Song: Breathe
Music by: Batya Levine

Notes: This was the song I needed to sing to help myself through the pre-election moment... building trust in myself to navigate whatever comes next, tap into the energy to work up to the last moment to effect the change I hope for. Batya Levine is an incredibly heart-sourced song composer, and they'll be releasing a new album in December... check out their website and get on the list to know when it appears -- it's sure to be wonderful, and "Breathe" will be on it -- and you'll know it!

Songwriter Info: Batya Levine (they/them) uses song as a tool for cultivating healing and resilience in their work as a communal song leader, shaliach tzibur (Jewish prayer leader) and cultural organizer. Batya is a co-founder and Director of Programs at Let My People Sing!, and they compose original music made of Ashkenazi yearning, queer heart-medicine, and emunah (faith). Batya is releasing their second album, Yivarechecha, in December 2024 through Rising Song Records.

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

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:34
Start time of reprise: 00:20:13

Links:
Batya's website: https://www.batyalevine.com

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 3-layer

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Song: Fear (Come to Me)
Music by: Joanna Laws Landis

Notes: Joanna and I explore the idea of inviting fear to come closer and be held, through song and word. We talk about how gifts of attention can come from wounds, and therefore be mixed blessings. Joanna describes the "field" she tends in a song circle, and what craves special notice when you live and work with the same person. This was recorded shortly before the political change in the USA when Biden chose not to run for office, so you won't hear us talking about the buoyancy that can come from feeling hopeful... but we do touch on navigating grief and fear! We also talk about one of the huge gifts a group singing can give a songcarrier....

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 welcome financial support when it is available. Please contact her for recording and/or performing permission.
​
Links: 
Listen on Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/joannalawslandis
Email Joanna at [email protected] 
Follow Joanna's Grief Tending offerings on Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.com/o/joanna-laws-landis-amp-will-rogers-30189070512
Donations gratefully received on PayPal or Venmo @joannalawslandis

Thomas Huebl trauma integration: Academy of Inner Science https://thomashuebl.com/courses/training-programs/
Robert Frost - 'Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down.' https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/05/24/poem-tennis/
Bliss Is Ordinary podcast – the 4th & 5th episodes are with Laurence Cole: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1939735
Laurence Cole: https://www.laurencecole.com/
Laurence Cole and Ahlay Blakely are also hostingonline grief circles:: https://www.healingattheroots.com/onlinemonthlygriefcircles
The Cranberries Everyone Else is Doing it So Why Can’t We?
Soup: Jook…  A Chinese rice porridge with ginger and garlic & maybe chicken. Here’s a Mark Bittman recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1839-jook
Lianne La Havas artist – Paper Thin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug3Q9RmFywc

Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, harmonic minor, 2-part​

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: 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: Bend and Rebound
Music by: Heidi Wilson

​Notes: Heidi is an incredible resource for songs connected with the natural world -- and this one turns to willows, with their ability to give and spring, bend and rebound. Next week, Heidi and I get to talk about how she accesses her own rebound during winter and other times. We ponder the urge to help, the balance of local and travel, and Heidi describes what she is "on a rampage" about... including a request for listeners regarding a cave! I hope you can join us...

Songwriter Info: Heidi Wilson has a passion for sharing songs in service to community and the wild world; songs that celebrate the seasons, bring groups together, offer thanks, muster courage, and make room for healing. She is drawn to the potent and surprising journey of deep-listening and collaborative emergent music making. Heidi has been leading community singing groups in Vermont for the last 15 years and currently sings with the vocal trio Heartwood.

Sharing Info: Heidi says: "I’m on an ongoing journey figuring out how to share songs (that feel like generous gifts from the world) while also making a living as a songweaver. I am happy for the songs coming through me to be shared! If people are singing them in informal, community, or ritual settings that’s awesome, sing away! If people are sharing them in a setting where they are making a bunch of money or there is a budget for educational/repertoire materials and they are able to pass some of those resources my way I appreciate that. I would feel good about that reciprocity coming in the form of a one time donation, or by joining me on Patreon and supporting my songweaving work at any monthly level. And if you are interested in recording any of these songs let’s talk!

Looking for recordings of more songs? I mostly share music through Patreon, an online platform to support artists. On my Patreon site I’ve posted 80+ songs. Each post has downloadable practice recordings of the harmony parts. And through Patreon I also link to a spreadsheet where the songs are organized into categories, so you can listen through and find just the right song for Spring, or Gratitude, or Trees."
​
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:38
Start time of reprise: 00:11:42

Links: 
Heidi's Website: www.heidiannwilson.com
Heidi's Patreon: www.patreon.com/HeidiWilson
Heartwood Trio's Website: www.Heartwoodtrio.com

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Ionian (major), 2-part round with harmony

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

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

Song: Breathe Deep
Music by:​ Sara Stutz

​Notes: I had an early morning voice as I was recording this, full of creaks and gaps -- and it shifts as it goes! I didn't rerecord, partly because, you know, time, and partly because I'm challenging myself to let recordings be human and real, and partly because A Breath of Song is all about turning up with the voices we have... so you're welcome! 😊 Sara Stutz's beautiful song starts in one calm place, and then ever so gracefully settles into an even calmer presence. I can feel my whole system regulate every time I sing it.

