Song: The Ambulance Song
Music by: Aimée Ringle
"Ooo Love" part by: Laurence Cole

Notes: We live on a busy road, not far from a fire station -- an ambulance is not an unusual sight -- and thanks to Aimée Ringle, I have the perfect song to wish the people involved well... and now you do, too! Next week, Aimée and I talk about the tender place music is able to open up, how someone with considerable musical skills and experience finds how they, too, can be included in community singing... how we are what we repeatedly do, and what that means for Aimée. She is generous, vulnerable, clear-sighted, and willing to name her own challenges. I hope you can join us... but before that, please enjoy adding this song to your personal repertoire!

Songwriter Info: Aimée Ringle is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, song-leader, and storyteller. She has an invigorating teaching style that is enriched by her capable percussion and guitar skills. Aimée’s work as a song-leader and storyteller have woven her into an ever widening community of cultural shifters around the country in the realms of sustainable agriculture, alternative education, community living, healing, creativity, and spiritual exploration ~ all of which are reflected in the songs she carries. As a song-leader, Aimée’s work and example have become a valued part of several Ancestral skills gatherings including Winter Count, Spirit Weavers and Sharpening Stone.

Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Aimée for recording and/or performing permission.

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:12
Start time of reprise: 00:17:38

Links:
Aimée's website: www.aimeeringlemusic.com 
Aimée's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AiméeRingle
The Ambulance Song video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b6WxqtlIbo 
Aimée's Bandcamp: https://aimeeringle.bandcamp.com
Laurence Cole's website: https://www.laurencecole.com

Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Aeolian, 4-part
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Song: Blessings Whenever You Breathe
Music by: Melanie DeMore

​Notes: Melanie DeMore has probably influenced your singing, whether or not you've had the chance to sing with her in person yet! This week is a chance to spend some time with one of her songs that is a breath blessing -- as we sing, you can notice the breath pouring in, and just to be sure we don't miss it, there's a tapping rhythm on the chest to help center attention. Melanie is one of my heroes in the songleading community -- and I was too intimidated to ask to share one of her songs -- but it turns out, (no surprise to those of you who know her already), she's absolutely lovely (although she did give me a talking-to about not viewing myself as a "real singer".) What finally got me over the hoop of reaching out to her? The fact that she has made an ask of the songleading community, and there's a special chance to give back to someone who has given so generously...

Songwriter Info: Melanie DeMore is a 3 time Grammy nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director, and vocal activist who believes in the power of voices raised together. In her presentations, DeMore beautifully brings her participants together through her music and commentary. DeMore facilitates vocal and stick-pounding workshops for professional choirs, and community groups as well as directing numerous choral organizations across the U.S, Canada, and beyond. She is a featured presenter of SpeakOut!-The Institute for Social and Cultural Change, the Master Teaching Artist for Music at UC Berkeley/CalPerformances; works with everyone from Baptists to Buddhists, and was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. She is Music Director for Obeah Opera by Nicole Brooks and will be touring with the company to South Africa. She is a charter member of Threshold Choir founded by Kate Munger, a mentor to the Jerusalem Youth Chorus and conducts song circles with an emphasis on the voice as a vessel for healing. In her own words: "A song can hold you up when there seems to be no ground beneath you."
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Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Melanie for recording and/or performing permission
​
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:56
Start time of reprise: 00:15:43

Links:
Help Melanie find a place to call her own in Taos, New Mexico: https://gofund.me/6be198cb
A great interview with Melanie about being a vocal activist: https://chorusamerica.org/article/%25E2%2580%259Ci-use-my-voice-weapon-mass-connection%25E2%2580%259D-interview-melanie-demore

Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Mixolydian. 2-part with harmony

Join the A Breath of Song Mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.
​
Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar, or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Song: May My Tears Water a Sapling
Music by: Mary L. Cohen

​Notes: Mary Cohen's huge heart and willingness to do big work in the world shines through in this song, with lyrics sparked by the 2020 midwestern derecho with devastated so many trees. When we talk in next week's songwriter conversation, the depth of Mary's passion for how singing can support and feed change is evident. I hope you can join us as we explore the US prison-industrial complex and music, the role of mentorship, and how self-care can adapt. In this episode, I invite you to experiment a bit, finding musical touchstones as a way into harmonizing. In the links, you'll find several different arrangement/performances you can listen to for other harmonizing ideas, if that's up your alley.

