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Singing for Well Being Pick a Song &
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Join UsAn unusual email resource to tend and befriend you and our community as episodes are released. Artwork by Patty Piotrowski, Patricia's musing, and extras -- questions, occasional transcriptions, links to more community singing resources --- yummmmmmmmm! Beautiful!!!So glad you've joined us, listening to your own voice... A welcome email with a request is winging your way right now. □ |
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5/14/2025 0 Comments 189. Hearth
Song: Hearth
Music by: Yuri Woodstock Notes: Yuri Woodstock knows how to start and tend fires -- and this song sings the magic of smoke and spark. He's managed to make it feel dark and joyous, with a sinuous, smoky sound to remember the mystery, the dream of being alive. Next week is a conversation where Yuri brings his high energy take on community singing and how he found his way into the world through a combination of friends and mentors and skills so deeply embedded it's hard to remember how he got them. By the end I was wishing I could visit his song groups -- I may have to plan a road trip! Songwriter Info: Yuri Woodstock is a community song leader based in Asheville, NC, who has run the now 180-member Hark! Community Choir for the past seven years. It is a non-performing, non-auditioned group that sings for joy and connection. He specializes in quick teaches of layer songs and SATB bangers that are easy to learn and fun to sing. Often Hark! feels like a singing dance party. Sharing Info: Free to share! Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:02:53 Start time of reprise: 00:13:08 Links: Yuri's website: https://www.weringlikebells.com/ Yuri's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weringlikebells/ Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 3-layer, one layer harmonized Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html
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10/2/2024 0 Comments 163. Radiate
Song: Radiate
Music by: Lisa Piccirillo Notes: Going epic this week -- we learn the chorus to Lisa Piccirillo's song, Radiate, with just me and the piano...and then when we're feeling solid, blow our socks off by singing along with her huge soundtrack! If you love the song, then there are links to find it in Bandcamp, etc, just below! I particularly love the way the word "radiate" is the most intimate in the entire chorus -- it feels like a world of confidence and self-connection right there... Enjoy -- I certainly did!! Songwriter Info: Lisa Piccirillo almost gave up on songwriting, but the muse wouldn’t let her. The inspiration for her latest record came to her as a vision: the silhouette of a woman, backlit by the sun, alongside the word RADIATE. Fueled by this idea and the desire to reclaim her creative identity, Lisa devoted herself to daily songwriting sessions at sunrise and the new record was born. An unapologetically loud follow-up to her mellow and folky 2008 debut (momentum), RADIATE chronicles Lisa’s vast emotional landscape with her signature blend of vulnerable songwriting and powerhouse vocals. Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Lisa always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:02:03 Start time of reprise: 00:13:57 Links: Website: www.lisapmusic.com Linktree: https://linktr.ee/lisapiccirillo Tickets for Radiate Release Event Oct 19th 2024: https://tinyurl.com/48t8dna7 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7GJmGSN3Era6CJspcpMMY4?si=PFoGHPmUTQOVLYSJv0UlNg Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/lisa-piccirillo/289758509 Bandcamp: https://lisapiccirillo.bandcamp.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/lisapiccirillo YouTube: www.youtube.com/lisapmusic Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisapmusic Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, unison Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html
Song: The Change
Music by: Mary L. Cohen Notes: “My dad played the copper fish mold.” — aren’t you curious now? Listen in as Mary Cohen and I explore family music, personal structures for improvisation, creating connections between incarcerated and not-incarcerated people, and more… We wander a bit through grief and disconnection and finding what is, in a conversation that’s real and messy and touches on fear and joy, building a caring community for ourselves, our neighbors, the global world… living with regret and streaming grace to the person we were when we made a mistake; restoring connection. It’s a glimpse of the rich variety of resources Mary draws on as she shapes her life… I hope to add some into mine. Songwriter Info: Mary L. Cohen, 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. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:05:45 Start time of reprise: 01:07:58 Links:
Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, 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. https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share 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! https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html 4/9/2024 0 Comments 142. Roadblock
Song: Roadblock
Music by: Debbie Nargi-Brown Notes: Debbie Nargi-Brown has written a powerhouse of a song, beloved by anyone who has gotten to sing it with her... it builds the energy to get up again, and again, no matter what the fall. Sometimes I need to temper this with the reminder to myself to be attentive to what I need as I'm getting up -- it can be done slowly, and that's still a getting up worth celebrating. At the same time, the sheer tenacity of this song, combined with the acceptance that life is unpredictable, unknowable, and our job is to stay in the arena -- I love this for all of that! This song has a potent backstory, as Debbie caught it shortly after her life partner had received a very frightening diagnosis, and they began the unpredictable, unknowable path of treatment. Songwriter Info: Debbie Nargi-Brown is a gifted community song leader, an award-winning dance teacher, and a talented songwriter, who resides in the Santa Cruz Mountains in CA. She offers her songs with love, compassion, and the hope of bringing joy and healing to others. Debbie’s lyrics and melodies are sung all over the world. She writes songs for the heart, healing, transformation, love, grief, and all that connects us as human beings. Bringing people together in dance and song is one of her greatest joys in life! Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Debbie for recording and/or performing permission. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:33 Start time of reprise: 00:15:05 Links: To listen or purchase her music: https://www.debbienargi-brown.com/albums/ You can also sign up for her newsletter through her website to find out about upcoming retreats or follow her on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.nargibrown There is a great live version of Roadblock on her soundcloud page: https://on.soundcloud.com/gSDc2 Debbie's music is also available on all streaming platforms now. Debbie also offers a great opportunity: Private lessons online! She says: Schedule a session with me if you would like help with: writing a song (this could be your very first song), finishing a song you are working on, adding harmonies or parts to one of your songs, strengthening your song leading abilities, teaching harmonies or multiple parts, connecting to your voice and feeling good about your singing, using garageband as a songwriting tool and/or to record your song. You can schedule a single session or we can work together multiple times. Each session will be tailored to what you want to accomplish. Email me if you have any questions or to book a session: [email protected] Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Aeolian, 3-layer 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! 4/1/2024 0 Comments 141. Suis ton rêve
Song: Suis ton rêve
Music by: Rafaela Carlier Notes: Rafaela and I struck up a friendship when we were both fortunate enough to spend a week exploring vocal improvisation together at Le Cercle Enchantée in the summer of '23. Now, Rafaela thinks of herself as a visual artist -- but listen to what came through her as she was freely exploring song a few months later. Wow! And then she shared it with me over WhatsApp -- and so I could sing this song first heard by a friend of mine, in the language that was speaking to her. I love singing the heart songs of friends -- I wish sharing them with each other could be as ordinary as texting a heart emoji! You'll hear me "duetting" playfully with her song -- making up lines -- I hope you'll try, too... Songwriter Info: Rafaela says, "I am a handycrafter and an artist, without distinction between the two. I hope to have more lives to learn and practice all I would like to: tango, ceramic, botany, muralism, circlesinging... yet I feel lucky to have followed a lot of my dreams... and to keep on it!" Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Rafaela for recording and/or performing permission. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:19 Start time of reprise: 00:12:39 Links: Rafaela's website: www.rafaelia.com Rafaela's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RafaeliaHandmadeDesign Rafaela's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rafaelia_handmadedesign/ Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Aeolian, unison (with made up harmonies) 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! 1/17/2024 2 Comments 132. Hold Fast the Hope
Notes: We play a little with the harmonies over and under this very singable melody Paulette wrote to set part of a letter written in 1675 by George Fox (it's been a minute!) He was writing during troubled times to a persecuted people. As I was recording, I kept wondering how it could feel to be both "sure and steadfast" and "float above"... the invitation is open to you to explore!
