Hawaii has a very special place in my heart. I have never been to Hawaii but it is a dream. It has a deep meaning in my life. I have a very important friend back home and Hawaii is the place that we always talk about. Whenever I am having a bad day I will joke about moving to Hawaii and just getting on a plane and flying there. A dream of mine is to go there with her and when I do it is going to be so unimaginable. When I am going through stressful periods of time she will send me scenery videos of Hawaii that have relaxing music to them. I will put it below just in case you need it during exam week, or any other time because it is really helpful. However, having this place that I can talk about with her when I am struggling and in need of some cheer is very important to me and it is just special to me. This might seem weird to people, and it is also hard to fully explain the significance of it.
I also think that it is so cool that despite being a part of the United states it has such a unique culture. Yes, all the states have different things about them. Michigan is very different from South Carolina. However, Hawaii has a completely different way of life and I think that is so cool and I would love to learn more about it. I think a lot of people view Hawaii as a tourist destination but it is also people's home.
The Instruments:
One of the first things that I wanted to learn about was the different instruments that they have, because typically when I think about Hawaiian music I just think of the ukulele. However, that instrument isn't even a traditional Hawaiian instrument. That came to the islands later on as people started to migrate to the islands. The country of origin of the ukulele is Portugal. Traditionally their music only had a drum and maybe a shaker The drums that they use are made of gourds. They are very simple instruments that are made from emptying out a gourd. They call this instrument Ipu. As the music started to evolve they started to get more instruments. One of which was also made out of the gourd, this instrument is called the 'uli'uli, this type of instrument is a shaker type of instrument. One thing that I found really cool about this instrument is that they cover it with feathers, but specifically red and yellow. I found that pretty neat, and I would love to know more about why they choose those colors. Personally I think my favorite instrument of all of them is the 'ili 'ili, I like how simple it is. The instrument is just 2 rocks that you hit together. I just think that it's so fun and basic. One thing that I also like about the instruments is they are made from what they have. This is something that you notice when learning about other cultures, but one thing about the Hawaiian instruments is they are so simple. The next instrument is an example of that. They use bamboo and they either hit them together (pu'ili) or they hit them on the ground (ka'eke'eke). The ka'eke'eke reminds me of an instrument that I used in music class growing up, the boomwhackers, so that is also interesting to see the overlap between the 2 very different cultures.
About the music:
I think one very important thing to note is that Hawaiian music has done a lot of evolving and changing over the years. They have a different word for music in their culture and that is Mele and Hula. This is because their music started off as a way to tell stories. They would also use it to connect with the Gods and the land that they live on. They used their music as a way to show their history and they did it in a performance. They would have dancers along with their music. Their music did start to change, this came from new people coming to the islands from different areas. This would bring new instruments and music traditions and they would adapt them into their music. Hawaiian culture very much values the land that they live on and it is shown in their music. I think that this is super cool, because land is taken for granted so much and it is awesome to see the value in their culture.
Music:
This song is an example of traditional Hawaiian music. It is in the chant form that their music is traditional in. It also has the ipu in the background, which is keeping the beat. I think that it is very interesting to hear, and although it is simple I do find the song nice to listen to and I would love to know the meeting of the song, but I can assume that they are talking about their history.
Although Moana is technically about the Polynesians. The Polynesian were a group of people that lived in Hawaii. This song shows the idea about singing about the ancestors and their history. I also just really like Moana and I think the music is really good.
You can tell based on watching the music that they have very specific hand and foot movements. I also really like how precise the movements are and how clean it looks. I think the movements flow well with the music. You can also tell based on the dance that it connects to their land and is important to their culture, as they pair it with their songs even linking back to their traditional music.
Milles, M Kaela. “The History of Hawaiian Music.” Hawaiian Culture Stories, https://www.hawaiian-culture-stories.com/hawaiian-music.html.
Folkways. “Na Leo Hawai'i.” Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, https://folkways.si.edu/na-leo-hawaii/music/article/smithsonian.
Del Amo, Thomas. “Pacific Sunrise at Lanikai Beach in Hawaii.” Dreams Time ,
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-pacific-sunrise-lanikai-beach-hawaii-image11054574. Accessed 2 Dec. 2022.
