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    250. Cycle Breakers with guest Ríomas

    2:2 Ancestors Change Cycles Determination Empower Freedom Generations Harmonized Heal Journey Joy Legacy Power & Change Scale: Minor

    Song: Cycle Breakers

    Music by: Ríomas (with some lyric support from Yesh Salz)


    Song Learning Time Stamps:

    Start of teaching: 00:03:40

    Start of reprise: 01:32:12



    Lyrics:


    CHORUS

    Cycle breakers, cycle breakers, we're the generation of cycle breakers (x2)


    VERSE

    Ancestral sorrows pouring down our faces

    Heavy-laid patterns leaving no more traces

    Bringing back respectful bounds

    Our pleasure, joy, and freedom sounds

    In this lifetime, in this lifetime


    BRIDGE

    We're the ones who can, so we're the ones who must

    Stop from handing down this pain that was handed down to us

    The hardest work we'll do brings hard-earned laughter

    And becomes a dream now possible for those who come after

    Those who come after

    (will remember us as)


    OUTRO

    In this lifetime, in this lifetime


    Image description

    Notes: Ríomas gives us a conversation steeped in joy and acceptance of hard things -- in the middle of doing a hard thing, since we lost a recorded hour of our first conversation due to a tech glitch. We talk about what makes it possible to come back -- how to not get stuck -- and how that applies to breaking cycles, connecting with our ancestors of before and those to come after. I found myself inspired by their description of the culture of song circles as a way "to vision in and dream in what we’re actually trying to create that’s more beautiful and more free and more inclusive.” I was surprised and intrigued by their take on severance from rhythm and how regaining embodied, shared pulse is a resistance practice. Catch the whole interview to learn this song that Minnesota folk created a dance to, and hear how Ríomas found their new name and what it means!

     

    Songwriter Info: Ríomas (RiYo or Río for short, they/them), previously known as Shireen Amini, is a queer, trans masculine, Puerto Rican-Iranian artist and immigrant settler based in Portland, Oregon creating at the intersection of music, healing, and cultural change. Drawing upon pop and folk soul textures, gratefully and respectfully from Black and Afro-Latin lineages, they craft artful, participatory songs that invite realness and transformative energy. Bridging contemporary music mediums with ceremonial ways and resistance efforts, Ríomas creates soulful and joyful community singing experiences that reconnect people to their power and place. In spring 2026, they released their first community song album, Gather Your Resilience: Medicine for Liberation.

     

    Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition contexts like song circles, but please contact me for permission and rates if interested in teaching this song as part of greater money-making ventures like multi-week choirs, workshops, classes, or performances or if interested in recording this song.

     

    Links:

    Liz Digitale Anderson: https://singingforliberation.com/

    Onyx Li: https://www.instagram.com/pointsoflight_mu/

    adrienne maree brown: Pleasure Activism: https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/pleasure-activism/

    CIIS San Francisco: https://www.ciis.edu/

    Plena music of Puerto Rico : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plena

    Vernon Bush: https://www.goodlifeproject.com/podcast/vernon-bush/

    Bobby McFerrin’s Circle Singing: https://circlesongs.com/

    Vision fast: https://schooloflostborders.org/programs/vision-fast/

    Doesn’t Mean by Riomas ABS Episode 249: https://www.abreathofsong.com/p/249-doesnt-mean

    Mountain Song, Te Martin: https://www.lamafoundation.org/mountain-song/

    Tracy Robertson: https://www.instagram.com/tracyljrobertson/?hl=en

    Sarina Partridge, “I Am of This Earth”: https://sarinapartridge.bandcamp.com/track/of-this-earth

    Dark as Night by Nahko And Medicine For The People: https://www.nahko.com/music 

    Persian Aush soup – a Samin Nosrat recipe is behind a NYTimes paywall, so here’s another one!: https://www.101cookbooks.com/new-year-noodle-soup/

    Los Pleneros de la Cresta: https://losplenerosdelacresta.com/

     

    Riomas’s recent album, “Gather Your Resilience,” on Bandcamp: https://riomas.bandcamp.com/album/gather-your-resilience-medicine-for-liberation

    Patreon: https://patreon.com/riomas

    Instagram: @riomasmusic

    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/riomas

    Artist Website: https://shireenamini.com/

    Music as Medicine: https://shireenaminimusicmedicine.com/

     

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, harmonizable song form

     

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  • Published on

    249. Doesn't Mean

    3 Layer 4:4 Boundaries Change Cycles Darkness Empower Freedom Grow Heal Journey Power & Change Protection & Presence Release Scale: Minor Song Form: Harmonized

    Song: Doesn't Mean

    Music by: Ríomas


    Song Learning Time Stamps:

    Start of teaching: 00:03:20

    Start of reprise: 00:18:24



    Lyrics:


    Pt. 1

    What if it doesn’t mean what you think it means?

