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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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5/28/2025 0 Comments 191. Another World
Song: Another World
Music by: Patricia Norton Lyrics by: Arundhati Roy Notes: Hearing these words in 2020 for the first time felt like a gift of possibility. I love the deeper listening they invite. It took five years before they found a melody in my head -- and the reminder of the quote in its entirety, which is, "Another world is not only possible, she's on her way. Maybe many of us won't be here to greet her, but on a quiet day, if I listen very carefully, I can hear her breathing." Listening. That's the invitation of this melody, which stacks up into a complicated chord when sung as a round. Songwriter Info: You can find out more about me in general here: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/about-patricia.html Or the whole team that puts this podcast out here: https://www.abreathofsong.com/about.html Sharing Info: Please share freely, and consider contributing to the A Breath of Song gratitude jar in reciprocity -- or write a review, leave a comment! Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:04:25 Start time of reprise: 00:14:00 Links: Flow Singing: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/flow-singing.html All of what I'm up to: https://www.juneberrymusic.com Kindred Voices Retreat: https://kindredvoicesretreat.com Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, round 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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Song: Pearl in the Dark
Music by: Sarina Partridge Notes: Here's something to boost your "joy-ometer", as Sarina refers to it! We dive into infiltrating the health system with singing, stories we tell to make sense of the world, geysers of weird choices, singing to support community goals, cosmic bowling alley bumpers and more... and all that after learning a fresh song of Sarina's that helps us dive into the grit and the mud and the muck (when we choose to!) Songwriter Info: Sarina Partridge is a musician, song-leader and educator in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs, and enjoys singing with a wide variety of music projects - Eastern European and Yiddish song, old-time music, community song-leading... and everything in between. Sarina has traveled around the world to study with master folk singers, and has toured with the traveling ensemble Northern Harmony abroad and in the USA. She has a passion for connecting people with their own creativity and with community, and uses singing to help folks develop a sense of wonder for this wild world around us. Let’s sing! Sarina performs and teaches with several music projects/ensembles (Heartwood, Nanilo) and as a solo artist and educator; teaches at music camps (Village Harmony, Songroots, Folklore Village); and leads regular community sings and workshops in and around Minneapolis. Sharing Info: When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Sarina for permission and rates. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:05:34 Start time of reprise: 01:30:39 Links: Sarina's website: SarinaPartridge.com Sarina's Patreon: patreon.com/sarinapartridge Sarina's Bandcamp: sarinapartridge.bandcamp.com Heartwood's UK tour in March: https://www.heartwoodtrio.com/upcoming SongWeavers retreat: https://www.singwaldorf.org/songweavers Village Harmony: https://www.villageharmony.org/ ABS episode with Kate Valentine: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/130-ride-the-storm-with-guest-kate-valentine Mariah Carey: https://mariahcarey.com/ Bad Posture Club: https://badpostureclub.net/ Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, 3 layer 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 2/19/2025 0 Comments 179. Let Your Voice Be Heard
Song: Let Your Voice Be Heard
Music by: Sarina Partridge Notes: Getting access to Sarina Partridge's catalog of songs was a beautiful moment for me -- SO many good things -- wise, accepting, generous, warm -- the songs reflect the songwriter, for sure! Join me today singing "Let your voice be heard..." -- I love the laid-back feel combined with the invitation to speak up -- and listen to next week's episode to hear Sarina's own voice, getting an inside perspective of how an educator might approach song leading with full heart. Songwriter Info: Sarina Partridge is a musician, song-leader and educator in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs, and enjoys singing with a wide variety of music projects - Eastern European and Yiddish song, old-time music, community song-leading... and everything in between. Sarina has traveled around the world to study with master folk singers, and has toured with the traveling ensemble Northern Harmony abroad and in the USA. She has a passion for connecting people with their own creativity and with community, and uses singing to help folks develop a sense of wonder for this wild world around us. Let’s sing! Sarina performs and teaches with several music projects/ensembles (Heartwood, Nanilo) and as a solo artist and educator; teaches at music camps (Village Harmony, Songroots, Folklore Village); and leads regular community sings and workshops in and around Minneapolis. Sharing Info: When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Sarina for permission and rates. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:05 Start time of reprise: 00:20:00 Links: Sarina's website: SarinaPartridge.com Sarina's Patreon: patreon.com/sarinapartridge Sarina's Bandcamp: sarinapartridge.bandcamp.com Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, harmonized melody with harmonized response 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: One Foot/Lead with Love
