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    231. Road Trip: Kingston Three-fer

    2:2 3 Layer 4:4 Be Grateful Be Present Dawn Earth Friendship Gratitude & Trust Joy Mantra Moon Praise & Wonder Road Trip Scale: Ionian (Major) Scale: Mixolydian Song Form: Harmonized Song Form: Layer Song Form: Unison Sun

    Song Learning Time Stamps:


    Lifted

    Intro: 00:04:42

    Start of teaching: 00:09:40

    Start of reprise: 00:47:37


    Present Moment, Sacred Moment

    Intro: 00:14:01

    Start of teaching: 00:20:03

    Start of reprise: 00:48:30


    I Am Grateful Deep Down

    Intro: 00:31:56

    Start of teaching: 00:32:45

    Start of reprise: 00:49:04

    Lyrics:


    Lifted

    by Wendy Luella Perkins

    something’s been lifted

    and now I know

    been carrying so much

    so much on my own


    in circles of friendship

    story and song

    in circles of earth, sun, moon

    we keep rising with the dawn


    Present Moment, Sacred Moment

    by Steph Drouin

    Part 1

    Present moment, cha-cha

    Sacred moment

    Ah-ah-ah, ah-oh-wa!


    Part 2

    We are living in a

    Sacred moment

    Ah-ah-ah, ah-oh-wa!


    Part 3

    Present moment

    Only moment

    Sacred moment

    This moment

    Ah-ah, ah-oh-oh-oh-wa!


    I Am Grateful Deep Down

    by Paul Barton

    I am grateful deep down, deep, way down deep.

    Image description

    Notes: Our first road trip stop is Kingston, Ontario in Canada, where I got to meet up with three delightful songleaders – and we sang SO many good songs over the weekend! It was impossible to narrow down to one, so this episode is a three-fer, and you get three very different songs, one from each songleader. You hear us playing; making up harmonies on the spot, trying to get the words in the right order – this is an unrehearsed, “what-can-happen-when-you-put-four-people-who-love-songs-into-one-room?” kind of moment. We had such a good time doing it and hope you get to catch our joy as you sing with us.



    Song 1: Lifted

    Music by: Wendy Luella Perkins


    Songwriter Info: Wendy Luella Perkins founded SOULFUL SINGING (singing meditation for all) in 2002. An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, she shares "short-on-words, long-on-meaning; easy-to-learn, hard-to-forget" songs in the oral tradition. Soulful Singing fosters depth and uplift, resonance and healing, connection and community. 


    Enjoy singing in community? Had a fourth grade teacher who told you to mouth the words? Dedicated shower singer? Shy about singing out loud? Love to belt it out? Committed chorister? Everyone is warmly welcomed into the circle of song. Wendy Luella strongly believes that connecting with our singing voices has beneficial effects on many, many areas of life, including enhancing our capacities to trust ourselves and to learn and grow with others. 


    Back in March 2020, Wendy Luella, who is based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada responded to the call of our times by taking Soulful Singing online "for a couple of weeks until this whole pandemic thing blew over". She has been singing via zoom every single morning at 9am, and Thursdays at 6pm (ET) since then. EVERYONE is welcome to attend these gatherings. More than 200 of her original Soulful Singing songs are available on tiktok @wendyluellaperkins. She is also working on an online song library of her original songs. Find out more at info@wendyluellaperkins.com. 


    Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Wendy for recording and/or performing permission. When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Wendy for permission and rates.


    Song Learning Time Stamps:

    Intro: 00:04:42

    Start of teaching: 00:09:40

    Start of reprise: 00:47:37


    Links:

    Wendy's website: www.wendyluellaperkins.com

    Soulful Singing with Wendy Luella: info@wendyluellaperkins.com


    Nuts & Bolts: slow 4; major, unison, harmonies optional



    Song 2: Present Moment, Sacred Moment

    Music by: Steph Drouin


    Songwriter Info: Steph Drouin (she/her) is a community song leader, singer, songwriter, and Expressive Arts Therapist based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. For over a decade, she has guided people of all abilities into easeful, joyful, and healing singing experiences. She has helped sow the seeds of community singing throughout Toronto and across Ontario with groups such as Sing for Joy, and in 2019 founded her own social enterprise, Fiercely OK.


