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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

    247. Journey Far

    2:2 Belonging Earth Freedom Grow Heal Journey Love Nature Scale: Minor Song Form: Layer

    Song: Journey Far

    Music by:  Kate Sutherland


    Song Learning Time Stamps:

    Start of teaching: 00:03:04

    Start of reprise: 00:16:50



    Lyrics:


    Journey Far

    Climb that mountain

    Cross that desert

    Swim the ocean wide


    Take your love

    to the unknown,

    to where you’ll be

    on the other side


    Take your love

    through the unknown,

    to who you’ll be

    on the other side


    Image description

    Notes: Kate Sutherland knows how to send people out on a heroic journey -- this song is a staunch supporter and reminder of the love that is carried through a challenging time, whether you sing it to yourself or another loved one. Unusually, I give a little bit of structural things to listen for before teaching so you can see if that helps you internalize the song more quickly. The reprise is a slightly different feel than the original teaching -- same melody, same rhythm -- see what you think!

     

    Songwriter Info: Kate is a multi-creative who feels alive when writing songs and leading community song circles, (re)uniting folks with their creative passions, making art out of the everyday, moving her body, belly laughing and standing in wonder of the natural world. She is a prolific recording artist, song-prayer activist, and warrior for love. She holds black belts in Judo and Kung Fu.


    Kate co-facilitates deep nature connection retreats (Wild Belonging), willow basket and song weaving workshops (Willow Song), and community singing and song writing retreats (Braided River) throughout the year for folks looking to deepen their connection to song and the natural world.

     

    Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share. This is Kate's part in preventing any blocks to the movement of the song getting to where it needs to go and reaching the ears of those who might benefit from it. AND she always welcome financial and/or networking support when folks are in a position to do so. Your contributions not only support Kate in her continued creation of medicine songs, it also energetically feeds the song itself AND the powerful movement as a whole, to bring more light, love and healing into our beautiful world.

     

    Links:

    To listen to Kate's music, purchase albums, learn about song & deep nature connection workshops at my website: https://www.katesutherland.ca


    Instagram: @katesutherlandsongs


    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KateSutherland


    Patreon (bonus material & mentoring):

    https://www.patreon.com/c/KateSutherlandSongs

     

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, 2-layers each harmonized

     

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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

    243. Mountain River

    4:4 Beauty Belonging Earth Flow Light Love Motion Scale: Minor Song Form: Round

    Song: Mountain River

    Music by:  Kjersten Hallin


    Song Learning Time Stamps:


    Start of teaching: 00:03:19

    Start of reprise: 00:22:16



    Lyrics:


    Love flowing like

    a mountain river

    Above and below

    Without, within

    We mirror the light

    Glowing from the sun

    and the stars

    So let it be known:

    We are here to be who we are (back to the top)


    (Undercurrent)

    Love Flow, Light Glow


    Image description

    Notes: I absolutely adore the way this song embodies a river by having a low, slow undercurrent that lasts longer than the bubbling, swirling upper layer -- and the two layers sound different on top of each other in different places. As I sing it, I can feel into being the light sparkle on top and the dark fertile below... both needed. Which part calls to you to sing today?

     

    Songwriter Info:

    Kjersten Hallin (Pronounced Shares-ten Ha-leen) is a Community Song Weaver, Artist and Beauty Activist, Grief Tender, Earth Steward, Producer of Cascadia Song Rise, Eco-Edutainer and Youth Outreach Specialist. Kjersten is of Swedish/Norwegian ancestry, born on Lakota/Anishnaabe land (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and currently living/singing/practicing in the unceded Kalapuyan homelands of Champinefu (Corvallis, Oregon).


    Kjersten’s songs spring from an intimate relationship with the beauty of the living world and her/their name literally translates to “Love Stone”. Attuning and tending to the aliveness of all beings, seen and unseen, past-present-future, human and more-than-human, is at the core of Kjersten’s work and purpose. She/They believes that songs themselves are living beings that are fed by our singing.


    Kjersten leads monthly CommUnity BlesSings song circles and Community Grief Rituals in Champinefu/Corvallis, produces an annual song gathering in the Cascadia Bioregion, offers musical climate action presentations to local schools and youth groups, tends to several gardens and two grown children, and makes art and beauty of all kinds, walking humbly and gently on this precious planet.


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

     

    Links:

    Kjersten's Music: https://kjerstenhallin.bandcamp.com/music

    Kjersten's GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-the-songs-and-love-flowing-in-corvallis

    Kjersten's Instagram: @kj_creatrix https://www.instagram.com/kj_creatrix

    Eco-Edutainment: https://nofoodleftbehindcorvallis.org/videos/

     

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 2-part round with different length parts

     

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  • Published on

    241. Sing Your Roots with guest singers

    3:4 Be Grateful Belonging Calm Earth Heal Nature Roots Scale: Minor Song Form: Round

    Song: Sing Your Roots

    Music by:  Eileen Hazel


    Song Learning Time Stamps:

    Start of teaching: 00:02:44

    Start of reprise: 00:13:13


    Guest Singers: Becky Peterson, Karen Chickering, Molly Moerdyk


    Lyrics:


    Sing your roots into the soil, deep within the earth


    Sing of sea and sky and land, all that gave you birth


    Sing a song of earthly praise,

    sing it to the stars


    Sing your truest inner song, remember who you are




    Image description

    Notes: There's a slightly strange sound quality in this one, as something weird was going on with my mic when recording... maybe we were so rooted and grounded singing this that we changed the electricity in the room?! I invited three friends over to sing Eileen's round with me, and a little delightful chaos ensued... pick a place to start singing the song, with one of us or in between us, and see what happens. I wonder how we would all be if we felt that sense of deep rootedness, combined with a rise to the stars?

     

    Songwriter Info: After many years of singing, composing, and performing, Elieen discovered her deepest love in community singing. The joy and deep connection found in singing together deeply fed her soul. Since 2023, Elieen has been facilitating community song circles in the East Bay. She especially loves co-facilitating with other song leaders and cultivating spaces that feel joyful, welcoming, and harmonious. In the last few years, Eileen's connection to the Muse has opened in new ways. The songs flowing through her are now largely created for community singing—meant to be shared, experienced, and sung together. The songs she creates emanate from a place of spirit, drawing inspiration from her profound connection to the natural world, and to our communities. Visit her website (eileenhazel.com) to see what’s coming up.

     

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

     

    Links:

    Eileen's Website: eileenhazel.com

    Bandcamp to buy music: https://eileenhazel.bandcamp.com/.

    More music on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/eileen-hazel

    Eileen's own recording of Sing Your Roots: https://soundcloud.com/eileen-hazel/sing-your-roots

     

    Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, minor, round

     

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