Songwriter Info: Sara grew up in a musical family and has always loved to sing. Over the years, Sara sang in choirs, performed in musical theater, led songs as a camp counselor, studied music in college, performed classically and thankfully, landed in the world of community singing about seven years ago when she met Kaitie Ty Warren and started singing with a few folks in Kaitie's living room. The heart connection, and joy that the Community Singing world has brought to Sara has been life changing. Sara is currently co-leading Living Room Choir ANEW with Kaitie Ty Warren and recently had the great good fortune to travel to Victoria Canada to complete her Community Choir Leadership Training (CCLT) and become part of the Ubuntu Network. Sara also works as a pediatric physical therapist and loves to use singing, rhythm and movement to support connection and emotional regulation for little and big people.

Sharing Info: Sara would be delighted if you sing and share her song. She'd love to hear how this song might land with you or your group.

Links:
Sara is co-leader of Living Room Choir ANEW: https://thelivingroomchoir.com/
Sara's email addresses:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Kaitie Ty Warren: https://kaitietywarren.com/
Community Choir Leadership Training (CCLT): https://www.communitychoirleadership.com

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:41
Start time of reprise: 00:17:42

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3-layer, harmonized (5 parts total)

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

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

Notes: Meg tells us where she goes "to integrate, to reorient around what matters most to me, and connect with the world around me and that sense of source within myself." We talk about "the good, the beautiful, and the true," and she doesn't shy away from the awkward questions I have about those words in today's world. Meg and her two children, Clancy and Celia, teach us "What Would It Take?" with its intertwining harmonies, and then later we talk about the experience of singing in harmonies and how it connects to boundarys and group awareness. Meg says, “My pathway with the voice…is about repeatedly coming back into connection with myself…and the possibility of joy.”

Songwriter Info: Meg loves helping people access their innate capacity for healing, connection, and joy. She is a somatic coach, supporting individuals and couples in growth, transformation, and healing. Because she's always found the voice, and especially singing in harmony with others, to be a particularly powerful pathway for connection with ourselves and the world around us, she delights in serving as a music teacher, song leader, and vocal mentor. She hosts an annual adult and family singing retreat on the coast of Maine called SongWeavers. In addition, Meg is an Adjunct Professor for Antioch University's Graduate Program for Waldorf Teachers and for the Center for Anthroposophy's Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program. Her sources of inspiration include the small, misty mountain that overlooks her home and singing with her children, Clancy and Celia.

Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but Meg always welcome financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

Links: People of the Dawnland, Wabanaki confederacy and Penobscot people: https://matlt.org/wabanaki-people-of-the-dawnland/
Spell Songs: The Lost Words: https://www.thelostwords.org/spell-songs/
The Spell Songs: Blessing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUBBF99UNkQ
Blue Hill Mountain: https://bluehillheritagetrust.org/blue-hill-mountain/
SongWeavers of Maine: https://www.singwaldorf.org
Antioch University, Masters for Waldorf Teachers: https://www.antioch.edu/academics/education/waldorf-education-med/
Heidi Wilson: https://heidiannwilson.com/
Sarina Partridge: https://sarinapartridge.com/
Nicholas Williams: https://www.kehlerwilliams.com/about
Bennett Konesni: https://www.duckbackfarm.com/
Bagaduce Music lending Library: https://www.bagaducemusic.org/
Waldorf Education: https://www.waldorfeducation.org/waldorf-education
Meg’s Somatic Coaching: https://www.singwaldorf.org/work-with-meg
Tinder Hearth pizza restaurant: https://www.tinderhearth.com/
Joni Mitchell - Blue: https://jonimitchell.com/music/album.cfm?id=5
Kongero- Swedish Folk'appella group: https://kongero.se/

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:45
Start time of song after teaching: 00:34:56
Start time of reprise: 01:16:40

Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, minor, 3-part harmony

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

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

Notes: I've been lucky to have Resa singing with me for the past ten years in various Juneberry Music offerings, and her warm, colorful voice always brings me pleasure to hear. So as I sing this song, it's as though I hear Resa's voice inside mine. There's something wonderful about selecting the voices that are allowed inside your head and the messages you choose to hear. I find myself calmed by Resa's companionship in this song, reminding me to return to the present, make space for what is, return, return.
​
Songwriter Info: Resa is a Certified Music Practitioner (Therapeutic Musician) at Concord Hospital, Concord, NH, who sings at the bedside of patients, including those who are who are physically and mentally ill, dying, recovering from surgery, in a coma, or in the NICU. She firmly believes in the healing power of music, and, like St. Augustine, affirms that "He who sings, prays twice." Resa has been singing in choirs and choral groups in the United States and Europe since she was 5 years old and occasionally accompanies herself on piano or guitar. When not singing, she is a voracious reader, an adventurous cook, an avid cross-stitcher, and devoted pet-parent. This song was born fully formed after struggling with the process of being present in the gift of each moment as it arrives.

