Tyree Wall is a talented musician and singer who also won second prize in a songwriting competition. Photo / Laurilee McMichael
Tyree Wall is a talented musician and singer who also won second prize in a songwriting competition. Photo / Laurilee McMichael
Nobody knew Tyree Wall could sing - not even his mum Caela.
That was, until she recorded him singing one day. And when his music teacher and uncle, David Wall of David Wall Music saw it, he realised Tyree, 13, was a young man with potential.
David and partner Carol Wall encouraged Tyree (Tūwharetoa, Tutemohuta) to begin singing as well as playing guitar, and also to write his own song for an upcoming songwriting competition.
The result, Tyree's song Better, won second place in the rangatahi (16 and under) category of the E Tū Whānau songwriting competition, scoring Tyree a $500 gift card, a lot of attention and high praise for his vocal talents.
E Tū Whānau is a movement for positive change developed by Māori for Māori, about taking community responsibility and action and supporting whānau to thrive.
The brief for the songwriting competition was to enter original songs inspiring positive change and incorporating at least one of E Tū Whānau's six values (aroha, whānaungatanga, whakapapa, mana/manaaki, kōrero awhi, tikanga).
About 100 students from around New Zealand took part and Tyree entered both the rangatahi (youth) and the open categories with Better, a song he hoped would bring some comfort to people who might be feeling sad.
Better is the first song Tyree has written and he says while the first half of the song came easily in just a night's work, the second half took six months to slowly put together.
Once he had the words, Tyree knew how he wanted it to sound so David helped him find the right chords to convey the emotions of the song and they then made a video submission of Tyree singing Better, with David accompanying him on guitar for the competition.
Carol says Tyree is a quiet young man but when it came to his song, he knew what he wanted.
"He was adamant that he wanted the song to be for someone who's down or struggling, for people to listen to him and feel better, and the lyrics are really really good, the lyrics are sensitive and mature and his personality is like this," Carol says.
"He is incredibly talented and is growing in confidence.
"He has a wicked voice. It's the best voice we've ever heard."
Tyree was presented with his prize by Kiatoa from Tuwharetoa FM. Photo / Supplied
Now, Carol says friends in the music industry are making a backing track for Better with a view to Tyree releasing it on Spotify and Apple at the end of summer.
Tyree says the news of his second placing in the songwriting competition came as a huge surprise, with mum Caela making a special effort to let him know the news.
"I was at school, and Mum picked me up, but she doesn't usually, I just catch the bus. I'd forgotten all about the thing I entered, and I didn't know that was that day [of the announcement]. And we went home and I was grabbing all the stuff out of the car, and Mum was already inside and when I walked in, she surprised me with a number 2 in balloons and a box of chocolates and stuff."
As well as the E Tū Whānau competition success, Tyree has a Facebook page, Tyree Wall Music, entered the school talent quest TIS Has Talent, successfully auditioned to perform at Tūrangi Christmas in the Park 2019 where he performed in front of a crowd of hundreds, and got picked as lead singer of the Taupō Intermediate School band.
Next year Tyree is going to Taupō-nui-a-Tia College, where he plans to keep writing songs and studying with David, with the goal of eventually releasing an album - and says he thinks his next song will be a happier, more upbeat kind of song.
