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About the Songbook

There are 34 songs, each presented as a pūʻolo (bundle) that includes lyrics and translation, a song story, educational questions, music sheets, audio and video clips, a bibliography, and many resources from the Kamae Archive.

By exploring these songs, we hope their stories, lessons, and aloha will resonate with you. For educators and families, this songbook is a resource for curriculum in schools and homes.

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An Expression of Sharing

The songbook shares what has been learned. When we learn, share…and share again, our stories, music, and memories live on. It’s the sharing that keeps this vital information alive through the generations. This is what Eddie’s teachers urged him to do.

Concert Band Arrangements Available to Download

Concert band arrangements for the songs Heha Waipiʻo, Kuʻu Pua I Paoakalani, and Hanakeoki are available to download as a zip file for each of those songs. These arrangements represent the initial entries for the “A Musical Journey for Concert Band: Songs from the Eddie Kamae Songbook” project, supported by The Hawaiian Legacy Foundation and the University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu. These arrangements are appropriate for a variety of band levels, including Grade 2 and Grade 3.  Directors, teachers, and others who fill out the download form will be sent a link to the download site, which houses the zip folders that include scores, parts for each instrument, and a pūʻolo from the Eddie Kamae Songbook website.

How to Access the Songbook

There are 34 songs in the songbook. Each song is an individual pūʻolo (bundle) with many print and audio/video resources from the Kamae Archive. Go to the Songs page to choose a song. You can then download the pūʻolo filled with print resources, listen to the song with lyrics or music sheets, or watch clips about the song on YouTube or through our partner ʻUluʻulu: The Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive. To learn more about the songbook, go to About Eddie and About Songbook.

Oli Aloha No Eddie Kamae

Composed by Dr. Sam ʻOhukaniʻōhiʻa Gon III as a tribute to Eddie Kamae, this chant opens the songbook for us. Ir was first presented to Eddie in June 2012 at the “Truly Hawaiian: Musician Roots of the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance” film festival, where he was honored for his efforts to preserve Hawaiian music and culture. Click to watch and listen.

The Hawaiian Legacy Foundation

This songbook is part of the ongoing efforts of Eddie and Myrna Kamae’s The Hawaiian Legacy Foundation to document, preserve, and perpetuate the cultural heritage of Hawaiʻi through music, film and video, educational programs, community outreach, and archival work. To learn more about us, visit these pages: Foundation, Book, Albums, Films, Archive, and Teachers. Aligned with the Foundation’s commitment to supporting music education in K-12 schools, the songbook is a source of music and stories important to Eddie.

Explore the Kamae Archives

The Eddie & Myrna Kamae Archives includes ten original films, the raw footage from the films, and all the photographic and paper files that Eddie & Myrna created to produce the films. The archive also contains original songs given to Eddie and ones he researched and composed with Myrna, friends, and teachers. The films and raw footage have been digitized and are available at the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu ʻUluʻulu: The Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawaiʻi. We are working with the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu James and Abigail Campbell Library to make the photographic and print materials available. Many of these archival resources are in The Eddie Kamae Songbook.

Eddie & Myrna Kamae Endowment

Help us reach our goal of raising $250,000 for our new endowment with the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu! This fund will help us maintain the Kamae Archive and create opportunities for students, faculty, and the community to engage with it for education and research through student internships, fellowships, and faculty grants. For Eddie and Myrna, this is how the work lives on. Eddie once said, “We want to leave the most precious legacies…” Any contribution, no matter the size, is greatly appreciated and will help build a foundation of continuity.

He Pūʻolo Aloha no Lāhainā

The University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu, in collaboration with The Hawaiian Legacy Foundation, has made a special pūʻolo aloha for Lāhainā. Created by Lilinoe Andrews, this pūʻolo is a compilation of sources that highlight the layered stories of Lāhainā from place names, to moʻolelo, to the song “Kananaka” and video clips from Eddie & Myrna Kamae’s documentary, “Lahaina: Waves of Change.”

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