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    123. Arms of Love

    3:4 Be Present Belonging Breathe Calm Flow Friendship Gentle Harmony Heal Heart Home Love Lullaby Peace Rest Ribbon Safe Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Harmonized
    Song: Arms of Love
    ​Music: Alexa Sunshine Rose
    Lyrics

    Come now child, lay it down
    Just breathe
    Just be
    Come be cradled in the arms of love
    Just breathe, just be.
    Picture
    Notes: Every time I sing one of Alexa Sunshine Rose's songs with a group, people immediately want to sing it again -- they simply feel that good. I give a little extra help picking out the harmonies that are on the recording of this that Alexa Sunshine Rose released (buying it on Bandcamp is a great way to support her artistry)... and then I play around with making up harmonies of my own, as I hope you will if it appeals. There's also something very beautiful about centering in the melody of this song, and letting the harmonies develop around you.

    Songwriter Info: Alexa Sunshine Rose is a singer-songwriter, mother and artist who has dedicated herself and her life's work to being a clear channel for peace on earth. Alexa plays in the tuning frequency of A=432 Hz to promote inner peace and deep sound absorption. Listeners worldwide utilize her music during pregnancy and birth, hospice, yoga and massage, community song circles, and inner-transformational journeys.

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

    Links:
    Website: www.alexasunshinerose.com
    Instagram: @Alexasunshinerose
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/alexasunshinerose
    Support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/alexasunshinerose

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:25
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:35
    ​​​
    Nuts & Bolts: 3:4 minor, 4-part harmony

    ​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

    119. I Let Go

    4:4 Accept Be Present Belonging Breathe Calm Cycles Flow Gentle Grow Harmony Heal Home Journey Motion Peace Release Rest Safe Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Call & Response Song Form: Echo Tend Trust
    Song: I Let Go
    Music: Te Martin

    ​Lyrics:

    I let go
    I lay down
    I release
    Return again


    Picture
    ​Notes: Te Martin describes this song as an exhale... I experience it like that, too... a relaxation, a release. It's so very welcome to me as I'm coming into a busy time of life, with lots of commitments lined up -- I need ways to let go quickly, in the middle of all the flurry. Having this song in my mind lets me do that... and if I happen to be with someone else who's willing to sing, it's so easy to echo it back to each other. Next week is a songwriter conversation with Te... bicycles, miso, and the natural world all come into play!

    Songwriter Info: Te Martin is a song-keeper and ritual artist. They were born on Ramaytush Ohlone land in San Francisco and have been shaped by Ocean, Redwoods, circus arts, and theater games. They facilitate oral tradition singing classes and workshops that focus on song as a tool for collective liberation, somatic regulation, and ancestral connection. Te served as co-organizer of Thrive Street Choir in the San Francisco bay area for six years, is a student of Gaelic song, and released their first professional music video and EP of original songs, "Water & Bones," in 2021.

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

    Links: 
    EP, "Water & Bones": https://temartin.bandcamp.com/album/water-bones
    "May This Body Be a Bridge" Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Mn_2BSNAg
    Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/temartin
    Mailing List: https://mailchi.mp/1debadd3ebb3/sos 
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/te.martin/

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:53
    Start time of reprise: 00:12:10
    ​​
    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, call & response

    ​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

    107. As A Seal Upon Thy Heart

    4:4 Belonging Earth Farewell Friendship Future Grieve Heart Holy Journey Love Safe Scale: Ionian (Major) Song Form: Layer Song Form: Round Tend
    Song: As a Seal Upon Thy Heart
    ​Music: Alison Burns
    Text: from Song of Songs (Shir Hashirim) 8:6
    שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים
    Lyrics

    Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm.
    ​For love is strong, as strong as death

    שִׂימֵ֨נִי כַֽחוֹתָ֜ם עַל־לִבֶּ֗ךָ כַּֽחוֹתָם֙ עַל־זְרוֹעֶ֔ךָ כִּֽי־עַזָּ֤ה כַמָּ֨וֶת֙ אַֽהֲבָ֔ה קָשָׁ֥ה כִשְׁא֖וֹל
    Picture
    Notes: Ali Burns gives us a beautiful two-part song that can also be a round... it feels like very exposed singing to me, and there's a way in which committing to what feels vulnerable in my voice, both high and low, also feels powerful and affirming. The ancient words resonate with longing for connection beyond death with those whom we love... and to me, are a reminder that can't force anyone into accepting love -- we can only offer.

