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  • Published on

    120. Alchemy with Guest Te Martin

    Song: Alchemy
    Music:
    Te Martin
    Lyrics: 

    Part 1:
    Everything is helping you
    grow and thrive
    know what you need to know


    Part 2:
    And it is not too late
    it is not too late to follow
    [x3]
    your dreams


    Part 3:
    ​Dream!
    Picture
    Notes: “I feel inside of myself something expanding when I sing," says Te. They've used song to metabolize experience for as long as they can remember... and as Te shares this song, we get to feel into their experience of trust. Alchemy could be a way of building gold out of fear; something beautiful is uncovered as Te sings and shares about learning to carry the complexity of song sharing loosely, relationship to each other and the earth, liberation... and the magic of a sigh.

    Songwriter InfoTe Martin is a song-keeper and ritual artist. They were born on Ramaytush Ohlone land in San Francisco and have been shaped by Ocean, Redwoods, circus arts, and theater games. They facilitate oral tradition singing classes and workshops that focus on song as a tool for collective liberation, somatic regulation, and ancestral connection. Te served as co-organizer of Thrive Street Choir in the San Francisco bay area for six years, is a student of Gaelic song, and released their first professional music video and EP of original songs, "Water & Bones," in 2021.

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

    Links from the conversation: 
    The Lama Foundation: https://www.lamafoundation.org/
    Pueblo Tiwa People Northern New Mexico: https://accessgenealogy.com/new-mexico/tiwa-pueblo-indians.htm
    Southern Pomo Coast Miwok
    https://alamedanativeart.com/post/alameda-native-history-project/coast-miwok-and-southern-pomo-map/
    Songs of Mother Europe: https://weavingremembrance.org/songs-of-mother-europe-fall/
    The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18144590-the-alchemist
    The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: https://juliacameronlive.com/books-by-julia/
    Alchemy process: https://aras.org/concordance/content/alchemical-process-and-its-stages
    Village Fire Singing Iowa: http://www.villagefiresinging.org/
    Liz Rog: https://realsmalltowns.com/liz-rog-singing-as-breath-and-food/
    Singing Alive Oregon: https://singingalive.org/
    Melanie DeMore: https://melaniedemore.com/bio/
    Lisa G. Littlebird: https://thebirdsings.com/
    Finding Our Voice on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/findingourvoiceproject -- while Josh and Te's "Finding Our Voice" project didn't end up with lots of accessible recorded interviews, it built more community among songleaders and nurtured both Josh and Te.
    Laurence Cole: https://www.laurencecole.com/
    Thrive Street Choir in San Francisco bay area: http://www.thriveeastbay.org/thrivestreetchoir
    Lyndsey Scott: https://www.lyndseyscott.earth
    Joanna Laws Landis: https://soundcloud.com/nextgenna/healing-through-grief-joanna-laws-landis
    Ysaye Barnwell:
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-serendipitous-life-ysaye-barnwell-and-the-healing-power-of-music/2015/05/01/718db920-e52e-11e4-905f-cc896d379a32_story.html

    "I’m Yours" by Tracy Chapman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LdCazk77D4
    "The Long Way Around" by The Chicks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5HKLteH9Mc
    Molly Hartwell & Laura Boswell - Wellspring album: https://wellspring.bandcamp.com/album/wellspring
    Put Your Roots Down: https://riseupandsing.org/songs/put-your-roots-down
    Put Your Roots Down on A Breath of Song: 
    https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/2-put-your-roots-down

    Te's Links:
    EP, "Water & Bones": https://temartin.bandcamp.com/album/water-bones
    "May This Body Be a Bridge" Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Mn_2BSNAg
    Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/temartin
    Mailing List: https://mailchi.mp/1debadd3ebb3/sos 
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/te.martin/


    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:52
    Start time of reprise: 01:00:19
    ​​
    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3 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!​
  • Published on

    119. I Let Go

    Song: I Let Go
    Music: Te Martin

    ​Lyrics:

    I let go
    I lay down
    I release
    Return again



    Picture
    Notes: Te Martin describes this song as an exhale... I experience it like that, too... a relaxation, a release. It's so very welcome to me as I'm coming into a busy time of life, with lots of commitments lined up -- I need ways to let go quickly, in the middle of all the flurry. Having this song in my mind lets me do that... and if I happen to be with someone else who's willing to sing, it's so easy to echo it back to each other. Next week is a songwriter conversation with Te... bicycles, miso, and the natural world all come into play!

    Songwriter InfoTe Martin is a song-keeper and ritual artist. They were born on Ramaytush Ohlone land in San Francisco and have been shaped by Ocean, Redwoods, circus arts, and theater games. They facilitate oral tradition singing classes and workshops that focus on song as a tool for collective liberation, somatic regulation, and ancestral connection. Te served as co-organizer of Thrive Street Choir in the San Francisco bay area for six years, is a student of Gaelic song, and released their first professional music video and EP of original songs, "Water & Bones," in 2021.

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

    Links: 
    EP, "Water & Bones": https://temartin.bandcamp.com/album/water-bones
    "May This Body Be a Bridge" Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Mn_2BSNAg
    Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/temartin
    Mailing List: https://mailchi.mp/1debadd3ebb3/sos 
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/te.martin/


    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:53
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:10
    ​​
    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 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

    118. Listen In

    Song: Listen In
    Music: Jennie Pearl
    Lyrics:

    Listen in

    ​Here I am
    this is my center
    What is mine, What is mine?

