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    163. Radiate

    4:4 Determination Dreams Empower Journey Light Motion Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Unison Trust
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:03
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:57
    ​Lyrics:

    When I see me,
    I am standing in my light.
    I will be me
    when I’m standing in my light.

    And if it’s blinding,
    I’ll keep climbing
    ​oh so high
    and just keep going
    toward my knowing
    till I find:
    I radiate.
    Picture
    Song: Radiate
    Music by: Lisa Piccirillo

    Notes: Going epic this week -- we learn the chorus to Lisa Piccirillo's song, Radiate, with just me and the piano...and then when we're feeling solid, blow our socks off by singing along with her huge soundtrack! If you love the song, then there are links to find it in Bandcamp, etc, just below! I particularly love the way the word "radiate" is the most intimate in the entire chorus -- it feels like a world of confidence and self-connection right there... Enjoy -- I certainly did!!

    Songwriter Info: Lisa Piccirillo almost gave up on songwriting, but the muse wouldn’t let her. The inspiration for her latest record came to her as a vision: the silhouette of a woman, backlit by the sun, alongside the word RADIATE. Fueled by this idea and the desire to reclaim her creative identity, Lisa devoted herself to daily songwriting sessions at sunrise and the new record was born. An unapologetically loud follow-up to her mellow and folky 2008 debut (momentum), RADIATE chronicles Lisa’s vast emotional landscape with her signature blend of vulnerable songwriting and powerhouse vocals.

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

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:03
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:57

    Links:
    Website: www.lisapmusic.com
    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/lisapiccirillo
    Tickets for Radiate Release Event Oct 19th 2024: https://tinyurl.com/48t8dna7
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7GJmGSN3Era6CJspcpMMY4?si=PFoGHPmUTQOVLYSJv0UlNg
    Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/lisa-piccirillo/289758509
    Bandcamp: https://lisapiccirillo.bandcamp.com/
    Instagram: www.instagram.com/lisapiccirillo
    YouTube: www.youtube.com/lisapmusic
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisapmusic

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, unison

    Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:
    https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

    Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support.
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    151. Deeper

    4:4 Be Present Change Determination Generosity Grow Heart Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Layer Wisdom
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:03
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:16

    Lyrics:

    ​Here in the place I am,
    I drop in a little deeper.

    All I've known and the ways I've grown,
    I take in a little deeper.

    To live and to give from a place
    that's a little deeper.
    ​
    I want to live from a place
    that's a little deeper;
    I want to give from a place
    that's a little deeper
    Picture
    Song: Deeper
    Music by: Meg O'Dell Chittenden

    ​Notes: I was stymied when I came to the point in the podcast where I explain why I chose this song... because to me it simply is exactly the way I'm trying to live. It's like Meg O'Dell Chittenden went in my brain and named what was happening! Do you find songs like that -- ones that simply speak your truth so clearly that singing them feels like naming your very own core? It reassures me that I am not alone...

    Songwriter Info: Meg loves helping people access their innate capacity for healing, connection, and joy. She is a somatic coach, supporting individuals and couples in growth, transformation, and healing. Because she's always found the voice, and especially singing in harmony with others, to be a particularly powerful pathway for connection with ourselves and the world around us, she delights in serving as a music teacher, song leader, and vocal mentor. She hosts an annual adult and family singing retreat on the coast of Maine called SongWeavers. In addition, Meg is an Adjunct Professor for Antioch University's Graduate Program for Waldorf Teachers and for the Center for Anthroposophy's Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program. Her sources of inspiration include the small, misty mountain that overlooks her home and singing with her children, Clancy and Celia.
    ​
    Sharing Info:     The song is free to share but Meg always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.
    ​
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:03
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:16

    Links:
    Meg's Website: www.singwaldorf.com
    ​Meg’s A Breath of Song songwriter conversation:     https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/135-what-would-it-take-with-guest-meg-odell-chittenden​

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor with a major V7 chord, 4-layers

    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, or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    150. The Change with guest Mary Cohen

    6:8 Change Determination Dreams Empower Future Hope Justice Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Round Songwriter Conversation
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:05:45
    Start time of reprise: 01:07:58

    ​Lyrics:

    Who, who do we
    want to become?
    We want to be the change
    that we want to see,
    to see in the world.
    Who--oo, ooooo.

    (based on Gandhi's quote "Be the change you wish to see in the world.")
    Picture
    Song: The Change
    Music by: Mary L. Cohen

    ​Notes: “My dad played the copper fish mold.” — aren’t you curious now? Listen in as Mary Cohen and I explore family music, personal structures for improvisation, creating connections between incarcerated and not-incarcerated people, and more… We wander a bit through grief and disconnection and finding what is, in a conversation that’s real and messy and touches on fear and joy, building a caring community for ourselves, our neighbors, the global world… living with regret and streaming grace to the person we were when we made a mistake; restoring connection. It’s a glimpse of the rich variety of resources Mary draws on as she shapes her life… I hope to add some into mine.

