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

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Dorian, 2-part layer song with optional drone.
​
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Notes: This is song is a taste of Heather Houston's creative, connecting powers -- Episode #75 will feature an intimate conversation with Heather. After she shares another of her songs, we'll delve into why song matters, why voices matter... and a really good soup! Meanwhile, I love this song for noticing the balance of shadow and light -- to me, it's a beautiful song to sing on cusps, like dawn or dusk. Recently, as I've been healing from tick-borne illness, I've hummed it to myself as I watch the shadows and light cross my bedroom wall, encouraging my body to find its way into balance.

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

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Dorian, 5-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 Tip Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

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

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 Tip Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes: Ever feel stuck in a really bad place? The hobbits got stuck, and Gandalf blesses the eagles who rescue them. I chose to start this episode with a quote by Cynewulf (9?th century), one of the four Old English poets whose works survive today, because that was a time period J.R.R. Tolkien, (20th century) was deeply influenced by -- and here's Joshua Blaine setting this blessing in the 21st century. This makes for a great "setting-off" song -- and also a song of trust in that wind carrying. As I sing this, I love to feel a connection with something ancient in my own bones. I played with it as I shared it with you, making up extra parts at the end -- please, explore -- let the wind bear you! -- as you sing with me.

Songwriter Info: Joshua Blaine (he/him) is a community songleader, Jewish ritualist & storyteller, and resonant healing facilitator & coach. His work as a songleader began as an inquiry into the state of protest songs after the 2016 election, which sent him out on the road to interview dozens of musicians and song leaders for a project called “Finding Our Voice.” Since then, he’s been a humble servant of song, singing in capitol rotundas, at meetings & marches and around dinner tables across the country. Whether as a songleader, organizer, or resonant healing facilitator, he draws upon the rich tradition of both his recent and ancient Jewish ancestors of seeding resistance and resilience through song. After spending eight years in the heart of Texas, Joshua now resides in Providence on the oceanic lands of the Narragansett and Wampanoag, also known as Rhode Island.

Links: 
The song is free to share but Josh always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.
http://linktr.ee/joshuahblaine
Joshua's live recording with a group (and his own Gandalf voice!)

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Minor (Dorian implied), 3 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 Tip Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes: Conversations with songwriters can be illuminating. Moira and I talk about wanting our voices to make a difference, and how to evaluate that, how Moira's voice has protected and shaped her, rest as part of the job of being a creator, and so much more. She shares a song that is in the process of becoming, and we get a very special glimpse of this creative process, which includes a calling sound that fascinates Moira right now. As you sing along, you'll be able to really tune in to what feels good to you this day -- is it the commitment and determination of "each day we make a little light"? The seeking melodic curve of "mmm...render...mmm...a remedy?" The wild, aching cry of the calling sounds? Or something else that you feel called to bring to the song? As you're singing in your own space, I wonder if there will be movement -- stepping or dancing or swaying? 

Songwriter Info: As a composer, Moira Smiley is known worldwide for choral arrangements like Bring Me Little Water, Silvy and originals, Stand in That River and How Can I Cry. Her music is sung by millions of singers worldwide. She’s credited with helping to bring body percussion into the choral mainstream and is in demand as a commissioned composer, writing multi-movement pieces including Time In Our Voices and In The Desert With You for the Los Angeles Master Chorale, evening-length secular liturgy, The Song Among Us and Tis A Fearful Thing for Craig Hella Johnson’s Conspirare and CVAE, Vonnegut Requiem: Light Perpetual for Voces Novae, Loud My Soul for Ad Astra Festival and I Have A Voice for ACDA Women's Choral Consortium. The European premiere of Time In Our Voices was performed by the voices and mobile phones of Ars Nova Copenhagen under the direction of Paul Hillier.
  In 2018-2019 Moira released the album and choral songbook, Unzip The Horizon as companion to her ‘The Voice Is A Traveler’ solo show. In 2021 she released the all-vocal social-justice centered album, In Our Voices with four powerful singers of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. She continues composing and improvising in collaboration with artists in film, video game production, theater and dance, and her work can be heard on feature film soundtracks, BBC & PBS television programs, NPR, and on more than 70 commercial albums.
  “Moira Smiley is marvel—an omnivorous singing and composing chameleon with a voice that can wail or caress at will!” -- Grant Gershon - artistic director, Los Angeles Master Chorale
  “Moira Smiley is a brilliant musician – an innovative composer and arranger, and a heartbreakingly beautiful singer. Her music transcends (and expands) boundaries.” -- Billy Childs - multi-grammy-winning composer/pianist
  “I’m so thankful I’ve had the privilege of performing and recording with Moira. She embodies the endless creative potential of the voice, and… (has made) a deeply moving body of work.” -- Merrill Garbus - Tune-Yards

Links:
www.moirasmiley.com for all info including sheet music, practice tracks!
https://moirasmileysubscription.com/ to support Moira monthly for as little as $4/mo.
https://www.instagram.com/moirasmiley/ for up-to-date personal and music pics
https://www.youtube.com/c/MoiraSmileyMusic for official music videos, song and body percussion tutorials and live performances

Lissa Schneckenburger -- the link goes to her interview on A Breath of Song, which includes her own site links and more
Night Song - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook. The link goes to the title song of the album. Here is the album on Apple Music.
Shara Nova - "My Brightest Diamond" -- This link goes to a live performance and interview (go to about 2'40" to get close to the start).