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

Links: Resa's profile on Creative Ground: https://www.creativeground.org/profile/resa-cirrincione-cmp#section-about

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:15
Start time of reprise: 00:12:20

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, mantra, unison (optional harmonizing)

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

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

​Notes: Even though Kate wanted a resolution, the song insisted on being what it is -- a way to stay in the storm. She talks with me about how that felt, and what happened as she kept listening. We explore further -- how do you become a songleader when that's not how you view yourself? How do you write songs, when that feels scary-impossible? What is it about singing together that offers healing, and why is Kate herself drawn to doing things that help people in difficult moments? Where do songs live? I left this conversation with respect and excitement tumbling over each other... I hope you, too, enjoy hearing Kate's perspective.

Songwriter Info: Kate Valentine is a registered nurse and founder of Singing Mamas - a national non-profit for maternal well-being, bringing singing groups across the UK and the globe to women and mothers. Kate started with one group in 2011 and while struggling as a single mum to 3 sons and working nights shifts, she set about to get singing mamas free and referred to all new and expectant mums across the UK. There are now more than 200 leaders across 8 countries, with Singing Mamas programmes being delivered in over 50 local authorities, either as community groups or on-prescription through the national health service (NHS).

Kate is most passionate about bringing the 'untrained' musician into the work of song sharing, and is driven by a determination to re-normalise a singing culture, where it has been lost.

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

Links:
Ashdown Forest - Winnie the Pooh: https://ashdownforest.org/explore/winnie-the-pooh/
Natural Voice Network: https://www.naturalvoice.net/
Nick Prater: https://www.susiero.com/nick-prater.html
Singing Mamas: www.singingmamas.org
You Are My Sunshine: https://www.wideopencountry.com/you-are-my-sunshine/
DYCP Award Arts Council: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/dycp
Monkey Mind: https://www.pocketmindfulness.com/understanding-monkey-mind-live-harmony-mental-companion/
Episode 129: "Inner Peace" by Kate Valentine: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/129-inner-peace
National Health Service UK: https://www.nhs.uk/
Empowering women and addressing poverty: https://givingcompass.org/article/how-women-empowerment-can-help-address-poverty
​German Melodic Minimal Techno: https://www.chosic.com/genre-chart/minimal-melodic-techno/
Royal college of Music, Dave Camlin: https://www.rcm.ac.uk/research/people/details/?id=94812
Sound waves made visible…
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2814-sound-visualising-sound-waves
Cymatics: https://journeyofcuriosity.net/pages/what-is-cymatics-how-to-explained
Fire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSQP0D4p8Xo
Sand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvJAgrUBF4w
Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morisette: https://genius.com/albums/Alanis-morissette/Jagged-little-pill
Anohni and the Johnsons (previously known as Antony and the Johnsons): https://www.anohni.com/
Victor Ruiz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVT_81WihTA
Sama’ Abdulhadi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4lH-KzsQi0
Singing Mamas on Instagram: @singing_mamas_org
Singing Mamas on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/singingmamas

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:52
Start time of reprise: 01:23:00

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, 4-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!

Notes: A generous song to let us both receive and release -- I deeply respect Lynn O'Brien's way of moving through the world. I love singing this song of hers so these words, this wisdom of taking and dropping, yes and no, can sift into my being and start to feel natural, like something I believe in my very core. Patty says, "I connected this song with the micro rhizomes and roots of trees -- what they have within them to give and what is given to them from others." Yes, yes, yes!!!

Songwriter Info: Described as a "musical force of nature," Lynn O'Brien is an award-winning vocalist, songwriter, performer and recording artist with a soulful, dynamic voice. She has captivated thousands of audiences with her healing original songs, well-loved covers and compelling vocal improvisation - seamlessly blending genres like folk, jazz, soul, blues and R&B. ​Lynn has collaborated with artists across all mediums (from book authors to belly dancers to Bobby McFerrin himself) and also soars as a solo artist; she accompanies her vocals on guitar, ukulele, piano and occasional loop station to create an a cappella "one woman choir" effect. Drawing on her background as a board-certified music therapist, women's empowerment coach and speaker, Lynn brings a deep sense of presence, authenticity and inventiveness to every performance.
​
In a moment of deep presence, Lynn spontaneously composed this tune as a self-prayer and intention-setting of radical openness. Influenced by Tosha Silver's writings and many other spiritual teachers, she finds that her core work is often about opening - opening to receive and release - opening to being an easy, open conduit for Life to come through. Singing and improvisation is where this openness is most accessible for her, but she tries to practice in all areas of life. Thanks for listening, and please use this freely.

Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but Lynn always welcome financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved. To request the original recording from Lynn O'Brien, please contact her through her website, www.LynnOBrien.love

Links:
Website: https://www.lynnobrien.love/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynnobrienlove/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lynnobrienlove
Listen/buy on Bandcamp: https://lynnobrienmusic.bandcamp.com/album/rising
Listen/stream on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4yMCG3V8FNV7JbkGR6FPTc
Listen/follow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LynnOBrienLove
​
Support via Virtual Tip Jar (you know, "willingness to receive" and all that!)
Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/lynn-Obrien 
Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/lynnobrienmusic

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:51
Start time of reprise: 00:15:40

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4 minor; call and response, harmonized

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

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

Notes: A vivid reminder of what it's like to drop into hyper-awareness of breath and body... combined with a song that makes me extra aware of breath flow (like, it runs out! ) Very satisfying combination. The harmonies also move in intriguing ways -- now close, now far, now drawing back together and intertwining. As often happens, I struggled a bit to release this episode -- it's not perfectly, exquisitely in-tune... and it's not a perfect, exquisite voice that's singing! But I remind myself again and again that the point here is not perfection -- it's good that you'll be able to understand the song and sing it, too... and carry it off into your world. It's good that I spent an evening singing a song that helps me be more aware of my breath and body. It's good that I got to gaze at Patty Piotrowski's artwork for this piece as I sang. This is just a darn good way to be spending my life... so thanks for your company in this practice of singing beyond perfection!

