Hawaiian Slack key or Ki 'ho alu is an alternate tuning played on the ukulele or the guitar. The story has been told over the years, dating back around into the late 1700, that many of the colonizing ships brought different animals as gifts to the foreign lands they hoped to conquer. The initial gifts of animals did not last in Hawaii as they were usually killed, as they were foreign to the native people. In 1794 British Officer George Vancouver impressed upon Kamehameha to put a 10 year ban on the killing of these cattle. This way the cattle could multiply and flourish. Boy did they multiply and cause havoc as they were eating the homes of the native Hawaiians since they were made of grass. The ban was finally lifted in 1930. By 1932 our King, Kamehameha III, hired Spanish cowboys to teach the Hawaiian's how to care for the cattle. These paniolo (a Hawaiianization of españoles—"Spaniards") brought their guitars and taught the Hawaiians the rudiments of playing. Upon leaving, the paniolo left their guitars as gift. Hawaiian's soon realized they did NOT know how to tune them. Hence the Hawaiians developed a style on their own.
