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  • Published on

    214. Make Good Trouble with Family Singers

    3 Layer 4:4 Change Determination Empower Hope Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Harmonized Song Form: Layer Uptempo
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:56
    Start time of whole song: 00:09:21
    Lyrics:

    This is the struggle of a lifetime (2x)
    Never ever be afraid to make some noise, and make good trouble.
    Make good trouble; necessary trouble.

    From the words of John Lewis:
    ​“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
    Picture
    Song: Make Good Trouble
    Music by: Angela Gabriel

    Notes: I had the privilege of recording this song together with many members of my familiy -- and something happens on this recording that is very common in community singing -- I started in the key of A minor, and group wisdom decided that the key of A-flat minor, slightly lower, felt better in our collective voice! So you'll hear us readjusting together to reach an agreed sound, and what's cool is we all get there. Rather than rerecord to get an ordinary "perfectly pitched" recording, I decided to stay with the energy of the moment -- that really beautiful feel of connection that we had in that room -- because that's what this song is encourages. We support each other to speak up, to disrupt when needed, to make good, necessary trouble! You'll hear the six-year-old in the room leading some warm ups, and even a blooper at the end (never telling whose phone it was....)

    Songwriter Info: Angela is a performer, a teacher, a facilitator, and a lifelong learner. Her mission in life is to facilitate expressive creative, musical, and vocal experiences and to encourage folks of any age and background to replace judgement with curiosity and open themselves to their unique, creative flow.

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Angela always welcomes 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 whole song: 00:09:21

    Links:
    Angela's website: www.angelagabriel.me 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 3 layers, each harmonized

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  • Published on

    208. Estrellitas

    4:4 Fire Grieve Heal Heart Night Pain Scale: Aeolian (minor) Sky Song Form: Unison Stars
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:39
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:14
    Lyrics:

    ​Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh… (bis 4x) 

    Deja, deja, deja que las estrellitas 
    Que las estrellitas, se lleven tu dolor 

    Deja, deja, deja, 
    Ve y enciende el fuego, 
    Deja, deja, deja, tu duda y tu temor

    Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…     (4x) 

    Let it go, let it go, let the little stars,
    Let the little stars carry away your pain.

    Let it go, let it go, let it go,
    Go and light up the fire,
    Let it go, let it go, release your doubt and fear.

    FURTHER LYRICS:

    La tristeza esa, Pa’ las estrellitas 
    La preocupación y el dolor del corazón 
    Deja, deja, deja que los queme el fuego 
    Deja, deja, deja y vuela alto por favor 

    Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…     (4x) 

    Deja, deja, deja, que los queme el fuego 
    Y las estrellitas transmuten tu dolor 
    Deja la tristeza, las dudas, el miedo, 
    Pide a las estrellas que te curen por favor… 

    Outro: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…

    ENGLISH:

    That sadness—give it to the stars,
    The worry and the ache within your heart.
    Let it go, let it go, let the fire burn them,
    Let it go, let it go, and now please, fly high 
    reaching the skies up above 

    Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…     (4x)

    Let it go, let it go, let the fire burn it,
    And let the stars transmute your pain.
    Leave behind sadness, the doubts, the fear,
    Please ask the stars to heal you… 

    Outro: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh…
    Picture
    Song: Estrellitas
    Music by: Ana Lucia Divins

    Notes: Singing this song of grief and the lifting of grief connected deeply with my heart this week. No matter what grief is in my heart at the moment, the wordless "O", followed by the shaping of Spanish words for sorrow, doubt, and fear as well as let go and little stars -- letting all the grief light the fire and then the sparks carry it away -- oh, it felt good to sing this. Soft and strong, velvet and spark, ache and motion. I'm grateful Ana Lucia gifted us this song to sing, and excited that once you've learned the core of the song with me, you get to sing all of it with her if you follow the Bandcamp link! 

