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    43. Music

    Song Music
    Words & Music by Matthew Myer Boulton
    Lyrics
    We are going to a place where music
    falls and fills up everything;
    and though it might be a long time,
    know it's gonna be alright --
    ​'cause we've already started to sing.

    Picture
    Notes: This song has an Appalachian feel, and a wonderful way of rising and falling, gradually filling you up with the music that it's singing about as you sing it. Matthew says, “Great songs have great ideas in them, too. They are simple but they are not simplistic.” On the podcast, you'll hear me poking around with different rhythms and experimenting with harmonies and interspersing... and I encourage you to explore, too, as soon as you feel comfortable with the song. Let the music do its thing by filling us up, and let's enjoy the feeling of our voices today.

    Songwriter Info: Matthew Myer Boulton is an author, teacher, filmmaker, and proud papa of Jonah and Margaret. A graduate of Northwestern University, Harvard Divinity School, and the University of Chicago Divinity School, he has served on the faculty of Harvard Divinity School and seminaries in New England and the Midwest. He's also the Creative Director and Producer of the Salt project -- which is where I uncovered his bio!

    Links: 
    The original Butterflyfish recording can be found here: Christian Music for Children by Butterflyfish (saltproject.org) 
      You can buy sheet music here, too, or use the contact button to ask permission to use the song further.
    A shout out to Matt Myer (no relation), whose youtube video introduced me to the song: Music (We are going ) - YouTube

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Major,  harmonized

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:23
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:32

    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!
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    38. This Is A Wave

    Song This Is A Wave
    Music & Words​ by Emily Roblyn
    Lyrics
    This is a wave, I am the ocean.
    ​This is a wave, I am the sea.

    Picture
    Notes: I find I keep returning to Emily Roblyn's song after learning it many months ago... I find myself singing it when times are really sweet -- and when they're really hard. It helps me remember I don't need to try to clench the almost painfully beautiful, wonderful times, because they won't last forever no matter how hard I hold -- and it helps me trust that the difficult, heart-aching times will pass. And as I sing, I can feel my voice vibrate in my body, and it brings me into awareness of my own body. Now, I'm no sage or wise woman -- but I know that this kind of embodiment is good for my whole being, and I'm grateful for any song that gets me there! Lots of juicy harmony options, or a lovely melody that rises and falls like the waves.... you sing what feels good in you today.

    Songwriter Info: Emily Roblyn is a Canadian born singer, choir leader and composer, who has made her home in Devon, UK where she has been leading choirs, workshops and singing retreats for over 18 years. She is a member of the Natural Voice Network and believes deeply in singing being a powerful tool for healing, change and connection. Her warmth and enthusiasm for sharing the blessings of singing together shines through in all her teaching, and her beautiful original songs are favorites in choirs across the UK.

    Links: 
    Visit Emily’s website and join her mailing list to be kept up to date with her new musical offerings. www.emilysinging.com
    Or contact her directly to buy the license to teach any of her songs by emailing emroblyn@gmail.com
    Hear Emily herself sing this song, plus another verse here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVmM52zcCPk

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:16
    Start time of reprise: 00:15: 38


    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Minor, 2-layers -- one harmonized 3-ways.

    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!
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    37. Lead With Your Heart, Friends

    Song Lead With Your Heart, Friends
    Words & Music​ by Ian Carrick
    Lyrics
    Lead with your heart, friends, the day is unfolding;
    the way is clear.
    You already know.

    Picture

    Notes: I love the bloom of trust I can feel inside myself after singing Ian Carrick's "Lead With Your Heart, Friends" for long enough to let it settle inside me. I find myself relaxing, trusting that my heart knows the way already, that the day can unfold and I can follow it without worry or fret. It's a generous gift of a song, and I'm happy to share it forward... including all my mess-ups and squidgely tuning (highly technical term right there!) I figure the point of this podcast is for YOU to do the singing and take this song away with you, make it your own, let yourself sing it when YOU need to hear its message; let the breath and the vibration take you where you want to go!