Music by: Melanie DeMore Notes: Melanie DeMore both entrances and intimidates people -- she is direct, funny, a fabulous story-teller, and fierce and broad in her love. I have to apologize to listeners for the sound quality of this interview -- we had some microphone glitches on both sides that means despite the best sound studio wizardry I could come up with, there's some distortion, and it's not the usual quality of sound. But the quality of content -- where it counts -- is top-notch. Melanie shares One Foot/Lead with Love, including the story of what sparked its creation. She talks about her family, and how the wisdom and experiences of her parents shaped the way she approaches people who hold different world views. We talk about coyotes, kids, accolades, how she takes care of herself on tour as a "4-star, card-carrying introvert". She sends us out with a charge: “Here’s what you need to do, people out there: keep your head up. Keep your heart wide open. Remember to breathe, and keep doing the work. Sing on.” 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." 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: 00:02:56 Start time of reprise: 01:12:05 Links: Lady of Peace – written by Melanie for her mom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94Clq6DHpNA Threshold Choir: https://thresholdchoir.org/ Children’s Music Network: https://childrensmusic.org/ Bessie Jones: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1BUnRZrkCS0NoTiXefkW6U Ella Jenkins: https://ellajenkins.com/ Oakland Youth Chorus: https://www.oigc.org/oyc Obeah Opera (South African/Toronto) – about Tituba: https://obeahopera.com/ All One Tribe collective album: https://open.spotify.com/album/1EEVSonqRIjEB0DapNIRs8 Melanie's GoFundMe for a home in Taos, NM: https://gofund.me/6be198cb Taos pueblo – Tewa people: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tewa Bebe & Cece Winans – gospel singers: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3WNUkxJcJeliFx9KXWXMgs John Lewis: https://civilrightstrail.com/experience/rep-john-lewis/ Margaret Nes - visual artist: https://www.ventanafineart.com/margaret-nes Something Moving by Mary Watkins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3RTzI4-j64 Whirimako Black: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0dzCFvKwiJQ4w9ViwLzs49 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanie.demore/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/butchyg3/ Melanie's email: melaniedemore(at)earthlink.net Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, call & echo, chorus & verse, 3-part harmony on chorus 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: Don't Go Putting the World on Your Shoulders
Music by: Will Lawrence and Erin Bridges Notes: December in the north is such a great time for me to dig a little deeper -- finding mini-rests, sometimes even by taking an extra breath before I go do the next thing. I love that this song reminds me to lean on other people, too... to widen my base, to remember my connections. The irony of recording this (alone, in my basement!) was not lost on me!!! So I hope you sing extra vigorously along with me, and share this song widely -- I have been loving singing it with my Flow Singers this month, and we are really feeling that "take a nap" verse, I tell you! Songwriter Info: William Lawrence is an organizer and social movement strategist from Lansing, Michigan. He was a co-founder of Sunrise Movement. He is currently the Coordinator of the MI Rent Is Too Damn High coalition, fighting for rent control, tenants rights and social housing in the Great Lakes State. Erin Bridges was raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where she now lives with her dog and queer family in a big turquoise house. Like many southerners, she grew up with a love for shared meals, music sung in fellowship, pies made from the garden, and a close relationship to earth. Erin's work is rooted in building a world where everyone can access these simple pleasures. In 2017, she co-founded Sunrise, a youth movement that launched the Green New Deal, and more recently launched Hollerin' Up, aiming to fund people-powered teams for the long haul. Sharing Info: Erin and Will are happy for this song to be shared far and wide, attributed to the two of them! Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:42 Start time of reprise: 00:13:29 Links: Sunrise Movement: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/about/ Sunrise Movement songbook: https://drive.google.com/file/d/120wccqh6jdV-Cb1gCZgxtuE7ELnYPUXL/view?usp=sharing which includes a beautiful acknowledgment of the complexity of oral songsharing without appropriation Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, verse & chorus 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: (O Spirit) Guide Me to Those I Need
Music by: Aimée Ringle Notes: If you've run across Aimée Ringle's work, you know her wicked musical skills, her exuberant, high-energy presence, her huge heart and desire to be of service... and you may not yet know how she grew into her voice, the questions she asks herself around how best to contribute to songcircles, her deep desire for village community, and questions about how to make that real in the here and now. We dig a little into one of the hard conversations in songcircles or any group situation where people bring varying skill levels -- how can people of varying skill levels feel welcome and find space and satisfaction as they are? We talk about what Aimée finds she needs to be able to let songs come through and more! Aimée shares the story of how O Spirit came through and we sing it both with guitar and in an up-close and personal way. It's a big episode because we let our conversation spread out, enjoying the end of summer and a sense of expansiveness. I hope you, too, find that pleasure of connection when you join us. 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: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Aimée for recording and/or performing permission. She says: "For now, the song is just the chorus, but I am paying attention to its evolution and leaving space for the possibility of verses, etc. But this will not be a group process and I'm not inviting unsolicited creative ideas in this process." Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:53 Start time of reprise: 01:34:28 Links: Aimée's website: www.aimeeringlemusic.com Aimée's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AiméeRingle Aimée's O Spirit video on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8wzISTpTsh Aimée's Bandcamp: https://aimeeringle.bandcamp.com Earth Practice: https://www.instagram.com/earthpracticemusic/ Tone Home by Elijah Ray: https://soundcloud.com/entheo/tone-home?in=l29rjc61w9os/sets/the-upload-1 I'm My Own Walkman by Bobby McFerrin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8DUi9RCTiQ Samara Jade: https://www.instagram.com/samara_jade_music/ Three Wheels Turning: https://threewheelsturning.com/ "We are what we repeatedly do." Aristotle interpreted by Will Durant: https://blogs.umb.edu/quoteunquote/2012/05/08/its-a-much-more-effective-quotation-to-attribute-it-to-aristotle-rather-than-to-will-durant/ The Sharpening Stone: https://www.instagram.com/thesharpeningstone/ Laurence Cole: https://www.laurencecole.com/ Liz Rog: https://www.facebook.com/liz.rog1/ Shireen Amini: https://shireenamini.com/music Song Village: https://www.songvillage.net/ Emergent Strategy and Holding Change by Adrienne Maree Brown: https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/emergent-strategy/, https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/holding-change-2/ Billie Eilish: https://www.instagram.com/billieeilish/ Ganavya: https://www.instagram.com/ganavya Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Aeolian, unison chant 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 9/4/2024 0 Comments 159. The Ambulance Song
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 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: We Got All The Love
Music by: Helen Yeoman Notes: So many different things going on in this episode! First, in some ways this is a "greatest hit" of the community song world, so maybe you already know it? Helen Yeoman's confident, sweetly harmonized zipper song speaks to what can build and sustain hopefulness -- this knowledge that, in some way, we are exactly where we need to be. I am delighted to welcome onto the podcast my beloved husband of almost 35 years, Tom. He gives us the benefit of his long vocal chords to reach some low notes that are out of my range! Instead of looping this episode, I went back and edited in the alto and tenor parts -- and, oof, the pressure to perfect it, to sing exactly in tune -- I'm not sure I could ever let it go. But here you have the best I could do this week, with the alto panned left and the tenor panned right, soprano and bass in the middle. If it's a song you already know, I hope this gives you great practice; if it's new to you, welcome (and check out the shownotes for other learning options)! Fill in our sound with your voice!!! Songwriter Info: Helen is a well-loved choir leader & composer from the UK. her songs are sung all around the world - literally. She is self-taught and calls on every day events as well as global issues for her inspiration. In 2015 she won the esteemed international UK Songwriters Contest in the gospel category. She has four children and lives in Devon, England. Helen runs workshops and holidays in the UK and Europe and is coming to the USA in September 2024. Sharing Info: When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Helen for permission and rates. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:35 Start time of reprise: 00:17:09 Links: All of Helen's music can be found at www.helenyeomans.co.uk Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major with raised 4 & 5, 4-pt 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! 7/24/2024 0 Comments 154. Gather – We Are Not Alone
Song: Gather - We Are Not Alone
Music by: Joanna Laws Landis Notes: As we gather, by whom are we held? The trees, the earth, the air, the bugs, the people? And what do we bring? Hunger, courage, fear, hope, laughter? Our voices... our dreams. Joanna Laws Landis has written a song to hold the fullness of all this, and the ways in which we are not alone. Next week, join us for a songwriter conversation that explores how we show up... I'll give you a hint: Joanna says in it, "I am a new person in every moment," and talks about how she has observed “how much singing together can really knit a group together.” I hope you experience the fullness of being held... I am looking to be more aware of that myself! Songwriter Info: Joanna Laws Landis (she/her) is a song-carrier and grief-tender with a deep trust in the transformational healing power of welcome and compassion. Joanna was steeped in song and harmony from her early years: in church, at school and in community choirs. In her late 20s, she discovered the community singing movement and felt a deep alignment with this simple and direct pathway to connection and healing. After collecting a wide library of songs from the midwest to the pacific coast, she has been leading community song circles regularly since 2020. Joanna has recently relocated to the land of her maternal grandmother’s people outside of Asheville, NC where in addition to leading singing & grief-tending, she is deepening her understanding of the body’s innate wisdom for healing with Somatic Experiencing International, and is studying collective trauma integration & facilitation with Thomas Hübl. Sharing Info: You are welcome to share/teach the song in community settings, and Joanna always welcomes financial support when it is available. Please contact her for recording and/or performing permission. Links: Listen on Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/joannalawslandis Would love to hear from you via email: [email protected] Follow my Grief Tending offerings on Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.com/o/joanna-laws-landis-amp-will-rogers-30189070512 Donations gratefully received on PayPal or Venmo @joannalawslandis Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor with an occasional major 7, 2 part song; 2nd part 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!
