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    44. One Day At A Time

    4:4 Calm Gathering & Welcome Grief & Fear Grieve Heal Hope Journey Protection & Presence Rest Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Call & Response Song Form: Layer Tend
    Song One Day At A Time
    Music & Words by Penny Stone
    with the Serenity Singers of Edinburgh
    Lyrics
    One day at a time.
    ​Keep it simple.
    Picture
    Notes: Personally, I dread being trite or dull. And this hard-earned wisdom from the recovery community is so prevalent, it's tempting for me to dismiss it as "too common". Whenever I get obstreperous like that, it doesn't help me at all... just saying. I love the way this song voices my own experience with this wisdom in a way.... does that sound weird? Let me explain. The song seems almost annoyingly simple -- a call and response section with repetition and not many notes, and then two layers that use the same words and repeat the same phrase the same way three times in a row -- and part of me wonders is this going to hold my interest as a song, or am I going to get bored? Yet when you put it all together, it is seductively rich and complex and beautiful -- and I just want to sing it more. For me, it's kind of a hit-me-on-the-head-with-a-hammer similarity to when I hear the guidance itself. "Really, one day at a time??? Really, just keep it simple??? Sounds like a poster." But then if I actually do it, it works. Every time. Hmmm.....  For me, right now is a time of big shifting -- I recorded this two days after my father died, and five days before we leave our home of 22 years to move closer to our granddaughter and family. The excuse to sing this song and even explore a little at the end, off book, eased my day. Thanks for singing with me!

    Songwriter Info: Penny Stone is a musician and activist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She believes that everyone can sing and that every voice is valuable and beautiful. Penny facilitates singing groups and writes accessible music for community groups. She is currently working on a feminist requiem. Listen to episode #45 for more about this!

    Links: 
    Penny's website (with a donation box)...: www.singlouderthanguns.com
    Learn and Sing along song videos: www.singlouderthanguns.com/singalong-songs/
    Sing this song with with Penny: One Day At A Time (learn and sing along) - YouTube
    Twitter: @singovertheguns
    ​The Serenity Singers of Edinborough

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Minor, Call & response with 2 more 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 (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
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    43. Music

    2:2 Calm Heal Hope Journey Power & Change Protection & Presence Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Harmonized Trust
    Song Music
    Words & Music by Matthew Myer Boulton
    Lyrics
    We are going to a place where music
    falls and fills up everything;
    and though it might be a long time,
    know it's gonna be alright --
    ​'cause we've already started to sing.
    Picture
    Notes: This song has an Appalachian feel, and a wonderful way of rising and falling, gradually filling you up with the music that it's singing about as you sing it. Matthew says, “Great songs have great ideas in them, too. They are simple but they are not simplistic.” On the podcast, you'll hear me poking around with different rhythms and experimenting with harmonies and interspersing... and I encourage you to explore, too, as soon as you feel comfortable with the song. Let the music do its thing by filling us up, and let's enjoy the feeling of our voices today.

    Songwriter Info: Matthew Myer Boulton is an author, teacher, filmmaker, and proud papa of Jonah and Margaret. A graduate of Northwestern University, Harvard Divinity School, and the University of Chicago Divinity School, he has served on the faculty of Harvard Divinity School and seminaries in New England and the Midwest. He's also the Creative Director and Producer of the Salt project -- which is where I uncovered his bio!

    Links: 
    The original Butterflyfish recording can be found here: Christian Music for Children by Butterflyfish (saltproject.org) 
      You can buy sheet music here, too, or use the contact button to ask permission to use the song further.
    A shout out to Matt Myer (no relation), whose youtube video introduced me to the song: Music (We are going ) - YouTube

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Major,  harmonized

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:23
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:32

    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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    40. Render A Remedy with Moira Smiley

    4:4 Empower Heal Hope Journey Scale: Aeolian (minor) Scale: Dorian Song Form: Harmonized Song Form: Layer Songwriter Conversation Tend
    Song: Render A Remedy
    Words & Music​ by Moira Smiley
    Lyrics
    mmm... Render
    mmm... a remedy.

    Each day you make a little light.
    Picture
    Notes: Conversations with songwriters can be illuminating. Moira and I talk about wanting our voices to make a difference, and how to evaluate that, how Moira's voice has protected and shaped her, rest as part of the job of being a creator, and so much more. She shares a song that is in the process of becoming, and we get a very special glimpse of this creative process, which includes a calling sound that fascinates Moira right now. As you sing along, you'll be able to really tune in to what feels good to you this day -- is it the commitment and determination of "each day we make a little light"? The seeking melodic curve of "mmm...render...mmm...a remedy?" The wild, aching cry of the calling sounds? Or something else that you feel called to bring to the song? As you're singing in your own space, I wonder if there will be movement -- stepping or dancing or swaying? 

