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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

    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

    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

    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

    198. Loosen

    6:8 Breathe Calm Heal Holy Mantra Pain Release Rest Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Harmonized Song Form: Layer Song Form: Round
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:12
    Start time of reprise: 00:16:10
    Lyrics:

    Loosen, loosen, baby
    You don’t have to carry
    The weight of the world in your muscles and bones
    Let go, let go, let go

    Holy breath, and holy name
    Will you ease, will you ease this pain
    Oh holy breath, and holy name, will you ease this pain?
    Picture
    Song: Loosen
    Music by: Aly Halpert

    Notes: Written in 2017, this song by Aly Halpert catapulted its way around songleader circles, shared friend to friend, sung in cars and buses, after dinners, on walks, between dances, around fires, beside rivers and on beaches. I learned it in 2019, and it has accompanied me since through the pandemic, an intense year of many deep losses, over to Europe twice, in groups, with single friends, and alone. Some songs are like sunscreen in summer, a warm coat for winter. You may already know this one; please enjoy singing it with me. It may be new to you -- may it spread wider, carrying its healing, kind reminder to loosen.

    Songwriter Info: Aly Halpert (she/her) is a queer Jewish musician, educator, and activist living on Lenni Lenape land in Philadelphia, PA, USA. A singer, pianist, drummer, and guitar player, Aly writes songs for building community and visioning different worlds. Aly leads music and prayer for Jewish community, including Let My People Sing, Kol Tzedek Synagogue, Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, and Hadar's Rising Song Institute. Her songs have been sung in national gatherings, song circles, and quiet moments of personal prayer, and have moved people all over the world. Her first full-band album Loosen was released in April 2022 with Rising Song Records. Aly believes deeply in the power of music to awaken us to the loss and hope we carry, expand our sense of possibility, and connect us to each other and our collective strength.

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups. Aly welcomes financial and/or networking support, she would like to be contacted re: recording/performing permissions, and she appreciates donations when used by organizations with means.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:12
    Start time of reprise: 00:16:10

    Links:
    Aly's website: https://www.alyhalpert.com
    Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/alyhalpertmusic
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alhalpal 
    Loosen with Aly on Bandcamp (great opportunity to support her directly!): https://alyhalpert.bandcamp.com/album/loosen

    Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, minor, 2 layers, optional harmony, optional round

    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

    166. Breathe

    3 Layer 4:4 Accept Breathe Calm Change Holy Mantra Release Ribbon Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Layer Trust
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:34
    Start time of reprise: 00:20:13

    Lyrics:

    Breathe, breathe, breathe in
    Breathe, breathe out

    Let it go, let it go, let it go
    Let it go, let it go

    Trust in what's coming
    Trust in your knowing
    It's deeper and wider and holy
    Picture
    Song: Breathe
    Music by: Batya Levine

    Notes: This was the song I needed to sing to help myself through the pre-election moment... building trust in myself to navigate whatever comes next, tap into the energy to work up to the last moment to effect the change I hope for. Batya Levine is an incredibly heart-sourced song composer, and they'll be releasing a new album in December... check out their website and get on the list to know when it appears -- it's sure to be wonderful, and "Breathe" will be on it -- and you'll know it!

    Songwriter Info: Batya Levine (they/them) uses song as a tool for cultivating healing and resilience in their work as a communal song leader, shaliach tzibur (Jewish prayer leader) and cultural organizer. Batya is a co-founder and Director of Programs at Let My People Sing!, and they compose original music made of Ashkenazi yearning, queer heart-medicine, and emunah (faith). Batya is releasing their second album, Yivarechecha, in December 2024 through Rising Song Records.

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

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:34
    Start time of reprise: 00:20:13

    Links:
    Batya's website: https://www.batyalevine.com

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

    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

    155. Fear (Come to Me) with guest Joanna Laws Landis

    6:8 Be Grateful Belonging Breathe Empower Gather Grieve Harmonized Heal Listen Notice Release Scale: Minor
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:38
    Start time of reprise: 01:07:00

    Lyrics:

    Fear, come to me
    Let me hold you, hold you
    You, you are mine
    I re-own you, own you
    Picture
    Song: Fear (Come to Me)
    Music by: Joanna Laws Landis

    Notes: Joanna and I explore the idea of inviting fear to come closer and be held, through song and word. We talk about how gifts of attention can come from wounds, and therefore be mixed blessings. Joanna describes the "field" she tends in a song circle, and what craves special notice when you live and work with the same person. This was recorded shortly before the political change in the USA when Biden chose not to run for office, so you won't hear us talking about the buoyancy that can come from feeling hopeful... but we do touch on navigating grief and fear! We also talk about one of the huge gifts a group singing can give a songcarrier....