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
Song: Hold On
Music by: Rev. Cleophus Robinson, Jr. Composed in: 1980 Notes: Aaron shares his close personal connection with this song: after the horrible accidental death of his father, "“It was the first inkling, the first kind of hint that this kind of grief might be bearable.” We dove into how to bring anti-oppression work right into songcircles, or any other kind of work you might do. Aaron helped me consider how I, as a white person with financial stability, could practice persistence in anti-racism work... looking for ways to move beyond the crash-and-boom cycle of support that's triggered by a disaster. How do you hold grief and joy at the same time? Aaron invites us into an exploratory "jamming out" section into the song, and talks about touch and connection as self-care. Lots to celebrate, lots to grieve... and while I was sick at the time of recording, (I don't have Aaron's robust immune system!), I'm so grateful to have had the chance to listen. Songwriter Info: Aaron Johnson (he/him) is a facilitator, public speaker, and touch specialist working to identify and interrupt barriers between people. As co-founder of both Holistic Resistance and Grief to Action, Aaron takes the time to hold the stories of black people around homophobia, transphobia, internalized racism, and those that are Chronically UnderTouched. Because oppression is a part of historical and present American culture, the long-term impact of those trauma stories should be acknowledged and held as a map for our collective healing. Aaron Johnson practices and invites various methods of moving through these stories, such as the communal listening ear, sound healing, meditation, and closeness to the earth. Sharing Info: When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Aaron for permission and rates. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:04:42 Start time of reprise: 01:13:45 Links: Bliss is Ordinary podcast episode with Yam and Jessi: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aaron-johnson-invites-you-to-risk-something/id1614727245?i=1000641691263 Holistic Resistance podcast with Lisa Littlebird: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/holistic-resistance/id1368705035 Rev. Cleophus Robinson, Jr.’s recording of Hold On : https://youtu.be/awyHHZ44YDU?feature=shared Aaron's link tree: https://linktr.ee/HolisticResistance Holistic Resistance website: https://www.holisticresistance.com/ Holistic Resistance Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holistic_resistance Grief to Action fund: https://www.grieftoaction.com/ Chronically Under Touched (CUT) project: https://www.cutproject.org/ CUT Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cut.project/ Rescue (album by Acappella Company): https://store.acappella.org/acappella/rescue/ Alillia Johnson's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alillia.sound/ and Bandcamp: https://alillia.bandcamp.com/album/fragments-2 Fivacious, Aaron’s family group: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvh0HKHo5jE Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Minor, unison with opportunities to harmonize, zipper 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! 4/16/2024 0 Comments 143. Love Stays
Song: Love Stays
Music by: Laszlo Slomovits Notes: Laszlo Slomovits gives us a sweet song of life transition -- and the love that stays constant as things shift. I'm singing through the end of a cold (I did edit out the coughing fit!) -- and it reminds me that one of the unique things about this podcast is that it's not all about me delivering album quality polish to you -- it's about you learning these songs, and taking them into your life -- YOU are the one who lets them into your life, singing them in ways that help navigate whatever you face, sharing them with others as you are moved. And all through this change that we are experiencing, love stays... Songwriter Info: Laszlo Slomovits is one of the twin brothers in the folk music duo Gemini. Besides his work with music for children, Laszlo has also set to music the poetry of the ancient Sufi mystics, Rumi and Hafiz (five recordings are available on the website) as well as classic and contemporary American poetry. He is also a published writer of both haiku and lyric poetry. Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Laszlo for recording and/or performing permission. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:44 Start time of reprise: 00:12:20 Links: Gemini Children's Music: http://geminichildrensmusic.com/ Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, round 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! 4/9/2024 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!
Song: My Thoughts Make A Difference
Music by: Chandler Yorkhall Notes: The energy and determination that this song funnels into me can be formidable. It steps from naming that our individual thoughts, feelings, words, and healing matters; next stop is a determination to pay attention to the struggle, because time is short; and then the question -- what can I do for this broken world? It's a vital progression and gathering of force. I sing it at two very different tempos (well, the second, faster one I don't QUITE manage, but, you know, I'll get better at it!) One of the things that stopped me from singing for a long time was feeling like I wasn't good enough, even to sing to myself, because I didn't sound like the albums I had. That's why I leave mistakes in this podcast -- I'm reclaiming my right to not be perfect, and the playfulness and energy that comes from that... and I hope hearing me mess up frees space for you, too. 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: 00:03:07 Start time of reprise: 00:12:50 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! 2/28/2024 8 Comments 137. Kick Up Your Heels!
Song: Kick Up Your Heels!
Music: Patricia Norton Notes: You know how sometimes happiness just bubbles up inside you and it feels like the world is unbelievably sweet? And then maybe, you get a little voice that says, "If you notice it, it's gonna disappear!" Or, "Don't be too happy, it attracts bad luck!" Or any other little fear message that says it's not okay to be purely happy for a moment? This song was my way of letting that go, dancing crazy around my living room and kitchen, lifting my hands high, high and releasing into the glow! On February 24th, 2024, A Breath of Song reached 51.5k downloads and we opened registration for our first-ever retreat... and we sang this song in a crowded Zoom room to celebrate big. Songwriter Info: In addition to hosting this podcast and an online singing program, Pocket Songs, Patricia is excited to be developing an in-person community singing program in Burlington, Vermont. You can find more details about that at the Juneberry Music site. Patricia believes in singing as a part of vibrant well-being, experiencing wholeness, courage, connection and joy along with brokenness, fear, loneliness, and despair... trusting the whole messy catastrophe! She lives with her long-time beloved, Tom, in a small townhouse close to their daughter's family (the better to play with their grand). Patricia reads widely, and also spends time exploring the natural world on these Abenaki lands, knitting, and reluctantly strength-training. Sharing Info: You are welcome to share this song; please contact Patricia directly for sheet music or permission to record or perform. She always appreciates hearing about how the song travels. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:37 Start time of reprise: 00:12:34 Links: Patricia's Website: https://www.juneberrymusic.com A Breath of Song on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/juneberrymusic A Breath of Song on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abreathofsongpodcast Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, aeolian with some chromaticism, round 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 (whoo-hoo!!!!) (https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html) 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! 10/18/2023 0 Comments 121. Make Good Trouble
Notes: John Lewis says bluntly, "Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part." Elizabeth gives us an equally blunt, strong song inspired by the life and words of John Lewis, reminding us to be unafraid to make the noise that needs to be made -- to stand up, and make good trouble -- to not give up because change doesn't come quickly, but rather see it as a lifetime struggle. I share all the parts together eventually, but you could pick and choose to sing only one or two of the parts, depending on which you needed. You'll hear some chromatic notes (close together in pitch) in one of the parts, which create some lively harmonies. I teach it at a slightly slower tempo, then put all the parts together a little faster -- you can see which speed feels best in you!