Songwriter Info: Mary L. Cohen, Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Iowa, is lead author of Music-Making in U.S. Prisons: Listening to Incarcerated Voices (2022). She co-founded the International Music and Justice Network: IMAJIN Caring Communities, a group of researchers from 18 countries who study music-making in prisons, and you are welcome to join by contacting Mary to get on the group email list ([email protected]). From 2009 to 2020 she led the Oakdale Community Choir with incarcerated and non-incarcerated participants where participants have written over 150 songs, and the Oakdale Choir performed over 75 of these songs, available with the Creative Commons License. To continue working toward the choir’s goals of building communities of caring through singing and songwriting, she founded the Inside Outside Songwriting Collaboration Project where partnerships between incarcerated and non-incarcerated songwriters create original songs, build relationships, and learn about transformative and generative justice. She has been a keynote for conferences in Germany, Canada, and Portugal, interviewed by the BBC3 Music Matters, and has over 40 publications in journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings. She leads weekly music groups inside the Juvenile Detention Center of Linn County.
​
Sharing Info: The song is free to share, and Mary welcomes networking support and invites you to further your education and activism regarding environmental justice, restorative/transformative/generative justice, and simply acting with kindness to all you encounter.
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Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:48
Start time of reprise: 00:18:20

Links: 
Oakdale Community Choir website: https://oakdalechoir.lib.uiowa.edu/
"Not Our Trees" by Laura Weber: https://prairiewoods.org/not-our-trees/
Outside singers (non-incarcerated choir members) from the Oakdale Community Choir (now disbanded because the current warden will not allow it to restart) performed "May My Tears Water a Sapling" at the Anne Frank Tree Planting Ceremony from April 29, 2022, on the University of Iowa Pentacrest. You can see this performance that begins with a powerful spoken word piece by Jhe Russell at 1:14 on this YouTube video.

Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Major, unison with optional harmonies

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(https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share)  to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar
(https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html) (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

​Notes: It's magic to sing a song of presence in a language unfamiliar to me -- this one from the Phillipines -- it magnifies the focus, the awareness. Also I experience great comfort singing this particular set of sounds. Songwriter Gérone Pascal talks next week about what is special about Tagalog, why song creating feels natural to her, and her #1 self care tactic... all things which play out in this song. I added a few harmonies, but you might choose to play the melody section on repeat and add your own!

Songwriter Info: Gérone is a thirty something movement and meditation teacher from the Philippines, now living in France. Her work is mostly about helping people get to know and love their bodies so much that they'd want to take care of them through yoga postures, mindful consumption, regulated breathing, and rest. When she's not in the yoga studio or the health center, she's happy singing Filipino folksongs while hiking, belting out karaoke hits in the kitchen while cooking or baking delicious vegan fare, or meditating while sewing or knitting clothes for her friends and family.

​Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Gérone for recording and/or performing permission.

Links:
Gérone's Website: https://gerone.yoga/fr
Gérone's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gerone.gentlewarrior

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching (text): 00:04:00
Start time of teaching (singing): 00:06:10
Start time of reprise: 00:14:30
​​​
Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, major, harmonized melody

​Join the A Breath of Song mailing list (https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share) to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!​

Notes: Every time I sing one of Alexa Sunshine Rose's songs with a group, people immediately want to sing it again -- they simply feel that good. I give a little extra help picking out the harmonies that are on the recording of this that Alexa Sunshine Rose released (buying it on Bandcamp is a great way to support her artistry)... and then I play around with making up harmonies of my own, as I hope you will if it appeals. There's also something very beautiful about centering in the melody of this song, and letting the harmonies develop around you.

Songwriter Info: Alexa Sunshine Rose is a singer-songwriter, mother and artist who has dedicated herself and her life's work to being a clear channel for peace on earth. Alexa plays in the tuning frequency of A=432 Hz to promote inner peace and deep sound absorption. Listeners worldwide utilize her music during pregnancy and birth, hospice, yoga and massage, community song circles, and inner-transformational journeys.

​Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Alexa for recording and/or performing permission.