    Songwriter Info: As a composer, Moira Smiley is known worldwide for choral arrangements like Bring Me Little Water, Silvy and originals, Stand in That River and How Can I Cry. Her music is sung by millions of singers worldwide. She’s credited with helping to bring body percussion into the choral mainstream and is in demand as a commissioned composer, writing multi-movement pieces including Time In Our Voices and In The Desert With You for the Los Angeles Master Chorale, evening-length secular liturgy, The Song Among Us and Tis A Fearful Thing for Craig Hella Johnson’s Conspirare and CVAE, Vonnegut Requiem: Light Perpetual for Voces Novae, Loud My Soul for Ad Astra Festival and I Have A Voice for ACDA Women's Choral Consortium. The European premiere of Time In Our Voices was performed by the voices and mobile phones of Ars Nova Copenhagen under the direction of Paul Hillier.
      In 2018-2019 Moira released the album and choral songbook, Unzip The Horizon as companion to her ‘The Voice Is A Traveler’ solo show. In 2021 she released the all-vocal social-justice centered album, In Our Voices with four powerful singers of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.     She continues composing and improvising in collaboration with artists in film, video game production, theater and dance, and her work can be heard on feature film soundtracks, BBC & PBS television programs, NPR, and on more than 70 commercial albums.
      “Moira Smiley is marvel—an omnivorous singing and composing chameleon with a voice that can wail or caress at will!” -- Grant Gershon - artistic director, Los Angeles Master Chorale
      “Moira Smiley is a brilliant musician – an innovative composer and arranger, and a heartbreakingly beautiful singer. Her music transcends (and expands) boundaries.” -- Billy Childs - multi-grammy-winning composer/pianist
      “I’m so thankful I’ve had the privilege of performing and recording with Moira. She embodies the endless creative potential of the voice, and… (has made) a deeply moving body of work.” -- Merrill Garbus - Tune-Yards

    Links:
    www.moirasmiley.com for all info including sheet music, practice tracks!
    https://moirasmileysubscription.com/ to support Moira monthly for as little as $4/mo.
    https://www.instagram.com/moirasmiley/ for up-to-date personal and music pics
    https://www.youtube.com/c/MoiraSmileyMusic for official music videos, song and body percussion tutorials and live performances

    Lissa Schneckenburger -- the link goes to her interview on A Breath of Song, which includes her own site links and more
    Night Song - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook. The link goes to the title song of the album. Here is the album on Apple Music.
    Shara Nova - "My Brightest Diamond" -- This link goes to a live performance and interview (go to about 2'40" to get close to the start).

    ​    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:12
    Start time of reprise: 00:54:45

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Minor, Dorian & Aeolian, harmonized 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 (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
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    37. Lead With Your Heart, Friends

    4:4 Be Present Empower Gratitude & Trust Heart Journey Power & Change Protection & Presence Release Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Round Trust
    Song Lead With Your Heart, Friends
    Words & Music​ by Ian Carrick
    Lyrics
    Lead with your heart, friends, the day is unfolding;
    the way is clear.
    You already know.
    Picture
    ​
    Notes: I love the bloom of trust I can feel inside myself after singing Ian Carrick's "Lead With Your Heart, Friends" for long enough to let it settle inside me. I find myself relaxing, trusting that my heart knows the way already, that the day can unfold and I can follow it without worry or fret. It's a generous gift of a song, and I'm happy to share it forward... including all my mess-ups and squidgely tuning (highly technical term right there!) I figure the point of this podcast is for YOU to do the singing and take this song away with you, make it your own, let yourself sing it when YOU need to hear its message; let the breath and the vibration take you where you want to go!

    Songwriter Info: Ian Carrick is a songleader, musician and songwriter based in his hometown of Bend, Oregon. He aspires to be a sort of modern-day bard, telling stories of the land, tending the heart of his people, singing for life with rhythmic refrains and refreshing harmonies. Ian has been honored to lead singing for students of all ages, educators, homeless shelter residents, recovering addicts, corporate groups and grief ceremonies. He is thrilled to have released his first album as a songwriter and is excited to carry the ethos of community singing into the conventional realm of performance music.

    Links: 
    https://www.iancarrick.net
    Original songs by Ian for singing together can be found both at https://soundcloud.com/iancarrick
    and https://www.openhubsinging.com/song-library
    Listen to Ian himself sing this at Lead with Your Heart
    Ian made a sing-along-able album of family-oriented music in 2023 - Check out Earthlings streaming wherever you listen!

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Ionian, round

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:38
    Start time of reprise: 00:11:30

    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

    35. Hymn To Loving with Guest Lisa Forkish

    4:4 Be Present Empower Flex Heal Journey Power & Change Protection & Presence Scale: Mixolydian Song Form: Verse And Layer Songwriter Conversation Tend
    Song Hymn to Loving
    Words & Music​ by Lisa Forkish
    Lyrics
    1. What if falling felt like flying?
    What if flying felt like freedom?
    Will I be healed? Will I be healed? Will I be healed?