Songwriter Info: Elizabeth Melvin holds a deep belief in the power of music to provide transformative, joyous experiences on the individual and community level. She brings a lifetime of study and performance in world music to her work as a choir director and song leader. A multi-instrumentalist, she has performed on marimba, keyboards and percussion in a wide variety of genres. She is the founding director of The Freedom Choir, a 60-voice world music community choir in Annapolis, MD. During the height of the pandemic she led the weekly Rise and Sing online community sing featuring guest song leaders from the U.S., Canada, Europe and Africa. Elizabeth is a graduate of the Community Choir Leadership Training in Victoria, B.C., Canada. She has led vocal music workshops around the East Coast and Canada and is passionate about helping everyone find their voice and claim their birthright to sing. Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups. Please contact Elizabeth Melvin if you plan to perform, record or film it with a choral ensemble and she requests that you/your group make a donation to any social justice or voting rights non-profit of your choice in honor of John Lewis. When using this song and the YouTube video (produced by Lea Morris) in a worship or educational setting, please purchase a license at https://www.hopesingseternal.me/songs/makegoodtrouble The license includes the YouTube video, mp3 & mp4 learning tracks and a score. Links: Elizabeth's choir Website: https://www.thefreedomchoir.com The Freedom Choir on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFreedomChoir Elizabeth's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@rhythmsis Elizabeth's Instagram: @liberateyourvoice YouTube Video of Make Good Trouble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nGomUt8gLQ Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:04:58 Start time of reprise: 00:14:52 Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Dorian (ish), 3 layer, 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! 9/20/2023 0 Comments 118. Listen In
Notes: Trying something different here -- lots of space for you to experiment. Jennie Pearl's song was a technique to help her be more open to listening after she had hurt someone -- a way to change her own patterned response to what to do after realizing you've caused harm. I love this song for that chance to change a pattern by intensely listening -- both to myself and the person I've hurt. So I've recorded it with lots of time and space for you discover how it sits in you. If you find you want to rush through it, try singing a harmony, or creating a melody you need to hear to help you stay with it. Eventually, I harmonize it my way and mash everything together -- may feel good to you, or you might like an earlier, more spacious moment? Enjoy listening in...
Songwriter Info: Jennie Pearl (she/her) is a facilitator, singer, and bodyworker who leads from emotion and embodiment in liberation work. She is committed to bridging the gap between racial justice/gender justice and healing work. Alongside her team at Holistic Resistance and Transintimate, she offers a myriad of programming to cultivate ongoing relationships that dream up a more anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and liberatory future. Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but Jennie always welcome financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved. Links: Jennie's Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/Jennie-Pearl-1 -- if you are sharing the song on in a situation where you receive financial compensation, or if you have resources to support Jennie's work in the world, please consider sending support. Holistic Resistance: https://www.holisticresistance.com/about -- get inspired by what Jennie and others are dreaming! Reach for Life! Song Playlist: https://thebirdsings.com/reach/ -- with Listen In arranged by Lisa Littlebird Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:04:15 Start time of reprise: 00:18:47 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! 9/6/2023 0 Comments 116. Be Peace
Notes: This song by Deborah Leeds both challenges and relaxes me-- it has a little "go big or go home" energy -- "Be peace, bring light!" Doesn't feel to me like a small task in today's world! But then it has a sweet, relaxed lilt, and as I sing "this I am," there's a measure of acceptance -- I can only bring me, after all. Then there's an opening of trust -- "Life is a mystery; she carries me" -- ah, now I can "let go, let go, and do (my) part to bring light, bring light and love." Layering all those parts together means I can choose the one I want to sing -- or touch on all four.
