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    87. Born To Love

    1:1 (Unmetered) Accept Belonging Heal Love Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Echo Song Form: Unison Trust
    Song: Born To Love
    Music & Words by Gabrielle Mehlmann Gelfand
    Lyrics
    We knew love, before we were born.
    We know love, from the inside.
    We knew love, before we were born.
    And yet it takes a lifetime
    To really know.
    Picture
    Notes: This song floats and pulses, carrying me as singer into a spaciousness and warmth that feels like it could be a somatic knowledge of love. That's quite a statement to make for a song, no? And yet, it makes sense -- when we sing, we engage so much of our brains -- breathing, thinking, sensing vibration and sound -- that if we allow images and responses to come into our awareness, too, those images are rich and connected with all we have ever known.. Unusually for songs I share on this podcast, this one doesn't have a strict meter -- it is more fluid and shifting -- yet it has a stable, vibrant heart center. I'll be curious to know what this experience is like for you!

    Songwriter Info:  Gabrielle is passionate about music and its transformative and healing powers. She grew up singing and surrounded by music, and has sung and performed in many contexts; indie rock, choirs, musical theater, Cabaret, yoga studios, and singing circles. Gabrielle has hosted singing circles, sound ceremonies, and new moon circles. She currently lives in Seattle, and likes to catch songs while walking through the beautiful Pacific NorthWest forests.

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share, please contact Gabrielle if you're planning to use it simply because it would be such a delight to know about it.

    Links: 
    Follow @sound__witch on Instagram to see what Gabrielle's up to,
    and/or check out her other songs at soundcloud.com/a_sound_witch.
    After this episode was released, Gabrielle released her (stunning) recording of Born to Love -- you can find it on Spotify here:     https://open.spotify.com/track/5lajK8FDZcyxszxC65x021?si=cfb68facf8eb4720 
    ​or on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErdGihQj-Bk 

    Nuts & Bolts: unmetered, major, echo

    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

    86. We Were Made for These Times

    12:8 Change Determination Empower Flex Friendship Gather Hope Journey Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Call & Response Song Form: Harmonized Trust
    Song: We Were Made for These Times
    Music by Angela Gabriel
    Text by Clarissa Pink Estés
    from "Letter to a Young Activist During Troubled Times"
    Lyrics
    Call: Don't lose heart,
    Response: Do not lose heart,
    Call: We were made for these times.
    Response: We were made for this.
    Together: Show your soul, it shines like gold in these dark times.

    Additional verses: Don't lose hope, Don't give up.


    Picture
    Notes: Angela Gabriel's gospel-infused setting of Clarissa Pink Estés' fierce words is enough to lift me out of bed into the January cold! You'll hear me play with adding my voice in the looper with different tonal qualities so it sounds like we're singing with a crowd... and then at the end, I'll invite you to sing it simply with me, as a heartfelt duet. Patty said her art for this episode is inspired by the images of boats and wood from the Clarissa Estés letter... "and the idea of standing together, so here are the trees, rooted and strong in all weather."
    * This song has had a significant evolution since I recorded it for this episode -- please catch the updates under the links with Angela's own recordings!

    Songwriter Info:  Angela is a professional percussionist & pianist and community music/community singing facilitator. She lived in Santa Fe NM for the last 20 years, where she played with the opera, symphony, chamber music festival, as well as in African, Haitian, and samba gatherings, funk and ragtime bands.  
         She just moved to Bloomington, Indiana in the end of 2022.
    Angela's mission in life is to facilitate expressive creative, musical, and vocal experiences and to encourage folks to replace judgement with curiosity and open themselves to their unique, creative flow.
        Part of how Angela does this is by singing and drumming online weekly with people living with Parkinson’s and other movement disorders.