Songwriter Info: Neal has been leading singing sessions in Cornwall for seven years. His style is influenced by membership of the Natural Voice Network and the sessions are non-performance, inclusive, mindful and with an ear to the spiritual/sacred in the widest sense of those words. Neal's songwriting is inspired by outdoor spaces where he does regular singing events, and being in the present: the only place where we can experience the world and each other.

Sharing Info: Please share this song and make a donation to https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jollygoodsinging, the amount reflecting your own income and assessment of the song's worth to you.

Links:
Jolly Good Singing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jollygoodsinging/

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:00
Start time of reprise: 00:14:41

Nuts & Bolts: 6:8 minor with harmonic minor moment, 3 part harmony

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

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

​Notes: Te Martin describes this song as an exhale... I experience it like that, too... a relaxation, a release. It's so very welcome to me as I'm coming into a busy time of life, with lots of commitments lined up -- I need ways to let go quickly, in the middle of all the flurry. Having this song in my mind lets me do that... and if I happen to be with someone else who's willing to sing, it's so easy to echo it back to each other. Next week is a songwriter conversation with Te... bicycles, miso, and the natural world all come into play!

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: 
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: 00:03:53
Start time of reprise: 00:12:10
​​
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 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!​

Notes: Catherine Young, a poet deeply rooted in the Driftless region of Wisconsin, USA, gives us a wistful melody in the ancient Dorian mode -- a minor scale that has a beautiful, lifted sixth degree that gives it a particular flavor you'll come to know well by singing this with me. In the northern hemisphere, fall is upon us -- the equinox approaching -- and this song carries with it the beauty of this time, and the grief of letting go of summer. I teach the melody first, just letting my mouth form shapes to really get to know this beautiful tune -- you can create your own shapes, and then round it with me, or on your own -- or stay with the original melody. So many options!

Songwriter Info: Catherine Young is a writer and performing artist whose work is infused with a keen sense of place. She is author of the ecopoetry collection Geosmin and the environmental memoir Black Diamonds. Her weekly podcast Landward:Readings of Place and Season is available online from WDRT. Rooted in farm life, Catherine lives with her family in Wisconsin's Driftless Area where she is totally in love with meandering streams. She holds concern for water and deeply believes in the use of story and art as tools for transforming the world.

​Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but Catherine always welcome financial and/or networking support. Please contact her to purchase sheet music.

Links: 
"September Round" is from the song almanac Rounding the Year which can be purchased in print or as pdf from Catherine: [email protected]
You can also request to be put on her mailing list.
For writings and recordings, visit Catherine's website: http://www.catherineyoungwriter.com/
Podcasts: https://wdrt.org/landward/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherineyoungwriter 

Live online international book launch conversation for her book Black Diamonds: a Childhood Colored by Coal.
Thursday, September 28, 2023 6 PM Central Time (7pm eastern).
LINK FOR EVENT: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/black-diamonds

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:53
Start time of reprise: 00:17:53
​​
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Dorian, round

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

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

Notes: 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: Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with the thought of death, I think I'm going to precipitate it by forgetting to breathe! And then somehow, something will help me back into the present, alive moment... and this song appeared just after one of those moments. I was absolutely delighted to record it with my son, Seth, who was visiting from Boston (you'll hear a little fangirl excitement in my voice)... and also surprised by how different it was for me to sing it with someone else rather than just my own voice on the looper! This voice music thing... it's always surprising me, delighting me, stretching me. And this particular song keeps coming back, insisting I sing it again.

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 single bedroom apartment 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.

Links: 
Patricia's Website: https://www.juneberrymusic.com

​Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:25
Start time of reprise: 00:15:15
​​
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4 Minor & Major, unison or 2-part 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!​

Notes: This is a prime example of how on this podcast, there's lots of space for YOUR voice! This Is It is a deeply grooved song by Maggie Wheeler, and I did a super simple bass line -- so you could make it more complex -- a light variety of percussion sounds -- so you can add more -- the melody in one voice, so you can make it richer and rounder and groovier -- and one harmony on top, so you can add more in the middle, or even higher up. AND there's space for you to add extra calls! A Breath of Song is unique in that it's not about MY singing -- this is not for you to listen to and admire -- this is for you to sing with, to make yours. Because, as Maggie advises, "This is it. This is it! This is the place you wanna be, the song you wanna sing, the love you wanna feel.... the world is calling out to you -- this is it!" Next week, Maggie does the first ever return songwriter episode, and we get to learn where "this" is for Maggie right now... another chance to get to know a miraculous person a little better.