    Through Fiercely OK, Steph offers weekly in‑person and online song circles with her partner, Paul Barton, as well as special events with visiting artists such as Coco Love Alcorn and Luke Wallace - all in the spirit of nourishing a vibrant, connected singing community. Her most recent project includes co‑creating Kingston Pop Choir with Paul.


    Informed by a lifelong relationship with anxiety, Steph writes and teaches songs that help people embrace their full, messy humanity and stay connected to their sense of being OK. She is known for her warm, playful presence and her ability to create spaces where people feel safe to show up exactly as they are.


    Steph completed the Community Choir Leadership Training program and Lisa Littlebird’s Flight School in 2018, and is a graduate of the three‑year Expressive Arts Therapy program at the CREATE Institute. In 2024, she moved back to Kingston to be closer to family and to share her gifts with her home community.


    Sharing Info: Steph says:

    "I encourage (and am trying to remember to practice) a slow culture of learning and sharing songs - taking time to embody the notes, rhythms, and stories behind them, and to build relationships with the people who wrote them. Please take your time and enjoy singing this song, and if you feel moved to share it, please do. You have my permission! 


    Keep it as close to the original as you can to start. If your group wants to play with adding other layers or harmonies later, this is most welcome. This songs invites being in the present moment; whatever comes out being in the moment while singing this song belongs in it! I just ask that the song be taught first as it came to me (and my nephew). If you would like to teach it differently from what you heard on A Breath of Song, please reach out.


    I encourage forms of reciprocity that align with your gifts and context. Here are some I love:

    - Tell me or show me what it was like to share the song with your community. It's fun to see how songs travel! 

    - Come sing with us (Paul and me), in person or online. Learn the songs directly from us and hear their stories. This feels important - it means so much when folks carry the songs with an intimate sense of their origins and intricacies.

    - Song swaps! If you also write songlets, let’s exchange. I love being in meaningful song‑sharing relationships with other song leaders. This kind of reciprocity feels alive and good.

    - Financial reciprocity. If you have room in your budget or are making oodles of money (more than a living wage), we'd love for you to send a little our way. For non-performing groups, folks generally send $25-50 per song or $1 per singer (whichever is greater). Performing or recording rates would be a little higher. For Canadians, e‑transfer works well; otherwise, Wise is my preferred option.

    - Follow and share our work. Join the Fiercely OK mailing list, follow us on social media, and help spread the word to folks who would enjoy what we offer.

    - Patreon. I’ll be adding my songs to Patreon this year, and I’d love for you to join me there as a monthly patron.

    If you have any other ideas, send them my way!"


    Song Learning Time Stamps:

    Intro: 00:14:01

    Start of teaching: 00:20:03

    Start of reprise: 00:48:30


    Links:

    Join the Fiercely OK Mailing List!

    https://forms.gle/97Y9hQn55HHL1kHP7 

    Website: https://www.fiercelyok.ca/ 

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephdrouin3973 

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fiercelyok/ & https://www.instagram.com/therestlessinchoirer/ 

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiercelyOK/ 

    Join our online song circles! The next series begins May 11th, 2026.

    https://www.fiercelyok.ca/online-weekly-song-circles 

    If you're ever in the Kingston-Toronto area, come sing with us in person! We offer weekly song circles and a monthly pop choir in Kingston, and occasional workshops in Toronto.

    I'll be getting my songs up on Patreon this year. There's nothing up there yet, but you can be the first to get updates here:

    https://patreon.com/fiercelyok?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink 


    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, mixolydian, 3-layer song

     


    Song 3: I Am Grateful Deep Down

    Music by: Paul Barton


    Songwriter Info: Known by some as a musical “wizard,” Paul makes clever use of his education in Jazz guitar and experience as a professional musician to help song circles run seamlessly. His songs, infused with his passions for the environment, community, and mental health, are among the most requested songs in the Fiercely OK singing community. His simple melodies carry deep truths right to the heart.


    Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Paul always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved. The best way to support Paul's songwriting is on Patreon.


