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    24. My Song Is A Drop

    Song My Song Is A Drop
    Words and Music ​by Heidi McCurdy
    Lyrics
    Dm deh dm dm --- du-wah,  dm deh dm dm, --- du!

    Spiralling out from the center.

    My song is a drop in an ancient spring.
    Reaching out with a resonating.
    Bubbling up from a well within.
    Turning round and back again.
    Picture
    Notes Heidi McCurdy used an ancient interval, the fifth, to create a song that invites awareness of resonation and connection across time and space. On the next episode, Heidi comes on A Breath of Song herself to share another song, and talk about her beginnings as a shy singer, experimenting in the car, what expressive arts therapy is, and how you might take a song and extend it further. I love the way this song invites me to turn inside and outside, to feel the inner resonation reaching out, for the song to be a drop and a bubble... and at the same time makes me smile with a little bit of a 50s-sounding riff!​

    Songwriter Info: Heidi McCurdy is a singer, songwriter and sound healer with a passion for teaching, sharing and creative collaboration. Having cultivated her own intimate relationship with the Muse, Heidi is a believer in the profound medicine and magic of Music – its power to heal, transform, elevate and connect us all. She draws from a diverse tapestry of soul, jazz, folk and new age influences for her unique blend of Global Soul original music. Her songs have received awards and have been featured on TV and Canadian radio, and she has performed at jazz, wine and music festivals throughout Canada and Europe as well as local venues. She is known for her warm, soulful voice, and her love of tuning into the music of the moment through improvisation. Her lyrics resonate with the beauty of dreams, a vital connection with nature, and our collective power to create positive change. Recently she has been exploring songwriting styles designed specifically for song circles, singing meditation, and encouraging vocal expression. As well as creating and performing, Heidi also leads transformational voice programs and community song circles. Guided by the Muse, she specializes in helping others to free their authentic voices and wild, creative spirits.

    Links
    Heidi's website: www.heidimccurdy.com
    Heidi on facebook: www.facebook.com/heidimccurdymusic


    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Minor (Dorian in the 2nd part harmony), both layer options and harmonies.

    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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    19. You've Got To Move Slow

    Song You've Got To Move Slow
    Words & Music​ by Ishka Shir
    Lyrics
    You've got to move slow to find your flow,
    chase that mystery to know that you are free.
    Do what you do to make it through,
    ​and be who you want to be.

    Picture
    Notes: Ishka Shir says, "I created You've Got To Move Slow when I was hiking an area called Shining Rock wilderness in North Carolina. It was part of a healing from an abusive narcissistic relationship that I had been in." I learned it from Aimée Ringle at a Zoom circle, then shared it first with my Pocket Songs singing group in the summer of 2020. Personally, this song gives me a sense that I, myself, can create the space I need to heal. I love the practical, grounded approach Ishka has to singing and song making.... and for the next episode, #20, I get to have a conversation with them!!! Our conversation covers a lot of ground, and she shares a song of theirs that I've loved since I first heard it in the spring of 2020 when she and two of their good friends recorded a few "Fermentation Station" videos of songs to share.

    Songwriter Info: Ishka is someone who sings from their heart.  She has been making up songs since she was a child and has been sharing songs at community song circles since 2007.  Ishka integrates song into most aspects of their life which include, hiking, gardening, cooking, biking, and cuddling clients.  Professionally Ishka is a therapeutic cuddler in Asheville NC. Ishka is especially drawn to songs that have simple yet powerful lyrics and believes that songs can help us heal.  

    Links:
    Ishka's Soundcloud sitehttps://soundcloud.com/user-943187430
    Ishka's Therapeutic Cuddling websiteholdmeavl.com 

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, mostly Aeolian minor (the harmony is mostly Dorian), either unison, harmonized, or 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.

    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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    15. Brave This World with guest Tembre de Carteret

    Song Brave This World
    Music & Words by Tembre de Carteret
    Composed in​ 2020
    Lyrics
    Brave this world
    with your heart.
    Stay open and brave this world.
    Picture
    Notes Tembre shares her song that was created in a bathtub during lockdown, "Brave This World".  I learn it as she teaches it. We talk about free-ranging children in the natural world, cold water, slowing down, expanding, spicy sweet potato soup, how Tembre can SEE someone find their voice, Ireland, and more. Tembre has been leading group singing since May of 2001, and developed a beautiful online presence hosting "May We Sing" during the lockdown. She says, "Having an English accent and a French name growing up in a rural community here in Ireland was challenging at times," yet the strong connection she has to both the natural world and music means that Ireland has been a beautiful, nurturing home.