    This song is free to share but Angela always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

    Links: 
    Learn the updated version with Angela herself: https://youtu.be/kZfD7YbZJew?feature=shared
    Listen to the updated version: https://youtu.be/Rash_81HIhY?feature=shared
    Letter to a Young Activist by Clarissa Pinkola Estés: https://www.mavenproductions.com/letter-to-a-young-activist
    Angela's website: www.AngelaGabriel.me
    Support Angela's work: find songs, rhythmic activities, and more at patreon.com/AngelaGabriel
    Check out Hidden Whale, Angela's old band (she's the drummer): https://youtube.com/channel/UCpxdVqwSxzEBhgUilN3qQLg

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:55
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:49

    Nuts & Bolts: 12:8, major, harmonized call & response

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

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

    85. This Body with Guest Heather Pierson

    4:4 Accept Be Present Calm Change Grieve Grow Heal Listen Notice Rest Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Unison Song Form: Zipper Trust
    Song: This Body
    Words & Music by Heather Pierson
    Lyrics
    This body *breathing*.
    This body *breathing*.
    This body is here,
    This body is now.

    "breathing" can be replaced by other words,
    like singing, dreaming, healing, grieving, living, smiling, loving, etc.
    Picture
    Notes: Singing this meditative mantra with Heather Pierson's butter-warm voice draws me right into the here and now, even when I'm dealing with tech glitches... it's powerful stuff, and I've been putting it to the test! Heather says, "Music is an invitation..." and in our conversation, she talks about the different ways that plays out during grieving, learning to sing solo, collaborating, choosing songs, giving permission. Have you ever thought about how the meditation concept of titration might apply to leading a circle? Well, we've got you covered!

    Songwriter Info: Heather Pierson is a pianist, singer/songwriter, songleader, and performer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She has released 14 albums, two songbooks, and several singles of her original music ranging in style from folk to jazz to vocal chants. Since 2018, she is the co-creator with fellow songleader Bernice Martin of Heart Songs & Circle Songs, a community singing project dedicated to the cultivation of harmony, wellness, connection, joy, and peace through music and song. When she isn’t making music, Heather enjoys her meditation practice, hiking, cooking, writing, reading, and watching the birds.

    Links: 
    Heather's album 'Wishes of Lovingkindness', available for free or by donation at her Bandcamp: https://heatherpierson.bandcamp.com/album/wishes-of-lovingkindness
    For more information about Heather's community singing project with Bernice Martin, please visit https://www.heartsongsandcirclesongs.com.
    For more information about all of Heather's musical offerings, please visit: https://www.heatherpierson.com.
    Heather's growing community on Patreon enjoys early and exclusive access to new songs, videos, and poetry every week. Learn more at https://www.patreon.com/HeatherPierson
    ​    Kansas: “The Spider”
    Melanie DeMore... "These songs are like medicine." Here's Melanie leading two of her medicine songs:     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3D1U_Cmlxc
    Leah Boyd/Leah Wolfsong ‎Leah Wolfsong on Apple Music
    The early albums:
    ‎We All Have a Song by Heather Pierson on Apple Music
    ‎Honor The Light by Heather Pierson on Apple Music
    Laurence Cole: “Attention is the healer of separation”
    Gray catbird
    Baked Beans recording (Alan Bean) Recording Studio | Baked Beans Recording Studio | United States
    Peaceful Means (Leah Boyd & Heather Pierson) (3) Peaceful Means | Facebook
    ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND - Live At Fillmore East (Deluxe Edition) - Amazon.com Music
    The Wood Brothers The Wood Brothers (thewoodbros.com)

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:31
    Start time of reprise: 01:03:53

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, with a lovely minor final note; unison zipper 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!
  • Published on

    84. May I Be Open

    4:4 Accept Be Present Flex Grow Heal Notice Open Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Layer Tend
    Song: May I Be Open
    Words & Music ​by Heather Pierson
    Lyrics
    May I be open to things as they are right now,
    because this is how things are right now.

    Remember the breath, remember the body,
    ​remember the goodness that you carry.
    Picture
    Notes: I love the way this song pulls me into the very present moment of right now, really right now, with concrete reminders of the breath and body... and then also lightens my spirit with the rhythmic play as I sing about the goodness that I carry. Heather has found ways through steady, attentive practices to help herself heal from childhood trauma, and she carries this intentional tending with clarity and care into her music. Next week, we can settle into a songwriter conversation with Heather about all this, and more!

