Song: My Body
Music by: Alexandra Sarton

Notes: Singing this week brought me into my body in a joyful, appreciative way... our bodies, our existence are such miracles, and this song fully celebrates and owns this. For anyone who has ever felt ashamed of their body for any reason, this is a medicine song, a reclaiming, remembering song. Alexandra Sarton Love, who wrote it, has lived with alopecia since age 10, causing baldness. Maybe you're going through a medical treatment that makes it difficult to feel ownership of your own body? Maybe there's a relationship which leads to doubt about your body's beauty or validity? Maybe media or social gatherings has harmed your connection to your own body? Maybe you're a nursing mom? I don't know what you bring to this song... but I'm sooo glad you're bringing it!  Join me and you bring you, I'll bring me -- let's sing these words together!

Songwriter Info: In 2011, Alexandra Love was inspired to assemble a 12-woman chorus to sing the harmonies she had written for her solo project, In Curses. She created a festival, The Festival of Light and Sound (April 2012), to debut this project and to bring Beautiful Chorus together for a one-time performance. The ladies practiced each week leading up to the album release. The festival was a huge success and after that night, Love decided to keep the project going. She booked tours for Beautiful Chorus around the country, hosted crystal singing bowl meditations w/ the ladies, lead vocal workshops and more. It was then that BC wrote + recorded songs, and have since become the most successful independent group of their kind. Fusing elements of electronic, choral, deep bass, hip hop and jazz, Beautiful Chorus is unlike any other. They have albums that span from wordless symphonies to full rhythmic songs, w/ sound healing frequencies and love-centered messages. They even have a wordless holiday album, a lullaby album, and a multitude of singable hymns and mantras. Beautiful Chorus is currently residing in Orlando, FL where they are developing a new live experience, hosting spiritual conversations, and preparing for their upcoming full album release, High Frequency Love Music, due out 7/26. Beautiful Chorus is currently made of Alexandra Love and four other members (Patty, Anisha, Yuki and Veronica).

Sharing Info: When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Beautiful Chorus for permission and rates.

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:31
Start time of reprise: 00:14:09

Links:
Beautiful Chorus website: https://www.beautifulchorus.com/ 
Alexandra Love website: https://www.alexandra.love/

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Mixolydian, unison with optional harmony

Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:
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Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support.
https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

Song: Gratitude
Music by: Kate Munger

Notes: Recording Kate Munger's song for you was SUCH a treat for me!!! 15 members of our extended family gathered in a living room, and sang together about sinking into gratitude.... mmmm-hmmmm!!! You'll hear 5-year-old Claire proclaiming she is right here, and then the beautiful gathered sound of Beth, Peter, Will, Elyse, Edward, Carolyn, Patrick, Ruth, Tom, Rebecca, Forrest, Kathi, Claire, Seth and me. One of the most beautiful things about the whole experience was that the song itself kept reminding me to be present -- to soak into the moment.

Songwriter Info: Kate Munger has been passionate about community singing since she was 8 years old at Girl Scout Camp and has led community singing now for over 45 years. In 2000 she founded the first of now 200 Threshold Choirs around the world. Today at 74 she is retired from running the Threshold Choir and has returned to her passions of writing songs for medicinal use and singing at the bedsides of people who are dying, in coma and with folks who are incarcerated. She is a popular speaker among palliative care, choral singing and prison reform professionals and is a gracious, skillful musical host and choral director whose joy is reminding us that we are singing beings, bringing community singing back to "the community.” Kate knows that this work is deep and serious and she offers a fresh, lively, sometimes irreverent, always relevant perspective.

Sharing Info: Kate encourages the sharing of this song and its message; any donation that is generous, affordable and personally significant would be most welcome.

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:45
Start time of reprise: 00:12:57

Links:
Kate welcomes emails to [email protected]

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, mixolydian, 3-part harmony

Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:
https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support.
https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

Song: Blessings Whenever You Breathe
Music by: Melanie DeMore

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

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

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

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

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

Song: Oh the Rain
Music by: Patricia Norton

​Notes: Seems like being able to let things fall is my skill-du-jour. Rain, my feelings, other people's experiences... letting it come down and softening around it. I wrote this song during a week of incessant winter rain... and sang it here during a week of hard things to feel. Both times, it helped me be where I am. Songs that help navigate life. Yup. This is how we do it....