    Songwriter Info: Music has been a lifelong companion for Ana Lucia Divins, who has witnessed its healing power and the strength of community connections. This journey led her to explore sound and therapeutic music studies. She is a Certified Music Practitioner by MHTP and a Holistic Voice Therapist with the British Academy of Sound Therapy. Since 2022, she has integrated healing music into her offerings, singing by patients’ bedsides and sharing therapeutic music in the community for restoration and relaxation. In 2023, she received the Arts and Science Council Creative Renewal Fellowship and in 2024, the Arts and Science Council Artist Support Grant, enabling her to delve deeper into music’s healing potential and produce new works. Ana Lucia’s exploration of her voice has taken her to national and international workshops and retreats in Greece, Spain, the UK, and Colombia. 
    In the summer of 2024, Ana Lucia and Carlos Crespo, an Ecuadorian guitarist, released their debut healing music album, “Emerging,” in collaboration with other talented musicians. Available on all digital platforms, "Emerging" offers a deeply relaxing and uplifting sound bath of original new-age world music. It is a sonic journey mirroring life’s ebb and flow, from dawn’s gentle awakening to night’s tranquil embrace, remembering the cycles of healing, new beginnings, and transformation.

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

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:39
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:14

    Links:
    Ana Lucia's website: https://www.adivins.com 
    Divins Music Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divinsmusic/ 
    Azul Healing website: https://www.azulhealing.com 
    Azul Healing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/azulhealing/ 
    Emerging album on Bandcamp: https://divins.bandcamp.com/album/emerging 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, unison

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  • Published on

    205. Set It Right Again with guest Ana Hernández

    4:4 Change Determination Future Hope Justice Power & Change Ribbon Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Call & Response Songwriter Conversation
    Lyrics:

    Call: There’s a great trouble in the land 
    Resp: We’re gonna set it right again 
    (3x)
    All: We’re gonna set it right, set it right again. 

    More verses to zip in:
    Trouble’s been brewing too many years
    We need clean water and healthy food
    People need housing, we’ve a right to thrive
    Mass deportations tearing families apart
    We are the ones who can change the world
    We need education to build a just world
    Families need childcare, they don’t need to go broke
    We need fair wages, rich folk need to be taxed!
    Add more verses to suit your actions.
    Picture
    Song: Set It Right Again
    ​Music by: Ana Hernández

    Notes: Ana Hernández has been in the music business for quite a while, finding ways to follow the sounds she loves, to express her activist wishes, to ease her anxiety, to remember wise words... and she writes powerful, moving community songs to do all these things! Her book, the Sacred Art of Chant, was a game changer for me when I discovered it in 2019 for the way it named how singing with repetition changed my body. It was a huge honor to be in conversation with her, and then play with harmonies as we sang together (no, I didn't get ALL of them "right"! 😊 But I was having a great time!!!) "Set It Right Again" is a song to take into protests, and Ana advises listening to the speeches to adjust the lyrics to fit... newsletter subscribers will see the flowers and the little black book that get described.

    Songwriter Info: Ana Hernández is a composer, recording artist, retreat leader, and activist song leader creating and collecting tunes to build living and just communities through skillful action. A theomusicologist with NYS Poor People’s Campaign, Ana is also the author of The Sacred Art of Chant: Preparing to Practice (Skylight Paths/Turner Publishing).

    Sharing Info: The song is free to share in public resistance actions and oral tradition groups. Please contact Ana for recording, streaming, or performing permission. 