    What if it doesn’t mean what you think it means?

    What if it doesn’t mean what you think it means?

    Doesn’t mean what you think it means

    Doesn’t mean what you think it means


    Pt. 2

    It’s just a hole in the soul

    Trying to bring you back down in the darkness

    This is not a darkness you need to go

    This is not a darkness you need to go


    Been there, done that,

    no need to go back

    This is not a darkness

    you need to go

    This is not a darkness you need


    Pt. 3

    Bringing yourself down

    Is not your protection anymore

    The story is much more

    Than your mind could ever hold


    Image description

    Notes: What if there are other stories we can tell ourselves, other ways to protect ourselves? What if it doesn't mean what we think it means? The kind of flexibility that asks of us -- the openness to consider that the solution our mind is so neatly presenting might actually not be the most accurate or the most helpful? Wow. It's a game changer when we don't have to hold our stories or our past techniques so tightly -- and Ríomas has given us a song to ask these questions, to remind us that old ways of coping aren't always working so well in the here and now. Next episode, we get a sweet, intense conversation that touches in on navigating change, ancestors, rhythms, and more -- PLUS a new song Ríomas shares that's all about changing patterns...

     

    Songwriter Info: Ríomas (RiYo or Río for short, they/them), previously known as Shireen Amini, is a queer, trans masculine, Puerto Rican-Iranian artist and immigrant settler based in Portland, Oregon creating at the intersection of music, healing, and cultural change. Drawing upon pop and folk soul textures, gratefully and respectfully from Black and Afro-Latin lineages, they craft artful, participatory songs that invite realness and transformative energy. Bridging contemporary music mediums with ceremonial ways and resistance efforts, Ríomas creates soulful and joyful community singing experiences that reconnect people to their power and place. In spring 2026, they released their first community song album, Gather Your Resilience: Medicine for Liberation.

     

    Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition contexts like song circles, but please contact me for permission and rates if interested in teaching this song as part of greater money-making ventures like multi-week choirs, workshops, classes, or performances or if interested in recording this song.

     

     

    Links: 

    Album on Bandcamp: https://riomas.bandcamp.com/album/gather-your-resilience-medicine-for-liberation

    Patreon: https://patreon.com/riomas

    Instagram: @riomasmusic

    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/riomas

     

     

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 3 layer with extra harmonies

     

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  • Published on

    244. I Am Listening with guest singers

    4:4 Be Present Belonging Empower Harmony Heart Journey Scale: Minor Song Form: Unison

    Song: I Am Listening

    Music by:  Jordan Mudd


    Song Learning Time Stamps:

    Start of teaching: 00:04:01

    Start of reprise: 00:18:27



    Lyrics:


    I am listening

    to what is calling for me


    I am deepening

    into all I can be


    I am listening

    to what is calling for me


    And I won't turn my back on what my heart is

    longing to reach for


    I will let it lead


    Image description

    Notes: Recording this episode was sheer joy -- I was with a community of vocal improvisors at Back to the Well at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY (see shownotes for links to participate next year!) -- and I shared Jordan's song with a small group of us who were free one afternoon. Please sing with us, letting the song sink in and sing inside you in whatever way is just right today. I love the way this song remembers me into Howard Thurman quote: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

     

    Songwriter Info: Jordan Mudd is a songleader, vocal coach, grief tender, and ritualist based in Boston, MA. He co-founded Boston-Area Singing Circles in 2023, where he leads regular community singing gatherings combining oral tradition songs, vocal improv, and ritual, as well as training workshops for aspiring songleaders. He has been catching & leading songs for a decade, and is committed to using song as a tool for personal, collective, and spiritual liberation.