Songwriter Info: Paulette Meier is a Quaker singer/songwriter from Cincinnati, Ohio, where her strong voice has led crowds in song at many a gathering for peace, justice and an earth restored. As a peace educator in schools, she produced an award-winning album, Come Join the Circle: LessonSongs for Peacemaking, now used in classrooms across the country to help children learn the skills of peacemaking. As Artist in Residence for 9 months at Pendle Hill, a Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation, her appreciation for Quaker history and spirituality deepened, leading to a practice of setting inspiring quotations of 17th century Quaker founding leaders to chant-like song. She leads chanting at the Wisdom retreats of Cynthia Bourgeault, author, mystic, and teacher of the contemplative Christian Wisdom tradition. This on-going collaboration led to a second album of Quaker chants composed by Paulette, Wellsprings of Life: Quaker Wisdom in Chant, on which this song can be found. Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Paulette for recording and/or performing permission. When sharing this song, please credit the source: w: George Fox, 1675; m: Paulette Meier, on the album Wellsprings of Life, Quaker Wisdom in Chant. Links: Paulette's Website (order downloads or CD here) - www.paulettemeier.com Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:04 Start time of reprise: 00:13:31 Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, unison with harmonies 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! 10/11/2023 0 Comments 120. Alchemy with Guest Te Martin
Notes: “I feel inside of myself something expanding when I sing," says Te. They've used song to metabolize experience for as long as they can remember... and as Te shares this song, we get to feel into their experience of trust. Alchemy could be a way of building gold out of fear; something beautiful is uncovered as Te sings and shares about learning to carry the complexity of song sharing loosely, relationship to each other and the earth, liberation... and the magic of a sigh.
Songwriter Info: Te Martin is a song-keeper and ritual artist. They were born on Ramaytush Ohlone land in San Francisco and have been shaped by Ocean, Redwoods, circus arts, and theater games. They facilitate oral tradition singing classes and workshops that focus on song as a tool for collective liberation, somatic regulation, and ancestral connection. Te served as co-organizer of Thrive Street Choir in the San Francisco bay area for six years, is a student of Gaelic song, and released their first professional music video and EP of original songs, "Water & Bones," in 2021. Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Te for recording and/or performing permission Links from the conversation: The Lama Foundation: https://www.lamafoundation.org/ Pueblo Tiwa People Northern New Mexico: https://accessgenealogy.com/new-mexico/tiwa-pueblo-indians.htm Southern Pomo Coast Miwok: https://alamedanativeart.com/post/alameda-native-history-project/coast-miwok-and-southern-pomo-map/ Songs of Mother Europe: https://weavingremembrance.org/songs-of-mother-europe-fall/ The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18144590-the-alchemist The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: https://juliacameronlive.com/books-by-julia/ Alchemy process: https://aras.org/concordance/content/alchemical-process-and-its-stages Village Fire Singing Iowa: http://www.villagefiresinging.org/ Liz Rog: https://realsmalltowns.com/liz-rog-singing-as-breath-and-food/ Singing Alive Oregon: https://singingalive.org/ Melanie DeMore: https://melaniedemore.com/bio/ Lisa G. Littlebird: https://thebirdsings.com/ Finding Our Voice on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/findingourvoiceproject -- while Josh and Te's "Finding Our Voice" project didn't end up with lots of accessible recorded interviews, it built more community among songleaders and nurtured both Josh and Te. Laurence Cole: https://www.laurencecole.com/ Thrive Street Choir in San Francisco bay area: http://www.thriveeastbay.org/thrivestreetchoir Lyndsey Scott: https://www.lyndseyscott.earth Joanna Laws Landis: https://soundcloud.com/nextgenna/healing-through-grief-joanna-laws-landis Ysaye Barnwell: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-serendipitous-life-ysaye-barnwell-and-the-healing-power-of-music/2015/05/01/718db920-e52e-11e4-905f-cc896d379a32_story.html "I’m Yours" by Tracy Chapman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LdCazk77D4 "The Long Way Around" by The Chicks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5HKLteH9Mc Molly Hartwell & Laura Boswell - Wellspring album: https://wellspring.bandcamp.com/album/wellspring Put Your Roots Down: https://riseupandsing.org/songs/put-your-roots-down Put Your Roots Down on A Breath of Song: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/2-put-your-roots-down Te's Links: EP, "Water & Bones": https://temartin.bandcamp.com/album/water-bones "May This Body Be a Bridge" Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Mn_2BSNAg Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/temartin Mailing List: https://mailchi.mp/1debadd3ebb3/sos Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/te.martin/ Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:04:52 Start time of reprise: 01:00:19 Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3 layer 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! |
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Come sing songs to help uncover wellness! We present these companion songs in a relaxed way that makes it easy to learn and join in.
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All original art by Patty Piotrowski,
pocket song singer Logo by Patricia Norton,
aided and abetted by Hannah Gross All text content (except quotes)
created by Patricia Norton ©2024 Juneberry Music, LLC |
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