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:34 and 00:06:39
    Start time of reprise: 01:11:55

    Links:
    Ana's website: https://anahernandez.org
    Ana's Patreon: www.patreon.com/anahernandez 
    Listen on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/in/artist/ana-hernandez/214582777 
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0NGPpe3jeQqHFeFArIqYEH 
    SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/anahermusic 
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-p9kisJu1ISLW7w6Wy2lVA 
    Poor People’s Campaign: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/committee/new-york/ 
    Sojourner Truth: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth 
    Ghandi’s mantra Om Sri Rama: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramanama 
    Aham Prema: you are divine love: https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/9462/aham-prema 
    Raimon Panikkar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raimon_Panikkar 
    Malka Heifitz Tussman:  https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/quotes/quotations/view/33350/spiritual-quotation
    Marcia Falk The Book of Blessings: https://www.marciafalk.com/blessings.html 
    Hold My Hope: https://www.musicthatmakescommunity.org/teach_me_to_be_love
    Open My Heart: https://www.musicthatmakescommunity.org/open_my_heart
    Louis Armstrong: https://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/biography/ 
    Miles Davis: Sketches of Spain: https://www.milesdavis.com/albums/sketches-of-spain/ 
    Cantus Firmus in Monteverdi Magnificat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RajAq0Yd-s4 
    St. Columba: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columba 
    Ranunculus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranunculus 
    Alice Parker: “My belief is that a page of music conveys about five percent of the information needed to perform it.” https://giamusic.com/resource/the-anatomy-of-melody-book-g6765 
    Augsburg Fortress Publishers: https://www.augsburgfortresspublishers.org/ 
    Banquet of Love album: https://anahernandez.org/album/banquet-of-love/ 
    Mame: Ethel Merman play: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mame_(musical) 
    Sending You Light album: https://anahernandez.org/album/sending-you-light/ 
    Melanie DeMore: https://www.abreathofsong.com/apps/search?q=melanie+demore 
    Caravan of Empathy: https://ruralmigrantministry.org/save-new-yorks-rural-economy-a-journey-of-empathy-caravan/ 
    Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Tenderland Suite: https://www.aaroncopland.com/works/appalachian-spring/
    https://www.aaroncopland.com/works/the-tender-land/
    Amina Alaoui from Morocco – Alcantara: https://open.spotify.com/album/1EDReLi3Q3luXIHcUgR0k7 

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, blues minor, call and response

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  • Published on

    201. I Walk in Beauty

    3:4 Be Present Beauty Mantra Motion Notice Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Layer Song Form: Round Wisdom
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:55
    Start time of reprise: 00:18:21

    ​Lyrics:

    As I walk, as I walk,
    as I walk I walk with beauty

    Beauty it walks before me,
    beauty it walks behind me,
    beauty it walks below me,
    beauty it walks above me
    ​
    Beauty is on every side,
    as I walk I walk with beauty
    Picture
    Song: I Walk in Beauty
    Words by: traditional Navajo (Diné) blessing
    Music by: John Harrison

    Notes: John Harrison turned to the teachings of the Diné people, the Navajo, to help him find the awareness of the beauty that exists in our world alongside everything else. As we live in a complex time, beset with multiple crises, wisdom teachings that have survived complex, critical times are a resource. This episode was a challenge for me, as I ended up leaving it in the range that John gave it to me -- one best suited for tenors and sopranos, and requiring a little more opening and exploration for lower voices! I share a technique that helped me find my way, but you are also welcome to just drop it down into the lower part of your voice -- find a way that feels good to sing!

    Songwriter Info: John Harrison is a composer, choral director, singer, and voice teacher who has been performing professionally since he was a lad. He sings and teaches in a variety of styles that reflect his eclectic performing background in church music, rock bands, jazz combos, gospel choirs, musical comedy, and a few things that defy description. Currently he directs Rock City!, Vermont’s rock and soul chorus, in Barre VT; Reelin’ & Rockin’, a rock and roll choir for seniors in Montpelier VT; and is the emeritus director of the Montpelier Community Gospel Choir in Montpelier VT. He has taught teenagers and adults in workshops, camps and holidays through Village Harmony, Turtle Dove Harmony, Songways (UK), as well as on his own. He was a K-12 Vermont music educator for 10 years. His compositions have been performed and recorded by many community choirs in the US and the UK. John lives with his wife Scottie in Plainfield, VT.

