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  • Published on

    187. Where Am I Going To?

    3 Layer 4:4 Breathe Flow Journey Motion Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Layer Song Form: Round Uptempo Water
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:19
    Start time of reprise: 00:11:40

    ​Lyrics:

    Where am I going to, what am I walking toward?

    I'm gonna breathe

    Into the flow, flow, flowing.
    Picture
    Song: Where Am I Going To?
    Music by: Patricia Norton

    Notes: I heard adrienne maree brown describe humans as "bags of water" -- humans on average are around 60% water.... like a delta, or the land around a pond or river with its banks, or a bathtub and its water pipes -- we are a way of shaping water -- we are, literally, a flow. This song was born in motion, the kind of walking where the rhythm of your steps and breath becomes the soundscape, and you can release everything else, dropping into the flow.

    Songwriter Info: Patricia loves to walk fast from one spring wildflower to the next -- averages out to a stroll! 

    Sharing Info: Please share freely, and let people know about A Breath of Song when you do.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:19
    Start time of reprise: 00:11:40

    Links:
    Flow Singing: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/flow-singing.html 
    All of what I'm up to: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/ 
    Kindred Voices Retreat: https://kindredvoicesretreat.com 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, round or 3 layers

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  • Published on

    185. Vocal Improv with guest David Ruffin

    Time Stamps:
    Start time of first improvisation: 00:04:40
    Start time of second improvisation: 01:11:26
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    Song: vocal improvisation
    Improvised by: David Ruffin and Patricia Norton

    Notes: It's a first for A Breath of Song! An episode of improvisation -- David Ruffin is our guest, talking about the multiple benefits of the practice of improvisation, his teachers, leading menfolk in song circles, the particular challenges of having a big, beautiful voice, how singing together might build soil in these times... and more! We hope you join us in exploring the voice, and that our questions raise questions for you, too...

    Songwriter Info: David is a performing artist, community song leader and teacher with a passion for authentic expression. He loves creating space for voices to emerge fully and freely. He calls Central Vermont home, where he’s grateful to be able to share his holistic approach to voice in community through lessons, workshops, community singing and performance collaborations. David’s work is inspired by a diverse background including studies with Roy Hart Center voice teachers, deep dives in vocal improvisation, explorations in Voice Movement Therapy and over 20 plus years of performing arts, teaching and counseling/ministry experience. David believes singing helps us remember who we really are, what we're here to voice and, how we’re, thankfully, so very bound up together in this. 

    Time Stamps:
    Start time of first improvisation: 00:04:40
    Start time of second improvisation: 01:11:26

    Links:
    David's website: www.davidruffinvoice.com
    David's Venmo: @David-Ruffin-Voice 
    Rhiannon: https://www.rhiannonmusic.com/ 
    Bobby McFerrin: https://bobbymcferrin.com/ 
    Wendy Tuck: And When I Rise: https://web.plumvillage.app/item/and-when-i-rise-2 
    Wendell Berry: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/wendell-berry 
    “Shaker Tune” For All That Has Been is actually Let Go and Move by Velma Frye - https://youtu.be/-q9T3iiDOXA?si=EYMoNAdnR2XcK-uG 
    Heidi Wilson: The Feast: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/140-the-feast-with-guest-heidi-wilson 
    Evan Premo: http://www.evanpremo.com/ 
    Boston Big Sing with Milly Roberts: https://www.bostonareasingingcircles.com/origins 
    “Beyond the Us and Them”: https://www.patreon.com/posts/build-soil-117107668 
    Robin Wall Kimmerer: https://www.robinwallkimmerer.com/ 
    Singing Revolution in Estonia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singing_Revolution 
    Circlesinging in Burlington: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/special-events.html 
    Judi Vinar: https://www.judivinar.com/ 
    Ethelyn Friend in the Roy Hart tradition: https://www.ethelynfriend.com/ 
    Fauré Requiem – recording: John Rutter with the Cambridge Singers: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXpQCRhZw2laREcCUl4Hb4IWOX9MNEQf3 
    Moira Smiley: https://moirasmiley.com/ 