Links:
Website: www.alexasunshinerose.com
Instagram: @Alexasunshinerose
Facebook: www.facebook.com/alexasunshinerose
Support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/alexasunshinerose

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:25
Start time of reprise: 00:13:35
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Nuts & Bolts: 3:4 minor, 4-part harmony

​Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!​

Notes: Chandler Yorkhall has written one of my favorite full moon songs, as I rarely sleep well during a full moon! I am delighted to have gotten to record this with my daughter, Rebecca -- laughter ensues, and we ended up including an "outtake", where we experiment with rounding the song much more closely than usual... just to see what happens (and okay, yes, maybe it's a train wreck, but then we tried again!) I love the dancing rhythms of this, and appreciated Chandler's willingness to listen to how I'd learned to sing it. He pointed out a few spots which differed from his original so we could bring you a fairly accurate rendition of his original. As good songs travel, they sometimes morph...

Songwriter Info: Chandler grew up singing with his family and can’t remember a time when singing wasn’t part of his daily life. He has been writing, leading, and getting inspired by songs since he was a teen, and songs have saved his sanity more times than he can remember. He is so pleased to be able to share his joy through sharing his songs. Chandler lives in Minneapolis with his wife and 4 children, who also love to sing! He's never really settled on a parenting “philosophy” per se, until his two teen daughters returned from their first Village Harmony camp, singing lustily in praise of everything good. At that point he said to himself, “Well, if my children leave my home knowing how to sing, I guess I’ll have done them, and the world, a great service.”

​Sharing Info: Yes -The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Chandler for recording, performing, or publication permission.

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:50
Start time of reprise: 00:17:37
​​​
Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Aeolian minor, round

​Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!​

Notes: Hands down favorite moment of this conversation? When I asked Pam a question that made her tense, and she started to sing to help herself through the challenging moment. Pam says she often has to say difficult things to people in power, and this was an example of how she uses improvised song to root and empower herself. We caught Pam at a transitional point, and I deeply appreciate her reflections about how song has stayed consistent across her life and how it has changed, the evolving role of relationships, what singing in community actually does or can do, what self care might look like. Oh, but then there was another favorite moment, when she tells a story about her relationship with her father.... hmmm. Lots to love here, not least of which is the song, Reciprocity -- after singing this song, you'll be ever more keenly aware of trees and our breath exchange with them.

Songwriter Info: Pam Blevins Hinkle–song leader, composer, arts administrator, tree-lover, and kazoo fanatic–has devoted her life to projects that blend creativity, community-building, and spirituality. With over 30 years experience leading community, college, and congregational choirs, she currently facilitates spontaneous group singing for conferences and events, co-leads SongSquad Indianapolis with her brother Adam, co-produces the annual Indy Winter Solstice Celebration, and more. Pam has received numerous awards including the Inspirational Woman Award from IUPUI and the Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Indy Arts Council. Since 2006, she has served as director of Spirit & Place, which sparks civic change through a one-of-kind, 11-day festival and through year-round initiatives that leverage the power of the arts, humanities, and religion to catalyze creativity and conversation.

​Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Pam for recording and/or performing permission

Links: 
Indianapolis, Indiana Indigenous Peoples: Miami, Kickapu, Shawnee, Delaware: https://www.ala.org/aboutala/diversity/land-acknowledgement/indgenous-tribes-indiana
Trees as communal creatures: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/04/993430007/trees-talk-to-each-other-mother-tree-ecologist-hears-lessons-for-people-too
Laurence Cole, singing as “the oldest technology of belonging” https://www.laurencecole.com/
Indianapolis Women’s Chorus: https://www.indianapoliswomenschorus.org/
Winter Solstice Singing Ritual by Julie Forest Middleton, Stasa Morgan-Appel- published by Emerald Earth: https://www.allbookstores.com/Winter-Solstice-Singing-Ritual-Julie/9780966371550
Indiana Forest Alliance: https://indianaforestalliance.org/
Forests for Indy: Reciprocity (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rdj65H67Ww
Lyndsey Scott: https://linktr.ee/lila.gaia
Rhiannon: https://www.rhiannonmusic.com/
Emergent Strategy- Adrienne Maree Brown: https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/emergent-strategy/
Peter, Paul, and Mary “In The Wind” https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-the-wind-mw0000315197
Hush-a-bye: ​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM2VN2Hn-Z0
Puff the Magic Dragon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y0ABZ0AJXY
Very Last Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmk6cf32HH4
Episode 69: Sing Upon Joy (Livian's Song) Lyndsey Scott & Livian & helpers
https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/69-sing-upon-joy-livians-song
Episode 70: “As I Relax” Lyndsey Scott
https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/70-as-i-relax-with-guest-lyndsey-scott
Song Squad Indianapolis Website: songsquadindy.com
Indy Winter Solstice Celebration Website: indysolstice.com
Pam's Website: pamblevinshinkle.com