Songwriter Info: This whole singing thing is just bringing me so much joy and growth and comfort... so grateful to all the people along the way who have helped me find my voice.
​
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact me for recording and/or performing permission.
​
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:12
Start time of reprise: 00:14:37

Links: 
Juneberry Music website: https://www.juneberrymusic.com

Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, Mixolydian, 3-layer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notes: A sweet short song like this brings me deep rewards -- the chance to drop into the joy, the preciousness, the abundance of simply being alive. For me to learn it, Jane sent me "a just rough off the looper" recording -- and it was so, so beautiful! Don't miss the links to Jane's recorded music -- her voice is like flavored butter -- smooth with an extra kick -- and the sense you get of her self that infuses her singing is generous and gentle and joystruck. My version doesn't sound nearly as good as her's to me -- and yet, it was such a pleasure to get to sing the song, and I think it'll work so you can learn the song and take it on into your own life, with your own voice. If Jane ever records it, or you get a chance to hear Jane live, maybe you can sing it along with her!

Songwriter Info: Jane Lewis is a singer-songwriter, workshop facilitator, and community music instigator. She is a strong believer in the power of music to bring people together. When not performing with her folk/roots duo Gathering Sparks, she can be found leading vocal & harmony workshops, Circle Singing, Vocal Meditation, and Women's Music Weekend retreats.

​Sharing Info: Yes — The song is free to use/share, but Jane always welcomes networking support. A financial contribution when folks are able is also appreciated!

Links: 
Jane's Website: http://www.janelewis.ca
Women's Music Weekend, facilitated by Jane: https://www.womensmusicweekend.com
Jane's YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/JaneLewisMusic
Jane's duo with Eve Goldberg: Gathering Sparks YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/GatheringSparksMusic

​Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:59
Start time of reprise: 00:13:29
​​
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Mixolydian with a twist, 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: A breakthrough in mindfulness practice for me was realizing that it's not about spending hours in blissed-out presence... it's about noticing that I'm not present and coming back, returning, again and again. I started to sing this when my mind was doing a particularly good imitation of a squirrel on amphetamines, and I needed to strengthen my ability to return! I particularly like that this song can be sung very simply, as a call & response, or have added layers of complexity -- I'm loving a bit of adaptability in my life right now.

​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: 
Full Program Website: juneberrymusic.com
Patricia'sFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/juneberrymusic 
Patricia's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juneberry.music/

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:06
Start time of reprise: 00:15:59
​
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Major & Mixolydian, Call & Response or 4-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: A confidence and energy builder in your pocket never goes amiss... it's like a chocolate chip energy bar on a hike! Cathy Baker's song snugs in with an "I've got your back and we're all good" kind of vibe that's perfect for big projects, long days, nerve-wracking performance situations, tedious meetings, phone calls with you-know-who... I loved learning from Cathy that this song was born out of a wee struggle with imposter syndrome as she took on co-leadership of a large, thriving community choir in Victoria, B.C. She and her partner, Dick Jackson, were taking on the Gettin' Higher Choir from much beloved founders Siobhan Robinsong and Denis Donnelly -- and Cathy admitted in next week's conversation to sometimes needing a bit of parking lot boost! Dick and Cathy and I enjoyed taking apart how Denis, Siobhan, Dick, and Cathy all worked together with generosity to create a transition that worked for the choir. But that's next week... for now, You've Got This!

​Songwriter Info: Cathy was once the shy middle kid of 5 siblings where singing as a family was just part of everyday life. She always loved singing, especially around campfires, on road trips, wilderness trips or anywhere outside. Always seeking harmony, she got over much of her performance shyness by bringing groups of friends together to sing. She now directs the Gettin' Higher Choir with her life partner, Dick Jackson, and she is on the leadership team for both The Ubuntu Choirs Network and the Community Choir Leadership Training (CCLT) program in Victoria, BC. Cathy is active in her local Unitarian Universalist community where Dick is the Musical Director. Together, Cathy and Dick provide musical leadership for Canadian UU camps and Canadian national UU services. They both welcome the opportunity to bring members of the Gettin' Higher Choir to "Sing When Asked To" community events. Dick was fortunate to have singing in the home with his Mom from an early age, and kept involved with singing, school band and organ, later with percussion, piano and a few stints in opera chorus. A keen observer of his excellent music leaders over the years, he is grateful to be able to make this a shared joyful vocation with Cathy.​

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

Links:
Gettin' Higher Choir: http://www.gettinhigherchoir.ca/

​Nuts & Bolts: ​4:4, Mixolydian, 3-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: I love the way this song takes me into completely different scope of time -- geologic, massive, unimaginable -- and therefore inescapably present. "Ïn the Land of Oden" has a murky history, both for lyrics and melody… it was recorded in the 1960s by many different folk artists, including Peter and Gordon, Barry McGuire and the New Christy Minstrels, and the Townsmen… but is credited to different composers on each recording. And they are all slightly different than the version I learned from Adam Podd (check out episode #82!). This particular melody has stayed with me, though, and it resonated in me with a Buddhist story Jack Kornfield tells about something lasting for 1000 kalpas – and each kalpa is as long as it takes for a bird dragging a silk scarf across a mountain to wear it away. In a Grimm’s Fairy Tale, recorded in 1812, the Shepherd’s Boy responds to the king’s third question about eternity with a description very similar to this, although the mountain is made of diamond and is in the land of Pomerania! So for this moment, welcome to fairy-tale time.
​
Sharing Info: As far as I know, this song is free to share.