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  • Published on

    184. Where the Moss Grows

    4:4 Be Present Calm Earth Flow Grow Notice Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized Trees Water Wisdom
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:33
    Start time of song in B-flat: 00:13:16
    Start time of song in D-flat: 00:17:36
    Start time of song in B: 00:23:38

    Lyrics:

    Where the river flows
    and the moss on boulder grows,
    we can remember what we deeply know.
    There is time to be here
    and see what becomes clear...
    when we let it go,
    and go where the moss grows.
    Oh, when we let it go,
    ​and go where the moss grows.
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    Song: Where the Moss Grows
    Music by: David Ruffin

    Notes: We get to sing David Ruffin's beautiful moss song in three different keys, so you can experiment with the range and how it feels in your voice in different ways -- and really feel like you know the song well by the end! So this episode is a little longer than sometimes -- but it's a great way to get a slightly longer song and harmony into your body, and still under 30 minutes. Next episode is a conversation with David, and we'll get to know this song carrier...

    Songwriter Info: David is a performing artist, community song leader and teacher with a passion for authentic expression. He loves creating space for voices to emerge fully and freely. He calls Central Vermont home, where he’s grateful to be able to share his holistic approach to voice in community through lessons, workshops, community singing and performance collaborations. David’s work is inspired by a diverse background including studies with Roy Hart Center voice teachers, deep dives in vocal improvisation, explorations in Voice Movement Therapy and over 20 plus years of performing arts, teaching and counseling/ministry experience. David believes singing helps us remember who we really are, what we're here to voice and, how we’re, thankfully, so very bound up together in this. 

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share but David welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved. Please contact him for recording and/or performing permission.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:33
    Start time of song in B-flat: 00:13:16
    Start time of song in D-flat: 00:17:36
    Start time of song in B: 00:23:38

    Links:
    David's website: www.davidruffinvoice.com
    David's Venmo: @David-Ruffin-Voice 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, harmonized

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  • Published on

    183. The Strength Within

    4:4 Be Present Breathe Calm Mantra Notice Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized Strength Trust
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:53
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:26
    Lyrics:

    Lowest part:
    Breathe in, breathe out

    Lower part:
    I know that I'm strong enough
    I know I'm strong

    Higher part:
    I feel the strength within
    I feel the strength within

    Highest part:
    Find space within
    Find breath within
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    Song: The Strength Within
    Music by: Jody Vyner

    Notes: Jody Vyner gives us a song for feeling strength, space, and breath within... and we spend 10 minutes in meditation with it, as I add parts in and out and you find what's right for you today -- stay on one part while the sound changes around you? Shift to new parts as they come? What helps you tap into your own inner strength? I'm a highly distractable meditator, but I can let myself sit inside this song and its harmonies, and when I come out the other side, it feels like the waters have cleared (most days, anyway!)

    Songwriter Info: Jody Vyner works as a psychotherapist and runs Singing Roots - therapeutic singing circles in and around Sussex, UK. Combining her love of singing and song writing with her deep knowledge and experience of psychotherapy, there is always a therapeutic element to her gatherings which can be leant into for a deeply nurturing experience. Her circles are about turning up just as you are and giving yourself the chance to really check in and connect with yourself and be held by the words and the harmonies shared.
    Jody has done many other things in this lifetime; taught French, worked with asylum seekers and refugees, trained as a doula, in antenatal teaching and support, story-telling and face painting! It is her belief that the more experiences and skills she can gather along the way, the more richness and range she can bring to her work. 

    Sharing Info: Jody says: "It is wonderful to know how these songs travel. If you would like to share it in your own choirs/singing groups please contact me at jody@singingroots.uk for information on how to purchase the song and parts."