    Song Learning Time Stamps:

    Intro: 00:31:56

    Start of teaching: 00:32:45

    Start of reprise: 00:49:04


    Links:

    Paul's website: https://www.paulbarton.ca/ 

    Paul's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/paulbartonmusic 


    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, harmonized

     


    Extra links: 

    Lone Wolf by Steph Drouin and Aimee Ringle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SFrSkZ-0Hs 

    Thich Nhat Hanh: “Present moment, wonderful moment” https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/710946/present-moment-wonderful-moment-revised-edition-by-thich-nhat-hanh/9781952692239 

    500 Days in the Wild https://tctrail.ca/dianne-whelan-documentary/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21899380530&gbraid=0AAAAABzGiwLd2QCJzToHLUN4HbIpFlKx_&gclid=CjwKCAjwtcHPBhADEiwAWo3sJpemebM5-j0FsOefQ1hxcS4-spp7nBB2-QlQnybCRxiX9UxcfU5bQxoCO68QAvD_BwE

    Present Moment, Sacred Moment movement video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZedwiqraNQ



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  • Published on

    228. All Call This Home

    3 Layer 4:4 Birds Earth Gratitude & Trust Home Notice Play Praise & Wonder Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Layer Uptempo
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:06
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:28
    Lyrics:

    Rock dove roosting on a roofline
    Willow thicket on a highway island
    Dandelion in a sidewalk crack
    Muddy puddle with a raccoon track

    You are never alone, and
    We all call this home, and

    You, are, never alone
    We, all, are wild animals

    -Plainfield, VT April 16, 2025
    Picture
    Song: All Call This Home
    Music by: Heidi Wilson

    Notes: Heidi Wilson has devoted herself to the craft of songweaving -- and it shows! My groups have all loved this song -- a great mix of almost-rap with sweet harmony swells, and trading back and forth playfully. Once it's in your head, it stays, providing a rhythmic counterpart to walks and a sweet sense of neighborliness with all our more-than-human kin.

    Songwriter Info: Heidi Wilson has a passion for sharing songs in service to community and the wild world; songs that celebrate the seasons, bring groups together, offer thanks, muster courage, and make room for healing. She is drawn to the potent and surprising journey of deep-listening and collaborative emergent music making. Heidi has been leading community singing groups in Vermont for the last 15 years and currently sings with the vocal trio Heartwood. 

    Sharing Info: 
    Heidi says: "I’m on an ongoing journey figuring out how to share songs (that feel like generous gifts from the world) while also making a living as a songweaver. I am happy for the songs coming through me to be shared! If people are singing them in informal, community, or ritual settings that’s awesome, sing away! If people are sharing them in a setting where they are making a bunch of money or there is a budget for educational/repertoire materials and they are able to pass some of those resources my way I appreciate that. I would feel good about that reciprocity coming in the form of a one time donation (venmo: @Heidi-willsing) or by joining me on Patreon and supporting my songweaving work at any monthly level. And if you are interested in recording any of these songs let’s talk!
    Looking for recordings of more songs? I mostly share music through Patreon, an online platform to support artists. On my Patreon site I’ve posted 80+ songs. Each post has downloadable practice recordings of the harmony parts. And through Patreon I also link to a spreadsheet where the songs are organized into categories, so you can listen through and find just the right song for Spring, or Gratitude, or Trees."

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:06
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:28

    Links:
    Website: www.HeidiAnnWilson.com 
    Patreon: www.patreon.com/HeidiWilson 
    Heartwood Trio: www.heartwoodtrio.com 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3-layers

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  • Published on

    225. Walk Me Home with guest Una McCann

    4:4 Earth Gratitude & Trust Home Journey Light Moon Protection & Presence Safe Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized Trust Wind
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:05:32
    Start time of reprise: 01:28:35
    Lyrics:

    ​Oh wind blow away the doubt circling around my head instead
    Let me know the blessing of my feet upon the ground

    [Chorus:]
    (And) walk me home, 
    (And) walk me home, 
    (And) walk me home again

    (And) walk me home, 
    (And) walk me home, 
    (And) walk me home again
    .................
    Oh moon shine a silver light illuminating all that I would hide 
    Guide me through the shadows, trusting in the steps before me 

    [Chorus]
    .................
    Over and over, your touch at my shoulder, guiding me homeward again
    .................
    Oh mountain, be kind to me, shelter me from storms that would arise, wise and silent, you show me how to follow through

    [Chorus]
    Picture
    Song: Walk Me Home
    Music by: Una McCann

    Notes: What do you do with anger? Can you set shame gently aside so you can get out of the way of what's coming through you and wants to be voiced? How do you move through times of doubt and grief to do what you are called to do? Una shares with us a beautiful song companion for walking each other home, and we explore these questions and so, so much more in this extended conversation. 