    Songwriter Info: Ali has built her reputation over the past 30 years as one of the UK’s prominent workshop leaders for community choirs. Many of her songs have found their way into the repertoire and hearts of singers across the UK, and increasingly, Canada, the USA and Australia. Her work is published by Faber, Sing Up! and Oxford University Press.
    ​
    Sharing Info: You can hear and buy a copy of the song for £5 from www.aliburns.co.uk 
    Please visit her online shop for information about permissions:     https://aliburns.co.uk/shop/licensing/song-licence/

    Links: 
    Ali's Website: www.aliburns.co.uk

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:08
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:38
    ​
    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4 major, 2-part layer, round optional

    ​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

    105. Touch the Sky with Guest VoiceExchange

    3 Layer 4:4 Be Present Beauty Breathe Earth Grow Home Joy Light Open Safe Scale: Ionian (Major) Sky Song Form: Harmonized Songwriter Conversation Trees Trust
    Song: Touch the Sky
    Music: VoiceExchange
    Lyrics

    You are safe here, you are safe.
    No one will ask you why you need to touch the sky.
    Just touch the sky.     (3x)

    You are in the arms of the sky.
    ​No one ... you ... why ... you,
    you need to touch the sky,
    you need to touch the sky
    You need to touch sky, the sky.

     You are safe here, you are safe here,
    you are safe in the arm of the sky.
    No one will ask you why, oh no why.
    You'll touch the sky, just touch the sky.     (4x)
    Picture
    Notes: Songs can be career counselors, harmonizing means you don't have to memorize words, if you don't like to sing alone, then singing with others can unlock your voice, how to leave space for people, how to become a found family (food is involved) -- what other ideas might VoiceExchange have to share with you? This quintet of singers improvised their way through the pandemic -- learn how they honed their ability to play even when geographically distant (and hear an example at the very end, created on the fly with Zoom faces and Jacktrip sound). Improvisation can be a weird and wonderful world -- a chance to hear the unexpected. The song they shared is a tree speaking... and what a beautiful sense of embrace it creates.

    ​Songwriter Info: VoiceExchange initially formed as a practice group following a 2012 Bobby McFerrin Circlesongs workshop. As singers from disparate musical influences, they came together, connecting through a shared passion for vocal improvisation, and formed a unique a cappella group that blends diverse vocal styles into spontaneous harmonious arrangements. During the challenges of the pandemic VoiceExchange began a series of sequentially recorded collaborations for leading online circles. This resulted in a library of recordings, among them, Touch the Sky and Take My Hand. VoiceExchange members are Amado Ohland, Beth Lyons, Dina Torok, Joy Truskowski and Paris Kern. They can be found leading Circlesinging events in Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts & Vermont as well as offering online and in-person workshops and providing spontaneous music to churches, temples and other community gatherings.

    Amado Ohland began his semi-professional career as a jazz and blues vocalist shortly after graduating University of Maryland at College Park with a bachelor's in music composition and theory. He attended his first Circlesongs workshop in 2011, and has been leading circlesinging events since 2013 in Washington DC, Pittsburgh, and western Virginia. He has recently received a master's degree in music from Radford University. For his doctoral dissertation he is working on a participatory ethnography of circlesinging worldwide and a song cycle of pieces based on circlesinging techniques.

    Born into a musical family, Beth Lyons actually can’t remember a ‘before’ time when singing-in-community wasn’t a part of her life. She currently performs improvised musicals with iMusical, the house musical improv team for Washington Improv Theater, performs and leads Circles with VoiceExchange, and leads online immersive Song Dive workshops and a Monday morning online choir named Coffee Choir. You can learn more about her offerings and sign up for her “Heads Up” notification/invite list at www.RiverChoir.org.

    Dina Torok has sung in and been musical director for various a cappella groups from college through adulthood. She was a professional film and television session singer, performed in various pop/rock bands in Los Angeles, and recorded an original solo album and a piano/vocal album of show tunes. Dina found VoiceExchange and circle singing in 2015 and has been a grateful member ever since.

    Joy Truskowski is a singer-songwriter and community songleader. She has performed as a solo artist in the Roanoke, VA area for 13 years. You can find her original songs on Bandcamp under the name “Joy Tru”. She started Star City Circlesinging in 2019 and has been leading circles with other co-leaders in Roanoke ever since. During the beginning of the pandemic she started contributing to VoiceExchange’s online circles. She fell in love with all of them, and they all asked her to marry them. She said, “I can’t marry you, but I’ll join your group!” And that was a fair compromise. So she officially joined in the summer of 2021.

