John King's research

pulelehua · Jan 10, 2010

Sorry. Don't know where to post this. Does anyone know what happened to the work John King had been doing? I've just been reading about his accidental discovery of a machete instruction book, and was wondering if it was ever published.

Thanks to anyone who can shed any light.

seeso · Jan 10, 2010

I searched his site for "machete," and these are my results:

http://www.nalu-music.com/?s=machete

pulelehua · Jan 11, 2010

Yeah, that's what I had found as well. The reference I'm talking about is in "Notes of a Sub-sub Librarian":

A modern edition of the Estudos is being prepared for publication; the music is engraved and a facsimile of the manuscript has been created for inclusion. All that is lacking is the appropriate front matter, of which this monograph is a first, albeit incomplete, draft. The reinstatement of a definitive machete repertoire by Dr. Morais, along with the discovery of this sole-surviving pedagogical manual are exciting developments in the quest for deeper knowledge and understanding of what was arguably the most significant musical instrument of the 19th-century Madeirense.

As a former researcher, I find this kind of stuff really interesting. This is a look at what music was written for the pre-ukulele, and what people would have likely heard when the Pokiki first stepped ashore in Hawaii. What did they hear that led them to create the sound world we live in?

Sorry, I'm a geek.

Woodshed · Jan 11, 2010

I know John was working on a book on ukulele history with Jim Tranquada when he died. Last I heard, there were still plans to release it.

seeso · Jan 11, 2010

pulelehua said:
Yeah, that's what I had found as well. The reference I'm talking about is in "Notes of a Sub-sub Librarian":

As a former researcher, I find this kind of stuff really interesting. This is a look at what music was written for the pre-ukulele, and what people would have likely heard when the Pokiki first stepped ashore in Hawaii. What did they hear that led them to create the sound world we live in?

Sorry, I'm a geek.

You're apologizing for being a geek on an 'ukulele web site? Heheheh... We're all geeks, dweebs, and nerds here, man!

Maybe there's someone you can email about this project?

pulelehua · Jan 11, 2010

Woodshed said:
I know John was working on a book on ukulele history with Jim Tranquada when he died. Last I heard, there were still plans to release it.

Thanks very much for this. Sounds like the man I need to ask. Strangely, in all my John King reading, it's not a name I had come across. Also funny, as I did my undergrad at CalArts, and was taught piano by someone who also taught at Occidental, where Jim Tranquada is based. All these chances to have heard of the man...

pulelehua · Jan 11, 2010

seeso said:
You're apologizing for being a geek on an 'ukulele web site? Heheheh... We're all geeks, dweebs, and nerds here, man!

Maybe there's someone you can email about this project?

Yeah, I did consider that, and wrote "I'm a geek" without the usual self-consciousness. It was more of a clenched fist held aloft: I'm a geek!

infidel · Nov 24, 2010

Sorry to revive an oldish thread, but is there any update on whether and/or when the Cabral manuscript will be published?

ichadwick · Nov 24, 2010

Would like to know more about this, as well.

Jim T. · Nov 24, 2010

Everyone:

Although it's in Portuguese, you can find "Um Metodo Desconhecido Para O Machete Madeirense" as a chapter in the book here: http://en.calameo.com/read/000019422bebb33e32c47
(You'll need to click to p. 589; quickest is to use the search function.) This is the machete method arranged by Manuel Joaquim Monteiro Cabral (ca. 1850) that John discovered.

Manuel Morais has published Candido Drumond de Vasconcellos' "Prima Colecção de differentes Peças de Muzica" of 1846, a manuscript collection of 41 waltzes, marches, polkas and other drawing room dances as well as themes with variations written for the machete with guitar accompaniment. It's the subject of his book, "Colecção de Peças para Machete by Candido Drumond de Vasconcelos" (Casal de Cambra: Caleidoscopio, 2004). If you search for "Quinteto Drumond de Vasconcelos" on YouTube, you will find videos of Manuel and his colleagues playing some selections from the "Prima Colecção."

And I'm glad to say a finished manuscript of the 'ukulele history John and I were working on for the past seven years was submitted to the University of Hawai'i Press earlier this year. It has been accepted for publication, and I'm hoping it might come out as early as next fall. It's a book I think fellow geeks will find interesting.

Jim T.

RyanMFT · Nov 24, 2010

I can't wait until the book comes out. I will be buying one as soon as I can.