Songwriter Info: Maggie Wheeler is best known in the U.S and internationally for her work as an actress in film, television and voice-over and most notably as the character of Janice on NBC’s hit series Friends. Maggie is a passionate singer, songwriter, choir director and workshop facilitator. She has been teaching her vocal workshop "Singing In The Stream" for over 30 years at retreat centers, universities, communities and schools to provide the experience of creating interpersonal harmony and internal harmony through the powerful act of creating vocal harmony. Maggie directs the 100-voice Golden Bridge Community Choir in Hollywood, an inter-generational, non-auditioned choir now in its 17th year. She is a prolific songwriter with a catalog of powerful and timely songs that have been sung by choirs worldwide. Maggie’s original music for choirs and communities is available on Apple Music and other music platforms. To accompany her CD entitled 'Walk With Me’, Maggie created a songbook available by request through her website www.goldenbridgechoir.com Throughout this time of change Maggie continued the Golden Bridge Choir online producing virtual concerts and videos as well as hosting a weekly online community gathering called Together In Song, bringing together over 4000 people from around the world to join in the healing power of singing. 

​Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but Maggie always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

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

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:20
Start time of reprise: 00:13:50
​​
Nuts & Bolts: 12:8, Minor, unison with optional harmonies

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

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

Notes: Singing this song settles me so deeply, reassuringly, into my body to be able to tolerate the discomfort of big feelings. When I was browsing for links about the Bengsons to share, the video, "My Joy is Heavy", drew my eye. I started it to see what it was about -- and couldn't stop watching. This podcast episode is about a fabulous song... and if you can go see "My Joy is Heavy", it will give you so much more. Abigail and Shaun Bengson are powerful storytellers, creating stories rooted in truths of their lives... this one in pregnancy and loss. Abigail says, "Honor the poetry that exists in each of our moments of crisis... when something big cracks your life, there is a kind of poetry that spills out -- details become important or disappear; it's an amazing time outside of time."

Songwriter Info: Abigail and Shaun Bengson have this to say on their Patreon page: "We've been working to create music and community online and releasing it, joyously and of course for free for a bunch of years. Lots of folks found us initially through our songprayer The Keep Going Song, and then stayed so we could get to know each other. We've been so moved and humbled by the incredible support of the folk who come to our pages and participate through listening, commenting, singing along or writing to us with their own stories of grief, joy, loss, rage and transformation. We've always been focused on releasing everything for free, and keeping our concerts affordable for all!"
​
Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but the Bengsons always welcome financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

Links: 
My Joy is Heavy on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMTBaFm5ibc https://www.bengsons.com/
Abigail singing "Don't Numb to This" https://www.facebook.com/thebengsons/videos/629432998893008
The Bengsons' Website: https://www.bengsons.com/
The Bengsons' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebengsons/?hl=en
​The Bengsons' Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebengsons
The Bengsons' Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebengsons
The Bengsons' Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/08VxLl1rmtFqsvoAmCVaNH?si=MxhG1JamRX6q_3C3a1ulbg&utm_medium=share&utm_source=linktree&nd=1

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:55
Start time of reprise: 00:13:30
​
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4 Minor (Aeolian), unison

​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: Mo Washburn is a somatic healer, among other wonderful things, and this song brings me into intimate, joyful, aware-of-miracles kind of connection with my own body. I love the way singing the words "my mouth" pulls me into awareness of the physicality of singing; I love thinking about what it means to feed the holy... what is the holy, really? What does it mean to feed it, to grow what is holy? The close harmonies feel like I'm being held in the song... and the way it gathers urgency around the words, "the holy being fed" by pushing ahead rhythmically feels so good to me. Here's a song I can lean on!

Take two! I am updating this recording, based on some feedback from Mo -- I had messed up a rhythm (on the "-ty" of "beauty") and a note (on the "-ing" of "being") -- and it didn't feel like an accurate share of the song -- so as of June 4, 2023, it's updated to more accurately reflect what Mo hears... and I promise that when/if Mo records it, there'll be a link in the shownotes, so you can get the real deal!

​Songwriter Info: Mo Washburn (they/them) is an integrative bodyworker, doula, song tender and community web weaver. they cherish working with folks in the field of building and remembering connection~with their bodies, with song, with each other, the unseen, and with the earth. they passionately value slowness, deep listening, singing together, and they love savoring delicious meals with kin.

Sharing Info: Please share this song far and wide, it wants to be sung.

Links: 
Mo's Website: www.mowashburn.com
Mo's Bandcamp: https://mogather.bandcamp.com/album/gather
Mo's Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1nCTliEzzWW59C8FiRwCSZ

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:02
Start time of reprise: 00:15:55
​
Nuts & Bolts: 12:8, Major, 3-part harmony

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

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

Notes: This song of Hannah's rings so deeply true to me -- and it is reassuring to me to have heartbreak normalized. I'm not the only one who hears the news, reads the stories, looks around me, and feels heartbreak. What's beautiful and healing in Hannah's song is the turn of all that breaking into sacred -- something deserving of veneration -- something that blesses us and opens us to life in the most beautiful possible way.