    Songwriter Info:
    Una McCann is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland where she works as a choir leader and songwriter.  She has been leading groups in harmony since her school days and has been working with adult choirs for 15 years.  
    Una is a proud and active member of the UK Charity The Natural Voice Network, and works in line with the principle that we are all born to sing.  She is passionate about the power of song and creativity to transform lives.
    Song writing is a part of life that sustains and supports Una.  She writes melodies and words that she needs to hear in that moment and is always delighted when they resonate with other people too.  
    In her spare time, Una enjoys running singing holidays and retreats.

    Sharing Info: Una says: "Please sing these songs; they were born to be sung. If you make money through singing the songs and would like to support me in my work as a song carrier, please purchase songs through my website or drop me an email for more options."

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:05:32
    Start time of reprise: 01:28:35

    Links:
    Website: www.unamccann.org
    Facebook: Una McCann Music
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unamccann47/ 
    Rhiannon: https://rhiannonmusic.com/home 
    Earthsong camps with John Bowker: https://www.earthsong.ie/about-earthsong
    A note in sand or water: https://youtu.be/-CZlrgq8syE?si=VzijHkmvxuPUJ7MD 
    The first song Una remembers singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QfXXj8RoPk&t=32s 
    Stéphane Grappelli – musicians of the eyes and musicians of the ears: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%A9phane_Grappelli
    Una’s Soundcloud – Henrietta!: https://soundcloud.com/unamccann/henrietta 
    Tara Brach – teachings of kindness and wellbeing: https://www.tarabrach.com/ 
    Natural Voices Network: https://www.naturalvoice.net/ 
    Indigo Girls: https://www.indigogirls.com/ 
    The Roches: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roches 
    Airplane: https://youtu.be/MhVcbRldEfs?si=rubOOaeZ2S8lXF-a (from the Indigo Girls 1992 “Rites of Passage” album – my gift to Una was finding the song she loved!)
    Gamelan instrument: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamelan 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, harmonized (intriguingly, it starts with a descending Phrygian scale...)

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    223. The Reach

    4:4 Cycles Earth Generations Gratitude & Trust Grow Hope Praise & Wonder Scale: Ionian (Major) Seasons Song Form: Harmonized Song Form: Round Trust
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:50
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:29
    Lyrics:

    The earth
    opened in the spring, opens
    in all springs. Nameless,
    ancient, many lived, we reach
    through ages with the seed.

    – Wendell Berry, “Rising”
    New Collected Poems
    ​(Counterpoint Press, 2012)
    Picture
    Song: The Reach
    Words by: Wendell Berry
    Music by: Malcolm Dalglish

    Notes: I learned this beautiful round from the amazing Moira Smiley, who connected me with Malcolm Dalglish to request his permission to share on this podcast. I continue to be amazed by the seeds we sow when we befriend and tend each other, unfolding understanding and trust. It's not always easy to reach forward or back -- but these seeds we plant with each other open, even if the winter is long and icy! At least that's where this poem is taking me today. And let me tell you, I practiced deep love and care for all of you whose voices are comfortable in higher ranges than mine! I taught it where I'm comfy -- but I did the reprise where Malcolm actually set the sheet music (nice tenor/soprano range) -- so if you want to buy the sheet music from him and sing along with it, that's where you should head...

    Songwriter Info: Malcolm Dalglish is a hammer dulcimer player and composer from Bloomington Indiana, whose many vocals celebrate a love of our natural world. He has set many poems by Kentucky author, and farmer, Wendell Berry. 

    Sharing Info: Please buy sheet music on Malcolm's website if you plan to share this song as a songleader.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:50
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:29

    Links:
    Malcolm's website: https://oooliticmusic.com/ 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, round with optional descant

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    219. Trust the Work

    4:4 Calm Gratitude & Trust Love Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Round Song Form: Unison Trust
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:43
    Start time of reprise: 00:16:07
    Lyrics:

    Trust the work.
    Trust the slow work.
    Trust the slow work of God     [or love] within you.
    Picture
    Song: Trust the Work
    Words by: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.
    Music by: Paul Vasile

    Notes: Trusting the work of love inside us, as excruciatingly slow as it seems sometimes.... this is a mantra I can fold right into my life, singing it on the regular to remind me back into the power of inner trust. Next episode is a conversation with Paul where we talk about the choice (he ok'd) to replace the word "God" with "love" -- and what it is we all seek. I offer this as a somatic check in as well -- as you sing it in different ranges, how does your voice and body respond?