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Minor, Dorian & Aeolian, 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 Tip Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes: I love a layer song which gives me options -- what do I feel like singing? Is singing low and warm feeling yummy? Or floating high? Or getting snuggled in the middle of a set of harmonies? Lisa Forkish's "Possibility" song offers all those choices, starting with a low, potentially gritty, determined line that says "An end is not THE end -- it can be the beginning." Then a fluid river line that requires some release to sing, as it flows among notes. Finally, when singing about being open, there is an amazing note on the word "open" that moves the whole song into a slightly unexpected place, giving a visceral experience of opening up to a different possibility. Love it. A song that helps me embody the knowledge of possibility that change brings.

Songwriter Info: Lisa Forkish (she/they) is a queer singer-songwriter, community-builder, artivist, song-healer, and self-described "Love Warrior," infusing all she creates with fierce authenticity and heart. For the past 20 years, Lisa has been using song as both an expressive art and a tool for building connection. For Lisa, facilitating music spaces is much more than a job; it is a sacred calling. Lisa breathes humanity into their music and teaching with infectious joy and compassion, aiming to heal the wounds of music elitism and not-enoughness through an embodied, trauma-informed and heart-centered approach. For Lisa, Love is paramount and closeness is the antidote to cisheteropatriarchy, white supremacist delusion and cultural disconnection. Lisaʻs mission is to utilize music for personal and collective healing and liberation. 

Links:
lisaforkish.com
wesingthebody.com
www.patreon.com/lisaforkish
Insta and Youtube / lisaforkish

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Dorian, 3 layer song with 2 layers harmonized, so 5 parts
​
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 Tip Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes Heidi McCurdy used an ancient interval, the fifth, to create a song that invites awareness of resonation and connection across time and space. On the next episode, Heidi comes on A Breath of Song herself to share another song, and talk about her beginnings as a shy singer, experimenting in the car, what expressive arts therapy is, and how you might take a song and extend it further. I love the way this song invites me to turn inside and outside, to feel the inner resonation reaching out, for the song to be a drop and a bubble... and at the same time makes me smile with a little bit of a 50s-sounding riff!​

Songwriter Info: Heidi McCurdy is a singer, songwriter and sound healer with a passion for teaching, sharing and creative collaboration. Having cultivated her own intimate relationship with the Muse, Heidi is a believer in the profound medicine and magic of Music – its power to heal, transform, elevate and connect us all. She draws from a diverse tapestry of soul, jazz, folk and new age influences for her unique blend of Global Soul original music. Her songs have received awards and have been featured on TV and Canadian radio, and she has performed at jazz, wine and music festivals throughout Canada and Europe as well as local venues. She is known for her warm, soulful voice, and her love of tuning into the music of the moment through improvisation. Her lyrics resonate with the beauty of dreams, a vital connection with nature, and our collective power to create positive change. Recently she has been exploring songwriting styles designed specifically for song circles, singing meditation, and encouraging vocal expression. As well as creating and performing, Heidi also leads transformational voice programs and community song circles. Guided by the Muse, she specializes in helping others to free their authentic voices and wild, creative spirits.

Links
Heidi's website: www.heidimccurdy.com
Heidi on facebook: www.facebook.com/heidimccurdymusic

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Minor (Dorian in the 2nd part harmony), both layer options and 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 Tip Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes: Ishka Shir says, "I created You've Got To Move Slow when I was hiking an area called Shining Rock wilderness in North Carolina. It was part of a healing from an abusive narcissistic relationship that I had been in." I learned it from Aimée Ringle at a Zoom circle, then shared it first with my Pocket Songs singing group in the summer of 2020. Personally, this song gives me a sense that I, myself, can create the space I need to heal. I love the practical, grounded approach Ishka has to singing and song making.... and for the next episode, #20, I get to have a conversation with them!!! Our conversation covers a lot of ground, and she shares a song of theirs that I've loved since I first heard it in the spring of 2020 when she and two of their good friends recorded a few "Fermentation Station" videos of songs to share.

Songwriter Info: Ishka is someone who sings from their heart.  She has been making up songs since she was a child and has been sharing songs at community song circles since 2007.  Ishka integrates song into most aspects of their life which include, hiking, gardening, cooking, biking, and cuddling clients.  Professionally Ishka is a therapeutic cuddler in Asheville NC. Ishka is especially drawn to songs that have simple yet powerful lyrics and believes that songs can help us heal.  

Links:
Ishka's Soundcloud site- https://soundcloud.com/user-943187430
Ishka's Therapeutic Cuddling website- holdmeavl.com 

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, mostly Aeolian minor (the harmony is mostly Dorian), either unison, harmonized, or 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 Tip Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Notes: This is a grounding song that's popular in the community singing movement, and in August 2021, I learned from Heather Houston that she had just learned it is a Molly Hartwell original. As a white, European American cis female in my 50s, raised to value formal education, let me tell you, my brain is littered with words like, evaluate, compare, weigh, measure, process, careful…. For me, it can be a real challenge to get out of my head and into my body! But, oh the difference when I do… the connection, the power, the sense of being enough. I love the way this song reminds me of the soles of my feet and to sense the blood rushing through my body. Trillions of cells working together so I move and breathe… and I can just watch and feel all that with amazement.

Links:   
Here's the Thrive Choir singing it;
I learned it in person from Lisa Littlebird, a vital, generous songleader whose course, Flight School, helped me expand my musical world in 2019.
And here's an update in September 2021: Molly Hartwell shared her own original version in Heather Houston's song library (which is a magical internet spot to learn fabulous songs!).
Molly also generously gave permission for songleaders to continue sharing the song however it came to them, since the song took on a life of its own after she created it!

Nuts and Bolts: It’s harmonized, in 4:4, Aeolian & Dorian modes (minor with shifting 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 Tip Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!