February 12, 2009
Kaimuki High School - Oahu, Hawaii
Being one of Kaimuki High School’s most celebrated alumnus, Jake returns to his Alma Mater to share with the students his knowledge of music. A special thank you to Mr. Darryl Loo, Kaimuki High School’s music teacher, and Holly Soria, the Student Activities Coordinator, for creating this superb opportunity. Mr. Loo has been a mentor to Jake and has always inspired Jake to give back to the community without expecting something in return. Jake shared his knowledge of music theory in a workshop to Mr. Loo’s Polynesian Music class where the topics ranged from breaking apart a single note to being aware of every distinct thing you do when playing an instrument or creating music in general.
All the topics were basic concepts of music that were exclusively Jake’s own ideas that he discovered over the years. Jake also shared his many personal music experiences and became an authentic role model to the students. He opened the workshop by talking about his background and how he launched his musical career. Traditionally, the ukulele accompanied by other instruments or vocals, however, since Jake’s forte wasn’t singing, he decided to focus on his instrument and sing through the ukulele, and from there discovered a whole new realm of playing. His first topic was about a single note and went into details that no one would think of analyzing a note in such a way.
He brought up a volunteer whom he told to place the C major scale and just let the note ring until it dies out. The note surprisingly held for a long time. He also stressed the importance of being aware of every sound you make on the ukulele, especially when it is plugged into an amplifier. He simply touched the string and the students could hear it clearly on the amp. So he uses those unusual sounds to his advantage and makes suitable percussive sounds through various techniques. After some more demonstrations and answering student’s questions, Jake had a performance in their vast auditorium. Mahalo again to Mr. Loo and Wendy Okamoto for coordinating this workshop.
Please check out the a video summary of this event.
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