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    183. The Strength Within

    4:4 Be Present Breathe Calm Mantra Notice Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized Strength Trust
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:53
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:26
    Lyrics:

    Lowest part:
    Breathe in, breathe out

    Lower part:
    I know that I'm strong enough
    I know I'm strong

    Higher part:
    I feel the strength within
    I feel the strength within

    Highest part:
    Find space within
    Find breath within
    Picture
    Song: The Strength Within
    Music by: Jody Vyner

    Notes: Jody Vyner gives us a song for feeling strength, space, and breath within... and we spend 10 minutes in meditation with it, as I add parts in and out and you find what's right for you today -- stay on one part while the sound changes around you? Shift to new parts as they come? What helps you tap into your own inner strength? I'm a highly distractable meditator, but I can let myself sit inside this song and its harmonies, and when I come out the other side, it feels like the waters have cleared (most days, anyway!)

    Songwriter Info: Jody Vyner works as a psychotherapist and runs Singing Roots - therapeutic singing circles in and around Sussex, UK. Combining her love of singing and song writing with her deep knowledge and experience of psychotherapy, there is always a therapeutic element to her gatherings which can be leant into for a deeply nurturing experience. Her circles are about turning up just as you are and giving yourself the chance to really check in and connect with yourself and be held by the words and the harmonies shared.
    Jody has done many other things in this lifetime; taught French, worked with asylum seekers and refugees, trained as a doula, in antenatal teaching and support, story-telling and face painting! It is her belief that the more experiences and skills she can gather along the way, the more richness and range she can bring to her work. 

    Sharing Info: Jody says: "It is wonderful to know how these songs travel. If you would like to share it in your own choirs/singing groups please contact me at jody@singingroots.uk for information on how to purchase the song and parts."

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:53
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:26

    Links:
    Singing Roots website: www.singingroots.uk 
    Singing Roots Bandcamp: www.singingroots.bandcamp.com 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 4 parts with first part in 3 harmonies

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    179. Let Your Voice Be Heard

    2:2 Determination Empower Hope Listen Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Call & Response Song Form: Harmonized Wisdom
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:05
    Start time of reprise: 00:20:00

    ​Lyrics:

    Hmmm, let your voice be heard
    Hmmm, every sacred word
    Hmmm, let your song be sung
    Hmmm, truth is on your tongue
    Picture
    Song: Let Your Voice Be Heard
    Music by: Sarina Partridge

    Notes: Getting access to Sarina Partridge's catalog of songs was a beautiful moment for me -- SO many good things -- wise, accepting, generous, warm -- the songs reflect the songwriter, for sure! Join me today singing "Let your voice be heard..." -- I love the laid-back feel combined with the invitation to speak up -- and listen to next week's episode to hear Sarina's own voice, getting an inside perspective of how an educator might approach song leading with full heart. 

    Songwriter Info: Sarina Partridge is a musician, song-leader and educator in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs, and enjoys singing with a wide variety of music projects - Eastern European and Yiddish song, old-time music, community song-leading... and everything in between. Sarina has traveled around the world to study with master folk singers, and has toured with the traveling ensemble Northern Harmony abroad and in the USA.  She has a passion for connecting people with their own creativity and with community, and uses singing to help folks develop a sense of wonder for this wild world around us. Let’s sing!
    Sarina performs and teaches with several music projects/ensembles (Heartwood, Nanilo) and as a solo artist and educator; teaches at music camps (Village Harmony, Songroots, Folklore Village); and leads regular community sings and workshops in and around Minneapolis.