Thank you for your work on this Jim, it is much appreciated by this uke geek! Also, a big thank you to John King for the beautiful music he made and his incredible investment in time and research of this instrument. He was taken to soon.....

infidel · Nov 24, 2010

Jim T. said:
Everyone:

Although it's in Portuguese, you can find "Um Metodo Desconhecido Para O Machete Madeirense" as a chapter in the book here: http://en.calameo.com/read/000019422bebb33e32c47

Jim T.

Thanks so much Jim! That's awesome!

Now to string up a uke D-G-B-D machete style and try some of these pieces!

PS. I was impressed with the Hawaiian Journal of History paper that you and John put out in 2003. Looking forward to the coming book too.

Jay Lee

kenikas · Nov 24, 2010

Mahalo nui loa Jim T. Chalk up another geek eagerly awaiting the books release.

infidel · Nov 25, 2010

Hmm...

The initial high was followed by a slight letdown.

The document is not downloadable, very understandably.

However, the most important pages: 591-595 (facsimile of the manuscript) and 596-602 (re-engraving of the manuscript) are too blur to read from on the screen! The staff lines are all blur... :-(

Where can I get a clear copy of the seven pages 596-602 short of tracking down a physical copy of the book? Is it worth tracking down a copy of the 688 page book that cost 33 Euros in 2008 just for seven pages? It's a brick! Decisions, decisions...

But thanks still to Jim and especially dear departed John for making the music available.

... somewhat... We now know that it exists but we still can't get our hands on the dots...

Jay

infidel · Nov 25, 2010

For those interested, the text of

Um Metodo Desconhecido Para O Machete Madeirense
http://en.calameo.com/read/000019422bebb33e32c47

Appears to be essentially a Portuguese translation of parts of
http://www.nalu-music.com/notes-of-a-sub-sub-librarian/

My search for THE DOTS continues.

pulelehua · Nov 25, 2010

Well done, Jim! Getting universities to publish things on the "wrong sort" of esoterica is no mean feat. I'm sure had you wanted to publish a comparative analysis of snail tracks of rare breed snails under the sonic influence of Mozart, you would have been free and clear, but this is special. Thanks for your hard work and dedication. And of course, keep us geeks posted!

John

PedalFreak · Jun 7, 2011

Jim T. said:
And I'm glad to say a finished manuscript of the 'ukulele history John and I were working on for the past seven years was submitted to the University of Hawai'i Press earlier this year. It has been accepted for publication, and I'm hoping it might come out as early as next fall. It's a book I think fellow geeks will find interesting.

Jim T.

Any new info on this book? I, as well as many others are looking forward to it

Jim T. · Jun 7, 2011

The book, imaginatively titled "The 'Ukulele: A History," is now scheduled to be published by the University of Hawai'i Press in May 2012. The manuscript (which includes appendices on early Hawaiian makers, a bibliography of pre-1920 methods, and copious footnotes) and all the illustrations (including a few, to the best of my knowledge, that haven't been published before) are in the managing editor's hands. While it's being published by an academic press, John and I always intended it for a general audience, and it was written with that in mind. My (our) hope is that you'll find it a good read, even if you're not obsessives like the authors.

seeso · Jun 7, 2011

Jim T. said:
The book, imaginatively titled "The 'Ukulele: A History," is now scheduled to be published by the University of Hawai'i Press in May 2012. The manuscript (which includes appendices on early Hawaiian makers, a bibliography of pre-1920 methods, and copious footnotes) and all the illustrations (including a few, to the best of my knowledge, that haven't been published before) are in the managing editor's hands. While it's being published by an academic press, John and I always intended it for a general audience, and it was written with that in mind. My (our) hope is that you'll find it a good read, even if you're not obsessives like the authors.

Thanks so much for the information, Jim. I look forward to the publication.

PedalFreak · Jun 7, 2011

Jim T. said:
The book, imaginatively titled "The 'Ukulele: A History," is now scheduled to be published by the University of Hawai'i Press in May 2012. The manuscript (which includes appendices on early Hawaiian makers, a bibliography of pre-1920 methods, and copious footnotes) and all the illustrations (including a few, to the best of my knowledge, that haven't been published before) are in the managing editor's hands. While it's being published by an academic press, John and I always intended it for a general audience, and it was written with that in mind. My (our) hope is that you'll find it a good read, even if you're not obsessives like the authors.

Can't wait! Thanks for the update!

John King's research

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