Bagpipe player oahu how to#

Artists see their songs as music, not business. “A business person is there to exploit intellectual property and generate revenue. “I’d had a taste of the music business and it’s kind of what everybody makes it out to be,” he says. When the record deal ended, Ho was kind of glad it was over. Later on I would use those skills to start my own label and make records.” I kept my eyes and ears wide open and picked up as much as I could. “I was given the opportunity to make decisions and work with engineers and others who were a lot more knowledgeable than I was.

Bagpipe player oahu how to#

“I learned how to produce records and work in the studio,” he says. We did a lot of touring and our albums got national airplay.” Ho was also Kilauea’s keyboardist.Īll the while, he was soaking it all up and learning as much as he could about the music industry. “I got a record deal, and because I could write and arrange, I led the group,” says Ho of his smooth jazz band Kilauea. “I had saved about $10,000 and I told myself, if I can’t make it work, I’ll move back home.” He lived as frugally as possible and desperately sent out demo tapes for the jazz group he’d put together. When the company folded after six months, Ho was desperate to stay in L.A. lifestyle, however, when his dad suffered a stroke he returned to Hawaii to study locally.Ībout one year later, Ho got a job with a publishing company and returned to L.A. He excelled at school and flourished in the L.A. That’s when I realized that I would probably be a writer.”Īfter graduating high school, Ho attended the Grove School of Music in Los Angeles. “He taught me music theory and jazz writing for big band. Wessinger had played with many famous jazz musicians. Louis High School was Ray Wessinger, a former assistant director of music at MGM who had retired to Hawaii,” says Ho.

“I was very lucky because my band director at St. Ho credits his high school band director with giving him direction. I had no other interests in anything really,” he says, adding that he wasn’t particularly good at any one instrument. “For a career, I always wanted to be a musician. High school meant more opportunities: snare drum in marching band, bass, and singing and dance lessons. That was the most incredible sound,” he says. “I had an old Takamine guitar and I would put my ear on the side of the body and pluck the strings. Other instruments followed: in second grade he picked up organ, in third grade ukulele, fourth grade was classical guitar, and in sixth grade he began classical piano lessons. My first experience was at age three and my first song was ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ in the key of C,” laughs Ho. “My mom had one of those really small pianos like Schroeder from the Peanuts played on. The following year his piano album E Kahe Malie was nominated in the category Best Pop Instrumental Album, and On a Gentle Island Breeze, on which he plays ukulele, piano, and slack key guitar, was nominated in the World Music category in 2012.īorn in Oahu, Hawaii, Ho had a natural penchant for music from the start. His solo ukulele CD Polani was the first ukulele album ever nominated for a Grammy. He’s won six Grammy awards as a producer and artist. But this music making Renaissance man is a multi-instrumentalist who has his own record label and production company.

Check out this clip.If you’ve heard of Daniel Ho, it’s most likely from his recent concerts and recordings of Hawaiian music on ukulele, or the music books he’s written for the instrument. However, they’re all over the world.īut how many times have you ever heard someone sing “Amazing Grace,” rolling through the beginning of the song, then hitting the high notes at the crescendo? And then between verses, play the bagpipes? Glen Campbell did it. Scotland claims the bagpipes as its national instrument. Those instruments were around as far back as 1000 B.C. You may also hear musicians play the song on the bagpipes. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see.” “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. The hymn is so uplifting for Christians because it speaks to salvation. The song, with lyrics written by English poet and clergyman John Newton, was first published in 1779. But the Glen Campbell show stopper was the classic hymn, “Amazing Grace.” You hear the hymn at funerals or at Easter services. It all was on display for this intimate evening with the country superstar.