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

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:55
    Start time of reprise: 00:18:21

    Links:
    John's website: www.johnmarkharrison.com 
    More about Navajo (Diné) teaching of The Beauty Way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tZHIER3Jb4 

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

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  • 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

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  • Published on

    195. Get Up with guest Barbara McAfee

    2:2 Determination Empower Scale: Aeolian (minor) Song Form: Layer Songwriter Conversation Strength Uptempo
    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:05:43
    Start time of bonus song: 00:47:50
    Start time of reprise: 01:03:55
    Lyrics: 

    Badap, badadada dadap, 
    ba da bada dadap, badadada da...

    If your business is waking up the dead.
     
    Get up, get up, get up - today is a workday. 

    Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights. 
    Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight. 

     -- Lyrics from the work of Angeles Arrien and Bob Marley and Peter Tosh
    Picture
    Song: Get Up
    Music by: Barbara McAfee
    Additional vocals by: Lia Falls

    Notes: Barbara McAfee describes herself as "A nice Minnesota girl -- I like things that work!" -- and in her framework of the Full Voice, she has shaped the teachings of skilled choir leaders and the Roy Hart vocal work, as well as her own discovery of her voice into just that -- a framework that works! She says, “I’ve never believed more in the need for people to find their own voice…” and observes the deep courage of people coming to community sings for the first time after vocal wounding. The work of Angeles Arrien inspired Barbara in her own journey, and this song pulls in the grittiness and determination needed to keep waking up. Barbara adds a surprise bonus song in the middle of the episode -- "May It Go Easy As You Go" -- as we talk about singing as a way of saying what's hard to say. So much more in this conversation -- "twisting on a meathook", scheduling "workity-work" things, doing laundry before listening to the muse -- enjoy Barbara's Full Voice, and let it help you find yours!

    Songwriter Info: Barbara lives on the wild and scenic St Croix River about an hour from Minneapolis/St Paul. She is a master voice coach, songwriter, song leader, hospice choir director, long distance swimmer, poet, and author of Full Voice. She feels so lucky to be alive on planet Earth.

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

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:05:43
    Start time of bonus song: 00:47:50
    Start time of reprise: 01:03:55

    Links:
    Barbara's website: www.barbaramcafee.com 
    Barbara's community singing page: https://www.barbaramcafee.com/community-singing.html 
    Barbara's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/barbaramcafee 
    Barbara's first TEDx talk about Full Voice:     https://youtu.be/Ze763kgrWGg?si=hueWlQGYCqtDrarr
    Song: "May You Go Easy"​ https://soundcloud.com/barbara-mcafee/may-you-go-easy-for-tom
    Lia Falls: https://soundcloud.com/user-860092984 
    Diana Ross: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Ross 
    Full Voice: https://books.google.com/books?id=pETKks1jdKUC 
    Saule Ryan/Roy Hart Centre: https://roy-hart-theatre.com/teachers/saule-ryan/ 
    Rhiannon: https://rhiannonmusic.com/ 
    Daniel Nelson: https://www.facebook.com/singingfortheearth/ 
    Jenna Lindbo: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/jenna-lindbo/395790602 
    The story of Inanna: https://tamedwild.com/a/blog/storytime-inanna-descent-into-the-underworld 
    Te Martin: https://soundcloud.com/temartinmusic 
    Lyndsey Scott: https://www.lyndseyscott.earth/ 
    Sarina Partridge: https://sarinapartridge.com/ 
    Heidi Wilson: https://heidiannwilson.com/ 
    Laurence Cole: https://www.laurencecole.com/ 
    Melanie DeMore: https://melaniedemore.com/ 
    Joni Mitchell’s Blue album: https://open.spotify.com/album/1vz94WpXDVYIEGja8cjFNa 
    Jon Batiste: https://www.jonbatiste.com/ 
    Jacob Collier: https://www.jacobcollier.com/ 

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, 4.5 layers

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