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  • Published on

    226. Life's Dance

    3:4 Be Present Cycles Dance Flow Gathering & Welcome Motion Night Play Praise & Wonder Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Layer
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:19
    Start time of reprise: 00:16:33
    Lyrics:

    Part 1:
    I/Come/We dance the circle of life,
    day into night into day,
    Into the center and out again,
    learning the steps on the way.

    Part 2:
    Come dance with me,
    singing all the way,
    Learning the steps along the way.
    Picture
    Song: Life's Dance
    Music by: Tarren van Ettinger

    Notes: This dance of a song loosens me up every time I sing it -- both with the original two parts from Tarren, and then I snuck a third part in when I was singing it on my looper, and I was having so much fun with it, I added it too! Learning the steps as we go -- in and out of the circle, day into night into day, confident, then confused, and back again -- I am grateful for the way this song makes a sweet dance of the whole kit & kaboodle!

    Songwriter Info: Tarren is an AuDHD, agender singer/songwriter from Davenport, IA, formerly from Alaska. They have been writing songs actively since 2015, when they wrote their first song at the Village Fire gathering in Decorah. They take inspiration from everything from literature to personal experiences. Tarren lives with their animal-trainer partner, a dog, bird and rabbit, and the occasional foster-critter.

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

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:19
    Start time of reprise: 00:16:33

    Links:
    Bandcamp: https://tarrenvanettinger.bandcamp.com
    Mastodon: https://musician.social/@tarrenvane 
    Discord: @tarrenvane 
    Email: tarrenvane@proton.me 

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

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    213. Breath By Breath

    3:4 Accept Be Present Breathe Calm Flow Grieve Heart Mantra Release Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Layer Trust
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:22
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:51
    Lyrics:

    Part 1:
    I will allow my heart to be broken
    I will allow this river to flow
    I will allow my soul to be opened
    Breath by breath, steady and slow
    Breath by breath, steady and slow

    Part 2:
    Breath by breath, I grieve you
    Breath by breath, I'll know
    You will always be here
    And I can let you go
    Yes, I will let you go
    Picture
    Song: Breath By Breath
    Music by: Juliana Murphy

    Notes: There is so much joy and delight in the holiday seasons -- and there can also be so much grief and loss. The air is thick with the smells of sugar and memories, we are in contact (or not) with folk with whom we carry long histories, and sometimes it's really hard to show up as we are now. I love this song of Juliana's for the full acceptance of grief: "I will allow my heart to be broken." And I love the way that very allowing unsticks feelings, so they become a river flowing, a soul opening... and I love the way she gives a concrete way to do all this: "breath by breath, steady and slow." This song helps me be wiser about allowing my full self to include my grief -- and reminds me that breath by breath, that grief can be a gentle, soul-opening presence. 

    Songwriter Info: Juliana Murphy (she/they) comes to the circle with a lifelong love of singing and a library of original and collected songs that connect us to ourselves, nature, and the cycles and rhythms of being a human on this planet. She brings a deep desire to sing a more beautiful, inclusive, loving, sustainable, and delightful world into being. Juliana is co-founder of the Monsoon Seed Choir and Chrysalis Choir, co-tends the Tucson Community Song Circle, is a graduate of the Littlebird Songleader Flight School for community songleading and is a member of the Ubuntu Choirs Network.

    Sharing Info: Juliana says: "This song being carries potent medicine for moving grief. It is most supportive when sung within a container of care, both individually and in community. If you plan to perform or record it with the intent to sell, please contact me for permission."

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:22
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:51

    Links:
    Website: https://www.julianamurphy.com/
    Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/julianamurphy
    Community Singing Offerings: https://www.tucsonsongcircle.com/
    SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jumutx 

    Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, major, 2-layer

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    206. Breathe Easy

    3:4 Breathe Calm Mantra Release Rest Song Form: Harmonized Trust
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:34
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:16

    ​Lyrics:

    Breathe easy, let it all go
    Rest your body, trust your soul
    To guide your way and keep you whole
    Breathe easy let go
    Picture
    Song: Breathe Easy
    Music by: Karly Loveling

    Notes: When I heard this song of Karly's, I couldn't wait to tease apart the harmonies -- and I find I sing it to myself at odd moments -- its kind, gentle advice lets me release into my own wisdom. What's funny is I came to record it in a bit of a rush, after a rather stressful day and knowing I'd be travelling in the morning, so I really had to get it done... and the breath of song did its thing. As I taught it, my heart eased, my breath deepened, I reconnected to my own wholeness -- and by the end of the episode, I was loathe to stop! I'll be curious to know if your body responds the same way?

