Essay Draft

Many foreigners have come to Hawaii between the 18-1900s. Due to their influence, Hawaiian music has changed much over the years.

Much of the earliest Hawaiian compositions (1829 – 1872) have been lost, but a lot remains from between 1872 and 1900. Some of these musical pieces are from the royal composers (Kalakaua, Lili`uokalani, Leleiohoku, and Likelike). In 1879, Portuguese immigrants, Manuel Nunes, Joao Fernandes, and Augustine Dias, came to Hawaii to word in the sugar cane fields. They created the ukulele using the basic designs of instruments from their native home. All the kings and queens loved the instrument, raising its popularity in Hawaii greatly. Everyone who learned to play the ukulele loved it. The introduction of this instrument greatly influenced the style of Hawaiian music. This is when the Hawaiians were first introduced to hapa/haole music.

Back when the first hulas were performed, the music that they danced to consisted of only vocal and occasionally musical instruments. Since the Hawaiians did not have a lot of metals and minerals, they had to make their instruments from Hawaii’s natural resources such as trees, plants, and shells. Some of these instruments are the ipu (a drum made out of a gourd), the kala'au (sticks that were struck together), the 'ili 'ili (two flat smooth stones that were clicked together), the Conch Shell (a large ocean shell that was blown into to produce deep resonant tones). There were also lots more that helped to make beautiful music. When the foreigners came they brought instruments that greatly influenced Hawaiian music. They introduced instruments such as the guitar and the electric bass. Adding a bass line to the music has changed Hawaiian music greatly, but in a good way. The music that these instruments can make is just beautiful.

Due to the influence of foreigners coming to Hawaii, Hawaiian music has changed a great deal.