Even if you don’t know exactly what a Hawaiian slack key guitar (or ki ho’alu) is, you can probably easily recognize its music. It’s that smooth, sweet sound that evokes island breezes and warm sunny ...

According to Matthew Swalinkavich, known by fans as Makana, there are obvious reasons that few musicians master slack key guitar. "It's a very challenging style technically, and it's hard to learn ...

EDMONTON – The man named Makana is one of the youngest players to master “kihoalu” or Hawaiian slack-key guitar. At 37, he’s a virtuoso, carrying the music forward to a new generation as a unique ...

There's no music in the world quite like Hawaii's slack-key guitar. This unlikely marriage of the Spanish guitar with and Polynesia's rippling rhythms gets its name from the islanders' habit of ...