Links: 
Grimm's Fairy Tale: http://www.pinkmonkey.com/dl/library1/story139.pdf

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Mixolydian, 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: 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: This is the determined, comforting chorus of Shireen Amini's song, "We're Not Walking Alone". I love 'walking music' -- and this is one of my go-to's when I'm looking for an up-tempo walk. I'll sing the different parts consecutively, and if I can rope a co-walker into singing one of the parts, even better! Shireen says nature is the "enwrapping companion" that lets her own answers arise. The first verse of this song is, "When we stop trying to force all the answers -- 'cause they never will come from the mind -- they will come from a place that is peaceful; take a walk on the land, they will arise." I love the sense that the land itself is willing to care and tend us, and is, in the deepest sense, our home.
​
Songwriter Info: Shireen Amini (non-binary human using she in English / elle in Spanish) is a queer, Puerto Rican-Iranian, Earth-loving singer-songwriter, performer, percussionist and teaching artist. With a BA in Ethnomusicology from UCLA and a certificate in Sound, Voice, and Music Healing from CIIS in San Francisco, Shireen has also come to believe strongly in music as a tool for personal and collective transformation. As a songleader, Shireen loves to share medicine songs with healing and empowering messages, infectious grooves, and soulful melodies, often engaging her participants in rhythmic play and movement while singing. She also offers music classes, facilitation, and coaching for her local and virtual communities through her project Shireen Amini Music Medicine.

Links: 
Listen to Shireen's recording of the whole song from her album, "Break Myself Free": https://youtu.be/UWlLZ_36iVI
Shireen's website
Shireen's community singing website
Shireen on facebook
Shireen on Instagram (@shireenaminimusic)

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

Notes: Abigail Spinner McBride has one of those stories -- a choir director once told her, "Don't sing, honey, because no one wants to hear your voice." This year she was chosen as Best Female Vocalist of the Year 2022 at the International Pagan Music Awards. I love me a story that says that though we may have had messages like that in the past -- interactions that shut us down either with dismissal or by sky-high expectations -- those messages say nothing real about us or our potential. Our excitement can be to wake to our own voices, come out of a dream state and notice what is actually real, around us, right now. I love this song for its high energy of opening and possibility.

Songwriter Info: Abigail Spinner McBride has been creating pagan chants in the Earth-Spirit community since the late 1980s and is deeply involved in transformation and transmutation work through drumming, chanting, fire circles, and magic. She is a High Priestess of the Family of Fire, a musician, dancer, and massage therapist, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:08
Start time of reprise: 00:13:45​

Links: 
Fire of Creation album (with Awaken Me) on Apple Music (2007)
​Abigail's facebook page (you don't have to be a Facebook member to look at this)
The Vegas Vortex: a website of the transformational fire work that Abigail offers

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4; Mixolydian, 2-layer song with harmonies, verse & chorus

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

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

Notes: This song by Alexa Sunshine Rose has been a huge resource for me as I’ve gone through big transitions and grief this spring. I think that’s in part because it is so direct and short -- it settles inside me without worry or fret. And then the potential complexities of possible harmonies keep me interested, as well as the way it feels inside as I sing. You might start by humming one of the drone notes… then maybe humming with the melody. Eventually, when the words start pushing inside you, wanting to come through, let them appear in your mouth. Feel how your tongue moves against your teeth, how the air moves against the roof of your mouth, the way f and v vibrate against your lips. So my invitation to you: let singing this song be a physical experience that draws you into your body -- how does it feel?

Songwriter Info: Alexa Sunshine Rose describes herself as a singer-songwriter, mother, artist and mystic who has dedicated herself and her life's work to being a clear channel for peace on earth. Her songs are prayers, which bridge worlds; the inner and outer, the mind and heart, chaos and calm. She has been touring and teaching across the West Coast and Hawaii since 2009. I met her on Zoom through the amazing songcarrier Aimée Ringle during the pandemic, and knew immediately that more of her voice in my life would only be a good thing.

Links: 
Alexa Sunshine Rose's website
One of Alexa's video recordings of I Release Control
Alexa on Bandcamp (buying her music here means more of the money actually goes to her)

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Mixolydian, Harmonized over drone

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

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

Notes: I came across We Are the Way in 2020 when I was joyfully listening through Annie Zylstra’s online collection in Heartland Harmony – if you love songs and haven’t found her library yet, you are in for a huge treat! Annie had this song, which lifted my heart and became a touchstone song for me in very short order. She explains that Christine Kick was living in her basement during a major home renovation that was taking longer than expected, and she found herself feeling a little shamefaced when friends would ask, “How’s it going?”, as it very much WASN’T… and then she reminded herself to celebrate the difference & distance she had come. We’ve just moved out of our home for 22 years to a new community, we’re unpacking boxes, searching for things in new places, slowly starting to meet new people… I am using this reminder on the regular!