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:51
Start time of reprise: 00:55:44
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Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Dorian, 3-layers with a harmonized ending

​Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!​

Notes: After singing this song, I keep questioning myself, "What if this is true???" If all motion is love, Patricia, what does that look like, right now? If I follow love, what does that even mean? Do I know what love looks like? I'm so often in unthinking motion — what happens when that motion becomes love? Pam Blevins Hinkle is not messing around here! In the next episode, we get to talk, and hear about how she got backed into community singing through a health crisis. The changes it has precipitated. What swung into motion, and how that's leading her now. Following love. Is this any part of your life? Mm-hmmm.

Songwriter Info: Pam Blevins Hinkle–song leader, composer, arts administrator, tree-lover, and kazoo fanatic–has devoted her life to projects that blend creativity, community-building, and spirituality. With over 30 years experience leading community, college, and congregational choirs, she currently facilitates spontaneous group singing for conferences and events, co-leads SongSquad Indianapolis with her brother Adam, co-produces the annual Indy Winter Solstice Celebration, and more. Pam has received numerous awards including the Inspirational Woman Award from IUPUI and the Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Indy Arts Council. Since 2006, she has served as director of Spirit & Place, which sparks civic change through a one-of-kind, 11-day festival and through year-round initiatives that leverage the power of the arts, humanities, and religion to catalyze creativity and conversation.

​Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Pam for recording and/or performing permission

Links: 
Song Squad Indianapolis Website: songsquadindy.com
Indy Winter Solstice Celebration Website: indysolstice.com
Pam's Website: pamblevinshinkle.com

​Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:09
Start time of reprise: 00:12:45
​​
Nuts & Bolts: 3:4 Mixolydian; unison chant with optional harmonies

​Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!​

Notes: Abundance, gratitude -- words that can be so annoying when you're feeling scarcity and lack -- I think part of the reason for traditional festivals was to smush us together with other people who were celebrating so that we can't help but feel a bit of a lift, a bit of a reminder that oh, yes, there is plenitude in the world, and food tastes good, and even better with loved ones around us. I'm grateful to Flora Ware for her entire collection of chants for the year... grateful to you for singing with me -- to my mind, that makes us kith, and I'm so glad to celebrate abundance with kith and kin through this song.

Songwriter Info: Flora Ware is a Sacred Sound Priestess and founder of EarthSong Temple where she serves a global community through ceremony, singing circles, and earth magic. As a Vocal Coach, she helps spiritual entrepreneurs become confident speakers and get booked on podcasts and stages, so they can attract more clients and share their message with the world. In 1993, her mother brought 14-year-old Flora to a full moon women’s circle. She remembered she was a Celtic witch and has been on a spiritual path of devotion to the Divine Feminine ever since. She lives in Vernon, BC, Canada with her wife and young wizard-in-training.

​Sharing Info: Please sing and share! Flora has a free lyric booklet for all her Wheel of the Year chants available to download from her website (very helpful when teaching a group).

Links: 
Flora's Website: https://floraware.ca
Flora's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flora_ware/

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:09
Start time of reprise: 00:12:47
​​
Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Aeolian, unison with 3-part harmony chorus

​Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!​

Notes: Angela Gabriel has given us a brilliant setting based on words by Nisargadatta Maharaj, “Wisdom is knowing I am nothing, Love is knowing I am everything, and between the two my life moves.” The first line twists around on itself disappears into nothingness. The second line starts an octave away and drops into the security of "everything." Then, on a note in the middle of the two starting pitches, and in 6:8 instead of 3:4, the song begins to dance and flow, and ends on a slightly surprised major third. You don't have to know any of that for it to work its magic, though -- simply let it wind into your body as a beautiful melodic invitation to release. I'll be singing this one to myself long after this podcast is wrapped up, reminding me of both-and, flow, fluidity.