    Sharing Info: When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Sarina for permission and rates.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:05
    Start time of reprise: 00:20:00

    Links:
    Sarina's website: SarinaPartridge.com
    Sarina's Patreon: patreon.com/sarinapartridge
    Sarina's Bandcamp: sarinapartridge.bandcamp.com

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, harmonized melody with harmonized response

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    171. Gratitude with Family Singers

    4:4 Be Grateful Be Present Mantra Scale: Mixolydian Song Form: Harmonized Wisdom
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:45
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:57

    Lyrics:

    In this moment, all I need to do
    is sink more deeply into gratitude.
    Picture
    Song: Gratitude
    Music by: Kate Munger

    Notes: Recording Kate Munger's song for you was SUCH a treat for me!!! 15 members of our extended family gathered in a living room, and sang together about sinking into gratitude.... mmmm-hmmmm!!! You'll hear 5-year-old Claire proclaiming she is right here, and then the beautiful gathered sound of Beth, Peter, Will, Elyse, Edward, Carolyn, Patrick, Ruth, Tom, Rebecca, Forrest, Kathi, Claire, Seth and me. One of the most beautiful things about the whole experience was that the song itself kept reminding me to be present -- to soak into the moment.

    Songwriter Info: Kate Munger has been passionate about community singing since she was 8 years old at Girl Scout Camp and has led community singing now for over 45 years. In 2000 she founded the first of now 200 Threshold Choirs around the world. Today at 74 she is retired from running the Threshold Choir and has returned to her passions of writing songs for medicinal use and singing at the bedsides of people who are dying, in coma and with folks who are incarcerated. She is a popular speaker among palliative care, choral singing and prison reform professionals and is a gracious, skillful musical host and choral director whose joy is reminding us that we are singing beings, bringing community singing back to "the community.” Kate knows that this work is deep and serious and she offers a fresh, lively, sometimes irreverent, always relevant perspective.

    Sharing Info: Kate encourages the sharing of this song and its message; any donation that is generous, affordable and personally significant would be most welcome.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:45
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:57

    Links:
    Kate welcomes emails to kateamunger@gmail.com

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, mixolydian, 3-part harmony

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  • Published on

    168. The Net

    12:8 Boundaries Change Flex Flow Mantra Motion Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized Song Form: Layer Trust Water
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:08
    Start time of reprise: 00:20:00
    Lyrics:
    (inspired by Sri Nisargadatta)

    The net that I thought
    was holding me,
    it is full of holes, full of holes.
    The net that I thought
    was holding me,
    it is full of holes!
    The net that I thought
    was holding me tight –
    it is not a big barrier,
    I can get by it.
    The net that I thought
    was holding me,
    it is Full. Of. Holes.

    There is a ground of truth
    beyond the net!
    (a gazillion times)

    Like the water,
    I’m falling free.     (4x)
    Picture
    Song: The Net
    Music by: Patricia Norton

    Notes: The Hindu teacher, Sri Nisargadatta, said, "The real world is beyond our thoughts and ideas; we see it through the net of our desires... To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net. It is not hard to do so, for the net is full of holes." I began singing this song to myself in the summer of '24, reminding me that what I thought was an immutable barrier might actually be a net of holes, and if I found fluidity, I could slip right by it. As events unfolded, the song grew and took on layers of meaning for me. What if the net were my safety net, and I felt myself slipping through? Can I be at peace with recognizing that there is no safety, no guarantee -- but there is a truth grounded beyond all of my desires, and like water, I can fall down through to that. Patty gave us a beautiful visual of the freedom in that fall... this song has been a great resource to me.

    Songwriter Info: Patricia is excited to be developing an in-person community program called Flow Singing in Burlington, Vermont. You can find more details about that at the Juneberry Music site. Patricia believes in singing as a resource for vibrant well-being, experiencing wholeness, courage, connection and joy along with brokenness, fear, loneliness, and despair... the whole messy catastrophe. She lives with her long-time beloved husband, Tom, in a small townhouse close to their daughter's family (the better to play with their granddaughter!) Patricia reads widely, and also spends time exploring the natural world on these Abenaki lands, knitting, and reluctantly strength-training.

