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    21. Song Deep In Your Bones

    Song Song Deep In Your Bones
    Words & Music​ by Elise Witt
    © Non Si Sa Mai Music ASCAP
    Lyrics
    When you're feeling dry, there's water in the well. (4x)

    No rain from the sky, just a tear in your eye,
    all alone, far from home, you roam.
    Feeling tired, uninspired, like you're drifting away
    from your heart and the part you play.

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    NotesI 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!
  • Published on

    20. Great-Full with guest Ishka Shir

    Song Great-Full
    Words & Music by Ishka Shir
    Lyrics
    I am here on this planet, living my life,
    doing what I do, 
    feeling grateful.

    I am here, this is life, I'm grateful. 
    ​(2x)
    Picture
    Notes: Ishka talks about music making while hiking and cuddling, the influence of her singing mother, the difference between singing alone and in large groups, kitchen singing, good food, how songmaking could be available to anyone, and why she sometimes says she doesn't like music (!) And in with all that, she shares this song which originated as a walking song, but can be used in many moods... and I get to sing along so you can hear how it rounds... we can imagine ourselves in the kitchen making a yummy fall soup, singing together.... feeling grateful.

    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:
    How Could Anyone Ever Tell You? by Libby Roderick (this is a live recording of Libby's with a story at the beginning; the song starts at about 3'20")
    Aimée Ringle site: http://www.aimeeringlemusic.com/
    Lyndsey Scott: to find more about her, I'm going to direct you to Episode #16, which features a song of Lyndsey's and all her multitudinous contact info!
    Ishka's Soundcloud sitehttps://soundcloud.com/user-943187430  Ishka directly shares many mantra-like songs​
    Ishka's Therapeutic Cuddling websiteholdmeavl.com 

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:36
    Start time of reprise: 00:32:55

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Ionian (major scale), 2-part layer 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 Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    19. You've Got To Move Slow

    Song You've Got To Move Slow
    Words & Music​ by Ishka Shir
    Lyrics
    You've got to move slow to find your flow,
    chase that mystery to know that you are free.
    Do what you do to make it through,
    ​and be who you want to be.

    Picture
    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 sitehttps://soundcloud.com/user-943187430
    Ishka's Therapeutic Cuddling websiteholdmeavl.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 Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    18. The Truth

    Song The Truth
    Music by Velma Frye
    Words adapted from Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B.
    Lyrics
    I will believe the truth about myself,
    no matter how beautiful it is.​

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    Notes: I was so surprised when I first learned this song from Roy Willey by how difficult it was for me to actually sing these words to myself. One of the beautiful things about mantra singing -- short phrases, repeated over and over -- is that you have time to notice how it feels to sing these particular words. You have time to get distracted and come back. And if you hear yourself singing the words often enough, maybe they become less surprising? I sent the email list a description of how I think this particular melody supports -- ensounds? -- these words. (You can join the list, too, by signing up on the homepage. (Scroll a bit...))
    ​  Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B., wrote a book called Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day. Velma chose texts and moments from this book to create a collection of 28 songs to sing during these pauses, which is available in CD and book form on her website, www.velmafryemusic.com. I love the way this particular song invites me to look at myself anew.

    Songwriter info: Velma's mother gave her the choice of washing the dishes or practicing the piano, so Velma became a musician! With six years of college music training, she was confident to diversify into singing, teaching piano and leading choral groups, performing (including 9 times on "A Prairie Home Companion"), and recording six solo CDs. As she was ripening into middle age, she wrote this song, "The Truth," using words by Macrina Wiekerkehr, for singing circles. For the past year, Velma taught piano and Song Salons weekly on zoom, and was a guest two times on Heather Houston's online singing classes. Particularly fun was a Happy Hour that Velma and Becky Reardon offered to a national audience on zoom. More to come!

    Links:
    Velma's website https://www.velmafryemusic.com/
    Velma on facebook https://www.facebook.com/velmafryemusic
    Seven Sacred Pauses https://www.facebook.com/SevenSacredPauses
    Velma on youtube  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=velma+frye

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, unison or round, mixolydian flat-6 scale (sometimes called major-minor scale because the first half is major, and the second half is minor.)

    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!