​Songwriter Info: Angela is a professional percussionist & pianist and community music/community singing facilitator. She lived in Santa Fe NM for the last 20 years, where she played with the opera, symphony, chamber music festival, as well as in African, Haitian, and samba gatherings, funk and ragtime bands.  She just moved to Bloomington, Indiana in the end of 2022.
Angela's mission in life is to facilitate expressive creative, musical, and vocal experiences and to encourage folks to replace judgement with curiosity and open themselves to their unique, creative flow. Part of how Angela does this is by singing and drumming online weekly with people living with Parkinson’s and other movement disorders.

Sharing Info: This song is free to share but Angela always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

Links: 
Angela's website: www.AngelaGabriel.me
Support Angela's work: find songs, rhythmic activities, and more at patreon.com/AngelaGabriel
Check out Hidden Whale, Angela's old band (she's the drummer): https://youtube.com/channel/UCpxdVqwSxzEBhgUilN3qQLg
Nisargadatta Maharaj: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj

Nuts & Bolts: ​​3:4, Aeolian with major final third, round

​Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes: Rain is not always the easiest weather for me to delight in... seems to come with dark days and wet, slippery footing -- I often get a little cranky in response! I love the delight in the rain this song evokes -- reminds me of how crucial water is, what a gift to have it falling fresh from the sky. The original melody reminds me of the whoosh of rain, and as we sing "Rain falling down on the plains," the melody falls, too. Then in the response melody, I put the plink of the rain drops on the rooftops -- so the whole song is an onomatopoetic celebration of rain that enchants me out of crankiness into delight.

​Songwriter Info: I got to record this one live with my daughter and dear friend, Rebecca, which affirmed for me the magic of singing with someone you love. Just as relationships of love grow and shift and change, some songs seem to grow organically, shifting shape and adapting to their circumstances. I always want to respect and hear the intent of the composer, and there are times when a song adapts in relationship to the singer. When sharing songs that have grown or changed, or songs of unknown provenance, I think it’s really important to name what we do know, what we guess, what we've changed (after requesting permission if there's a living composer), and welcome learning more. So: I learned the melody of this song from Micky Hickey, who offers a beautiful set of pocket songs on Instagram. (See the links below.) She learned it from Bennett Konesni, a songsharer in Maine. It has definite echoes, and maybe even quotes from the Joseph Shabalala song, Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain, that Ladysmith Black Mambazo released in 1987, but it’s not exactly that song. I added the response melody… so what we’re singing today is a song of accretion and adaptation. Maybe you will add to it or adapt it as it enters your life? And if you have more information about the origin of the song, I would love to hear!​

Sharing Info: Free to share, but please credit the full history as we know it.

Links: 
Micky Hickey's Pocket Song project: https://www.instagram.com/pocketsongproject/
Bennett Konesni: http://www.duckbackfarm.com/
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke6RF3IH45g

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:24
Start time of reprise: 00:14:12

Nuts & Bolts: ​3:4, Major, melody & countermelody

​Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes: I learned this song from Adam at the end of the summer at a group singing weekend workshop, and immediately decided to use it for my Pocket Songs welcome song during the fall, not only because of the generous, wide-open welcome of the words, but because of the way the music backs up the message. The lift and lightness of the rhythm, and the enjoyment of slightly surprising notes (I particularly love the first "are" of the tenor line, for example), the way we move from unison into connected harmonic diversity -- these musical things help me FEEL welcoming. Sometimes I shift the words to sing it to myself, as a reminder that whoever I am, whomever I love, wherever I am on this journey, I am welcome... and when I feel genuinely accepted as I am, it is so much easier to extend that welcome and acceptance to others.

