After attending my first slack-key guitar concert last night, I learned that this uniquely Hawaiian style originated in the 1830s when Mexican cowboys, who brought guitars with them, were hired by King Kamehameha III to teach Hawaiian cowboys how to herd their cattle. When they returned home years later, some left their guitars for the Hawaiians to experiment with. What resulted was a new "slack" tuning where chords could be played open without fretting, and a distinct new sound where rhythm, bass, and melody were all played together on one acoustic guitar.
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