     

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

     

    SINGERS:

    Laurie Ellington -- suspensionbridgejazz.com

    Suzzette Ortiz -- suzzetteortiz.com

    Eileen Webb -- IG: @leenwebb

    Linnea Dolf -- IG:@linneasings

    Patti Shaffner -- jazzdakini.com

    Roy Willey -- voicecirclecolorado.com

    Giovanna (Gio) Velino -- IG:@giovanna.velino

    Rosi Amador -- IG:@rosiamadorlala

    Onome -- onome.org IG: @onome.om

    Paola Faoro -- IG: @circlesingingboston_jp

    TatiAnah Thunberg -- vocalwilds.com

    Carisa Wilder 


    Links:

    Back to the Well workshop: https://rhiannonmusic.com/omega-2026

    Listen to and purchase Jordan's music on bandcamp: https://jordanmuddsings.bandcamp.com/

    Learn more about Jordan's work at www.jordanmudd.com

    Learn more about the singing community Jordan stewards at www.bostonareasingingcircles.com

    Learn more about songleader training with Jordan + milly roberts: https://www.bostonareasingingcircles.com/songleading-intensive


    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, unison with optional harmonies

     

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  • Published on

    240. What Have We Done with guest Kaitie Ty Warren

    4:4 Belonging Change Empower Gather Grieve Hope Justice Legacy Power & Change Scale: Ionian (Major) Shame Song Form: Layer Tend

    Song: What Have We Done

    Music by:  Kaitie Ty Warren


    Song Learning Time Stamps:


    Start of teaching: 00:03:18

    Start of reprise: 01:14:26



    Lyrics:


    What have we done?

    What have we done?

    What have we done?

    What can we do?


    And I fear we’ve gone so far, I fear we can’t get back to who we are, and who we are is simple: we remember we’re all one


    And I know there’s a story, waiting for me to write the ending



    Image description

    Notes: Kaitie and I talk about how we get to practice skills in singing that help us show up in full right size to help build the kind of culture we want to live in. This includes stories about cockroaches, childraising, computer-savvy friends... and Kaitie brings it all "earthside" by teaching this powerful layer song which is intimately connected with the South African song "Senzenina". We talk about cross-cultural connections, and how we try to continually update our learning -- what it is to be in right relationship, the illness of wetiko, how to be "other" in a non-inclusive dominant culture. If any of this sparks your curiosity, join us!

     

    Songwriter Info: Kaitie Ty Warren (any pronouns) grew up on Tongva and Ohlone lands, by the ocean and often dreams in fishes and songs. She is a songwriter, songleader, writer, collage artist, cartoonist, minister, and performing artist. She is the founder of Living Room Choir, Be Heard! Voice for Parkinson's, and East Bay Song Fest, all on Ohlone lands in the Bay Area CA. She has a background in theater and music. She goes by Mama to the most awesome little songleader. KaitieTyWarren.com for more; follow on Patreon and socials @KaitieTy.

     

    Sharing Info: Kaitie's songs are available for free to humans for the sole purpose of using it with their choir(s) and song circles. For commercial and for-profit uses, please contact Kaitie via LivingRoomChoir.com. This is not for AI training or use.

     

    Links:

    Where to find What Have We Done:

    https://livingroomchoir.com/what-have-we-done/

    https://www.patreon.com/kaitiety/posts/song-what-have-143827793

    https://kaitietywarren.bandcamp.com/track/what-have-we-done


    Living Room Choir's Instagram: www.instagram.com/livingroomchoir

    Living Room Choir's Website: LivingRoomChoir.com/song-library


    Kaitie's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kaitiety

    Kaitie's Website: https://kaitietywarren.com/

    Kaitie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaitietywarren/

     

    Senzenina – The Joy covering it: https://youtu.be/0ye19cENvY4?si=okLZ6YrsQrXwHJb4

    Vukani Mowethu South African choir in Oakland: https://www.vukani.com/

    Kele Nitoto: https://www.instagram.com/kelenitoto/

    Ahimsa – concept of non-violence: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ahimsa

    Heather Houston retreats: https://heatherhoustonmusic.com/retreats-old/

    Laura Sandage: https://www.lauraschapel.com/

    “I Am” by Tom Shadyac (available on Netflix) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_(2010_American_documentary_film)

    Wetiko: Algonquin term for a cannibalistic spirit that is driven by greed, excess and selfish consumption (in Ojibwe it is windigo, wintiko in Powhatan) - https://www.lapishealingarts.com/lapidary-blog/wetiko-and-the-collective-dark-night-of-the-soul

    East Bay Songfest April 16-18, 2027: https://eastbaysongfest.com/

     

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, layer, major

     

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    https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

  • Published on

    239. My Body is Perfect

    4:4 Abundance Acceptance Sing Be Grateful Belonging Empower Gentle Heal Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Call & Response

    Song: My Body is Perfect

    Music by:  Kaitie Ty Warren


    Song Learning Time Stamps:


    Start of teaching: 00:02:54

    Start of reprise: 00:14:00



    Lyrics:


    Your body is perfect

    (my body is perfect)


    Just the way it is

    (just the way it is)


    Your body is perfect

    (my body is perfect)


    Just the way it is

    (just the way it is)


    Image description

    (feel free to sing "your body is perfect" or "my body is perfect" according to the needs of the moment.)