Join the A Breath of Song mailing list by clicking here. You'll receive a heads-up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Songwriter Info: Adam Podd (he/him/his) is a Vermont-bred, Brooklyn-based music director, pianist, organist, bassist, composer, and arranger. As a pianist, Adam specializes in blues, jazz, and gospel. He plays regularly around NYC with his twin brother Matt, and their jazz and blues band Mimi and the Podd Brothers. He also plays keys, bass and music directs for singer/songwriter Dan Mills. I met Adam as he co-led a workshop on Star Island, off the coast of New Hampshire. I was struck by his unassuming, gentle manner and musical generosity. He welcomes sharing of this song.
​
Links: 
learn about Adam himself: ABOUT — Adam Podd
check out the choral music Adam and his brother arrange: The Podd Brothers
to read more of the writings of Ana Levy-Lyons: Home - Ana Levy-Lyons (analevylyons.com)

Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Major, harmonized

Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes: I am thrilled to announce a 3-generational podcast!!! Our daughter, Rebecca Csuy (pronounced, "Soo-ee"), was kind enough to join me to record this lullaby I started singing to myself a few months ago.... and then Rebecca managed to catch Claire, their almost 3-year-old daughter, singing it to herself the next day! (If you wanted to skip ahead to that, it's at the very, very end of the podcast, as a bonus, and of course, I would completely understand!) Do you ever sing with someone who makes you feel better about your own voice just by the way they sing with you? That's how I feel about singing with Rebecca -- her voice is so true and released -- it helps me find the center in my own in some way. I wrote this song because I'm not always an easy sleeper... so one day after a rough night, I was trying to sing to myself to unwind and relax -- and this is what came. The white birds were seagulls, making a racket outside our apartment window... and just before I fall asleep, it feels like my thoughts turn white and begin to float -- and so the white thoughts.

Songwriter Info: That would be me, so both of the websites below have stuff...

Links: 
abreathofsong.com
juneberrymusic.com

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:43
Start time of reprise: 00:15:43

Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Ionian, melody with harmony

Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes: Wendy Luella Perkins sings to telemarketers, tells of her brother choosing her for his show-and-tell, and why she has a tik-tok channel. She talks about auditory memory, singing as refuge, and the reclamation of her voice. She describes the transition from singer/songwriter work into the Soulful Singing in 2002, and the challenges unique to this kind of therapeutic singing which is not professional therapy. We have the awkward conversation about money -- is it possible to make a living as a songwriter without commodifying song, which is a birthright? Patty Piotrowski has created the most appropriate beautiful art in my mind because of the generosity and openness of the bloom.

Songwriter Info: Wendy Luella Perkins has been singing and making up songs since she was a very young child. When she was three years old, her older brother, Tim, took her to school as his Show+Tell item saying, “this is my sister Wendy Lu, listen to her sing!” She's been going strong ever since. As a singer-songwriter, Unitarian Universalist community minister, and founder, in 2002 of Soulful Singing (singing meditation for all) Wendy Luella leverages the power of song to build authentic, healing and joyful communities.

A prolific writer of folk songs and meditative chants and supportive guide who helps others to create their own songs, Wendy Luella's greatest joy is to bring friends and strangers together in the transformational circle of song. Wendy Luella has produced three CDs of original music, which you can find on her website. As a response to pandemic restrictions and recognizing the need to keep on singing in community, especially in difficult times, Wendy Luella transitioned Soulful Singing to online sessions in March 2020. Soulful Singers from all over have been gathering online EVERY SINGLE DAY since then and once a week on THURSDAY evenings.
​
Everyone is welcome to join Soulful Singing via Zoom. Singing daily over the last 875+ days with wonderful folks from Kingston and around the world has encouraged Wendy Luella to share her original songs more broadly in what she calls her “Song Liberation Project” (The SLiP). She has written hundreds of songs and with The SLiP is sharing them one by one on TikTok. Wendy Luella grew up in rural Nova Scotia, and has lived in Kingston Ontario for over 25 years with her sweetheart and fellow musician, Charlie Walker. She loves waking early, walking daily, eating communally, crafting publicly, sharing deeply, gardening bountifully, laughing abundantly and of course, singing soulfully!