Songwriter Info: Deborah Leeds has loved singing and harmonizing with others since she was two! Most recently and in a way that has been life-changing, she encountered Community Choir. A brief visit to Maggie Wheeler's Goldenbridge Choir in Los Angeles re-awakened her deep connection and need for songs and singing with others, and a simple and spontaneous prayer (in the form of a question posed to Maggie: "Please tell me there is someone doing this near me in Berkeley, CA") led to the discovery that Kaitie Ty Warren was forming her Living Room Choir five blocks from Deborah's home. It has been a love fest for the past seven years. Deborah has forayed into songleading, and most recently into songwriting. She is currently the Musical Assistant to the Living Room Choir. She is exuberant about the joy of singing, the absolute truth of medicine in songs, and is happily awestruck at the impact and healing that comes from singing with others. "This is one of the things that you would wish on everybody!" And so she does. And with that, shares this song. Enjoy! Sharing Info: Please share and enjoy this song, and please do contact Deborah to let her know that Be Peace has taken wing and found a perch in your choir or singing group! Links: Deborah's current website is her professional website as a Psychotherapist, and you may contact her that route, deborahleeds.com, or via her email at [email protected] Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:04:00 Start time of reprise: 00:12:48 Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, 4 part 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: Lately, I've been reading closely the lengthy gratitude lists that follow any achievement, struck by the glories created in collaboration. Cathy Baker and Dick Jackson are both work and life partners... so I had many questions for them about collaboration. How do you nurture trust, how do you communicate through disagreement? They took over the reins of the large and thriving Getttin' Higher Choir from beloved coleaders Siobhan Robinsong and Denis Donnelly -- such changes are often fraught with disappointments and unhappiness -- yet they seemed to me to have negotiated the transition with grace and generosity. Cathy describes "A whole lot of good will and an understanding of what ultimately really matters here… that we each feel completely heard," and according to Dick, “A little bit of meditation practice can go a long way.” Hear, too, about their thoughts about imposter syndrome (hint: it's real!), "only the freshest" choral arrangements, the difference between "performer" and "facilitator of people singing in harmony," and more... including Cathy's exuberant, warm-hearted wish, partially inspired by large bus windshield wipers -- "I want to bring joy to your heart!"
Songwriter Info: Cathy was once the shy middle kid of 5 siblings where singing as a family was just part of everyday life. She always loved singing, especially around campfires, on road trips, wilderness trips or anywhere outside. Always seeking harmony, she got over much of her performance shyness by bringing groups of friends together to sing. She now directs the Gettin' Higher Choir with her life partner, Dick Jackson, and she is on the leadership team for both The Ubuntu Choirs Network and the Community Choir Leadership Training (CCLT) program in Victoria, BC. Cathy is active in her local Unitarian Universalist community where Dick is the Musical Director. Together, Cathy and Dick provide musical leadership for Canadian UU camps and Canadian national UU services. They both welcome the opportunity to bring members of the Gettin' Higher Choir to "Sing When Asked To" community events. Dick was fortunate to have singing in the home with his Mom from an early age, and kept involved with singing, school band and organ, later with percussion, piano and a few stints in opera chorus. A keen observer of his excellent music leaders over the years, he is grateful to be able to make this a shared joyful vocation with Cathy. Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Cathy always welcome financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved. Do let Cathy know where this song has travelled. Have fun...may it bring JOY to your heart! Links: Gettin’ Higher Choir: http://www.gettinhigherchoir.ca/index.php Gettin’ Higher Choir YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thegettinhigherchoir8002 Community Choir Leadership Training Program: http://www.communitychoirleadership.com/ Ubuntu Choir Network: http://www.ubuntuchoirs.net/index.php Pat Wictor: https://patwictor.com/ Cee Cee’s Climb by Pat Wictor, performed by Brother Sun https://youtu.be/fkTVK2Yg-JI Dick’s album that’s affected him strongly: Joe Jackson “A Big World” Dick suggestion for an artist:Joe Jackson: http://joejackson.com/ Cathy’s album that’s affected her strongly: Peter Paul & Mary: Peter, Paul & Mommy Cathy’s suggestion for an artist: Connie Kaldor: https://www.conniekaldor.com/ Patti Page: Mocking Bird Hill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7zrMzVNYwo God Sees the Little Sparrow Fall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnN1Cu7RZ-Q A sound Cathy feels strongly about – Pacific Chorus Frogs: https://acousticatlas.org/item/2433 Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Major, zipper 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! 1/18/2023 2 Comments 86. We Were Made for These Times
Notes: Angela Gabriel's gospel-infused setting of Clarissa Pink Estés' fierce words is enough to lift me out of bed into the January cold! You'll hear me play with adding my voice in the looper with different tonal qualities so it sounds like we're singing with a crowd... and then at the end, I'll invite you to sing it simply with me, as a heartfelt duet. Patty said her art for this episode is inspired by the images of boats and wood from the Clarissa Estés letter... "and the idea of standing together, so here are the trees, rooted and strong in all weather."
