Hawaiian Percussion

The Ipu Heke consists of two gourds cleaned out and attached to each other at the middle. This one is called an Ipu Heke because of the double gourd.
The ipu is played by holding it upright while kneeling on the ground. It is hit on the ground and then slapped on the side of the lower gourd. Another way of playing it is to hold it horizontally with one hand and hitting the bottom with your heel and palm of the other hand. Both playing styles are included in the instrument and loops.

The pahu is a drum made out of a coconut tree stump and covered with leather or shark skin. The pahu I used is shown to the left. His name is Slappy. Slappy stands 17” high and 16” wide and is covered with cowhide. The pahu is played on the ground with two hands and is played on different parts of the head to produce different sounds.

The pūniu is a small drum made from the shell of a coconut. Fish skin is stretched over it and it is played with a beater made from palm fronds. The drum is tied to the thigh of the player. The pūniu is almost always played with the pahu. There are pūniu loops that are meant to be played with the pahu loops in the pūniu folder. (ex. ‘Pahu (Puniu) 2‘ loop is meant to be played with ‘puniu 2‘ loop) There are also loops of the pūniu and pahu together.

This size of ipu is played in the hand and is mostly used by hula dancers.

The pū‘ili are 20” x 1” diameter bamboo that are slit 2/3 of the way down. They are held in both hands and struck across each other, or on the body. They produce a rattling sound. On the DVD, Pū‘ili A is a 30 year old set that was passed down to me by my mother. Pū‘ili B is a brand new set.

The ‘ūlili are three gourds fastened together with a dowel in the middle. The outer two gourds are filled with beads. When the cord is pulled, the outer two gourds spin producing a sort of whooshing sound.

The kā‘eke‘eke consist of different lengths of bamboo that produce different tones when hit on the floor. The low Bb bamboo is 5 feet long. They can be played on a soft surface like carpet, or on a hard surface like a wood floor. The soft surface produces a mellow deeper tone, while the hard surface has a sharper attack. Both types are sampled.