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:53
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:26

    Links:
    Singing Roots website: www.singingroots.uk 
    Singing Roots Bandcamp: www.singingroots.bandcamp.com 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 4 parts with first part in 3 harmonies

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  • Published on

    182. Ribbon 7: Rising

    Ribbon
    Picture
    Picture
    ​The Sunday after this episode is released, March 16th, 2025, at 4 p.m. Eastern time, there will be an online gathering of folk who use song to help navigate life -- and we'll sing through this Ribbon of Songs with live-looping! To learn more, click here, or sign up right now to join us!

    ​​Lyrics     ​& Links to the original episodes for the songs in this ribbon.
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    ​31. Voices Rising
    Words & Music by Lisa Doscher

    ​All our voices are rising up... oh, my soul
    Voices sing, voices ring
    Sounding out, echoing!
    Quiet voices are rising up
    Wild voices are rising up
    Sacred voices are rising up
    Awakened voices are rising up
    Inspired voices are rising up
    United voices are rising up
    Hear our voices rising up!
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    ​49. More Waters Rising
    Words & Music by Saro Lynch-Thomason

    1. ​There are more waters rising, this I know, this I know.
    There are more waters rising, this I know.
    There are more waters rising, they will find their way to me;
    there are more waters rising, this I know, this I know,
    there are more waters rising, this I know.

    2. ...fires burning...
    3. ...mountains falling...
    4. I will wade through the waters... when they find their way to me;
    5. I will walk through the fires...
    6. I will re-build the mountains...
    ​7. I will wade through the water...
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    ​32. Seed Song
    Words & Music by Barbara McAfee

    Oh the darkness has swallowed me whole,
    and I cannot remember the light.
    Oh, I feel I am losing my soul to the night, to the night.

    You are a seed.
    This is the waiting time.
    You hold a dream of green that will call you to the sky.
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    ​9. Right Place, Right Time
    Words & Music by Samara Jade

    1. I believe that I’m in the right place at the right time
    This wave is crashing down and it’s the one for me to ride

    2. Crazy world, crazy times
    Gonna let go of what oughtta be
    And hang on for the ride

    3. Ebb and flow
    Rising, falling
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    ​140. The Feast
    Words & Music by Heidi Wilson

    Holy Fire in the sun
    Water in the river, and Wind within my lungs
    Oh holy Earth beneath my feet
    All of us are offerings and also at the feast
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    163. Radiate
    Words & Music by Lisa Piccirillo

    When I see me,
    I am standing in my light.
    I will be me
    when I’m standing in my light.

    And if it’s blinding,
    I’ll keep climbing
    ​oh so high
    and just keep going
    toward my knowing
    till I find:
    I radiate.
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  • Published on

    181. Extraordinary Magic with singer Rebecca Csuy

    4:4 Accept Be Present Celebrate Friendship Love Notice Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Unison With Separate Harmony Line Uptempo
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:35
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:14

    ​Lyrics:

    I see you, I hear you,
    I hold this space for you;
    and I am a witness
    to your extraordinary magic!
    (repeat 3x)

    I see you, I hear you,
    I hold this space for you;
    and I am a witness
    to the extraordinary magic in you!
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    Song: Extraordinary Magic
    Music by: Judy Tse

    Notes: Judy describes the act of witnessing beautifully -- and this song is one that feels so good to have echoing in my head as I practice holding space for other people... really being present and seeing them fully. That seems to get harder and harder as people get older and make choices we disagree with or are harmful. But wishing them well, looking for the extraordinary magic that is in them, even while being clear-sighted about behaviors -- while not always easy, it feels like a way of being I personally aspire to!

    Songwriter Info: Judy Tse participated in the A Breath of Song retreat in 2024! About this song, Judy says: "Being a witness to someone; really being present for a person by listening actively + not trying to fix or 'make better', is one of the greatest gifts one person can give another."

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Judy for recording and/or performing permission. (You can write Patricia at patricia@abreathofsong.com to be connected with Judy.)

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:35
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:14

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, unison or harmonized

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