    Songwriter Info: Heather Pierson is a pianist, singer/songwriter, songleader, and performer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She has released 14 albums, two songbooks, and several singles of her original music ranging in style from folk to jazz to vocal chants. Since 2018, she is the co-creator with fellow songleader Bernice Martin of Heart Songs & Circle Songs, a community singing project dedicated to the cultivation of harmony, wellness, connection, joy, and peace through music and song. When she isn’t making music, Heather enjoys her meditation practice, hiking, cooking, writing, reading, and watching the birds.

    Links: 
    'May I Be Open' is from Heather's album 'Wishes of Lovingkindness', available for free or by donation at her Bandcamp: https://heatherpierson.bandcamp.com/album/wishes-of-lovingkindness
    For more information about Heather's community singing project with Bernice Martin, please visit https://www.heartsongsandcirclesongs.com.
    For more information about all of Heather's musical offerings, please visit: https://www.heatherpierson.com.
    Heather's growing community on Patreon enjoys early and exclusive access to new songs, videos, and poetry every week. Learn more at https://www.patreon.com/HeatherPierson

    ​Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:00
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:15​

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 2-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!
  • Published on

    83. Creature Teacher

    4:4 Accept Be Present Listen Notice Rest Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Unison Tend
    Song: Creature Teacher
    Words & Music ​by Hannah Jeffery
    Lyrics
    Am I tired, am I hungry?
    Do I need to take a break now
    And rest?
    Am I tired, am I hungry?
    ​Do I need to take a breath?

    We are responsible for tending these creatures
    Let the growls and the howls and the cries and the whines
    ​Be our teachers.
    Picture
    Notes: I so completely get the need for these questions, so appealingly set by Hannah Jeffery, to notice our body's basic needs. I love singing the reminder to attend to my creature self, what Mary Oliver calls, "the soft animal of your body" -- to tune into what it loves, what it complains about, how it responds to what's going on. This time of coming into a new year, perhaps with a plethora of complex people interactions, seems a particularly appropriate time to reset and reconnect with the awareness and presence of our own creature selves.

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

    This song is free to share but Hannah always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

    Links: 
    www.deepwellsong.org
    deepwellsong@gmail.com
    www.patreon.com/deepwellsong
    Hannah singing this song herself

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:09 
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:17

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Aeolian, unison

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

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

    82. Whoever You Are

    3:4 Accept Belonging Friendship Gather Generosity Journey Listen Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized Trust
    Song: Whoever You Are
    Words by Rev. Ana Levy-Lyons
    Music​ by Adam Podd
    Lyrics
    Whoever you are, whomever you love;
    Wherever you are on your life's journey...
    ​you are welcome here!
    Picture
    Notes: I learned this song from Adam at the end of the summer at a group singing weekend workshop, and immediately decided to use it for my Pocket Songs welcome song during the fall, not only because of the generous, wide-open welcome of the words, but because of the way the music backs up the message. The lift and lightness of the rhythm, and the enjoyment of slightly surprising notes (I particularly love the first "are" of the tenor line, for example), the way we move from unison into connected harmonic diversity -- these musical things help me FEEL welcoming. Sometimes I shift the words to sing it to myself, as a reminder that whoever I am, whomever I love, wherever I am on this journey, I am welcome... and when I feel genuinely accepted as I am, it is so much easier to extend that welcome and acceptance to others.

    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list by clicking here. You'll 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.

    Songwriter Info: Adam Podd (he/him/his) is a Vermont-bred, Brooklyn-based music director, pianist, organist, bassist, composer, and arranger. As a pianist, Adam specializes in blues, jazz, and gospel. He plays regularly around NYC with his twin brother Matt, and their jazz and blues band Mimi and the Podd Brothers. He also plays keys, bass and music directs for singer/songwriter Dan Mills. I met Adam as he co-led a workshop on Star Island, off the coast of New Hampshire. I was struck by his unassuming, gentle manner and musical generosity. He welcomes sharing of this song.
    ​
    Links: 
    learn about Adam himself: ABOUT — Adam Podd
    check out the choral music Adam and his brother arrange: The Podd Brothers
    to read more of the writings of Ana Levy-Lyons: Home - Ana Levy-Lyons (analevylyons.com)

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:15
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:19​

    Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Major, harmonized

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

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