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  • Published on

    210. In This House with guests MaMuse

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:56
    Start time of reprise: 01:03:15
    Lyrics:

    In this house, we lead with love.
    In this house, we lift each other up.
    In this house, we learn to fly with the dove.
    Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of.
    Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of.
    So come on over (come on over),
    Welcome in (welcome in),
    Come on over (come on over).
    Let's be friends (let's be friends).
    Come on over (come on over).
    There is enough.
    Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of.
    Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of. 
    Picture
    Song: In This House
    Music by: Karisha Longaker of MaMuse

    Notes: Today we get “right in the river, totally listening, totally all in” with MaMuse, the duo of Sorah Nutting and Karisha Longaker, whose description of songcatching is what I just quoted. I came out of our conversation thinking about so many things -- how we see and appreciate those we love, kindness as our common wealth, danceable songs, being led by feeling and what's insanely fun, and especially house rules for how we be in the world... which comes from "In This House." I was singing harmony with them by the time we sang the song the second time, so you'll hear me making stuff up... partly because of the big, beautiful permission Karisha and Sorah give each other and us to celebrate creativity. I hope you feel that extra space and encouragement, too, after you sing with us!

    Songwriter Info: MaMuse (“Ma” as in Mamma; “Muse” as in the one who inspires) was born out of a collaboration between songwriters Karisha Longaker and Sorah Nutting. 2008 was a year of great alchemy. Fires erupted in Northern California, a great wind of inspiration blew through, catalyzing a series of songs written from the soil and rivers, ash and heat of Chico where these two musicians met.
    In the early days these troubadours toted instruments around town by bicycle and shared their songs at farmers markets, community gatherings, small cafes and festivals. Not too long after, these two voices became iconic to the Chico community, representing idyllic values of friendship, community, love for nature and care for Self and World. The love spread, sisterhood held strong through two decades of LIFE: children, relationships arriving and dissolving, making home in many new places. 
    MaMuse songs such as “We Shall Be Known” and “Hallelujah” have sprouted wings and are now sung at the bed sides of birthing mothers, round campfires, at weddings and funerals... All places where people are gathered to celebrate and to mourn. These are songs born of the Folk lineage; songs for all of us.

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

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:56
    Start time of reprise: 01:03:15

    Links:
    Show info, bookings and newsletter signup: www.mamuse.org 
    Instagram: www.instagram.com/mamusemusic 
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/MaMuseMusic 
    Patreon: www.patreon.com/mamuse
    Download and contribute to recorded music funds: mamuse.bandcamp.com 
    Song Village in Santa Cruz: https://www.songvillage.net/ 
    Kirtan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtan 
    ReMuse: https://mamuse.bandcamp.com/album/remuse 
    Patrick/FunkPharm who produced ReMuse: https://www.instagram.com/funkpharm/ 
    Tidal as a subscription platform: https://tidal.com/ 
    Community Choir Leadership Training in Canada: https://www.communitychoirleadership.com/ 
    Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion duet competition October 2012: https://www.prairiehome.org/shows/47951.html 
    Arnaé Batson: https://www.eomega.org/people/arnae-batson 
    Scott Elliot Ferreter (guitar and bass): https://www.scottelliottferreter.com/ 
    Trying Time album: https://open.spotify.com/album/3BSIiZwg5MdqY6OuVLRMdR 
    Nathan Dittle (keyboard/piano): https://www.instagram.com/redbeardthecat/ 
    Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder: https://open.spotify.com/album/6YUCc2RiXcEKS9ibuZxjt0 
    Blue by Joni Mitchell: https://open.spotify.com/album/1vz94WpXDVYIEGja8cjFNa 
    Aimée Ringle – Human and Tender: https://aimeeringle.bandcamp.com/album/human-and-tender 
    A Breath of Song conversation with Aimée Ringle: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/160-o-spirit-guide-me-to-those-i-need-with-guest-aimee-ringle#/ 
    Melanie DeMore: https://melaniedemore.com/ 
    A Breath of Song conversation with Melanie DeMore: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/175-one-footlead-with-love-with-guest-melanie-demore#/ 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, harmonized, call and echo

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    Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support.  https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html
  • Published on

    209. We Shall Be Known with Flow Singers

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Melody: 00:04:20
    High harmony: 00:07:16
    Low harmony: 00:11:34
    Whole song: 00:15:05
    Lyrics:

    We shall be known by the company we keep
    By the ones who circle round to tend these fires
    We shall be known by the ones who sow and reap
    The seeds of change alive from deep within the Earth
     
    It is time now
    It is time now that we thrive 
    It is time we lead ourselves into the well
    It is time now
    And what a time to be alive
    In this "Great Turning" we shall learn to lead in love
    In this "Great Turning" we shall learn to lead in love