​Longtime listeners (well, two years at least!) may notice I've shifted things up as we've moved into the second 100 episodes, in response to some ideas from you all. There's a clip of the song at the very beginning of the episode, and time markers for when I start teaching the song and the reprise in the shownotes. There's a little less talk at the beginning, but still the invitation to come into your body and breath and voice, which is part of this singing practice. Hope you find it ever more useful in navigating your own life, tending your own heart.... I continue to do it as my own tending, shifting work!

​Songwriter Info: Hannah Jeffery (She/They) is a songstress, composer, song-leader and mama living in the Upper Valley of Vermont (Abenaki land). Her creative venture, Deep Well Song, is a gathering vessel for people to come together in song, prayer and playfulness, to turn toward and embrace all that it IS to be human on Earth. The songs Hannah carries, catches and teaches are songs of the heart and soul, that touch joy, grief, gratitude, heartbreak, righteous anger, beauty, love and praise and connect us to each other, ourselves and the Beloved Mystery. Hannah leads song at the UU church in Norwich, Vermont and in the newly forming Well Song Choir. To learn more and get involved please check out their website and Patreon and be in touch!

Sharing Info: When sharing, please name Hannah as the song catcher and acknowledge the place where the song was caught, Upper Valley of Vermont, Abenaki land. And if you can pass on the story that accompanies the songs and how they were inspired, bonus. Thanks!

Links: 
Hannah's Website: www.deepwellsong.org
Hannah's Patreon: www.patreon.com/deepwellsong

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:42
Start time of reprise: 00:18:50
​
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Aeolian, 4-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!

Notes: I sometimes find my body feels chaotic and overloaded with visual and audio stimulation. "Settle Like A Pebble" is a song that helps me drop in -- it feels almost like a psyche rinse! As I sing it, I feel a loosening and ease – the calm of the word "settle" – I am reminded of the feel of a pebble, round in my fingers, smooth in a riverbed – then the float and lightness of “drift like a feather” – and finally, the low release of “let go” and “close your eyes and be." Laura Walker's detailed stop-action videos & original songs on her Marnie Bee Mindful youtube channel create a unique visual & audio meditation -- here's one to explore -- Space: https://youtu.be/_E_DT6qiipM

​Songwriter Info: Laura Walker started writing short songs about a year ago as a creative outlet and a way to help her remember kind self care messages to access when she needs them. She found focus in making short films to accompany the songs and to help illustrate the words and began posting on YouTube under the name Marnie Bee Mindful as a way to share the things that work for her with others who may enjoy them. “Settle Like A Pebble” is about slowing down and taking a calm moment to let go of the stresses of the day to close your eyes and allow thoughts to drift. Spending time in nature, especially near water helps Laura achieve this mindful state but the song reminds her that calm peacefulness can also be found by closing her eyes and imagining somewhere beautiful too. It’s her wish that by being extra kind and gentle to ourselves and connecting through music we can help find the strength to share and cultivate these things with those around us too. She hopes the song helps you settle into your day and soothes you a little. ​

Sharing Info: Yes the song is free to share for anyone who feels it may be help, please be kind enough to mention Laura as composer when doing so and the Marnie Bee Mindful YouTube Channel. It brings her such joy to know if a song has been of use to someone so if a song helped she'd love to hear from you! 

Links:
Laura's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marniebeemindful/
Laura's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084878260963
Laura's Website: https://marniebeemindful.com/
​Laura's YouTube: https://youtube.com/@MarnieBeeMindful 

Nuts & Bolts: ​4:4, major (Ionian), harmonized and a countermelody

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

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

Notes: Chloë Rose Vispap-Rich has uncovered such a glorious both/and song for me. The golden beauty of clear boundaries and choice-making -- how we can delineate our lives in response to our deepest inner voice and knowing of what we need and want -- and at the same time, life is full and rich and complex, and we can release into the flow of it swirling around and through us, let ourselves be swept into the dance. Whee!!! The sweetness and gentleness of both clarity and acceptance, in a song that has light and movement. I feel so completely spoiled by getting to spend my time making this podcast.

​Songwriter Info: Chloë is a music therapist from London, England. She is part of the Natural Voice Network and leads a community singing group. Chloë likes to write and share easily accessible but moving songs. In 2020 (during the national lockdown) she wrote and produced a song book called Songs In Harmony , a collection of 10 songs in 2 and 3 part harmony. They are short songs with themes such as connection, going with the flow, absence, love and dreams. Breathe Along With Life is about simultaneously taking control of the path of your life whilst also going with the flow.​

Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Chloë for recording and/or performing permission at [email protected]

​Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 2-part -- melody and harmony

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

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

Notes: Patty Piotrowski, who creates the art for each episode after learning the song, wrote about painting for this song of Ahlay Blakely: "The word that jumped out for me was “breaking”. I have a plate, a whole pottery plate on my kitchen table, that holds broken porcelain shards of dishware from the late 1800’s when there was a fire that burned the hotel on Star Island and so much was lost at sea. This past summer when I had the opportunity to go to Star Island for two weeks of art making, I walked the shoreline, and found these remnants of past plates and bowls and cups. These pieces of porcelain from England were worn smooth on the edges from being tossed and turned in the ocean for over 100 years. Each one was a precious discovery for me, telling a bit of the story. The beauty of the brokenness. Back home now and months later I have them arranged on a plate with a candle, reminding me to understand and honor the past, and to heal what I can inside myself in the present."

