Te Oti Rakena - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Te Oti Rakena

Routledge eBooks, Oct 1, 2021

Journal of Clinical Medicine

To date, no established protocol exists for measuring functional voice changes in singers with su... more To date, no established protocol exists for measuring functional voice changes in singers with subclinical singing-voice complaints. Hence, these may go undiagnosed until they progress into greater severity. This exploratory study sought to (1) determine which scale items in the self-perceptual Evaluation of Ability to Sing Easily (EASE) are associated with instrumental voice measures, and (2) construct as proof-of-concept an instrumental index related to singers’ perceptions of their vocal function and health status. Eighteen classical singers were acoustically recorded in a controlled environment singing an /a/ vowel using soft phonation. Aerodynamic data were collected during a softly sung /papapapapapapa/ task with the KayPENTAX Phonatory Aerodynamic System. Using multi and univariate linear regression techniques, CPPS, vibrato jitter, vibrato shimmer, and an efficiency ratio (SPL/PSub) were included in a significant model (p < 0.001) explaining 62.4% of variance in participa...

Community Music in Oceania, 2018

Community Music in Oceania: Many Voices, One Horizon makes a distinctive contribution to the fiel... more Community Music in Oceania: Many Voices, One Horizon makes a distinctive contribution to the field of community music through the experiences of its editors and contributors in music education, ethnomusicology, music therapy, and music performance. Covering a wide range of perspectives from Australia, Timor-Leste, New Zealand, Japan, Fiji, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Korea, the essays raise common themes in terms of the pedagogies and practices used, pointing collectively toward one horizon of approach. Yet, contrasts emerge in the specifics of how community musicians fit within the musical ecosystems of their cultural contexts. Book chapters discuss the maintenance and recontextualization of music traditions, the lingering impact of colonization, the growing demands for professionalization of community music, the implications of government policies, tensions between various ethnic groups within countries, and the role of institutions such as universities across the region. One of the aims of this volume is to produce an intricate and illuminating picture that highlights the diversity of practices, pedagogies, and research currently shaping community music in the Asia Pacific.

International Journal of Creativity and Innovation in Humanities and Education, Jun 1, 2018

Community music is a professional area that increasingly provides income for musicians trained as... more Community music is a professional area that increasingly provides income for musicians trained as performers in the European classical music traditions. My School of Music, like many higher learning institutions around the world, are creating courses that provide professional development and training to performers wishing to become community music teachers and arts facilitators. When preparing conservatory trained performers to be effective community music facilitators in a (post)colonial context, the genealogical narrative of a European conservatory model can work in direct opposition to the celebration of a local community's music making. In this context European musical art objects can also act as public reminders of past historical trauma by supporting discourse that represents marginalised communities through the lens of the culture of power. While community music can sit uncomfortably in formal education, it provides the opportunity to unpack, reflect and transform a conventional music learning culture and its signature pedagogies. This paper describes the creation and transformation of a postgraduate research pedagogy course designed to support performance students planning to work in the community. In this course we explore several indigenous concepts including historical trauma as frameworks for discussing public narratives and regazing at communities' identities, all to support better facilitation of community music activities. Through this process we identified a code of practice that enables our graduating community arts educators to better address socio-political issues that are specific to our context but also equip those students with a set of competencies that are transferrable to other global regions and arts practices.

Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology

Background and Aim: To date, little research is available that objectively quantifies female adol... more Background and Aim: To date, little research is available that objectively quantifies female adolescent singing-voice characteristics in light of the physiological and functional developments that occur from puberty to adulthood. This exploratory study sought to augment the pool of data available that offers objective voice analysis of female singers in late adolescence. Methods: Using long-term average spectra (LTAS) and inverse filtering techniques, dynamic range and voice-source characteristics were determined in a cohort of vocally healthy cis-gender female adolescent singers (17 to 19 years) from high-school choirs in Aotearoa New Zealand. Non-parametric statistics were used to determine associations and significant differences. Results: Wide intersubject variation was seen between dynamic range, spectral measures of harmonic organisation (formant cluster prominence, FCP), noise components in the spectrum (high-frequency energy ratio, HFER), and the normalised amplitude quotient (NAQ) suggesting great variability in ability to control phonatory mechanisms such as subglottal pressure (P sub), glottal configuration and adduction, and vocal tract shaping. A strong association between the HFER and NAQ suggest that these non-invasive measures may offer complimentary insights into vocal function, specifically with regard to glottal adduction and turbulent noise in the voice signal. Conclusion: Knowledge of the range of variation within healthy adolescent singers is necessary for the development of effective and inclusive pedagogical practices, and for vocal-health professionals working with singers of this age. LTAS and inverse filtering are useful non-invasive tools for determining such characteristics.

Routledge eBooks, Sep 22, 2022

Critical Articulations of Hope from the Margins of Arts Education, 2018

The arts do not exist in vacuum and cannot be valued in abstract ways; their value is how they ma... more The arts do not exist in vacuum and cannot be valued in abstract ways; their value is how they make people feel, what they can empower people to do and how they interact with place to create legacy. This research presents insights across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand about the value of arts and culture that may be factored into whole of government decision making to enable creative, vibrant, liveable and inclusive communities and nations. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a great deal about our societies, our collective wellbeing, and how urgent the choices we make now are for our futures. There has been a great deal of discussion – formally and informally – about the value of the arts in our lives at this time. Rightly, it has been pointed out that during this profound disruption entertainment has been a lifeline for many, and this argument serves to re-enforce what the public (and governments) already know about audience behaviours and the economic value of the arts and ente...