    Songwriter Info: Ian Carrick is a songleader, musician and songwriter based in his hometown of Bend, Oregon. He aspires to be a sort of modern-day bard, telling stories of the land, tending the heart of his people, singing for life with rhythmic refrains and refreshing harmonies. Ian has been honored to lead singing for students of all ages, educators, homeless shelter residents, recovering addicts, corporate groups and grief ceremonies. He is thrilled to have released his first album as a songwriter and is excited to carry the ethos of community singing into the conventional realm of performance music.

    Links: 
    https://www.iancarrick.net
    Original songs by Ian for singing together can be found both at https://soundcloud.com/iancarrick
    and https://www.openhubsinging.com/song-library

    Listen to Ian himself sing this at Lead with Your Heart
    Ian made a sing-along-able album of family-oriented music in 2023 - Check out Earthlings streaming wherever you listen!

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Ionian, round

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:38
    Start time of reprise: 00:11:30

    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

    35. Hymn To Loving with Guest Lisa Forkish

    Song Hymn to Loving
    Words & Music​ by Lisa Forkish
    Lyrics
    1. What if falling felt like flying?
    What if flying felt like freedom?
    Will I be healed? Will I be healed? Will I be healed?

    2. What if freedom felt like living?
    What if living felt like loving?
    Will I be whole? Will I be whole? Will I be whole?

    3. So in living, I am you;
    And in loving, you are me, too.
    Will we hold, and be held? Hold and be held?

    Hold and be held. Is this what freedom feels like?
    Picture
    Notes: Lisa Forkish shares her song, Hymn to Loving, and talks about song titling, songwriting away from keyboards, deconstructing binaries, singing as a pure, liberating expression of the self, learning to love and be tender with our voice... and the surprise of connections through Zoom. Now, maybe that's all immediately appealing to you, or maybe it sounds complicated and brain-challenging! Let me tell you, Lisa has a gentle, welcoming presence and wide-open curiosity and questioning that makes this conversation a pleasure to eavesdrop on -- and whether her views raise questions for you, or drop easily into your pocket, I hope you will find useful connections through Lisa's explanations and in the links to help you follow up on whatever sparks your interest. She talks a lot about what she experiences as healing in voice work... and a tiny bit about her experience with the movie, Pitch Perfect, and her role in popularizing and opening up the collegiate acapella world.

    Songwriter Info: Lisa Forkish (she/they) is a queer singer-songwriter, community-builder, artivist, song-healer, and self-described "Love Warrior," infusing all she creates with fierce authenticity and heart. For the past 20 years, Lisa has been using song as both an expressive art and a tool for building connection. For Lisa, facilitating music spaces is much more than a job; it is a sacred calling. Lisa breathes humanity into their music and teaching with infectious joy and compassion, aiming to heal the wounds of music elitism and not-enoughness through an embodied, trauma-informed and heart-centered approach. For Lisa, Love is paramount and closeness is the antidote to cisheteropatriarchy, white supremacist delusion and cultural disconnection. Lisaʻs mission is to utilize music for personal and collective healing and liberation. 

    Links:
    Lisa's website: lisaforkish.com
    Lisa's singing offerings: wesingthebody.com
    adrienne maree brown (principles of emergent strategy): https://adriennemareebrown.net/
    Holistic Resistance (Black-led movement facilitating racial justice and other work to heal oppression): https://www.holisticresistance.com/
    white supremacy culture (what exactly does that mean?): https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/
    Rev angel Kyodo williams (radical dharma): https://angelkyodowilliams.com/
    On Being podcast (Krista Tippett interviews with various people): https://onbeing.org/
    Brene Brown (wholehearted, daring living): https://brenebrown.com/
    Rhiannon (vocal art as vehicle for change; improvisation): https://rhiannonmusic.com/

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Mixolydian, verse followed by 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

    34. Possibility

    Song Possibility
    Words & Music​ by Lisa Forkish
    Lyrics

    An end is not the end, it can be the beginning.

