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  • Published on

    161. Good Friend

    2:2 Friendship Future Journey Motion Safe Scale: Aeolian (minor) Sea Seasons Song Form: Round Trust Waves Wind
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:47
    Start time of reprise: 00:16:25

    ​Lyrics:

    Oh the wind, it is a song
    ​that harbours through the winter,
    Oh the sail, it is a door
    that bids the song to enter,
    And let us sail the sea, good friend,
    And let us sing together,
    The singer lasts a season long,
    While the song, it lasts forever.
    Picture
    Song: Good Friend
    Music by: Jan Harmon

    Notes: Both harbor and freedom, connection and release, seasons and timelessness. Jan Harmon's song, written in 1985, has generous space for harmonies, and impels us singers forward, as though we were the sail catching the wind. I love the feeling of holding and letting go as I sing this song -- it helps me grieve, helps rejoice, helps me open, helps me curl up... I wonder what you will experience as you sing it with me?

    Songwriter Info: Jan Harmon (1940-1993) was a published poet, a writer of short stories and biographical non-fiction, as well as a prolific composer of choral music, topical songs, ballads, rounds, musicals, and instrumental pieces. She was born in Saginaw, Michigan and lived in many places from southern California to Maine.

    Sharing Info: When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Scott at Harmon Publishing for permission and rates: https://harmonpublishing.com/contact.php

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:47
    Start time of reprise: 00:16:25

    Links:
    Song info on the Harmon Publishing website (including a sheet music PDF): https://www.harmonpublishing.com/jan/music/library/good-friend

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, round

    Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:
    https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

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  • Published on

    150. The Change with guest Mary Cohen

    6:8 Change Determination Dreams Empower Future Hope Justice Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Round Songwriter Conversation
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:05:45
    Start time of reprise: 01:07:58

    ​Lyrics:

    Who, who do we
    want to become?
    We want to be the change
    that we want to see,
    to see in the world.
    Who--oo, ooooo.

    (based on Gandhi's quote "Be the change you wish to see in the world.")
    Picture
    Song: The Change
    Music by: Mary L. Cohen

    ​Notes: “My dad played the copper fish mold.” — aren’t you curious now? Listen in as Mary Cohen and I explore family music, personal structures for improvisation, creating connections between incarcerated and not-incarcerated people, and more… We wander a bit through grief and disconnection and finding what is, in a conversation that’s real and messy and touches on fear and joy, building a caring community for ourselves, our neighbors, the global world… living with regret and streaming grace to the person we were when we made a mistake; restoring connection. It’s a glimpse of the rich variety of resources Mary draws on as she shapes her life… I hope to add some into mine.

    Songwriter Info: Mary L. Cohen, Professor of Music Education at the University of Iowa, is lead author of Music-Making in U.S. Prisons: Listening to Incarcerated Voices (2022). She co-founded the International Music and Justice Network: IMAJIN Caring Communities, a group of researchers from 18 countries who study music-making in prisons, and you are welcome to join by contacting Mary to get on the group email list (mary-cohen@uiowa.edu). From 2009 to 2020 she led the Oakdale Community Choir with incarcerated and non-incarcerated participants where participants have written over 150 songs, and the Oakdale Choir performed over 75 of these songs, available with the Creative Commons License. To continue working toward the choir’s goals of building communities of caring through singing and songwriting, she founded the Inside Outside Songwriting Collaboration Project where partnerships between incarcerated and non-incarcerated songwriters create original songs, build relationships, and learn about transformative and generative justice. She has been a keynote for conferences in Germany, Canada, and Portugal, interviewed by the BBC3 Music Matters, and has over 40 publications in journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings. She leads weekly music groups inside the Juvenile Detention Center of Linn County.
    ​
    Sharing Info:     The song is free to share, and Mary welcomes networking support and invites you to further your education and activism regarding environmental justice, restorative/transformative/generative justice, and simply acting with kindness to all you encounter.
    ​
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:05:45
    Start time of reprise: 01:07:58

    Links:  ​
    Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, minor, 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.  https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

