​THE HAWAIIAN LEGACY FOUNDATION

Published entirely online and free at eddiekamaesongbook.org, The Eddie Kamae Songbook: A Musical Journey is a collection of 34 songs that were meaningful to Eddie’s journey as a musician, filmmaker, and Hawaiian son.

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“Eddie realized the importance of documenting the wealth of traditional knowledge shared by his many kumu. His life work was committed to building an archive of the stories and music of Hawai‘i. This songbook ensures that songs shared with Eddie, and those he composed, can be played and sung by families, children, students, musicians, and lovers of Hawaiian music,” says Myrna Kamae, executive director of The Hawaiian Legacy Foundation. “We are so excited to share this gift!”

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Available online, the songbook was produced by Eddie & Myrna Kamae’s The Hawaiian Legacy Foundation in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu and ʻUluʻulu: The Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive. The songbook is available at no cost and offers a new and interactive way for Hawaiian music listeners to access and learn about their favorite Hawaiian songs through a treasure trove of information.

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Each song is presented as a pū‘olo (bundle) that contains sheet music, lyrics and translations, audio and video recordings of Eddie and fellow musicians, the story of the song, educational questions, a bibliography, and many print resources from the Kamae archive.

 

Written with children and families in mind, the songbook is a source of curriculum across disciplines in schools and at homes and a foundation for the music, stories and aloha to live on.

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The Hawaiian Legacy Foundation is devoted to preserving Hawai‘i’s deep culture for future generations of musicians, scholars and learners alike. The songbook is part of the ongoing focus of finishing Eddie and Myrna’s work so that the music and aloha of Hawaiʻi can live on here in Hawaiʻi and around the world.