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    223. The Reach

    4:4 Cycles Earth Generations Gratitude & Trust Grow Hope Praise & Wonder Scale: Ionian (Major) Seasons Song Form: Harmonized Song Form: Round Trust
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:50
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:29
    Lyrics:

    The earth
    opened in the spring, opens
    in all springs. Nameless,
    ancient, many lived, we reach
    through ages with the seed.

    – Wendell Berry, “Rising”
    New Collected Poems
    ​(Counterpoint Press, 2012)
    Picture
    Song: The Reach
    Words by: Wendell Berry
    Music by: Malcolm Dalglish

    Notes: I learned this beautiful round from the amazing Moira Smiley, who connected me with Malcolm Dalglish to request his permission to share on this podcast. I continue to be amazed by the seeds we sow when we befriend and tend each other, unfolding understanding and trust. It's not always easy to reach forward or back -- but these seeds we plant with each other open, even if the winter is long and icy! At least that's where this poem is taking me today. And let me tell you, I practiced deep love and care for all of you whose voices are comfortable in higher ranges than mine! I taught it where I'm comfy -- but I did the reprise where Malcolm actually set the sheet music (nice tenor/soprano range) -- so if you want to buy the sheet music from him and sing along with it, that's where you should head...

    Songwriter Info: Malcolm Dalglish is a hammer dulcimer player and composer from Bloomington Indiana, whose many vocals celebrate a love of our natural world. He has set many poems by Kentucky author, and farmer, Wendell Berry. 

    Sharing Info: Please buy sheet music on Malcolm's website if you plan to share this song as a songleader.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:50
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:29

    Links:
    Malcolm's website: https://oooliticmusic.com/ 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, round with optional descant

    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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    186. The Riddle Song

    4:4 Generations Gentle Love Lullaby Play Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Unison
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:20
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:08
    Lyrics:

    I gave my love a cherry that had no stone,
    I gave my love a chicken that had no bones,
    I told my love a story that had no end,
    I gave my love a baby with no crying.

    How can there be a cherry that has no stone?
    How can there be a chicken without no bones?
    How can there be a story that has no end?
    And show me, where's the baby with no crying?

    A cherry in the blossom, it has no stone.
    A chicken in the pippin, it has no bones.
    The story that I love you, it has no end...
    A baby, when it's sleeping, has no crying!
    Picture
    Song: The Riddle Song
    Music by: traditional

    Notes: I find myself feeling like we live in a bit of a riddle right now -- how can this impossible thing be so, and what will resolve it? I literally learned this song at my mother's knee... it's one of the earliest I remember singing, and I was so delighted by the riddle form! As a young teen, it was one of the first songs I learned on guitar. I sang it to kids I babysat in college, where I learned about the Child Ballads and Cecil Sharp's collecting in southern Appalachia. I sang it with my children, with our granddaughter -- and now I get to sing it with you! There's a through-line for a song.... what songs have travelled with you your whole life?

    Songwriter Info: Patricia was born in Boulder, CO, and is grateful to the burgeoning folk music scene that encouraged family music, which is how she learned this song.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:20
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:08

    Links:
    An intriguing discussion board about trad music: https://mudcat.org/
    An introduction to Child Ballads: https://folkways.si.edu/playlist/child-ballads 
    Text of Child Ballad #46 (which The Riddle Song is believed to have come from): https://sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch046.htm 
    The Cecil Sharp collection of The Riddle Song: https://archives.vwml.org/records/CJS2/9/2688 
    Doc Watson's recording: https://youtu.be/fRO6egtKipg?feature=shared 
    Carly Simon's recording: https://youtu.be/4O_Lu_khQDM?feature=shared 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, strophic (3 verses)

    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
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    135. What Would it Take with Guest Meg O'Dell Chittenden

    6:8 Be Present Belonging Flow Gather Generations Grieve Heart Home Joy Love Peace Release Ribbon Scale: Minor Sea Song Form: Harmonized Water
    Song: What Would It Take
    Music:     Meg O'Dell Chittenden
    Lyrics:

    What would it take to let yourself
    Fall, fall in love with life completely
    What is the place that softly calls you
    Home, home, back to yourself so ease-fully

    All of these days are made of what we sow
    Gather in and then let go
    Beneath these waves of joy and grief and woe
    The sea moves deep and slow

    Picture
    Notes: Meg tells us where she goes "to integrate, to reorient around what matters most to me, and connect with the world around me and that sense of source within myself." We talk about "the good, the beautiful, and the true," and she doesn't shy away from the awkward questions I have about those words in today's world. Meg and her two children, Clancy and Celia, teach us "What Would It Take?" with its intertwining harmonies, and then later we talk about the experience of singing in harmonies and how it connects to boundarys and group awareness. Meg says, “My pathway with the voice…is about repeatedly coming back into connection with myself…and the possibility of joy.”

