A discussion with Karen Hunter
Karen Hunter is a singer musician with a multitude of musical talents in many musical fields. She describes herself as “musical, vulnerable, bold and unique.” Here she shares herself generously about her singing challenges in an interview I had with her.
Her online presence: https://www.karenhunter.com; https://karenhunter.bandcamp.com;
https://www.facebook.com/hunterdeluz; https://karenhunter.com/listen-watch/
I really enjoyed our conversation together as she recounted her journey with her music.
Enjoy it!
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Jann: Karen, firstly I’d like to ask you, can you briefly tell me a bit about yourself and what you do?
Karen: I grew up Auckland in a musical family. I have been surrounded by different sorts of music and musical instruments all my life. As a singer/songwriter, I have played guitar and sung for most of my career. I have recently started learning other string instruments : mandolin and violin. I also teach voice, guitar, composition, music theory, circle singing, kirtan chanting … whatever is called for. I‘ve performed in various different playing situations and have recorded 9 albums of original songs. You could call my sound ‘contemporary folk’ or in some cases ‘ folk jazz’, or ‘folk rock’. I have also recorded albums of performance poetry, kirtan chanting, ‘loop-based’ vocal improvisations and more recently instrumental Celtic music. My parents played classical music, however I was not attracted to it personally. Most of my training has been as a guitarist, so I’m not a overly ‘trained’ singer in any traditional form (like opera for example). I sing with an original style.
Jann: Taking it from your singing point of view, what has been your No 1 challenge?
Karen: As a singer, my biggest challenge is to know my voice will always be there when I need it. How will it be affected by – stage fright for example, or the time of day, or having a cold or sore throat, or even just by being tense or nervous.
The voice is delicate apparatus and is often required to do a very big job. I have been grateful that I am a dual instrumentalist (guitar/voice) and not just purely relying on my voice as many of my friends do. As a music student (majoring in guitar) I watched many of the vocal majors develop sore throats due to tension on exam day.
Because they were nervous about their exam their voices weren’t always there when they need them most!. I had other issues, but was glad to not have to face that one!
Jann: Very interesting. So as a singer what do you want most for yourself, your No1 passion?
Karen: Well this is really the question at the moment that I’m getting from many sources! What do you want? So it’s a big question I’m just sitting with. What do I want for myself?
Karen: Really it’s to ‘be present’ in every moment. To ‘be’ with the people that are in front of me, to ‘be’ fully in the moment that’s happening now. Not thinking too much about the future or about the past. The trick is being available in the moment; in traffic; in the queue at the post office; at the garage……etc
I do OK when I know I need to be ‘on’, but I can slip into unconsciousness when I am not concentrating,
Jann: Thank you. So, what is your weakness?
Karen; That! That’s the unconscious moment; when I am not remembering, I’m not fully present and I slip into a my unconscious habitual patterns.
Jann: So, what do you do with it, about it?
Karen: I consider myself to be ‘older’ now, I’m in my fifties, so it’s different to how I was in my twenties and thirties, so now I take more time in my life, I suppose in meditation, in listening.
Jann: Well, perhaps you might like to tell about the weaknesses you have experienced so far with your singing.
Karen: The weaknesses, problems and issues I have as a singer…
There is sometimes a little ‘catch’ in my throat when I’m singing when I move through my range. This happens in the part of my range where I can sing in either a chest voice or a head voice. I don’t know if it is my epiglottis, or a part of my throat, or the back of my tongue… something that sort of jumps and gets in the way of the flow of the note….. in the way of the air flow.
Because I come to singing from simply an expressive place as I songwriter, when I hear people who have a more ‘trained’ sound, I have a question around…. well how does that work? How do they get that sound? Is it something that I want for myself? Is it something that I want to explore? Or not!
Jann Thank you for that. So, do you ever feel stressed or overwhelmed?
Karen: Never! (Laugh).
Of course I do, everybody has!
Jann: What sorts of things trigger this for you?
Karen: I feel quite stressed when my experiences in music become external, and that happens when I am concerned about how I am sounding as opposed to my experience of being inside the music. This can happen when I ‘think’ that there is ‘judgement’ in the audience. If I move outside the experience of my own body and start being more ‘how is this going from the audiences point of view’ ….. then I get stressed.
Jann: So that’s when you lose yourself.
Karen: I do. I can lose myself and the beauty of the whole experience, the whole reason I am playing in the first place. Presently I am avoiding putting myself into too many of those situations. I had a complete break for awhile recently and now I am in a period of recreating the way I work.
Jann: So in what way does this manifest itself in you physically or emotionally?
Karen: I think it makes me stick my head out more, my neck out more; and puts tension in my neck and makes me smile a little bit more ‘garishly’. I feel myself over emphasise my face, my neck muscles, my cheeks. It is almost as if I become a more ‘out there’ instead of ‘in here’, less internal .
Jann: Ok, so who inspires you: And why?
Karen: The people around me, their journey. I am really inspired by local women who sing, and the community in Auckland and New Zealand . I just see so much strength and wonder and pure heart. Women who bring the incredible gift of song to the rest of the community. That really inspires me.
I love listening to musicians and I love being listened to, and this relationship inspires me. This is why I am still playing. When I took my break recently I considered not returning to performance, but there are people who really want to listen. People who are open and ready to receive some healing, some inspiration and connection, they want to feel the music inside themselves. So they sit down to listen, they ask to listen to my gift, my offering. It’s in this relationship that I am inspired. As I get older, it’s much less about making a name for myself and much more about how can I be of service.
Jann: So let me ask you; is there anything else you’d like to share?
Karen: I’d like say thank you Jann for asking to have this conversation on record about my work. I’d like to really welcome you into the community that I’m part of. A great many musicians and students in the local community will appreciate your work with the voice, your background with Alexander Technique and your curiosity.
I hope this interview will introduce you to some new people as a gentle woman with a wealth of information. Many of my friends will be curious about your work. I look forward to seeing how this might land and hoping you get to bring your work to some of our festivals and to see how your work might take off in our community. Very exciting!
Jann: Thank you Karen for everything you have said today, thank you for baring your soul as you have. It’s been a real pleasure talking to you and getting your story. And yeah, forward and up is our motto! Thank you.
If you enjoyed Karen’s story and want to develop as a singer working with your body not against it, leave your name for my free online courses and tips…