    Picture
    Song: We Shall Be Known
    Music by: Karisha Longaker of MaMuse

    Notes: I could not be more delighted than to bring you this beloved song in a real-life song-sharing situation. My Flow Singing folk were singing "We Shall Be Known" for the third week -- so we simply recorded! You'll sing with them as they review the main melody, learn the upper harmony for the first time -- and then I inserted a quick teach of the low harmony -- and then we get to sing "in the room" with the Flow Singers, who were leaning into the song in such a beautiful way. I feel so lucky with the company I get to keep... and next week, I find myself in a Zoom room with Karisha Longaker and Sorah Nutting themselves, talking about the "insanely fun, incredibly connected" first years, and what it means in practical terms to "believe in kindness as our common wealth." 

    Songwriter Info: MaMuse (“Ma” as in Mamma; “Muse” as in the one who inspires) was born out of a collaboration between songwriters Karisha Longaker and Sorah Nutting. 2008 was a year of great alchemy. Fires erupted in Northern California, a great wind of inspiration blew through, catalyzing a series of songs written from the soil and rivers, ash and heat of Chico where these two musicians met.
    In the early days these troubadours toted instruments around town by bicycle and shared their songs at farmers markets, community gatherings, small cafes and festivals. Not too long after, these two voices became iconic to the Chico community, representing idyllic values of friendship, community, love for nature and care for Self and World. The love spread, sisterhood held strong through two decades of LIFE: children, relationships arriving and dissolving, making home in many new places. 
    MaMuse songs such as “We Shall Be Known” and “Hallelujah” have sprouted wings and are now sung at the bed sides of birthing mothers, round campfires, at weddings and funerals... All places where people are gathered to celebrate and to mourn. These are songs born of the Folk lineage; songs for all of us.

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

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Melody: 00:04:20
    High harmony: 00:07:16
    Low harmony: 00:11:34
    Whole song: 00:15:05

    Links:
    Show info, bookings and newsletter signup: www.mamuse.org
    Instagram: www.instagram.com/mamusemusic 
    Patreon: www.patreon.com/mamuse
    Download and contribute to recorded music funds: mamuse.bandcamp.com 
    Lisa Littlebird's page for We Shall Be Known: thebirdsings.com/we-shall-be-known/
    Burlington, VT Flow Singers: ​www.juneberrymusic.com/flow-singing.html

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, 3-part harmony

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

    181. Extraordinary Magic with singer Rebecca Csuy

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:35
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:14

    ​Lyrics:


    I see you, I hear you,
    I hold this space for you;
    and I am a witness
    to your extraordinary magic!

    (repeat 3x)

    I see you, I hear you,
    I hold this space for you;
    and I am a witness
    to the extraordinary magic in you!

    Picture
    Song: Extraordinary Magic
    Music by: Judy Tse

    Notes: Judy describes the act of witnessing beautifully -- and this song is one that feels so good to have echoing in my head as I practice holding space for other people... really being present and seeing them fully. That seems to get harder and harder as people get older and make choices we disagree with or are harmful. But wishing them well, looking for the extraordinary magic that is in them, even while being clear-sighted about behaviors -- while not always easy, it feels like a way of being I personally aspire to!

    Songwriter Info: Judy Tse participated in the A Breath of Song retreat in 2024! About this song, Judy says: "Being a witness to someone; really being present for a person by listening actively + not trying to fix or 'make better', is one of the greatest gifts one person can give another."

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Judy for recording and/or performing permission. (You can write Patricia at patricia@abreathofsong.com to be connected with Judy.)

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:35
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:14

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, unison or harmonized

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

    174. Standing Stone

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:49
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:30
    Lyrics

    I will be your standing stone.
    I will stand by you.

    Picture
    Song: Standing Stone
    Music by: Melanie DeMore

    Notes: Melanie DeMore is a powerful community shaper and healer who brings warmth and creative delight to her work with people of all stripes. Standing Stone was my introduction to her songs, and like many people, I have a personal history with it. In 2019, I became a long-term sub in a middle school & high school for a beloved choral teacher who had left to tend to her dying sister. The kids were grieving and suspicious. I brought this song to them so we could make a video to send their teacher to support her. The recognition of their capacity to be a source of strength was a game changer; this song unified us. In next week's episode, Melanie talks about what supports her, what she learned from her family, and more. I hope you can join us.