    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: Yes -- The song is free to share but Meg always welcome financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

    Links: People of the Dawnland, Wabanaki confederacy and Penobscot people: https://matlt.org/wabanaki-people-of-the-dawnland/
    Spell Songs: The Lost Words: https://www.thelostwords.org/spell-songs/
    The Spell Songs: Blessing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUBBF99UNkQ
    Blue Hill Mountain: https://bluehillheritagetrust.org/blue-hill-mountain/
    SongWeavers of Maine: https://www.singwaldorf.org
    Antioch University, Masters for Waldorf Teachers: https://www.antioch.edu/academics/education/waldorf-education-med/
    Heidi Wilson: https://heidiannwilson.com/
    Sarina Partridge: https://sarinapartridge.com/
    Nicholas Williams: https://www.kehlerwilliams.com/about
    Bennett Konesni: https://www.duckbackfarm.com/
    Bagaduce Music lending Library: https://www.bagaducemusic.org/
    Waldorf Education: https://www.waldorfeducation.org/waldorf-education
    Meg’s Somatic Coaching: https://www.singwaldorf.org/work-with-meg
    Tinder Hearth pizza restaurant: https://www.tinderhearth.com/
    Joni Mitchell - Blue: https://jonimitchell.com/music/album.cfm?id=5
    Kongero- Swedish Folk'appella group: https://kongero.se/

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:45
    Start time of song after teaching: 00:34:56
    Start time of reprise: 01:16:40

    Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, minor, 3-part 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!
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    134. Calling Us In

    4:4 Be Present Beauty Belonging Earth Gather Generations Grieve Grow Harmony Heal Home Journey Joy Light Listen Moon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized Sun Trust Wisdom
    Song: Calling Us In
    ​Music:     Meg O'Dell Chittenden
    Lyrics:

    May our path lead us towards one another.
    May our song guide us home to ourselves.
    Calling us in. Calling us in again.
    Help us remember how to begin again.

    May our hope lead us towards one another.
    May our joy guide us home to ourselves.
    Calling us in. Calling us in again.
    Trusting our grief that is our gateway to heal again.

    May the sun lead us towards one another.
    May the moon guide us home to ourselves.
    Calling us in. Calling us in again.
    Heeding the voice of the true light within again.

    May this land lead us towards one another.
    May the seed guide us home to ourselves.

    Picture
    Notes: Even though I had a runny nose while recording, I practiced showing up with my voice where it is, feeling into the body, noticing the breath... it felt beautiful to be "calling us in," following Meg O'Dell's guidance "home to ourselves." I love the way this melody rocks and rolls through so many comforting words -- I come away with the sense of "true-ing" myself, "whole-ing." I wonder what you will notice as you sing? Make ample use of the rewind button to give yourself a chance to learn some things that I breeze through pretty quickly -- and you can easily find the words at abreathofsong.com if they aren't in front of you here! Enjoy...

    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.

    Links: Meg's Website: www.singwaldorf.com

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:45
    Start time of reprise: 00:19:30

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

    Join theA 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

    130. Ride the Storm with guest Kate Valentine

    2:2 Accept Be Present Belonging Calm Change Determination Earth Empower Friendship Gather Generations Heal Home Journey Motion Pain Release Safe Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Layer
    Song: Ride the Storm
    Music:     Kate Valentine
    Lyrics:

    I'll ride the storm. I'll ride the storm.
    Ride the storm. Ride the storm.

    I'll ride this storm with you;
    I'll ride this storm.

    Shelter me, shelter me.
    Picture
    ​Notes: Even though Kate wanted a resolution, the song insisted on being what it is -- a way to stay in the storm. She talks with me about how that felt, and what happened as she kept listening. We explore further -- how do you become a songleader when that's not how you view yourself? How do you write songs, when that feels scary-impossible? What is it about singing together that offers healing, and why is Kate herself drawn to doing things that help people in difficult moments? Where do songs live? I left this conversation with respect and excitement tumbling over each other... I hope you, too, enjoy hearing Kate's perspective.

    Songwriter Info: Kate Valentine is a registered nurse and founder of Singing Mamas - a national non-profit for maternal well-being, bringing singing groups across the UK and the globe to women and mothers. Kate started with one group in 2011 and while struggling as a single mum to 3 sons and working nights shifts, she set about to get singing mamas free and referred to all new and expectant mums across the UK. There are now more than 200 leaders across 8 countries, with Singing Mamas programmes being delivered in over 50 local authorities, either as community groups or on-prescription through the national health service (NHS).

    Kate is most passionate about bringing the 'untrained' musician into the work of song sharing, and is driven by a determination to re-normalise a singing culture, where it has been lost.