    2. What if freedom felt like living?
    What if living felt like loving?
    Will I be whole? Will I be whole? Will I be whole?

    3. So in living, I am you;
    And in loving, you are me, too.
    Will we hold, and be held? Hold and be held?

    Hold and be held. Is this what freedom feels like?
    Picture
    Notes: Lisa Forkish shares her song, Hymn to Loving, and talks about song titling, songwriting away from keyboards, deconstructing binaries, singing as a pure, liberating expression of the self, learning to love and be tender with our voice... and the surprise of connections through Zoom. Now, maybe that's all immediately appealing to you, or maybe it sounds complicated and brain-challenging! Let me tell you, Lisa has a gentle, welcoming presence and wide-open curiosity and questioning that makes this conversation a pleasure to eavesdrop on -- and whether her views raise questions for you, or drop easily into your pocket, I hope you will find useful connections through Lisa's explanations and in the links to help you follow up on whatever sparks your interest. She talks a lot about what she experiences as healing in voice work... and a tiny bit about her experience with the movie, Pitch Perfect, and her role in popularizing and opening up the collegiate acapella world.

    Songwriter Info: Lisa Forkish (she/they) is a queer singer-songwriter, community-builder, artivist, song-healer, and self-described "Love Warrior," infusing all she creates with fierce authenticity and heart. For the past 20 years, Lisa has been using song as both an expressive art and a tool for building connection. For Lisa, facilitating music spaces is much more than a job; it is a sacred calling. Lisa breathes humanity into their music and teaching with infectious joy and compassion, aiming to heal the wounds of music elitism and not-enoughness through an embodied, trauma-informed and heart-centered approach. For Lisa, Love is paramount and closeness is the antidote to cisheteropatriarchy, white supremacist delusion and cultural disconnection. Lisaʻs mission is to utilize music for personal and collective healing and liberation. 

    Links:
    Lisa's website: lisaforkish.com
    Lisa's singing offerings: wesingthebody.com
    adrienne maree brown (principles of emergent strategy): https://adriennemareebrown.net/
    Holistic Resistance (Black-led movement facilitating racial justice and other work to heal oppression): https://www.holisticresistance.com/
    white supremacy culture (what exactly does that mean?): https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/
    Rev angel Kyodo williams (radical dharma): https://angelkyodowilliams.com/
    On Being podcast (Krista Tippett interviews with various people): https://onbeing.org/
    Brene Brown (wholehearted, daring living): https://brenebrown.com/
    Rhiannon (vocal art as vehicle for change; improvisation): https://rhiannonmusic.com/

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Mixolydian, verse followed by layer
    ​
    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

    34. Possibility

    4:4 Be Present Empower Flex Gratitude & Trust Grow Hope Journey Open Power & Change Praise & Wonder Ribbon Scale: Dorian Song Form: Layer Trust
    Song Possibility
    Words & Music​ by Lisa Forkish
    Lyrics

    An end is not the end, it can be the beginning.

    Like a river, I flow.

    I am open to all the possibility.
    Picture
    Notes: I love a layer song which gives me options -- what do I feel like singing? Is singing low and warm feeling yummy? Or floating high? Or getting snuggled in the middle of a set of harmonies? Lisa Forkish's "Possibility" song offers all those choices, starting with a low, potentially gritty, determined line that says "An end is not THE end -- it can be the beginning." Then a fluid river line that requires some release to sing, as it flows among notes. Finally, when singing about being open, there is an amazing note on the word "open" that moves the whole song into a slightly unexpected place, giving a visceral experience of opening up to a different possibility. Love it. A song that helps me embody the knowledge of possibility that change brings.

    Songwriter Info: Lisa Forkish (she/they) is a queer singer-songwriter, community-builder, artivist, song-healer, and self-described "Love Warrior," infusing all she creates with fierce authenticity and heart. For the past 20 years, Lisa has been using song as both an expressive art and a tool for building connection. For Lisa, facilitating music spaces is much more than a job; it is a sacred calling. Lisa breathes humanity into their music and teaching with infectious joy and compassion, aiming to heal the wounds of music elitism and not-enoughness through an embodied, trauma-informed and heart-centered approach. For Lisa, Love is paramount and closeness is the antidote to cisheteropatriarchy, white supremacist delusion and cultural disconnection. Lisaʻs mission is to utilize music for personal and collective healing and liberation. 

    Links:
    lisaforkish.com
    wesingthebody.com
    www.patreon.com/lisaforkish
    Insta and Youtube / lisaforkish

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:23
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:56​

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Dorian, 3 layer song with 2 layers harmonized, so 5 parts
    ​
    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!