* This song has had a significant evolution since I recorded it for this episode -- please catch the updates under the links with Angela's own recordings! 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. This song is free to share but Angela always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved. Links: Learn the updated version with Angela herself: https://youtu.be/kZfD7YbZJew?feature=shared Listen to the updated version: https://youtu.be/Rash_81HIhY?feature=shared Letter to a Young Activist by Clarissa Pinkola Estés: https://www.mavenproductions.com/letter-to-a-young-activist 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 Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:02:55 Start time of reprise: 00:12:49 Nuts & Bolts: 12:8, major, harmonized call & response 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! 11/16/2022 5 Comments 77. Winter Song
Notes: I'd like to highlight the custom art created for each episode by Patty Piotrowski. If you're following this on a podcast app that shows only the A Breath of Song logo, and not the artwork, then please go here to feast your eyes! Patty sang in a chorus with me for several years before the pandemic and included me in the friends with whom she shared an Advent calendar of one painting a day via email -- and I loved the experience of opening my email to see something beautiful. During the pandemic, she sang Pocket Songs with me, and we both leaned into song as resource. When I decided to start sharing songs that were making it easier for me to navigate life through this podcast, I wondered if Patty would be willing to share this creative process with me. For each song, she listens ahead of time, sings with it, lets it soak in... and then waits for an image to appear. She emails me a photo of the custom art, which delights me, and makes the process of preparing the podcast for release exponentially more pleasurable.
About this piece, she said: "Here is a tree for all of the seasons of this song I’ve been passing this tree along I91 and talking with it for two years It looks different depending on your orientation: when I approach it from the north on the highway, I see it whole and round with branches, but as I pass it, I see then actually there are no branches on the south side." Dirk says about the song: "Winter Song was written for amateur groups to sing at the winter solstice. I chose the traditional English round form so the repetition can have a meditative effect and people can sing it for as long or short a time as they wish... It was my late wife Adrienne who suggested to me ten years ago that there was a need for new songs to celebrate the eight-fold year celebrations of solstices, equinoxes and cross-quarters that Druids traditionally observe. I did write some others but they were not as good as Winter Song and have passed deservedly into obscurity! 2012 was the last year of Adrienne’s life. She heard the song performed for her birthday in July that year. She was pleased with it. My awareness of her impending death is probably what gives the song its emotional charge." Songwriter Info: Dirk Campbell has put this song into the public domain, so we are welcome to share it. Dirk was born in 1950 in the British military hospital in Ismailia, Egypt, and lived in Kenya till 1962, so was exposed to indigenous Arab and African music before its acculturation by western influence. He went on to a successful career as a composer for films, radio, stage, etc, His website is a fascinating dive (and I mean HOURS worth!!!) into many instruments from a wide variety of cultures around the world on which he has gained skill. He teaches musicians about ways of incorporating ancient and non-western music into contemporary composition. Links: Dirk Campbell Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:43 Start time of reprise: 00:16:39 Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Dorian, 2-part layer song with optional drone. 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! 10/12/2022 4 Comments 72. Unknown (Finding Home)
Notes: This song, about settling into the unknown and experiencing that as home, is one that has been singing in my head throughout this last year of transition for me. The delight of letting my voice slide helps me physically experience the release, and the complex harmonies keep my sense of focus and unsettledness... as though I'm practicing finding that home in the middle of the unknown. I think this is a great song for becoming very aware of how your voice feels in your body as you sing, because you'll get used to the words fairly quickly -- and then you can shift the focus to the sensations as you sing. (A sneaky form of somatic meditation, but you don't need to notice that, unless you want to!)
Songwriter Info: (Snitched directly from Anni's website) Anni Zylstra (she/they) is a folk singer, basketmaker, farmer, and weaver of community based in the traditional homelands of the Oceti Sakowin and Ho-chunk in SW so-called Wisconsin. She has been teaching, writing, and collecting new and old polyphonic songs in the aural tradition for a decade. In the spirit of folk, they believe that everyone can sing, and that using our voices to make beauty together is one of most pleasurable, accessible, and world building activities people can do together. Anni's facilitation is rooted in anticapitalist values, play, a queer nature-based lens, and more than a decade of classical musical training, ethnomusicology, and community leadership. They currently farm on the West Fork of the Kickapoo River, where they grow basket willow, perennial food crops, raise ducks, host events and classes folk education style, and lead Ember, a community choir that sings Balkan, Georgian, and polyphonic English music in La Farge, WI. Links: Heartland Harmony | Singing for Joy and Connection Here is a 45-minute interview with Annie, hosted by Kate Valentine of Singing Mama's choirs, all about song writing and sharing. Meet Annie Zylstra - Choir composer extraordinaire! - YouTube @zestinferna -- Anni on Instagram Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:15 Start time of reprise: 00:13:24 Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Dorian, harmonized paired melodies 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've shared this song with my pocket song singers online group, meaning I was live-looping it... and the layers are intricate! The different lines interweave closely, creating a dense, beautiful texture. Lyndsey and I enjoy our conversation -- hear her talk about dropping root to choose what to do in the morning and set an intention, about how grief can be a healer, and wealth of teachers and mentors she draws on. Learn which voices still niggle at her, even with all the wisdom she has steeped herself in, and how she includes and cares for those parts, too. When we recorded this, I was in a particularly fragile place, feeling a little unmoored -- I felt better after this time spent talking and singing... more connected, more hopeful. As usual, I left with more questions than I started with... but it feels like a big door has opened and is welcoming me through. Following the links will keep me learning for a good long time!