Songwriter Info: Christine has been writing songs ever since she was a kid, growing up singing in choirs, and playing flute, guitar, piano, hand drums, etc. She wrote We Are the Way in 2016. She teaches yoga as a way to harness more energy for life by overcoming our limitations and fears - energy that can then be applied to any passion or pursuit that fills us up! Christine believes that music is medicine, especially singing since it opens the throat chakra which allows energy to flow. Her mission is to inspire others to live their best life possible and show up for their heart's true calling.... and music is part of and parcel of who she is and what she does. When we connected for permission for me to use this song, she was in Costa Rica travelling, and sharing songs. Christine enjoys leading and hosting song circles, kirtans, and music jams.

Links: 
Find Christine's website here: Christine Kick
on facebook as ChristineKick
or Instagram as @acrounicorn

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:32 
Start time of reprise: 00:12:29 ​

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Mixolydian, round and 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: Lisa Forkish shares her song, Hymn to Loving, and talks about song titling, songwriting away from keyboards, deconstructing binaries, singing as a pure, liberating expression of the self, learning to love and be tender with our voice... and the surprise of connections through Zoom. Now, maybe that's all immediately appealing to you, or maybe it sounds complicated and brain-challenging! Let me tell you, Lisa has a gentle, welcoming presence and wide-open curiosity and questioning that makes this conversation a pleasure to eavesdrop on -- and whether her views raise questions for you, or drop easily into your pocket, I hope you will find useful connections through Lisa's explanations and in the links to help you follow up on whatever sparks your interest. She talks a lot about what she experiences as healing in voice work... and a tiny bit about her experience with the movie, Pitch Perfect, and her role in popularizing and opening up the collegiate acapella world.

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:
Lisa's website: lisaforkish.com
Lisa's singing offerings: wesingthebody.com
adrienne maree brown (principles of emergent strategy): https://adriennemareebrown.net/
Holistic Resistance (Black-led movement facilitating racial justice and other work to heal oppression): https://www.holisticresistance.com/
white supremacy culture (what exactly does that mean?): https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/
Rev angel Kyodo williams (radical dharma): https://angelkyodowilliams.com/
On Being podcast (Krista Tippett interviews with various people): https://onbeing.org/
Brene Brown (wholehearted, daring living): https://brenebrown.com/
Rhiannon (vocal art as vehicle for change; improvisation): https://rhiannonmusic.com/

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Mixolydian, verse followed by 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 met creator Elise Witt online during the pandemic, when we were both in a course led by the extraordinary improviser Rhiannon… I was honored, because I already knew of Elise as a composer of unusual choral work that I had explored doing with my community chorus. In fact this piece was conceived as a choral piece, and Elise very generously let me excerpt a bit of it to be a pocket song. I love the way the rhythm wakes me up from an uninspired, tired place -- whenever I sing this, I almost always end up moving somehow. And now that I know Elise a little, I can see why -- her brain is the definition of fertile, and she exudes energy and joyfulness you can almost touch through her little Zoom rectangle. Elise says, "I believe that if we listen deeply, we can hear music in the wind, the water, the earth, and deep in our bones. And no matter how disconnected we get, that music is always there, when we are ready to return and listen."

Songwriter Info: Elise’s concerts of Global, Local & Homemade Songs™ and her Impromptu Glorious Chorus™ workshops create and connect singing communities around the world. Born in Switzerland, raised in NC, and living in Atlanta since 1977, Elise speaks 5 languages fluently and sings in at least a dozen more. The Elise Witt Choral Series features choral arrangements of her original compositions and she recently published All Singing, a songbook with 58 original songs including music notation, lyrics and chords, stories and photos. In addition to her global touring, Elise serves as Artist-in-Residence & Director of Music Programs at the Global Village Project, a non-profit, special purpose middle school for teenage refugee girls in Decatur Georgia.

Links:
www.EliseWitt.com -- Learn more about Elise on her website
"Song Deep in Your Bones" as recorded by Malcolm Dalglish’s Ooolation Singers in rehearsal at Yosemite National Park
Recorded on "We're All BORN SINGING" EMWorld Records 1012
Available for SATB, SSAA, TTBB in the Elise Witt Choral Series
​Included in ALL SINGING: THE ELISE WITT SONGBOOK

Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:38
Start time of reprise: 00:12:47​

Nuts & Bolts: Mixed Meter (5:8, 3:8, 3:4 or 6:8), Mixolydian mode, and in this teaching, 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!