    Songwriter Info: Mary L. Cohen, Professor of Music Education at the University of Iowa, is lead author of Music-Making in U.S. Prisons: Listening to Incarcerated Voices (2022). She co-founded the International Music and Justice Network: IMAJIN Caring Communities, a group of researchers from 18 countries who study music-making in prisons, and you are welcome to join by contacting Mary to get on the group email list (mary-cohen@uiowa.edu). From 2009 to 2020 she led the Oakdale Community Choir with incarcerated and non-incarcerated participants where participants have written over 150 songs, and the Oakdale Choir performed over 75 of these songs, available with the Creative Commons License. To continue working toward the choir’s goals of building communities of caring through singing and songwriting, she founded the Inside Outside Songwriting Collaboration Project where partnerships between incarcerated and non-incarcerated songwriters create original songs, build relationships, and learn about transformative and generative justice. She has been a keynote for conferences in Germany, Canada, and Portugal, interviewed by the BBC3 Music Matters, and has over 40 publications in journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings. She leads weekly music groups inside the Juvenile Detention Center of Linn County.
    ​
    Sharing Info:     The song is free to share, and Mary welcomes networking support and invites you to further your education and activism regarding environmental justice, restorative/transformative/generative justice, and simply acting with kindness to all you encounter.
    ​
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:05:45
    Start time of reprise: 01:07:58

    Links:  ​
    Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, minor, 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.  https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

    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!  https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html
  • Published on

    145. Hold On with guest Aaron Johnson

    2:2 Calm Determination Empower Grieve Heal Hope Love Mantra Prayer Safe Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Unison Song Form: Unison With Separate Harmony Line Song Form: Zipper Songwriter Conversation Time Trust Wisdom
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:42
    Start time of reprise: 01:13:45

    ​Lyrics:
    ​
    Hold on (sing on, love on, march on)
    ​just a little while longer
    ​Everything will be all right
    Picture
    Song: Hold On
    Music by: Rev. Cleophus Robinson, Jr.
    Composed in: 1980
    ​
    ​Notes: Aaron shares his close personal connection with this song: after the horrible accidental death of his father, "“It was the first inkling, the first kind of hint that this kind of grief might be bearable.” We dove into how to bring anti-oppression work right into songcircles, or any other kind of work you might do. Aaron helped me consider how I, as a white person with financial stability, could practice persistence in anti-racism work... looking for ways to move beyond the crash-and-boom cycle of support that's triggered by a disaster. How do you hold grief and joy at the same time? Aaron invites us into an exploratory "jamming out" section into the song, and talks about touch and connection as self-care. Lots to celebrate, lots to grieve... and while I was sick at the time of recording, (I don't have Aaron's robust immune system!), I'm so grateful to have had the chance to listen.

    Songwriter Info: Aaron Johnson (he/him) is a facilitator, public speaker, and touch specialist working to identify and interrupt barriers between people. As co-founder of both Holistic Resistance and Grief to Action, Aaron takes the time to hold the stories of black people around homophobia, transphobia, internalized racism, and those that are Chronically UnderTouched. Because oppression is a part of historical and present American culture, the long-term impact of those trauma stories should be acknowledged and held as a map for our collective healing. Aaron Johnson practices and invites various methods of moving through these stories, such as the communal listening ear, sound healing, meditation, and closeness to the earth.
    ​
    Sharing Info:     When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Aaron for permission and rates.
    ​
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:42
    Start time of reprise: 01:13:45

    Links: 
    Bliss is Ordinary podcast episode with Yam and Jessi: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aaron-johnson-invites-you-to-risk-something/id1614727245?i=1000641691263
    Holistic Resistance podcast with Lisa Littlebird: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/holistic-resistance/id1368705035
    Rev. Cleophus Robinson, Jr.’s recording of Hold On : https://youtu.be/awyHHZ44YDU?feature=shared
    Aaron's link tree:     https://linktr.ee/HolisticResistance
    Holistic Resistance website: https://www.holisticresistance.com/
    Holistic Resistance Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holistic_resistance
    Grief to Action fund: https://www.grieftoaction.com/
    Chronically Under Touched (CUT) project: https://www.cutproject.org/
    CUT Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cut.project/
    Rescue (album by Acappella Company): https://store.acappella.org/acappella/rescue/
    Alillia Johnson's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alillia.sound/
    and Bandcamp: https://alillia.bandcamp.com/album/fragments-2
    Fivacious, Aaron’s family group:     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvh0HKHo5jE

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Minor, unison with opportunities to harmonize, zipper

    Join the A Breath of Song Mailing list
    (https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share)  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
    (https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html) (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    142. Roadblock

    3 Layer 4:4 Be Present Change Determination Dreams Empower Flex Heal Hope Journey Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Layer Trust
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:33
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:05
    ​Lyrics:
    ​
    ​Part 1
    This is a roadblock, not the end of the road When I get knocked down, I get back up again