    Songwriter Info: Karly Loveling is a seasoned songleader, songwriter, and permissionary of heartfelt expression. For over two decades, she has been guiding voices and hearts through community singing, classes, and workshops in Eugene, Oregon and beyond.
    Karly’s journey in Oregon began with a formative chapter at Lost Valley Educational Center, where she immersed herself in personal growth workshops and forged lasting connections. With a background in dance and a degree in the field, she co-founded Coalessence Dance, an ecstatic dance community that continues to thrive, with Becca Perry in 2006.
    Karly’s love for community singing deepened through her many years at Singing Alive, where she led song circles and found inspiration among fellow songleaders from the gathering’s inception through 2023. In 2013, she founded the Hummingbirds Girls Choir, whose joyful harmonies became a beloved feature at the Eugene Saturday Market, Holiday Market, and the Oregon Country Fair.
    In 2015, Karly launched Singing Heart, a community singing group, which inspired her to complete the Community Choir Leadership Training in British Columbia the following year. Singing Heart is proud to be part of the Ubuntu Choirs Network, affirming the principle that everyone can sing and that singing builds connection.
    Karly’s often playful, layered, and meaningful original songs are sung by songleaders from Appalachia to Ireland. She currently offers in-person and online classes, leads retreats, and shares her work at community singing gatherings across the country.

    Sharing Info: This song is free to sing, but Karly always welcomes and appreciates financial and networking support.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:34
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:16

    Links:
    Karly's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/KarlyLoveling
    Karly's Bandcamp: https://karlyloveling.bandcamp.com/music
    Singing Heart Harmonies: https://singingheartharmonies.com/
    Karly's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karlyloveling

    Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, melody & 2 harmonies

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  • Published on

    203. Towo Kalona

    3:4 Ancestors Beauty Dreams Earth Gentle Heart Light Lullaby Night Prayer Rain Sky Song Form: Harmonized Stars Water
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:01
    First full singing: 00:10:40
    Start time of reprise: 00:20:16
    Just piano: 00:21:20

    ​Lyrics:

    Towo kalona, kaini x 2
    Torano, kamawo,
    Wera, wera
    Manatlo

    Towo - your
    Kalona - heart
    Kaini - beautiful
    Torano - thunder
    Kamawo - sorrow, deep sadness
    Wera, wera - rain, rain
    Manatlo - spray of blossoming flowers

    (Find more English lyrics for the full song on Alix's Bandcamp page)
    Picture
    Song: Towo Kalona
    Music by: Alix Thorpe

    Notes: I did something a little different in the way I shared this -- I took time with the proto-Celtic, so you could be comfortable singing in a Bronze-Era language... and then there's the usual looped section, with a harmony above and below -- but then at the reprise, I sing just the melody with piano, and then just the piano so you can sing the melody yourself, and allow me to accompany you. I find this song of Alix Thorpe's beautifully addictive, and there's something about singing in a bone language that feels like healing perspective to me. After you are snagged by the melody and parts on the podcast, buy it from her on Bandcamp, where you can hear the full English lyrics! 

    Songwriter Info: Alix is a mother, a birth doula and a shiatsu practitioner who lives in Devon in England. She found her voice and began writing songs only a few years ago. Song for Alix is a way of prayer and an expression of soul.  She has written several songs in proto-Celtic; a kind of "spirit language" and ancestral mother tongue made of the earliest traceable fragments of the Celtic languages, dating back around 4000 years. Dreaming with proto-Celtic has been a powerful vehicle for kindling connection with her ancestral roots. Alix's songs are particularly inspired by whales, the spirit of the rose, Buddhism and honouring sacred rites of passage.

