Kimo Hussey applied the chord structures to the songs, and Puakea Nogelmeier edited the Hawaiian lyrics and English translations. This collaboration brings years of knowledge to the topic. Wilcox is an ‘ukulele enthusiast and author of Sugar Water: Hawai’i’s Plantation Ditches. Hollinger grew up playing the ‘ukulele, collecting songs as she played. Hussey has spent a lifetime playing ‘ukulele, recorded the album Eminent ‘Ukulele, and helped start the non-profit Pacific Music Foundation. Nogelmeier is an associate professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language and has contributed to numerous Hawaiiana titles.
He Mele Aloha, along with preserving Hawaiian musical tradition, is designed to be an ‘ukulele workbook. The book includes an ‘ukulele chord chart featuring many of the more common chord shapes, and a very brief introduction on the ‘ukulele for the absolute beginner. Also included is an extremely brief introduction to music theory that guides the reader on how to transpose the provided chords to different keys.
The songs are printed in an easy-to-read format, with chord changes indicated just above the lyrics. The necessary chords for each song are diagramed at the top of each page, reducing the amount of page flipping required to learn or remember a chord. These features serve both new and experienced players well. Despite the provided chord shapes apply only to the ‘ukulele, He Mele Aloha can also be used as a resource for musicians on other instruments with the ability to follow the chord progressions.
The translations and histories of the songs are another valuable feature of He Mele Aloha. Although the song histories are generally quite brief (1-3 sentences), they provide quick insight to the song’s origins and notable performances. For readers without a Hawaiian language background, the translations are indispensable for discovering the meaning behind the songs. There is even a short history of the Hawaiian language in the introduction to assist readers in understanding the translation process.
One drawback from the informal presentation of the music is the difficulty in learning new songs without prior knowledge of how they sound. The book does not include any formal sheet music with notation that would assist in learning a song that is unfamiliar to the reader. Wilcox states this was intentional, believing it would motivate readers to further pursue their Hawaiian music interests by seeking out recordings or support live performances of unfamiliar songs. However, for a newcomer to Hawaiian music, tracking down 283 songs may seem like more of a challenge than an invitation to learn more. A companion CD or website with excerpts of the songs to familiarize the reader with the melody would be a welcome addition to future editions.
In addition to the songs, He Mele Aloha features a bibliography focusing on the Hawaiian music tradition. An index is also included that arranges the songs by original composer. One feature that makes the book extremely usable for the performer is its spiral binding, however, for preservation purposes, libraries may consider rebinding the volume since high use may lead to losing many of the pages.
Overall, He Mele Aloha is an outstanding resource for readers interested in boosting their Hawaiian song repertoire or never running out of songs at their next sing along. The book includes some nice features to assist the beginning ‘ukulele player and to provide some historical and cultural perspective to this rich musical tradition. He Mele Aloha would be an excellent addition to diverse music collections and collections focused on Hawaiian and Pacific Island culture.
Submitted by Eric Leong, LIS Student, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, April 2008
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Carol Wilcox
Hawaiian music
Kimo Hussey
Puakea Nogelmeier
Ukulele
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