    Songwriter Info: Joanna Laws Landis (she/her) is a song-carrier and grief-tender with a deep trust in the transformational healing power of welcome and compassion. Joanna was steeped in song and harmony from her early years: in church, at school and in community choirs. In her late 20s, she discovered the community singing movement and felt a deep alignment with this simple and direct pathway to connection and healing. After collecting a wide library of songs from the midwest to the pacific coast, she has been leading community song circles regularly since 2020. Joanna has recently relocated to the land of her maternal grandmother’s people outside of Asheville, NC where in addition to leading singing & grief-tending, she is deepening her understanding of the body’s innate wisdom for healing with Somatic Experiencing International, and is studying collective trauma integration & facilitation with Thomas Hübl.

    Sharing Info: You are welcome to share/teach the song in community settings, and Joanna always welcome financial support when it is available. Please contact her for recording and/or performing permission.
    ​
    Links: 
    Listen on Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/joannalawslandis
    Email Joanna at joannalawslandis@gmail.com 
    Follow Joanna's Grief Tending offerings on Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.com/o/joanna-laws-landis-amp-will-rogers-30189070512
    Donations gratefully received on PayPal or Venmo @joannalawslandis

    Thomas Huebl trauma integration: Academy of Inner Science https://thomashuebl.com/courses/training-programs/
    Robert Frost - 'Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down.' https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/05/24/poem-tennis/
    Bliss Is Ordinary podcast – the 4th & 5th episodes are with Laurence Cole: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1939735
    Laurence Cole: https://www.laurencecole.com/
    Laurence Cole and Ahlay Blakely are also hostingonline grief circles:: https://www.healingattheroots.com/onlinemonthlygriefcircles
    The Cranberries Everyone Else is Doing it So Why Can’t We?
    Soup: Jook…  A Chinese rice porridge with ginger and garlic & maybe chicken. Here’s a Mark Bittman recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1839-jook
    Lianne La Havas artist – Paper Thin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug3Q9RmFywc

    Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, harmonic minor, 2-part​

    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

    154. Gather – We Are Not Alone

    4:4 Abundance Be Present Belonging Celebrate Empower Gather Grieve Hope Love Release Scale: Minor Song Form: Harmonized Trust
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    ​Start time of teaching: 00:03:12
    Start time of reprise: 00:17:21
    Lyrics:

    We gather with *courage
    In the presence of all who hold us
    Gather with *courage
    In the presence of love

    We are not alone here
    We are not alone

    ...*grief...*our fear...*hope...
    ​[whatever you are arriving with]...
    Picture
    Song: Gather - We Are Not Alone
    Music by: Joanna Laws Landis

    Notes: As we gather, by whom are we held? The trees, the earth, the air, the bugs, the people? And what do we bring? Hunger, courage, fear, hope, laughter? Our voices... our dreams. Joanna Laws Landis has written a song to hold the fullness of all this, and the ways in which we are not alone. Next week, join us for a songwriter conversation that explores how we show up... I'll give you a hint: Joanna says in it, "I am a new person in every moment," and talks about how she has observed “how much singing together can really knit a group together.” I hope you experience the fullness of being held... I am looking to be more aware of that myself!
    ​
    Songwriter Info: Joanna Laws Landis (she/her) is a song-carrier and grief-tender with a deep trust in the transformational healing power of welcome and compassion. Joanna was steeped in song and harmony from her early years: in church, at school and in community choirs. In her late 20s, she discovered the community singing movement and felt a deep alignment with this simple and direct pathway to connection and healing. After collecting a wide library of songs from the midwest to the pacific coast, she has been leading community song circles regularly since 2020. Joanna has recently relocated to the land of her maternal grandmother’s people outside of Asheville, NC where in addition to leading singing & grief-tending, she is deepening her understanding of the body’s innate wisdom for healing with Somatic Experiencing International, and is studying collective trauma integration & facilitation with Thomas Hübl.

    Sharing Info: You are welcome to share/teach the song in community settings, and Joanna always welcomes financial support when it is available. Please contact her for recording and/or performing permission.

    Links: 
    Listen on Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/joannalawslandis
    Would love to hear from you via email: joannalawslandis@gmail.com
    Follow my Grief Tending offerings on Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.com/o/joanna-laws-landis-amp-will-rogers-30189070512
    Donations gratefully received on PayPal or Venmo @joannalawslandis    ​

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor with an occasional major 7, 2 part song; 2nd part harmonized

    ​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!