Links: 
Wendy Luella's website: https://www.wendyluellaperkins.com
and tiktok page: https://www.tiktok.com/@wendyluellaperkins
To email Wendy Luella: [email protected]
To join Soulful Singing every day from 9:00-9:45 a.m. Eastern Time, please click here for information: Wendy Luella Perkins | SoulfulSinging
(notice you'll need to email ahead of time to receive a link for joining, so don't leave it to the very last minute!)
Album that mattered: Joni Mitchell, Blue
Songwriter Wendy Lu wishes more people would listen to: Coco Love Alcorn

Nuts & Bolts: 
​Loving-Kindness: 3:4, major, zipper.
When All Is Swirling: 2:2, minor, zipper.
We're All Connected: 4:4, major, unison.
Trust In the Power: 4:4, major, zipper.
It's Good to Have a Song or Two: 4:4, major, unison.
To Love I Do Return: 3:4, major, zipper.

Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

​Notes: When choosing the searchable categories for this song, "Surrender," I found myself surprised by the juxtapositions -- I picked "Empower" and "Grieve", "Pain" and "Trust", "Accept" and "Flex". I realized how I find the most strength and power and freedom in myself at the moments when I surrender to how I feel, how my body is in the moment, my limitations. I love this series of questions that help me remember the possibility of surrender. Don't miss the back story to this song, told in Kaitie's own words at https://thelivingroomchoir.com/surrender/. Next week, Kaitie and I dive into a songwriter conversation, and Kaitie shares a delightful new song about the awkwardness of change and growth... and we talk about finding both continuity and fluidity in music and life, the Ubuntu philosophy, and much, much more.

Songwriter Info: Kaitie Ty Warren (she) is a Bay Area-based songleader, teacher, writer, cartoonist and performer. Passionate about creating joyful experiences through music, Kaitie uses simple yet luscious harmonies to build bridges within communities and bring people together in song. In early 2020, Kaitie's Living Room Choir moved online, and that fall her first child was born. Living Room Choir continued online, and in 2021 Kaitie added Simple Harmonies: Songs for Babies & Their Grown-Ups. Nowadays, Kaitie is still leading online but also exploring pandemic-conscious opportunities to sing together in person. Her dream, pandemic-willing, is to host a vibrant, in-person, intergenerational choir for babies, children and adults of all ages to sing together. ​

Links: 
To contact Kaitie directly: [email protected]
To learn more of Kaitie's songs: https://thelivingroomchoir.com/original-music/
To sing with Kaitie: thelivingroomchoir.com
Kaitie's cartoons: https://www.instagram.com/kaitietywarren/
For cartoons & things for sale: https://society6.com/kaitietywarren
For more about "Surrender": https://thelivingroomchoir.com/surrender/

Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Minor. Layer song.
​
Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes: Penny includes us all into her circle of friends by sharing "First Light" -- a song she wrote for 5 close friends, including her partner. Then we have a rollicking conversation, covering big voices, purposeful singing, what a requiem might do, and a few little questions like, "What has singing taught you about life?" Also, how and why you might say "FTS"...

Songwriter Info: Penny Stone is a musician and activist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She believes that everyone can sing and that every voice is valuable and beautiful. Penny facilitates singing groups and writes accessible music for community groups. She is currently working on a feminist requiem. 

Links: 
Penny's website (with a donation box)...: www.singlouderthanguns.com
Learn and Sing along song videos: www.singlouderthanguns.com/singalong-songs/
Sing this song with with Penny: First Light (learn and sing along) - YouTube
Twitter: @singovertheguns

The lullaby Penny describes that she wrote for the "wee girl": https://youtu.be/aG3OgCWd8c4
How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy:  An Excerpt from How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy | Penguin Random House
Two choices for Jaqueline du Pre Elgar cello concerto:
 Jacqueline du Pre & Daniel Barenboim - Elgar Cello Concerto - YouTube
or with Sir John Barbirolli: Elgar Cello Concerto / Jacqueline Du Pré / Sir John Barbirolli, LSO (ASD 655) 1965 - YouTube

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:57
Start time of reprise: 01:08:42

Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Major, Harmonized, tune in the middle
​
Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes: What does it take to allow you to fall to rest, deeply & completely? Rest is such a necessary component of healing, and sometimes can be tricky to come by -- unless I'm the only one awake at 2 in the morning sometimes, with my head spinning fruitless circles? Feeling completely safe -- completely loved -- is one of the things that lets me rest, slows the adrenalin responses, and lets my body and mind heal. This song does that for me... whew!!! The composer, Elizabeth Norton, points out: "Please note that there is no "you" verse. This is because Rev. Dr. Parker was very clear that this is a widening circle of Love and compassion that embraces all." We are each at the center of this song.

