Kenneth Makuakāne

I am teaching the Garage Band application for the Apple iLife Suite at Honolulu Community College May 18 – 20. This Apple Summer Institute lecture series is part of the Pacific Center for Advanced Technology Training (PCATT) program for teachers.

Today was my first session and the room was standing room only. People had to leave because it was way too crowded. I was totally shocked, yet pleasantly surprised at the overwhelming turnout to this elective track.

I showed the various functions of the software, including audio and video capabilities. The great part of the iLife application is that each software is totally integrable with each other, so the iMovie can be rendered into the Garage Band app. It’s just amazing how Apple engineers and software developers make life so easy.

I am very excited to have made the final ballot for the “Island Music Album of the Year” for the 2009 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards to be held on June 9th at the Sheraton Waikiki ballroom.

Because of this, I am giving away two free downloads from The White Bathtub, in celebration. The first song Ma Nawiliwili is a composition I wrote during our familyʻs cruise around the Hawaiian Islands as a 16th birthday present to my son Kawai. Our first stop was on the island of Kaua‘i. Our ship sailed into the Nawiliwili harbor and I was so captivated by the islandʻs inner beauty.

The second song The White Bathtub is a song I wrote about the old porcelain tub that sat in my grandmotherʻs backyard. She used it as our swimming pool in the late afternoons. The picture brings back so many wonderful childhood memories.

You can download the files by either clicking and holding on the right mouse button on the “song” link which corresponds to the song titles (Windows users) or Control-clicking on the links (Mac users). If you want to just listen to the songs in your browser, just click on the “song” link, and a small window will appear and the song will begin to play.

I hope you enjoy the music.

Coming up this weekend, May 8 – 10, 2009 is the Koke‘e Music Camp featuring wonderful instructors. If you haven’t done so, please call the number below to attend a first-ever songwritng camp for the art of mele.

The Honolulu Advertiser posted the final nominees for this year’s Hoku Awards. Congratulations to all the nominees and much luck.