C-G-E-G-C-E

• OVERVIEW •

An Open C variant with an odd structure, mixing tense upwindings (4str) with radical slackenings (6str). Associated with the great Hawaiian master Leland ‘Atta’ Isaacs (1929–1983), who used it to inject fresh, jazzy voicings into the kī hō’alu music of his era. Beautifully concise: only three notes are used, but all adjacent string pairs are separated by unique intervals (perf. 5^th > maj. 6^th > min. 3^rd > perf. 4^th > maj. 3^rd). The resulting multi-key versatility led slack-key performer Dagan Bernstein to describe it as the “Holy Grail…the age-old quest that slack-key artists have always dreamt of finding”. This was, it seems, always the main aim of Atta’s original mission – as recounted in a familial retrospective:

“[Atta] began to ponder…He loved the principle of [slack-key], but felt its mood was a bit ‘morbid’ and slow-paced. He also noticed that re-tuning was required when the singers changed the key, [and] instinctively began to search for that perfect tuning…Every waking hour…was spent tuning and re-tuning, playing various chords to no avail. Time went on, and turned into years. But he was persistent…He talked to a close, elderly, family friend who was knowledgeable about music and chords. It was from this meeting that the seed was planted…This was our mother’s account: ‘One night Pops was tuning and playing his guitar, like every other night. He slacked one of the strings, began playing, and shouted, ‘Nola, I got it! I got it! This is the one!‘”

Generally, it is seen as an adaptation of either ‘Gabby’s Hi’ilawe‘ (C-G-E-G-B-E) or ‘Leonard’s C‘ (C–G–D–G–B–D) – both members of the maj. 7th-based Wahine family (whereas Atta’s is ‘just’ a major triad). Use it to summon some ‘chicken skin’ music: a Hawaiian term for ‘goosebumps’ (as in, ‘the spine-tingling sensation of being moved by sound’).

Pattern: 7>9>3>5>4

Harmony: Cmaj | 1-5-3-5-1-3

• TUNING TONES •

• SOUNDS •

In the words of slackmaster James ‘Bla’ Pahinui: “I never heard anyone on the planet play slack-key the way Atta did…every time when it was Atta’s turn to take a solo, the sound just exploded, and my dad [Gabby Pahinui] absolutely loved it. Atta was a part of what made my life wonderful, and he’s part of what I’m trying to say through my music…”

According to slack-scholar George Winston, Atta “concentrated on mainly playing the four highest-pitched strings”, leaving more room for his stellar cast of accompanists as well as allowing simpler modulation between keys – a comparatively under-explored dimension of Hawaii’s famously chord-tuned traditions.

The tuning’s unusual intervallic scattering builds on Atta’s jazzier inclinations (he was a huge Les Paul fan) – as showcased on tracks such as How’d You Do? (where, despite being tuned in C, he plays the song in F, with a modulation to B^b for the bridge). You can also hear it in action via the work of acolytes such as his son Leland Isaacs Jr., his nephew Wayne Reis, and his longtime collaborator Cyril Pahinui (e.g. He’eia).

• How’d You Do? – Atta Isaacs (~1975):

“Those three guys [Atta, Gabby Pahinui, & Sonny Chillingworth] – all respected each other, but they all had their own style. There was no competition among them. They were always jamming at Gabby’s house, and would practice after work, and during their breaks – in the tool shed where they stored their [road repair crew] equipment for the night…” (Kiki Chillingworth Caminos)

• NUMBERS •

• See my Tunings Megatable for further such nerdery: more numbers, intervallic relations, comparative methods, etc. And to any genuine vibratory scientists reading: please critique my DIY analysis!

• RELATED •

—Associated tunings: proximities of shape, concept, context, etc…

• Open C (this with 4str -4): same tones, slackened middle
• Pink Moon: a folksy Cmaj11, just two twists different
• Cabbage: also features absurdly wide major sixth jumps

• MORE INFO •

—Further learnings: sources, readings, lessons, other onward links…

• Leland ‘Atta’ Isaacs: check out the fantastic Innovative Slack-Key Master album – and also the in-depth familial retrospective compiled by Cord International to celebrate the release of the record (according to Atta’s nephew Wayne Reis, himself a successful musician, “it made a good song even better just by playing the chords in his tuning. It just gave a whole new feeling…it was contagious, at least for me it was. I loved it to the point where I became obsessed to learn…”)
• C-G-E-G-C-E resources: George Winston’s amazing listings, Jeff Peterson lesson on Holau, and some lovely Atta-focused discussions on the Taro Patch forum – and read Reid Kaplan’s comparative notes on the tuning (“it extends the range of the guitar…which is often helpful and certainly sounds swell. The cello-like C is there at one end, and the high 3rds and 6ths are lower [and] a bit more accessible…Since Hawaiian music depends heavily on high 3rds and 6ths, this is a handy assist”)

Header image: Atta’s Innovative Slack Key Master album cover

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George Howlett is a London-based musician, writer, and teacher (guitars, sitar, tabla, & santoor). Above all I seek to enthuse fellow sonic searchers, interconnecting fresh vibrations with the voices, cultures, and passions behind them. See Home & Writings, and hit me up for Online Lessons!

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