As we navigate the rage and wounding and grief in ourselves and others, it can be so helpful to have a framework for understanding… the kind of understanding that leads to healing and compassion. When we break these cycles, it affects the future ones – and it also reaches back and in some way fills the aching dream of those in the past. I love this song for the conviction that my own ache for belonging ripples through time, breaks harmful cycles, and creates a fundamental healing. Don't miss Ahlay's upcoming project, Wails, and the chance to be part of the ripples of change it could create by supporting it.

Songwriter Info: Alexandra "Ahlay" Blakely (she/her) is a song carrier remembering that which was meant to be forgotten in her lineages: song technology as connective tissues of the communal body. She blends song, body percussion, dance, stillness, breath & silence with the deepest intention to support others in remembering their inherent birthright to singing and rhythm. Her ancient ancestors of Old Europe (Ashkenazi, Scandinavian, Finnish, English, Scottish, Irish) sang while building, creating, birthing, working & being in reciprocity and bring with the Land. She understands song to be fundamental in the expansion of ones internal capacity to participate in the collective shift towards life-affirming conditions. An underlying prayer in her song offerings is that they may contribute to the shared effort to transform white culture into being more connected with our bodies, emotions, Land & the animate world around us. ​ These songs are swirls of spells for cracking open, falling humbly to our knees and cultivating more access to the conversations our souls are aching to have with us about their most intimate longings. They are dedicated to the more than human world, the Waters and our Kin in both the seen and unseen realms. We sing to shame, courage, for breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and for the preparation of being ready for these times we are living in, all while sending these song-beings in ripples through to the ancient and future ones. The songs sung have come directly through Ahlay.​ ​ Some of her mentors: Whale, Mycelium, Rue, Lightning, Rain, Oak, Redwood & Rosemary
​
Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but Ahlay always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

Links: 
Wails: Songs for Grief Fundraiser:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/community-singing-album
Bandcamp digital album "SPELLS FROM THE UNKNOWN" https://ahlayblakely.bandcamp.com/album/spells-from-the-unknown
Ahlay's Website/Newsletter https://www.healingattheroots.com
Ahlay's Patreon - new music monthly, 1-3 songs per month https://www.patreon.com/alexandrablakely
Instagram @alexandra_blakely
Resmaa Menakem: My Grandmother's Hands - https://centralrecoverypress.com/product/my-grandmothers-hands-racialized-trauma-and-the-pathway-to-mending-our-hearts-and-bodies-paperback

Nuts & Bolts: 12:8, flat-7, both major & minor; 3-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: I love the way Emma's song ushers in the darkness and turning of the seasons with a lilt that includes a trust that the light will return. There's a softness and acceptance to the song that makes it easier to be present with the turning. Emma says the song "was born on a winter walk during Covid restrictions in the UK. I was finding some comfort in the unruffled flow of the seasons - 'time's soft unfolding'. 21st December is my late father's birthday as well as winter solstice, so this song is dedicated to him - I think he would have liked the words and the structure." 

Songwriter Info: Emma has been singing all her life and enjoys all styles of song and ensemble! When her daughter was born in 2018, she began an acapella singing group for local mums, and after joining the Singing Mamas network in 2020, was inspired to start writing her own songs, for herself, for her groups and songsharing colleagues. 

Links: 
Find Emma's album 'Light Returning' on Bandcamp https://emmamutter.bandcamp.com/album/light-returning
You can also find newer songs on her Facebook page www.facebook.com/emmamuttermusic
Contact Emma by email [email protected] to buy the score (suggested contribution up to £5) and/or purchase the song on Bandcamp if you'd like to share this song as a songleader. Please contact Emma directly for recording or performing permissions.

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:00:47 
Start time of reprise: 00:15:38 ​

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Aeolian (minor), harmonized melody with option of a round.

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

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

Notes: You get to hear Kate and I in deep conversation -- complete with creaky chair, and me messing up as Kate teaches me her beautiful song, Go Dark. Do you ever have the experience of being solid on a part, as long as the leader is singing it, but then when they leave to teach another part, you lose it? You'll hear me doing just that! :) We talk about building a bank of nourishing words for hard times -- and Kate shares a story about something that shook her certainty and ease with life, and how that made her vow not to judge people. She observes how giving time and a safe place to make mistakes makes it possible for most people to learn to sing, like almost all people learn to drive eventually. And then there's the handpan, and learning Arabic, and... I guess you'll just need to listen in!

Songwriter Info: Kate Thomas is a singer, song leader, songwriter and instrumentalist (guitar, piano and handpan) and has been leading singing groups in Sheffield for over 20 years. She has produced two songbooks, 'Honey and Salt' (from which 'Be Yourself' and 'Scattered Seeds'. If you are interested in contacting her about these resources, her email is [email protected]. 