Songwriter Info: A life-long church musician, Elizabeth (Beth) Norton has served First Parish in Concord, Massachusetts as Director of Music Ministry since 1994, leading a dynamic adult choir and guiding a vital and varied music ministry for singers and instrumentalists of all ages and stages. She has led UU singers on concert pilgrimages to Eastern Europe, building musical bridges with Unitarian churches in Transylvania (Romania), Hungary and the Czech Republic. Beth received her bachelor’s degree with a major in music from Smith College and a master’s degree in choral conducting from Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford. As a composer, she has written several songs, chants and choral anthems that are currently available by contacting [email protected]. Beth says she had the great wisdom to marry into the Norton family in 1986. Her husband, Peter, is Tom Norton’s brother. Thus, she has the great good fortune (again, her own words!) to claim Patricia Norton as her sister-in-law and friend! Beth and Peter have two adult sons, who live in southern Vermont and near Boston Massachusetts. Beth and her family share a love of music, hiking, skiing, and birding. She usually has a knitting project on hand.

Links:
The score can be accessed through the UUA "Worship Web" here: https://www.uua.org/worship/words/music/there-love
Hear a roomful of people singing There Is A Love (and catch a glimpse of Beth!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlY7Yf-l8rU

Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, major, round
​
Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes Maggie Wheeler talks about the bravery of this last year, how campfires affected her songleading, and how singing becomes a forgiveness practice. But first and last, she shares a song of hers, Find Our Way Home, which rose out of the pandemic, and will be included on a new project she has just started working on. (I go maybe a LITTLE fan-girl-squeaky, but, hey, my first interview, and someone I deeply admire -- I think I can be forgiven!)

Extra special thanks to Patty Piotrowski, who provides beautiful art for each episode; I particularly love the sea otters in this one!

Learn more about Maggie's extensive work, and sign up for her emails (I'm definitely on the list!) so you can keep up with what's coming up at goldenbridgechoir.com

I mention a Peter Occhiogrosso interview with Maggie, in which she eloquently describes the many benefits of singing, among other things...

Maggie talked about a few artists -- if you have a local music store, of course get them there -- but here are some links, as well:

Sweet Honey in the Rock Live at Carnegie Hall

Singer-songwriter Aimée Ringle -- Human and Tender 

The South African acapella group The Soil

​Maggie Wheeler is best know in the U.S and internationally for her work as an actress in film, television and voice-over and most notably as the character of Janice on NBC’s hit series Friends. Maggie is a passionate singer, songwriter, choir director and workshop facilitator. She has been teaching her vocal workshop "Singing In The Stream" for over 30 years at retreat centers, universities, communities and schools to provide the experience of creating interpersonal harmony and internal harmony through the powerful act of creating vocal harmony. Maggie directs the 100-voice Golden Bridge Community Choir in Hollywood, an inter-generational, non-auditioned choir now going in its 16th year.
She is a prolific songwriter with a catalog of powerful and timely songs that have been sung by choirs worldwide. Maggie’s original music for choirs and communities is available on Itunes and other music platforms. To accompany her most recent CD entitled 'Walk With Me’, Maggie has created a songbook available by request through her website www.goldenbridgechoir.com Throughout this year of change Maggie hosted a weekly online community gathering called Together In Song, bringing together people from around the world to join in the healing power of singing.

Links: To learn more about Maggie’s work please visit: www.goldenbridgechoir.com and maggiewheeler.net

​Nuts and Bolts This layered and harmonized song is in 3:4, Ionian mode (major)

Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes This song was inspired by ujjayi pranayama -- a breath practice for calming and strengthening that creates an ocean-like sound.
Here are links to two other songleaders sharing the song: Heidi McCurdy does a beautiful version with singing bowls and improvisation moving into the song, and Tembre de Carteret in Ireland, starting around 9'30", teaches it live very shortly after it was written, when we were all figuring out how to songlead and sing on Zoom! 

Songleader info & links: find out more about me and opportunities to sing with me at juneberrymusic.com

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:01:07
Start time of reprise: 00:11:31
​​
​Nuts and Bolts It’s a round in 3:4, Aeolian mode.

Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!