    Like a river, I flow.

    I am open to all the possibility.
    Picture
    Notes: I love a layer song which gives me options -- what do I feel like singing? Is singing low and warm feeling yummy? Or floating high? Or getting snuggled in the middle of a set of harmonies? Lisa Forkish's "Possibility" song offers all those choices, starting with a low, potentially gritty, determined line that says "An end is not THE end -- it can be the beginning." Then a fluid river line that requires some release to sing, as it flows among notes. Finally, when singing about being open, there is an amazing note on the word "open" that moves the whole song into a slightly unexpected place, giving a visceral experience of opening up to a different possibility. Love it. A song that helps me embody the knowledge of possibility that change brings.

    Songwriter Info: Lisa Forkish (she/they) is a queer singer-songwriter, community-builder, artivist, song-healer, and self-described "Love Warrior," infusing all she creates with fierce authenticity and heart. For the past 20 years, Lisa has been using song as both an expressive art and a tool for building connection. For Lisa, facilitating music spaces is much more than a job; it is a sacred calling. Lisa breathes humanity into their music and teaching with infectious joy and compassion, aiming to heal the wounds of music elitism and not-enoughness through an embodied, trauma-informed and heart-centered approach. For Lisa, Love is paramount and closeness is the antidote to cisheteropatriarchy, white supremacist delusion and cultural disconnection. Lisaʻs mission is to utilize music for personal and collective healing and liberation. 

    Links:
    lisaforkish.com
    wesingthebody.com
    www.patreon.com/lisaforkish
    Insta and Youtube / lisaforkish


    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:23
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:56​

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Dorian, 3 layer song with 2 layers harmonized, so 5 parts

    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

    31. Voices Rising

    Song Voices Rising
    Words & Music​ by Lisa Doscher
    Lyrics
    ​All our voices are rising up...oh, my soul
    Voices sing, voices ring
    Sounding out, echoing!
    Quiet voices are rising up
    Wild voices are rising up
    Sacred voices are rising up
    Awakened voices are rising up
    Inspired voices are rising up
    United voices are rising up
    Hear our voices rising up!

    Picture
    Notes: Lisa wrote this song in a beautifully flexible way, so we can each adapt it to what we need to be singing in the moment... in the podcast, I only sing "All our voices are rising up...", but you can insert your own word for the kind of voices rising up inside you. In the community singing world, songs like this are called "zipper songs", and they can be a beautiful practice of awareness -- as you sing, over and over, other words might appear in your head -- and some of them may surprise you, or make you laugh, or touch you tenderly. Welcome to your voice -- welcome to mine -- I can imagine them thrumming through the earth as we sing this song together....

    Songwriter Info: Oxford, U.K.-based singer-songwriter Lisa Doscher believes in the power of the voice to reconnect us, to ourselves and to each other. Her songs open up a portal for listeners to go within, while at the same time resensitizing to the world through beautiful harmonies and life-affirming lyrics. Her new album, ‘Tuning In: Songs to Reconnect and Recharge’ is a retreat from the stresses of daily life, designed to activate our creative energy and help us realign with our unique purpose. There are songs to soothe, uplift and restore balance. For those interested in going deeper, Lisa is offering a ‘Tuning In’ Women’s Group starting February 1st, 2022, with monthly live sessions, weekly meditations and support for going within to activate your voice and creative process. Lisa also offers individual voice and healing sessions.

    Links:
    All the info, places to buy/listen:
    https://lisadoscher.com

    Or go directly to buy/stream on Bandcamp: https://lisadoscher.bandcamp.com/
    It includes a beautifully designed booklet with the intentions behind the songs and ways to use them in your daily life.

    Find Lisa on Facebook or Instagram as @lisadoschermusic

    You can also hear Lisa singing Voices Rising on youtube at 
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjDQDDf_MU4

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:37
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:09​

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Ionian (Major), melody with harmonized interlocking part; zipper potential

    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!