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

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:01
    First full singing: 00:10:40
    Start time of reprise: 00:20:16
    Just piano: 00:21:20

    Links:
    Alix's Bandcamp: https://alixthorpe.bandcamp.com/track/towo-kalona 

    Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, melody with 2 harmonies

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  • Published on

    201. I Walk in Beauty

    3:4 Be Present Beauty Mantra Motion Notice Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Layer Song Form: Round Wisdom
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:55
    Start time of reprise: 00:18:21

    ​Lyrics:

    As I walk, as I walk,
    as I walk I walk with beauty

    Beauty it walks before me,
    beauty it walks behind me,
    beauty it walks below me,
    beauty it walks above me
    ​
    Beauty is on every side,
    as I walk I walk with beauty
    Picture
    Song: I Walk in Beauty
    Words by: traditional Navajo (Diné) blessing
    Music by: John Harrison

    Notes: John Harrison turned to the teachings of the Diné people, the Navajo, to help him find the awareness of the beauty that exists in our world alongside everything else. As we live in a complex time, beset with multiple crises, wisdom teachings that have survived complex, critical times are a resource. This episode was a challenge for me, as I ended up leaving it in the range that John gave it to me -- one best suited for tenors and sopranos, and requiring a little more opening and exploration for lower voices! I share a technique that helped me find my way, but you are also welcome to just drop it down into the lower part of your voice -- find a way that feels good to sing!

    Songwriter Info: John Harrison is a composer, choral director, singer, and voice teacher who has been performing professionally since he was a lad. He sings and teaches in a variety of styles that reflect his eclectic performing background in church music, rock bands, jazz combos, gospel choirs, musical comedy, and a few things that defy description. Currently he directs Rock City!, Vermont’s rock and soul chorus, in Barre VT; Reelin’ & Rockin’, a rock and roll choir for seniors in Montpelier VT; and is the emeritus director of the Montpelier Community Gospel Choir in Montpelier VT. He has taught teenagers and adults in workshops, camps and holidays through Village Harmony, Turtle Dove Harmony, Songways (UK), as well as on his own. He was a K-12 Vermont music educator for 10 years. His compositions have been performed and recorded by many community choirs in the US and the UK. John lives with his wife Scottie in Plainfield, VT.

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact John for recording and/or performing permission.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:55
    Start time of reprise: 00:18:21

    Links:
    John's website: www.johnmarkharrison.com 
    More about Navajo (Diné) teaching of The Beauty Way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tZHIER3Jb4 

    Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, minor, round or 3-layer

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  • Published on

    199. The Turtle Remembers

    3:4 Cycles Dreams Rest Scale: Aeolian #7 (harmonic Minor) Sea Seasons Song Form: Round Water Waves
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:14
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:09

    Lyrics:

    The Turtle remembers a dream in December,
    Alone with God.
    Alone with songs of the whales, returning, returning.
    Picture
    Song: The Turtle Remembers
    Music by: Becky Reardon

    Notes: Becky Reardon's songwriting drew me toward community singing when I was still in a choral paradigm -- and this round is a stunning example of combining a haunting melody with words that help me remember the ancient self that moves within. Happily, I didn't sing it alone for this episode -- I'm joined by friends and neighbors, Karen Chickering, Molly Moerdyk, and you may recognize Rebecca Csuy from earlier episodes?! We take our time with the round, leaving space for you to sing a line alone for a bit if you'd like -- or sing with any of us! Next week, in our conversation, Becky talks to me about singing with others and the communities that's built -- and we get a little peek into cartoonist Charles Schultz's life, too -- because people are connected in all kinds of wild ways! (A wee blooper at the end -- what happens when you start a round and no one else comes in?)

    Songwriter Info: Becky Reardon's voice is familiar to the millions of people who hear her sing on the Charlie Brown/Peanuts TV specials. She is a composer whose songs and rounds are widely sung by community and university choirs, song circles, and singing classes. Sometimes jazzy and fun-loving, sometimes trance-inducing and deeply spiritual, her music always conveys her passion for the natural world and the cycles of life. 

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Becky for recording and/or performing permission.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:14
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:09

    Links:
    Becky's website: www.beckyreardonmusic.com 
    Abbey Lincoln's song Down Here Below: https://youtu.be/S4jvYELMUZc?feature=shared 

    Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, harmonic minor, round

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