Research Studies in Music Education

Female adolescent voice change (FAVC) is characterized by objectively measurable developments in ... more Female adolescent voice change (FAVC) is characterized by objectively measurable developments in both physiological and acoustical aspects of voice. Despite these observable changes, this period of vocal development has had little representation in both scientific and pedagogical research. Furthermore, few studies have articulated the perceptions and experiences of FAVC from the point of view of the singers themselves. This exploratory study collected data pertaining to vocal function and voice-learning experiences during adolescence from an anonymous cohort of female adolescent singing students in Aotearoa New Zealand. A link to an anonymous online questionnaire was disseminated through national online advertising and snowballing to prospective participants (cis-gender female adolescent singers aged 16–19 years). Using nonparametric statistical tests and qualitative analyses, significant associations were found between objective and perceptual measures of vocal function, voice-lear...

Journal of Voice

In recent years cepstral analysis and specific cepstrum-based measures such as smoothed cepstral ... more In recent years cepstral analysis and specific cepstrum-based measures such as smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS) has become increasingly researched and utilized in attempts to determine the extent of overall dysphonia in voice signals. Yet, few studies have extensively examined how specific voice-source parameters affect CPPS values. Objective. Using a range of synthesized tones, this exploratory study sought to systematically analyze the effect of fundamental frequency (fo), vibrato extent, source-spectrum tilt, and the amplitude of the voice-source fundamental on CPPS values. Materials and Methods. A series of scales were synthesised using the freeware Madde. Fundamental frequency, vibrato extent, source-spectrum tilt, and the amplitude of the voice-source fundamental were systematically and independently varied. The tones were analysed in PRAAT, and statistical analyses were conducted in SPSS. Results. CPPS was significantly affected by both fo and source-spectrum tilt, independently. A nonlinear association was seen between vibrato extent and CPPS, where CPPS values increased from 0 to 0.6 semitones (ST), then rapidly decreased approaching 1.0 ST. No relationship was seen between the amplitude of the voice-source fundamental and CPPS. Conclusion. The large effect of fo should be taken into account when analyzing the voice, particularly in singing-voice research, when comparing pre and posttreatment data, and when comparing inter-subject CPPS data.

Journal of Voice, 2021

Globalisation has created increased complexity in relation to institutions, governments and event... more Globalisation has created increased complexity in relation to institutions, governments and events. While traditional social and cultural enclaves are increasingly vulnerable to and wary of the impact of globalised commerce, technology and human movement, some contemporary artists and designers actively seek out these sites of difference in order to explore the intricacies of aesthetic value. In universities and schools of art and design, the influence of this ever-expanding horizon of cultural and political perception is evident in the changing nature of student design and artistic work. The impact of embracing globalised perspectives is potentially positive and negative: productive and repressive. Ideas and information, transported as new knowledge through creative practices, are moving seamlessly across institutional and national boundaries. This fluidity of transfer, encouraged by open access to institutions, partnership and trans-national agreements, is further enabled by widespread use of digital media and financial support for academics and students to be mobile. While geographical mobility is encouraged and increasing, the patterns of adaptation within educational programmes and structures may not be responding as fast. This paper reflects on artistic identity and aesthetics based on personal accounts of immersive experience in educational environments. We examine the value and risks of flexible artistic identity and aesthetics and conclude by proposing a couple of key adaptive strategies for ensuring that the strengths and cultural integrity of internationalised creative practices are protected. Conference presentation co-authored by: Nancy de Freitas, Associate Professor, Postgraduate Studies, School of Art and Design, Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies, Auckland University of Technology. King Tong Ho, Senior Lecturer, International Student Liaison, School of Art and Design, Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies, Auckland University of Technology. Rosemary Martin, Lecturer, Dance Studies, Dance Studies Postgraduate Advisor, National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries, University of Auckland. Te Oti Rakena, Associate Head of Performance, Coordinator of Vocal Studies (Classical), School of Music, National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries, University of Auckland.

Community Music in Oceania

Every year the Vocal Studies Department (classical) at the University of Auckland, School of Musi... more Every year the Vocal Studies Department (classical) at the University of Auckland, School of Music produces a voice class concert. The concert includes art song performances, opera scenes and arias, and occasionally music theatre pieces. This is aligned with the training offered by the School of Music, which was founded on the traditional European conservatory model. The courses within the performance degree structure are designed to develop and enhance the skill set necessary to deliver accurate and authentic interpretations of art music from the Western European tradition. While New Zealand is a land predominantly populated by descendants of Britain and Western European countries, the context for delivery of these courses is far from the source of those traditions. Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand is the most densely populated Polynesian city in the world and is 18,353 kilometres from London. The thriving resurgence of indigenous Māori culture, the increasing significance...

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