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

    Links:
    Ashdown Forest - Winnie the Pooh: https://ashdownforest.org/explore/winnie-the-pooh/
    Natural Voice Network: https://www.naturalvoice.net/
    Nick Prater: https://www.susiero.com/nick-prater.html
    Singing Mamas: www.singingmamas.org
    You Are My Sunshine: https://www.wideopencountry.com/you-are-my-sunshine/
    DYCP Award Arts Council: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/dycp
    Monkey Mind: https://www.pocketmindfulness.com/understanding-monkey-mind-live-harmony-mental-companion/
    Episode 129: "Inner Peace" by Kate Valentine: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/129-inner-peace
    National Health Service UK: https://www.nhs.uk/
    Empowering women and addressing poverty: https://givingcompass.org/article/how-women-empowerment-can-help-address-poverty
    ​German Melodic Minimal Techno: https://www.chosic.com/genre-chart/minimal-melodic-techno/
    Royal college of Music, Dave Camlin: https://www.rcm.ac.uk/research/people/details/?id=94812
    Sound waves made visible…
    https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2814-sound-visualising-sound-waves
    Cymatics: https://journeyofcuriosity.net/pages/what-is-cymatics-how-to-explained
    Fire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSQP0D4p8Xo
    Sand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvJAgrUBF4w
    Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morisette: https://genius.com/albums/Alanis-morissette/Jagged-little-pill
    Anohni and the Johnsons (previously known as Antony and the Johnsons): https://www.anohni.com/
    Victor Ruiz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVT_81WihTA
    Sama’ Abdulhadi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4lH-KzsQi0
    Singing Mamas on Instagram: @singing_mamas_org
    Singing Mamas on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/singingmamas

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:52
    Start time of reprise: 01:23:00

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, 4-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

    115. Reciprocity with Guest Pam Blevins Hinkle

    3 Layer 3:4 Abundance Be Grateful Beauty Belonging Breathe Earth Flow Generations Generosity Grieve Grow Heal Motion Ribbon Scale: Dorian Song Form: Harmonized Songwriter Conversation Trees Trust
    Song: Reciprocity
    ​Music: Pam Blevins Hinkle
    Lyrics

    I breathe for the trees and they breathe for me.
    You and me and the tree, living in reciprocity.

    Rooted in the moment and reaching for each other.
    Rooted in the moment and reaching for the dream.
    Picture
    Notes: Hands down favorite moment of this conversation? When I asked Pam a question that made her tense, and she started to sing to help herself through the challenging moment. Pam says she often has to say difficult things to people in power, and this was an example of how she uses improvised song to root and empower herself. We caught Pam at a transitional point, and I deeply appreciate her reflections about how song has stayed consistent across her life and how it has changed, the evolving role of relationships, what singing in community actually does or can do, what self care might look like. Oh, but then there was another favorite moment, when she tells a story about her relationship with her father.... hmmm. Lots to love here, not least of which is the song, Reciprocity -- after singing this song, you'll be ever more keenly aware of trees and our breath exchange with them.

    Songwriter Info: Pam Blevins Hinkle–song leader, composer, arts administrator, tree-lover, and kazoo fanatic–has devoted her life to projects that blend creativity, community-building, and spirituality. With over 30 years experience leading community, college, and congregational choirs, she currently facilitates spontaneous group singing for conferences and events, co-leads SongSquad Indianapolis with her brother Adam, co-produces the annual Indy Winter Solstice Celebration, and more. Pam has received numerous awards including the Inspirational Woman Award from IUPUI and the Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Indy Arts Council. Since 2006, she has served as director of Spirit & Place, which sparks civic change through a one-of-kind, 11-day festival and through year-round initiatives that leverage the power of the arts, humanities, and religion to catalyze creativity and conversation.

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

    Links: 
    Indianapolis, Indiana Indigenous Peoples: Miami, Kickapu, Shawnee, Delaware: https://www.ala.org/aboutala/diversity/land-acknowledgement/indgenous-tribes-indiana
    Trees as communal creatures: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/04/993430007/trees-talk-to-each-other-mother-tree-ecologist-hears-lessons-for-people-too
    Laurence Cole, singing as “the oldest technology of belonging” https://www.laurencecole.com/
    Indianapolis Women’s Chorus: https://www.indianapoliswomenschorus.org/
    Winter Solstice Singing Ritual by Julie Forest Middleton, Stasa Morgan-Appel- published by Emerald Earth: https://www.allbookstores.com/Winter-Solstice-Singing-Ritual-Julie/9780966371550
    Indiana Forest Alliance: https://indianaforestalliance.org/
    Forests for Indy: Reciprocity (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rdj65H67Ww
    Lyndsey Scott: https://linktr.ee/lila.gaia
    Rhiannon: https://www.rhiannonmusic.com/
    Emergent Strategy- Adrienne Maree Brown: https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/emergent-strategy/
    Peter, Paul, and Mary “In The Wind” https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-the-wind-mw0000315197
    Hush-a-bye: ​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM2VN2Hn-Z0
    Puff the Magic Dragon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y0ABZ0AJXY
    Very Last Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmk6cf32HH4
    Episode 69: Sing Upon Joy (Livian's Song) Lyndsey Scott & Livian & helpers
    https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/69-sing-upon-joy-livians-song
    Episode 70: “As I Relax” Lyndsey Scott
    https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/70-as-i-relax-with-guest-lyndsey-scott
    Song Squad Indianapolis Website: songsquadindy.com
    Indy Winter Solstice Celebration Website: indysolstice.com
    Pam's Website: pamblevinshinkle.com

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:51
    Start time of reprise: 00:55:44
    ​​
    Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Dorian, 3-layers with a harmonized ending

    ​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!​