Above is a sneak peek of Kia Hora Te Marino. This song was commissioned by Dr. Jenny Wollerman to be included in 21×21 beneath the trees. This book contains 21 songs for voice and piano by 21 female composers from Aotearoa New Zealand, made possible by a research grant from Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington received in 2020. The project’s kaupapa is to strengthen and diversify the musical repertoire for performers, teachers of singing, and their students. Accordingly, I wrote this melody to explore singing scales. I am also passionate about singing in Te Reo and believe in exploring the use of Te Reo in classical singing; Te Reo is not only beautiful but is similar to Italian in the way that the language facilitates the use of the head voice.
Contemporary Vocal Techniques
I just hate to be in one corner. I hate to be put as only a guitar player, or either only as a songwriter, or only as a tap dancer. I like to move around.
Jimmi Hendrix
The vocal technique must adjust to the style. In contrast to my classical, I aim for a speech-like quality whilst still being true to my natural sound; I also like to stay true to my New Zealand accent when recording my own songs.
It’s as necessary for teachers of nonclassical singing to immerse themselves in the music, the literature, the culture of that genre as it is for teachers of classical singing to commit to a full understanding of classical music.
Edwin, Robert. Apples and Oranges Revisited. NATS Journal of Singing. Volume 57. Nbr. 2.
Here is a link to the song ‘Snowslide’; released in 2023. I do the sound engineering myself using Logic Pro.
Deborah Wai Kapohe 