Songwriter Info: Lyndsey Scott is an artist-goofball-yintennae devoted to priestesSing the Heartland, (literal and figurative). She weaves community singing to empower earth-based spiritual consciousness, and gathers soul circles that, through Song and sacred listening, decompose oppressive scripts that get in the way of freely living the Love we are. With jams that get you skipping easily between the sacred, sexy, and sssssilly : your inner child, exiled banshee, and wise elder are all very invited to the circle. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:06:40 Start time of reprise: 01:14:35 Links: Are you ready??? Lyndsey had so many resources to share, so this is the longest set of links yet! Let's start with links for Lyndsey and As I Relax: The song is free to share but Lyndsey always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved. Lyndsey's website: lyndseyscott.earth Everything Lyndsey! https://linktr.ee/lila.gaia We Belong Community of Song: https://www.facebook.com/webelongcommunityofsong Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lyndseyscott Lyndsey's album on Bandcamp: https://lyndseyscott.bandcamp.com/album/well-held And now links to things that came up during the conversation -- starting with some of the quotations. “He who sings, prays twice.” ― St. Augustine “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” ― E. B. White “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ― Howard Thurman Orland Bishop: Orland Bishop (presswarehouse.com) adrienne maree brown: adrienne maree brown – 'The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.' – camus…documenting my liberation San Francisco mural by Susan O’Malley: SusanOMalley_Mural_2009-2048x1536.jpg (2048×1536) (rootdivision.org) Starhawk, “The Fifth Sacred Thing” The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk « Starhawk's Website Marianne Williamson: Marianne Williamson – #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume: Foundation For Inner Peace: 8601421955508: Amazon.com: Books Shireen Amini: Shireen Amini Music Medicine and Shireen Amini Shelley Tochluk: Living in the Tension & Workshop Series (shellytochluk.com) Emerald Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/jm/podcast/how-trance-states-shape-the-world/id1465445746?i=1000512752303 Chubby Cree: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbTonaZJL2d/ Laurence Cole: Can’t Do It Wrong / My Life Is So Cuckoo — Laurence Cole Love Poems from God, translated by Daniel Ladinsky: Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West (Compass) - Stillness Speaks Grace Lee Boggs: Grace Lee Boggs - Wikipedia Malidoma Somé and grief ritual: Dr. Malidoma Somé, Phd. | The Legacy of Elder Malidoma Somé Sibomfu Somé and grief ritual: http://www.sobonfu.com/ Embracing Grief | Sobonfu Somé Enneagrams – here’s one summary set: Integrative Enneagram Solutions (integrative9.com) Aretha movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkKOIQwTiKE Characteristics of White Supremacy by Tema Okun: Microsoft Word - Okun - white sup culture.doc (whitesupremacyculture.info) Francis Weller/ five gates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBfagOEkMi4 Home (francisweller.net) Liz Rog/Center for Belonging: https://www.centerforbelonging.earth/ Earthkeeper Wisdom School: https://www.earthkeeperwisdomschool.com/ Grief to Action: https://www.holisticresistance.com/grief Influential album: MC HAMMER - Please Hammer Don't Hurt Em - Amazon.com Music Lynn O'Brien: https://www.lynnobrien.love/ Artist Lyndsey wishes more people listened to: Briony Greenhill. Album: https://www.brionygreenhill.com/crossing-the-ocean Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Minor; 4 layers, one echoed/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! 9/21/2022 3 Comments 69. Sing Upon Joy (Livian's Song)
Notes: I love this song for the both-and-ness... both joy and grief; both broken and mending; both hurt and healing, lost-found, hidden-revealed. The song appeared in an including way, too... Lyndsey was tasked with finding or creating moments of beauty and surprise at 2017 Village Fire, and as she sat at a table with the youth, creating art and words to decorate the port-a-potties, she saw what 10-year-old Livian had written -- "Sing upon joy". Lyndsey heard it as a song, and sang the first phrase... then the folk at the table created the interlocking part together. Both music and art, both words and song, both older and younger, both-and, both-and. Next week's episode is a songwriter conversation with Lyndsey -- not only does she share one of the amazing songs from her new album, but we get to talk and explore. My heart feels wider, my brain click-ier, my spirit lighter after every interaction with Lyndsey -- I hope you can join us!
Songwriter Info: Lyndsey Scott is an artist-goofball-yintennae devoted to priestesSing the Heartland, (literal and figurative). She weaves community singing to empower earth-based spiritual consciousness, and gathers soul circles that, through Song and sacred listening, decompose oppressive scripts that get in the way of freely living the Love we are. With jams that get you skipping easily between the sacred, sexy, and sssssilly : your inner child, exiled banshee, and wise elder are all very invited to the circle. Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:11 Start time of reprise: 00:14:30 Links: The song is free to share but Lyndsey always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved. Lyndsey's website: lyndseyscott.earth Everything Lyndsey! https://linktr.ee/lila.gaia We Belong Community of Song: https://www.facebook.com/webelongcommunityofsong Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lyndseyscott Lyndsey's album on Bandcamp: https://lyndseyscott.bandcamp.com/album/well-held Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Major, 2 harmonized layers 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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