    Resources mentioned
    Tembre's website www.tembresong.com
    Tembre's daughter, Amelia on instagram, going by the name of DECARTERET
    Also find Amelia on Spotify 
    Joni Mitchell's Blue album

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:54 
    Start time of reprise: 00:43:16

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Aeolian (natural minor), 3 part layer song

    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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    9. Right Place, Right Time

    Song Right Place, Right Time
    Words & Music by Samara Jade
    Lyrics

    1. I believe that I’m in the right place at the right time
    This wave is crashing down and it’s the one for me to ride

    2. Crazy world, crazy times
    Gonna let go of what oughtta be
    And hang on for the ride

    3. Ebb and Flow
    Rising Falling


    Picture
    Notes Lisa Littlebird shared that Samara wrote this in the Big Sur, after her first surfing lesson, and said it was a personal cure for FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). During the pandemic, I heard it differently, and it became my go-to song for letting go of what I wanted to be happening, and just riding the crazy times.

    Click here to listen to (and sing along with?) Samara Jade and Acorn Kin singing Right Place, Right Time.

    Songwriter Info A modern folk troubadour, Samara is dedicated to the art of listening deeply and crafting soul-centered songs that are medicine for the moment. Inspired greatly by the wild wisdom of nature and the landscape of the human psyche, her songs ride the crest of the unknown and balance between shadows and light.
    Coming from a musical background as diverse as classical, jazz, folk, Broadway musical and progressive rock, Samara stitches together a unique tapestry of sounds with a quality of musicianship distinctly her own. As heart-opening as they are intellect-stimulating, A fan once coined the term "Philosopholk” to describe Samara’s tunes, and no one has ever described it better in a one-word nutshell.
    Samara lived in her van, Vincent VanGo, until very recently, and is committed to sharing her song-beings around like thousands of spiraling maple helicopter seeds - which is, not coincidentally, what a samara is.

    Next week, Episode #10 will feature an extended conversation with Samara in which she shares her song, "I Trust My Roots", with us.
    You can also find her in all these places:

    On Patreon: www.patreon.com/samarajade
    On Bandcamp: https://samarajade.bandcamp.com/
    On her website: www.samarajademusic.com
    On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samarajademusic
    On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/WildPamplemousse/videos

    Nuts and Bolts 3-Layer song in 2:2, Ionian (major).

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:49
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:55

    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

    6. Be Open

    Song Be Open
    Music & Words Debbie Nargi-Brown
    Composed in 2017
    Lyrics

    Be open for something wonderful to happen
    Be open to the possibility (x2)

    Aiye Aiye Aiye, Aiye Aiye Aiye (x2)

    Picture

    Notes To be open to the possibility of something wonderful happening seems both counter-intuitive in the middle of the pandemic and multiple crises, and also surprisingly comforting and hopeful. And indeed, wonderful things are happening in addition to what's hard and perplexing and dismaying. I love how I feel lighter after singing this -- I wonder how you feel?
    Debbie said she wrote this song to help a couple people in her life that were going through difficult times. She says it is a great song to help manifest a dream into being -- you can think of something you want to come into your life and sing that into being, to embody it as you sing and to really see it happening, to call it in for yourself.

    Songwriter info Debbie Nargi-Brown started singing and dancing on the day she was born! A gifted community song leader, an award-winning dance teacher, and a talented songwriter, she offers her songs with love, compassion, and the hope of bringing joy and healing to others. Debbie’s lyrics and melodies are sung all over the world. She writes songs for the heart, healing, transformation, love, grief, and all that connects us as human beings. Bringing people together in dance and song is one of her greatest joys in life!

    Be one of the first to know as new episodes are 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. Click here.

    You can connect with Debbie and her work at debbienargi-brown.com
    Support Debbie directly by buying "Be Open" on Debbie's Bandcamp: debbienargi-brown.bandcamp.com/album/grief-joy

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:09
    Start time of reprise: 00:10:00

    Nuts and Bolts 2 harmonized sections which can be sung as a round or layered, in 2:2, Ionian (major) mode.

    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!