    Paris Kern started performing traditional folk music at coffeehouses and concerts when she was 16 years old. She studied classical vocal performance in college, but her heart was always in the world of pure traditional folk traditions. In 2011, for reasons unknown to her, she was internally compelled to attend Bobby McFerrin’s CIrclesongs workshop. Feeling like a fish out of water, surrounded by mostly Jazz musicians, she nonetheless was hooked by the magic of Circlesongs and the sensation that her heart was being sung back to her. She has been leading circles in Washington DC, and Baltimore and is now starting circles in Southern Vermont.

    Sharing Info: VoiceExchange would love to know if you plan to teach or perform Touch the Sky or another of their songs; drop them a line at info@VoiceExchange.org. And if teaching/performing their song is a profitable business for you, please share a bit of the profit with them via their donation link at https://voiceexchange.org.

    Links:
    Paris mentions a Burl Ives recording, but we could only find a link for Patti Page’s version of "How Much is that Doggy in the Window?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rJo9yJxd5M
    Julie Andrews: https://www.biography.com/actors/julie-andrews
    Joan Baez: https://www.biography.com/musicians/joan-baez
    David Crosby: https://davidcrosby.com/
    Martin Carthy: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/martin-carthy-mn0000367979
    "It’s a Small World After All" by Richard and Robert Sherman
    https://www.songfacts.com/facts/disneyland-childrens-sing-along-chorus/its-a-small-world
    "Diddle, Diddle Dumpling, My Son John" : https://allnurseryrhymes.com/diddle-dumpling/
    Freddie Mercury: https://www.biography.com/musicians/freddie-mercury
    Somatic Voicework: http://thevoiceworkshop.com/somatic-voicework/
    Bobby McFerrin Circlesinging: https://circlesongs.com/circlesong-school-2023/
    Tuvan throat singing: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210414-a-revival-of-indigenous-throat-singing
    All the Way In- Rhiannon: https://www.rhiannonmusic.com/all-the-way-in-home
    Motor, interlock definitions: http://songsofthemoment.com/category-rhiannon/
    Take My Hand: Episode 104 on A Breath of Song:     https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/104-take-my-hand
    Vocal River by Rhiannon: https://www.rhiannonmusic.com/vocal-river
    Zuza: https://singers.com/vocal-coach/Zuza-Goncalves/
    “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66354.Flow
    Tuck & Patti album 1988 Time After Time: https://www.discogs.com/release/10168223-Tuck-Patti-Time-After-Time
    Star City Circlesinging: https://www.meetup.com/Star-City-Circlesinging/
    Musica do Circulo Brazil: https://www.playgroundforthearts.com/musica-do-circulo
    Amado on Bandcamp: https://amadomusic.bandcamp.com/album/circlesinging-on-zoom
    "She’s So Unusual" by Cindy Lauper: https://www.allmusic.com/album/shes-so-unusual-mw0000194590
    "The Game" by Queen: https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-game-mw0000650663
    "Medicine Music" by Bobby McFerrin: https://www.allmusic.com/album/medicine-music-mw0000309576
    Prince: https://www.prince.com
    Eagles: https://eagles.com
    Sting: https://www.sting.com
    Billy Joel: https://www.billyjoel.com
    Alanis Morisette: https://alanis.com
    "Blue" by Joni Mitchell: https://jonimitchell.com/music/album.cfm?id=5
    "Abbey Road" by The Beatles: https://www.thebeatles.com/abbey-road
    Patrick Watson: https://patrickwatson.net
    Great interview with Martin Carthy: https://www.innerviews.org/inner/martin-carthy.html
    And here’s a link to Martin singing “The Trees they Do Grow High”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaKGeTmFqbE
    "Vocabularies" by Bobby McFerrin: https://bobbymcferrin.com/albums/vocabularies/
    VoiceExchange on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/circlesinging-dc/
    Jacktrip Software: https://www.jacktrip.com

    VoiceExchange's quiet Website: https://voiceexchange.org
    Email: info@voiceexchange.org
    VoiceExchange on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoiceExchangeMusic?mibextid=LQQJ4d
    VoiceExchange on Instagram: https://instagram.com/voiceexchange?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
    VoiceExchange's Email: info@voiceexchange.org

    Amado's Website: https://amadomusic.com/
    Paris's Website: https://www.pariskern.com
    Joy's Website: http://www.joytru.com
    Beth's choir Website: https://www.riverchoir.org

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:05:10
    Start time of reprise: 01:14:25
    Improvisation at 1:18:55
    ​​
    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Major, 3-part harmony, 3-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!