    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!  https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html
  • Published on

    141. Suis ton rêve

    4:4 Dreams Empower Flow Future Journey Listen Mantra Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Unison Song Form: Unison With Separate Harmony Line Trust Wisdom
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:19
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:39

    ​Lyrics:

    Suis ton rêve
    Suis tes rêves
    Suis tes rêves
    Suis ton rêve
    Il connaît le chemin

    (Follow your dream,
    follow your dreams.
    Follow your dreams,
    follow your dream;
    it knows the way)
    Picture
    Song: Suis ton rêve
    Music by: Rafaela Carlier

    ​Notes: Rafaela and I struck up a friendship when we were both fortunate enough to spend a week exploring vocal improvisation together at Le Cercle Enchantée in the summer of '23. Now, Rafaela thinks of herself as a visual artist -- but listen to what came through her as she was freely exploring song a few months later. Wow! And then she shared it with me over WhatsApp -- and so I could sing this song first heard by a friend of mine, in the language that was speaking to her. I love singing the heart songs of friends -- I wish sharing them with each other could be as ordinary as texting a heart emoji! You'll hear me "duetting" playfully with her song -- making up lines -- I hope you'll try, too...

    Songwriter Info: Rafaela says, "I am a handycrafter and an artist, without distinction between the two. I hope to have more lives to learn and practice all I would like to: tango, ceramic, botany, muralism, circlesinging... yet I feel lucky to have followed a lot of my dreams... and to keep on it!"

    Sharing Info:     The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Rafaela for recording and/or performing permission.
    ​
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:19
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:39

    Links: 
    Rafaela's website: www.rafaelia.com
    Rafaela's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RafaeliaHandmadeDesign
    Rafaela's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rafaelia_handmadedesign/

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Aeolian, unison (with made up harmonies)

    Join the A Breath of Song Mailing list
    (https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share)  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
    (https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html) (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    128. Prayer for Peace

    2:2 Breathe Change Determination Empower Fire Future Harmony Heart Justice Love Peace Prayer Scale: Minor Song Form: Call & Response Song Form: Harmonized Wisdom
    Song: Prayer for Peace
    Music: Gitanjali Jain
    Lyrics:

    In this world that's ripped apart,
    there's a calling in my heart.
    Prayers for justice,
    prayers for peace.
    May we all have love and ease. 

    In this world,
    in my heart;
    there is peace.
    There is love.
    Picture
    Notes: Gitanjali Jain pours heartbreak, tension, anger, confusion all into this prayer for peace, which has some of the scrunchiest harmonies we've ever done on A Breath of Song. And although you could call these stacked harmonies, I decided to call them melodies -- because it's not clear to me that there's a single melodic voice -- to me it is the voice of many combined. Feel the frustration of the sounds hitting against each other; all those wishes we carry for peace, love and ease. Then notice how you feel after you've sung it... is there connection to Gitu, to me, to others feeling all the complexity of our beloved world?

    Songwriter Info: Gitanjali Jain is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in music and theater. Born in Mexico City to her Mexican mother and East Indian father, she has focused a significant part of her work on the study of her ancestry and lineage. Other formative experiences include seven years in Hawai’i, where she worked as an aerialist, actor, and dancer in the award-winning production 'Ulalena.

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

    Links:
    Gitanjali on Bandcamp: https://alicuanta.bandcamp.com/

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:35
    Start time of reprise: 00:17:08

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, mostly harmonic minor, harmonized call & response

    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list (https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share) 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 https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

  • Published on

    120. Alchemy with Guest Te Martin

    3 Layer 4:4 Be Present Belonging Dreams Empower Flow Future Gratitude & Trust Grow Journey Peace Play Praise & Wonder Scale: Ionian (Major) Songwriter Conversation Trust Wisdom
    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 Info: Te 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

    113. Borrow Trouble with singer Seth Norton

    4:4 Accept Be Present Breathe Change Cycles Darkness Enough Flow Future Grieve Journey Release Scale: Aeolian (minor) Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Layer Song Form: Unison Trust Water Waves
    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!​