    This song is a good zipper song. Here are some suggestions:


    my health is perfect

    my timing is perfect

    my offer is perfect

    my singing is perfect

    my voice is perfect

    

    Notes: Kaitie started quite a discussion around our house with this song. What is perfect? Who gets to decide? And why is it so darn comforting to be told you're perfect, anyway? But when I first sang this song with Kaitie at Heather Houston's Global Summit many months ago, I was struck by how much better I felt after singing it to myself -- and I have continued to sing it through a flare of pain that I'm still seeking answers for and is constricting my way of life -- and I continue to find it comforting! Maybe you will, too? Next week, I get to talk with Kaitie directly about all kinds of things, including the ways we're trying to move away from the harm done by white colonial cultures and toward a vibrant, inclusive kind of presence that hums with life and generativity.


    Songwriter Info: Kaitie Ty Warren (any pronouns) grew up on Tongva and Ohlone lands, by the ocean and often dreams in fishes and songs. She is a songwriter, songleader, writer, collage artist, cartoonist, minister, and performing artist. She is the founder of Living Room Choir, Be Heard! Voice for Parkinson's, and East Bay Song Fest, all on Ohlone lands in the Bay Area CA. She has a background in theater and music. She goes by Mama to the most awesome little songleader. KaitieTyWarren.com for more; follow on Patreon and socials @KaitieTy.

     

    Sharing Info: Kaitie's songs are available for free to humans for the sole purpose of using it with their choir(s) and song circles. For commercial and for-profit uses, please contact Kaitie via LivingRoomChoir.com. This is not for AI training or use.

     

    Links:

    "My Body is Perfect" on Kaitie's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kaitiety/posts/new-song-my-body-137978799

    Kaitie's Patreon: www.patreon.com/kaitiety


    Living Room Choir's Instagram: www.instagram.com/livingroomchoir

    Living Room Choir's Website: LivingRoomChoir.com/song-library


    Kaitie's Website: https://kaitietywarren.com/

    Kaitie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaitietywarren/

    Kaitie's Bandcamp: https://kaitietywarren.bandcamp.com

     

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, call and response, major

     

    Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:

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  • Published on

    238. Got It Goin' On

    15:8 Abundance Celebrate Determination Empower Enough Scale: Minor Song Form: Round

    Song: Got It Goin' On

    Music by: Patricia Norton


    Song Learning Time Stamps:


    Start of teaching: 00:03:14

    Start of reprise: 00:13:59



    Lyrics:


    I got it, you got it, we got it

    goin' on!


    I got it, you got it, we got it

    goin' on!


    I got it, you got it, we got it

    goin' on;

    

    a next right thing; finding a

    next right thing, finding a

    next right thing, finding, oh...

    Image description

    Notes: Thanks to Liz Rog, I'm sharing this relatively new song (she requested it after hearing me sing it briefly on the road trip when we were exchanging songs.) I wrote it for my fabulous song leaders in training as we were tackling sometimes intimidating skills and breaking them apart into what we could actually try next. Singing it this week has been encouraging to me as I grapple with elevated pain levels, trying different next things to see what can help my body find more ease. I sing it, I get out of breath, I start laughing, I have to dig in a bit to keep it rolling -- by the time I was done recording, I was grinning and felt energized and like it was worth trying another thing! I hope it's a lift for you, too...

     

    Songwriter Info: You can find out more about me in general here: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/about-patricia.html

    Or the whole team that puts this podcast out here: https://www.abreathofsong.com/about.html

     

    Sharing Info: Feel free to sing this song yourself and with your friends and family as often as you please! If you are using this song in a way that is making money for you, please contribute to the A Breath of Song gratitude jar at https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar, and/or send me a note letting me know how the song is helping you, so the song brings us into relationship. Thank you!

     

    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: 15:8, minor, 6-part round

     

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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