    We're learning how to reach for each other
    may we reach
    may we teach

    Through the blurred lines,
    The pain and confusion,
    may we reach
    may we teach
    Picture
    Notes: Trying something different here -- lots of space for you to experiment. Jennie Pearl's song was a technique to help her be more open to listening after she had hurt someone -- a way to change her own patterned response to what to do after realizing you've caused harm. I love this song for that chance to change a pattern by intensely listening -- both to myself and the person I've hurt. So I've recorded it with lots of time and space for you discover how it sits in you. If you find you want to rush through it, try singing a harmony, or creating a melody you need to hear to help you stay with it. Eventually, I harmonize it my way and mash everything together -- may feel good to you, or you might like an earlier, more spacious moment? Enjoy listening in...

    Songwriter InfoJennie Pearl (she/her) is a facilitator, singer, and bodyworker who leads from emotion and embodiment in liberation work. She is committed to bridging the gap between racial justice/gender justice and healing work. Alongside her team at Holistic Resistance and Transintimate, she offers a myriad of programming to cultivate ongoing relationships that dream up a more anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and liberatory future.

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

    Links: Jennie's Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/Jennie-Pearl-1 -- if you are sharing the song on in a situation where you receive financial compensation, or if you have resources to support Jennie's work in the world, please consider sending support.
    Holistic Resistance: https://www.holisticresistance.com/about -- get inspired by what Jennie and others are dreaming!
    Reach for Life! Song Playlist: https://thebirdsings.com/reach/ -- with Listen In arranged by Lisa Littlebird

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:15
    Start time of reprise: 00:18:47
    ​​
    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3-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!​
  • Published on

    117. September Round

    Song: September Round
    Music: Catherine Young
    Lyrics:

    Summer’s over; it’s September
    Leaves turn to red and gold,
    Green leaves—remember
    Gather all your colors in a fine silk thread
    Weave all your colors in your leafy bed.
    Summer’s over
    ​Summer’s over
    Picture
    Notes: Catherine Young, a poet deeply rooted in the Driftless region of Wisconsin, USA, gives us a wistful melody in the ancient Dorian mode -- a minor scale that has a beautiful, lifted sixth degree that gives it a particular flavor you'll come to know well by singing this with me. In the northern hemisphere, fall is upon us -- the equinox approaching -- and this song carries with it the beauty of this time, and the grief of letting go of summer. I teach the melody first, just letting my mouth form shapes to really get to know this beautiful tune -- you can create your own shapes, and then round it with me, or on your own -- or stay with the original melody. So many options!

    Songwriter Info: Catherine Young is a writer and performing artist whose work is infused with a keen sense of place. She is author of the ecopoetry collection Geosmin and the environmental memoir Black Diamonds. Her weekly podcast Landward:Readings of Place and Season is available online from WDRT. Rooted in farm life, Catherine lives with her family in Wisconsin's Driftless Area where she is totally in love with meandering streams. She holds concern for water and deeply believes in the use of story and art as tools for transforming the world.

    Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but Catherine always welcome financial and/or networking support. Please contact her to purchase sheet music.

    Links: 
    "September Round" is from the song almanac Rounding the Year which can be purchased in print or as pdf from Catherine: catherineyoungwriter@gmail.com
    You can also request to be put on her mailing list.
    For writings and recordings, visit Catherine's website: http://www.catherineyoungwriter.com/
    Podcasts: https://wdrt.org/landward/
    Instagram
    https://www.instagram.com/catherineyoungwriter 

    Live online international book launch conversation for her book Black Diamonds: a Childhood Colored by Coal.
    Thursday, September 28, 2023 6 PM Central Time (7pm eastern).
    LINK FOR EVENT: 
    https://www.crowdcast.io/c/black-diamonds

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:53
    Start time of reprise: 00:17:53
    ​​
    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Dorian, 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

    113. Borrow Trouble with singer Seth Norton

    Song: Borrow Trouble
    ​Music:
    Patricia Norton
    Lyrics
    Let me not borrow this trouble
    ahead of time.
    Let me not carry this sorrow
    before it's mine.
    It will come when it comes, and go when it goes.
    I will know; I will know.
    It will come when it comes and go when it goes,
    I will know.

    My trust and love are banks on the river
    where grief and praise can find a flow.
    My tender heart, it floats on the ocean.
    The waves come. The waves go.

    Picture
    Notes: Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with the thought of death, I think I'm going to precipitate it by forgetting to breathe! And then somehow, something will help me back into the present, alive moment... and this song appeared just after one of those moments. I was absolutely delighted to record it with my son, Seth, who was visiting from Boston (you'll hear a little fangirl excitement in my voice)... and also surprised by how different it was for me to sing it with someone else rather than just my own voice on the looper! This voice music thing... it's always surprising me, delighting me, stretching me. And this particular song keeps coming back, insisting I sing it again.

    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: 
    Patricia's Website: https://www.juneberrymusic.com

    ​Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:25
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:15
    ​​
    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4 Minor & Major, unison or 2-part 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!​
  • Published on

    112. Let Me Sing

    Song: Let Me Sing
    ​Music: Jane Lewis
    Lyrics

    Let me sing as the sun rises
    Let me sing as the day falls
    Let me offer this prayer to the moonlight
    Let me stand in the beauty of it all

    (Let me sing to the beauty)

    Picture
    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!​