What is "Slack Key"?

[Plank_Spanker]

I've read a couple of articles where that was mentioned, and I have no idea what it is.

As you see, theory is not my forte..........

 

[aeolian]

Prior to you asking this question, all I know is that it usually refers to Hawaiian music. Now that you asked the question I looked it up in Wikipedia and this is what I found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slack_key

aeolian

 

[Plank_Spanker]

So, it's basically variations on open tunings.

 

[BJunior]

Ask Mark...

http://www.accentonmusic.com/book_detail.asp?qID=26

-Jon

 

[R_of_G]

Sounds Hawai'ian doesn't it?

Lately I have been doing a lot of playing in what some article online called "Modal G tuning" which is DGDGCD. What I know is that on my acoustic guitar it makes me think of the Dark Tower novels [which I'd do anyway], specifically the story that Jake, Eddie and Susannah all share about having encountered the same "musician" in Central Park, a homeless man playing a saw, who says "sounds Hawai'ian, doesn't it?" While I don;t know if the afforementioned tuning is genuine "slack key" or not, it sounds very Hawai'an and lends itself to melodic playing quite nicely.