    Part 2
    I don’t care what you’ve been told
    Now is the time to take back control
    This is not the end of your dreams
    Life is not, what it seems

    Part 3
    Faith, Hope to Believe
    Faith, Hope to Receive
    Picture
    Song: Roadblock
    Music by: Debbie Nargi-Brown

    ​Notes: Debbie Nargi-Brown has written a powerhouse of a song, beloved by anyone who has gotten to sing it with her... it builds the energy to get up again, and again, no matter what the fall. Sometimes I need to temper this with the reminder to myself to be attentive to what I need as I'm getting up -- it can be done slowly, and that's still a getting up worth celebrating. At the same time, the sheer tenacity of this song, combined with the acceptance that life is unpredictable, unknowable, and our job is to stay in the arena -- I love this for all of that! This song has a potent backstory, as Debbie caught it shortly after her life partner had received a very frightening diagnosis, and they began the unpredictable, unknowable path of treatment.

    Songwriter Info: Debbie Nargi-Brown is a gifted community song leader, an award-winning dance teacher, and a talented songwriter, who resides in the Santa Cruz Mountains in CA. 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!
    ​
    Sharing Info:     The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Debbie for recording and/or performing permission.
    ​
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:33
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:05

    Links: 
    To listen or purchase her music: https://www.debbienargi-brown.com/albums/
    You can also sign up for her newsletter through her website to find out about upcoming retreats or follow her on facebook:     https://www.facebook.com/debbie.nargibrown​
    There is a great live version of Roadblock on her soundcloud page: https://on.soundcloud.com/gSDc2
    Debbie's music is also available on all streaming platforms now.
    Debbie also offers a great opportunity: Private lessons online!
    She says: Schedule a session with me if you would like help with: writing a song (this could be your very first song), finishing a song you are working on, adding harmonies or parts to one of your songs, strengthening your song leading abilities, teaching harmonies or multiple parts, connecting to your voice and feeling good about your singing, using garageband as a songwriting tool and/or to record your song. You can schedule a single session or we can work together multiple times. Each session will be tailored to what you want to accomplish.
    Email me if you have any questions or to book a session: dnargibrown@gmail.com

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Aeolian, 3-layer

    Join the A Breath of Song Mailing list
    (https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share)  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
    (https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html) (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    139. Bend and Rebound

    4:4 Accept Change Determination Earth Flex Gentle Heal Mantra Motion Pain Release Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized Song Form: Round Trees
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:38
    Start time of reprise: 00:11:42

    Lyrics:

    Bend and rebound, bend and rebound
    ​Gentle strength of the willow is found
    Picture
    Song: Bend and Rebound
    Music by: Heidi Wilson

    ​Notes: Heidi is an incredible resource for songs connected with the natural world -- and this one turns to willows, with their ability to give and spring, bend and rebound. Next week, Heidi and I get to talk about how she accesses her own rebound during winter and other times. We ponder the urge to help, the balance of local and travel, and Heidi describes what she is "on a rampage" about... including a request for listeners regarding a cave! I hope you can join us...

    Songwriter Info: Heidi Wilson has a passion for sharing songs in service to community and the wild world; songs that celebrate the seasons, bring groups together, offer thanks, muster courage, and make room for healing. She is drawn to the potent and surprising journey of deep-listening and collaborative emergent music making. Heidi has been leading community singing groups in Vermont for the last 15 years and currently sings with the vocal trio Heartwood.

    Sharing Info: Heidi says: "    I’m on an ongoing journey figuring out how to share songs (that feel like generous gifts from the world) while also making a living as a songweaver. I am happy for the songs coming through me to be shared! If people are singing them in informal, community, or ritual settings that’s awesome, sing away! If people are sharing them in a setting where they are making a bunch of money or there is a budget for educational/repertoire materials and they are able to pass some of those resources my way I appreciate that. I would feel good about that reciprocity coming in the form of a one time donation, or by joining me on Patreon and supporting my songweaving work at any monthly level. And if you are interested in recording any of these songs let’s talk!

    Looking for recordings of more songs? I mostly share music through Patreon, an online platform to support artists. On my Patreon site I’ve posted 80+ songs. Each post has downloadable practice recordings of the harmony parts. And through Patreon I also link to a spreadsheet where the songs are organized into categories, so you can listen through and find just the right song for Spring, or Gratitude, or Trees."
    ​
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:38
    Start time of reprise: 00:11:42

    Links: 
    Heidi's Website: www.heidiannwilson.com
    Heidi's Patreon: www.patreon.com/HeidiWilson
    Heartwood Trio's Website: www.Heartwoodtrio.com

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Ionian (major), 2-part round with harmony

    Join the A Breath of Song Mailing list
    (https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share)  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
    (https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html) (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!