    Songwriter Info:
    Paul Vasile (he/him) is a church musician, teacher, coach, and composer who finds his greatest joy in collaborative and community-centered work. Committed to modeling expansive, imaginative, and hospitable experiences of music making wherever he goes, Paul's leadership builds trust, invites spaces of creativity, vulnerability, and play, and supports practices of reflection and holistic learning.
    For the past decade he has offered short- and long-term transitional leadership, consulting services, and creative resources to faith communities in seasons of discernment, challenge, and transformation. From 2016 to 2023, Paul served as the Executive Director of Music that Makes Community, a non-profit that shares "paperless" (oral tradition) leadership practices and songs. He traveled across North America modeling distinctive approaches to communal singing and learning at retreat centers, conferences, denominational gatherings, seminaries, and in congregations of all sizes.
    Paul also composes music that invites communities to express and explore their connection to sacred stories, their bodies, and the ecosystems that sustain us. His music is represented in Glory to God, All Creation Sings, and Voices Together, as well as The Hymn Society’s resource, Songs for the Holy Other: Hymns Affirming The LGBTQIA2S+ Community.

    Sharing Info: Please buy sheet music on Paul's website if you plan to share this song as a songleader.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:43
    Start time of reprise: 00:16:07

    Links:
    Paul's website: https://www.paulvasile.com/ 
    Paul's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovedintobeing/ 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, optional round

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  • Published on

    216. I Believe with Guest Singers

    4:4 Celebrate Gratitude & Trust Hope Love Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Harmonized Song Form: Layer Uptempo
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:05:24
    Start time of reprise: 00:19:52
    Lyrics:

    *Soprano, Alto, Tenor*
    I believe in the goodness, 
    in the goodness of you, 
    and the goodness of me, 
    And the goodness of everybody

    We were born to love, to love, to love 
    We were born to love, to love, to love

    *Bass*
    Oh! I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe in everybody
    We, we were born to love, to love
    Picture
    Song: I Believe
    Music by: Una McCann

    Guest singers:​ Rebecca Csuy, Seth Norton, Tom Norton, Marika Tabilio

    Notes: You'll hear a wonderful group of singers helping me cover all the ranges of this song: Tom and Seth bring the bass, Marika nails the tenor, Rebecca lines up the alto, and I take on soprano. There's a bit of octave confusion -- where do we find these pitches in our different voices?! And then this fabulous song and groove reminds us to see the goodness -- in you, in me, in everybody. So grateful to Una McCann for living into the teachings of Tara Brach and catching this song that feels so good to have singing in my body! Wishing everyone a week of discovery and festive comradery, whether you are celebrating holy days or simply the close of 2025...

    Songwriter Info:
    Una McCann is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland where she works as a choir leader and songwriter.  She has been leading groups in harmony since her school days and has been working professionally with choirs for 15 years.  
    Currently the chair of the Natural Voice Network, Una runs 6 Natural Voice style weekly choirs.  She also enjoys running singing holidays and retreats.   
    Una is passionate about the power of creativity to transform lives and encourages her singers to improvise, play and explore their own creativity.
    Song writing is a part of life that sustains and supports Una.  She writes melodies and words that she needs to hear in that moment and is always delighted when they resonate with other people too.  
    I Believe was born out of the wish to always see the best in people even when it’s hard and we don’t want to, and to remember that underneath all of us is someone who just wants to be happy. We all come from love but sometimes we lose our way a bit. 
    It was inspired by listening to Tara Brach who creates beautiful talks on topics such as this.

    Sharing Info: Please buy sheet music on Una's website (see below) if you plan to share this song as a songleader.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:05:24
    Start time of reprise: 00:19:52

    Links:
    Una's website: www.unamccann.org
    Sheet music for this song: https://unamccann.org/product/i-believe/ 
    Una's Instagram: www.instagram.com/unamccann47
    Una's Facebook (Una McCann Music): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558408430060 
    Tara Brach's website: www.tarabrach.com
    Natural Voice Network: www.naturalvoice.net 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 2 layers, one layer with melody & two harmonies

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