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share in the oral tradition; please contribute to A Breath of Song as a fair exchange if you are earning money at an event using this song.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:08
    Start time of reprise: 00:20:00

    Links:
    Patricia's website: https://www.juneberrymusic.com

    Nuts & Bolts: 12:8, major, 3-part with harmonies

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  • Published on

    158. Quiet At First

    4:4 Be Present Birds Earth Gentle Listen Love Notice Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized Wisdom
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:33
    Start time of reprise: 00:18:11

    Lyrics:

    It's quiet at first,
    this song of love
    for all the living things.
    But once you start to hear it,
    it's quite impossible to pretend
    there's something better
    you could be doing.
    Picture
    Song: Quiet At First
    Music by: Eileen Webb
    Lyrics by: Kai Skye

    Notes: How often do you get to sing with a thrush? Eileen Webb has made that possible for us... and so we get full enjoyment out of it, singing the entire song twice after learning it. The song itself, with words from Kai Skye, is a succinct reminder to drop in to that sensation of connection to all living things and how good it feels. What could be better? Recording this was unusual for me, because instead of loops on Loopy (where I just have to get it sounding right once!), it's layered tracks because of singing with the thrush... so I got to practice staying centered for the entire length of the song... not once, not twice, but three times plus a bit! It was really good for me -- so thank you for singing with me and perusing the A Breath of Song library -- I love the way my sense of responsibility to you keeps me in practice.

    Songwriter Info: Eileen is a consultant and facilitator who helps tech companies build stronger relationships within and across their teams. She loves how music-making helps create deep connections in diverse groups of people, and leads the circlesinging community in Portland, Maine.

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share, but please remember to share the lyrics credit to Kai Skye as well!

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:33
    Start time of reprise: 00:17:52

    Links:
    Eileen's Portland circlesinging group: https://www.meetup.com/circlesinging-portland/.
    Kai's art website: https://flyingedna.com/
    Note: For credit purposes, his NAME is Kai Skye, his PEN NAME (also his previous name) is Brian Andreas, and the site where people can buy his arts is Flying Edna.

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 2-3 part harmony plus some extras

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  • Published on

    156. We Got All The Love with singer Tom Norton

    4:4 Abundance Be Grateful Celebrate Change Empower Enough Friendship Hope Joy Love Prayer Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:35
    Start time of reprise: 00:17:09

    ​Lyrics:

    We got all the love
    to change our world.
    Halleluia!
    We got all the love,
    all that we need,
    blessed be.

    (The word 'love' can be substituted by 'soul', 'joy', 'hope', 'friends', 'prayer', 'cake'...)
    Picture
    Song: We Got All The Love
    Music by: Helen Yeoman

    ​Notes: So many different things going on in this episode! First, in some ways this is a "greatest hit" of the community song world, so maybe you already know it? Helen Yeoman's confident, sweetly harmonized zipper song speaks to what can build and sustain hopefulness -- this knowledge that, in some way, we are exactly where we need to be. I am delighted to welcome onto the podcast my beloved husband of almost 35 years, Tom. He gives us the benefit of his long vocal chords to reach some low notes that are out of my range! Instead of looping this episode, I went back and edited in the alto and tenor parts -- and, oof, the pressure to perfect it, to sing exactly in tune -- I'm not sure I could ever let it go. But here you have the best I could do this week, with the alto panned left and the tenor panned right, soprano and bass in the middle. If it's a song you already know, I hope this gives you great practice; if it's new to you, welcome (and check out the shownotes for other learning options)! Fill in our sound with your voice!!!

    Songwriter Info: Helen is a well-loved choir leader & composer from the UK. her songs are sung all around the world - literally. She is self-taught and calls on every day events as well as global issues for her inspiration. In 2015 she won the esteemed international UK Songwriters Contest in the gospel category. She has four children and lives in Devon, England. Helen runs workshops and holidays in the UK and Europe and is coming to the USA in September 2024.
    ​
    Sharing Info:     When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Helen for permission and rates.
    ​
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:35
    Start time of reprise: 00:17:09

    Links:
    All of Helen's music can be found at www.helenyeomans.co.uk

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major with raised 4 & 5, 4-pt harmony

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