    Songwriter Info: Melanie DeMore is a 3-time Grammy-nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director, and vocal activist who believes in the power of voices raised together. In her presentations, DeMore beautifully brings her participants together through her music and commentary. DeMore facilitates vocal and stick-pounding workshops for professional choirs, and community groups as well as directing numerous choral organizations across the U.S, Canada, and beyond. She is a featured presenter of SpeakOut!-The Institute for Social and Cultural Change, the Master Teaching Artist for Music at UC Berkeley/CalPerformances; works with everyone from Baptists to Buddhists, and was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. She is Music Director for Obeah Opera by Nicole Brooks and will be touring with the company to South Africa. She is a charter member of Threshold Choir founded by Kate Munger, a mentor to the Jerusalem Youth Chorus and conducts song circles with an emphasis on the voice as a vessel for healing. In her own words: “A song can hold you up when there seems to be no ground beneath you.”

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

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:49
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:30

    Links:
    Help Melanie find a place to call her own in Taos, New Mexico: https://gofund.me/6be198cb
    A great interview with Melanie about being a vocal activist: https://chorusamerica.org/article/%25E2%2580%259Ci-use-my-voice-weapon-mass-connection%25E2%2580%259D-interview-melanie-demore

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

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  • Published on

    172. Don't Go Putting the World on Your Shoulders

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:42
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:29
    Lyrics:

    1. Don't go putting the world on your shoulders (3x)
    You don't have to do this alone.

    Chorus:
    Alone (alone), alone (alone),
    You don't have to do this alone.
    Alone (alone), alone (alone),
    You don't have to do this alone.


    2. Come with me and we'll do this together...
    3. I'll cook dinner and you wash the dishes...
    4. Take a nap and come back tomorrow...

    Picture
    Song: Don't Go Putting the World on Your Shoulders
    Music by: Will Lawrence and Erin Bridges

    Notes: December in the north is such a great time for me to dig a little deeper -- finding mini-rests, sometimes even by taking an extra breath before I go do the next thing. I love that this song reminds me to lean on other people, too... to widen my base, to remember my connections. The irony of recording this (alone, in my basement!) was not lost on me!!! So I hope you sing extra vigorously along with me, and share this song widely -- I have been loving singing it with my Flow Singers this month, and we are really feeling that "take a nap" verse, I tell you!

    Songwriter Info: William Lawrence is an organizer and social movement strategist from Lansing, Michigan. He was a co-founder of Sunrise Movement. He is currently the Coordinator of the MI Rent Is Too Damn High coalition, fighting for rent control, tenants rights and social housing in the Great Lakes State. Erin Bridges was raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where she now lives with her dog and queer family in a big turquoise house. Like many southerners, she grew up with a love for shared meals, music sung in fellowship, pies made from the garden, and a close relationship to earth. Erin's work is rooted in building a world where everyone can access these simple pleasures. In 2017, she co-founded Sunrise, a youth movement that launched the Green New Deal, and more recently launched Hollerin' Up, aiming to fund people-powered teams for the long haul.

    Sharing Info: Erin and Will are happy for this song to be shared far and wide, attributed to the two of them!

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:42
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:29

    Links:
    Sunrise Movement: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/about/
    Sunrise Movement songbook: https://drive.google.com/file/d/120wccqh6jdV-Cb1gCZgxtuE7ELnYPUXL/view?usp=sharing which includes a beautiful acknowledgment of the complexity of oral songsharing without appropriation

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, verse & chorus

    Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:
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  • Published on

    161. Good Friend

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:47
    Start time of reprise: 00:16:25

    ​Lyrics:

    Oh the wind, it is a song
    ​that harbours through the winter,
    Oh the sail, it is a door
    that bids the song to enter,

    And let us sail the sea, good friend,
    And let us sing together,
    The singer lasts a season long,
    While the song, it lasts forever.
    Picture
    Song: Good Friend
    Music by: Jan Harmon

    Notes: Both harbor and freedom, connection and release, seasons and timelessness. Jan Harmon's song, written in 1985, has generous space for harmonies, and impels us singers forward, as though we were the sail catching the wind. I love the feeling of holding and letting go as I sing this song -- it helps me grieve, helps rejoice, helps me open, helps me curl up... I wonder what you will experience as you sing it with me?

    Songwriter Info: Jan Harmon (1940-1993) was a published poet, a writer of short stories and biographical non-fiction, as well as a prolific composer of choral music, topical songs, ballads, rounds, musicals, and instrumental pieces. She was born in Saginaw, Michigan and lived in many places from southern California to Maine.

    Sharing Info: When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Scott at Harmon Publishing for permission and rates: https://harmonpublishing.com/contact.php

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:47
    Start time of reprise: 00:16:25

    Links:
    Song info on the Harmon Publishing website (including a sheet music PDF): https://www.harmonpublishing.com/jan/music/library/good-friend

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, round

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