Links: 
Wendell Berry – Farming (counterpointpress.com) (Kate mentioned "Soul Food", but I think this ends up being the book with the poem in it.)
Barbara Brown Taylor – Learning to Walk in the Dark
Wanting Memories - Sweet Honey in the Rock
Handpan playing -- Kate suggests thishandpan duo, Mea
Raffi
The Singing Kettle
Tapestry – Carole King -- I'm pretty sure you can find the album, so here's an article that quotes many artists talking about the influence of the album on them... Talking about 'Tapestry': Musicians discuss the influence of Carole King's masterpiece - NJArts.net
Karine Polwart – Scottish Songbook, The Lost Words: Spell Songs -- and here's a bonus interview with Karine about the Spellsongs project
Youtube recordings of Kate’s songs -- here's her channel, where you can find all 10: Kate Thomas - YouTube
   And here are just a few links for specific songs:
  We Were Seeds: Kate's bold setting of the Dinos Christianopoulos quote, "They thought they could bury us; they did not know we were seeds.
  A Thousand Ways (with handpan! -- a beautiful meditation)
Kate's profile and choirs: Member profile - Natural Voice Network
Information about Honey and Salt (and Scattered Seeds is searchable there, too): Honey and Salt - Natural Voice Network

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:44 
Start time of reprise: 00:57:07​

Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, major, 2-parts here, (SATB in the Honey & Salt book) or works beautifully unison, too
​
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: Heather says, “I love so easily," and “What’s next? And I just open up…” and “Silence is a part of the singing.” Trust me, this is a person you'd like to get to know a little better -- how can we all access that kind of love and openness? In our conversation, Heather and I dig into how she actually works with singers privately and in groups, finding the heart voice, ways back in when you've dropped your chanting/meditation practice, why to love humming... and more, including, of course, her favorite soup! Heather shares this beautiful song which warms up the voice and invites us into physical awareness and connection with a released sound.... and her love of the act of singing is contagious.

Songwriter Info: Heather Houston is passionate about uplifting hearts, freeing voices, transforming lives, and building strong, loving communities through the power of singing. She spreads her magic through her 20+years of international song circle leading, private vocal coaching, and her online offerings - The Art of Mindful Singing, S.H.E. Sings, Singing as Sanctuary, and Sisters in Harmony Song and Chant Leader Training. You can now join her every Monday night on Zoom for a 2-hour Sisters in Harmony Global community song circle with guest artists!

Heather recently released her second solo album, Sisters of the Moon, which features the ethereal voices of her 40-voice women’s choir Yala Lati. Her first solo album, Prayers for the Water is a ZMR Top 10 album. You can find Heather’s music and her a cappella group SIRENZ on all of the streaming platforms and for download on her website.

Links: 
Website: https://heatherhoustonmusic.com
Albums
    Download: https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/recordings/
    Streaming on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gw79r7NGOw6WF2bytPW5a?si=E0mvdKMpQ9ObjpRnhViDYQ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heatherhoustonmusic
IG: HeatherHoustonMusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPr_m3bi0-TqhBFvJlD4pFA
​
Kitka (Balkan music) – women's vocal ensemble in Oakland Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble
Heather’s songleader training starting in Jan Sisters in Harmony Song Leader Training – Heather Houston Music
Paul Simon Rhythm of the Saints – here’s the title track: The Rhythm of the Saints - YouTube
Sound of Great Horned Owls -- What does a Great Horned Owl sound like? 
Lyndsey Scott -- Well Held | Lyndsey Scott (bandcamp.com) (as well as A Breath of Song episodes #69 & 70)
Samantha Keller and Tamar Fogel -- here with Heather as the trio Dis Moi: Dis Moi – Between Us – Heather Houston Music
the first song Heather wrote -- Lumin Solare Fiat - Heather Houston (Sirenz) - YouTube
Sirenz -- the four voice group of Heather, Samantha, Molly Hartwell and Sage Mendez: Sirenz – Heather Houston Music

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Mixolydian, chant
​
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 love that after I sing this a few times, I begin to feel more fluid inside -- as though everything under my skin is softening into a tidal pulse of flow. It's a beautiful song to sing with a drone... the words "the mind", or the "in" from "flows in" join the drone note -- a way of subverting any annoying repeated note into becoming accompaniment for your singing. This podcast isn't about me producing a polished recording -- it's about you singing, you playing, and you having a new song that you can invite into your life... and knowing that hundreds of other people are singing this song, too. Maybe they're on the melody, or the harmony, or maybe they're experimenting like I did today? And when they finish singing, everyone may feel different than when they started to sing... a little more settled, a little more flow, a little more love?

Songwriter Info: Roberta Kirn is a song leader, percussionist, and dancer who has been living, working, and raising a family on the island of Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts since 1989. She is the founder of BeWellSing and The Song Exchange Project, through which she brings singing in community to as many people as she can. Inspired by the teaching of Dr Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Roberta has been leading community singing for over 25 years. She believes, and has experienced, that singing together brings us into deeper connection with ourselves and each other. Raising our voices, having a communal experience of rhythm, melody, and harmony is a deeply healing experience that can be shared across age, gender, race, class, and culture.

Links: 
Roberta's Website: https://www.bewellsing.com

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:35
Start time of reprise: 00:15:13

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Major, harmonized
​
Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

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