Ella Fitzgerald said, ”The only thing better than singing is more singing!” Use song to find wellness in ourselves, each other, and our world. In each episode, Patricia introduces a song that she trusts to help her navigate life. These songs provide a great soundtrack to your day — whether it’s comfort, presence, delight, grief-tending, or simply easing the way. Periodic interviews with song creators add color and understanding. Songs have helped Patricia heal, adapt, and grow, and she hopes these selections will become companions for you as well. Visit the website, abreathofsong.com, to learn more and suggest a song!
Episodes
44 minutes ago
44 minutes ago
Song: Love Wears the Crown
Music by: Maggie Wheeler
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start of teaching: 00:03:19
Start of reprise: 00:27:13
Notes: I'm visiting Carol Bardenstein and TatiAnah Thunberg, and Carol shares a song by Maggie Wheeler. "Love Wears the Crown" felt to Carol like the perfect song for a No Kings march, and as she teaches it to us, she talks a little about the ways she adapted it for singing in crowds without time to learn nuance... and TatiAnah and I learn it on the spot. I play with harmonies (some more successfully than others, natch!) -- and we reprise it with Carol's whole song circle, so if you're ready to join a crowd, it's time! I loved hearing about the ways these two songleaders are being led by love into interweaving their work and including folk in their circles. There's bounty here!
Songwriter Info:
Maggie Wheeler is best known in the U.S and internationally for her extensive work as an actress in film, television, and voice-over and most notably as the character of Janice on NBC’s hit series Friends. Maggie is a passionate singer, songwriter, choir director and workshop facilitator, teaching her vocal workshop Singing In The Stream for over 30 years. It is Maggie’s belief and experience that by singing together we build community, counteract loneliness, become inspired and energized and feel more deeply connected to others and to ourselves. Maggie is a prolific songwriter with a catalog of powerful and timely songs that have been sung by choirs and singing communities worldwide.
Her original music for choirs and communities is available on Bandcamp, Apple Music and other music platforms.
Carol Bardenstein is a beloved local song-catcher and song leader of numerous community song-circles and singing workshops/retreats, based in Ann Arbor, sharing her singing there, elsewhere in Southeast Michigan, and beyond! She also facilitates song circles for meaningful life-cycle events and milestones, as well as song healing for bedside, and hospice singing. More recently, she has become very involved in local iterations of the Singing Resistance movement bubbling up from the streets of Minneapolis, inspired to help facilitate the emerging synergy between community singing and singing resistance in rising to meet these times in heartful and empowering ways.
Carol discovered heart-centered singing with others as a deep and transformative spirit portal some 15 years ago, and she’s been singing her heart out and in with others, facilitating many different kinds of song circles ever since! Grief, joy and everything in between, and all that you are, are warmly invited into her song circles, for expression, connection and communion in heart and song.
Contact Carol for information about her offerings via email at cbardens@umich.edu.
TatiAnah Thunberg, LMSW (she/hers) is a somatic psychotherapist, singer, song catcher, expressive and improvisational artist, and a seasoned experiential facilitator with more than thirty years of experience guiding transformative group practice. Her work centers the voice as a path to belonging—an embodied, relational exploration of presence, creativity, and communal care.
She is the founder of Spirit Moves LLC and co-founder of the Vocal Wilds Collective, Supper & Sing Community Jam, Ensemble Night, the Vocal Lab, Creatrix Lab, and TAZ, all circles of artists dedicated to the art of embodied improvisation in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Maggie always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.
Links:
https://www.goldenbridgechoir.com
https://maggiewheeler.bandcamp.com/album/the-crow-calls
https://maggiewheeler.bandcamp.com/album/the-world-is-turning
https://music.apple.com/us/album/walk-with-me/1441718449
SongFest with Maggie Wheeler in 2026: https://www.eomega.org/workshops/songfest
Maggie says: "This song was inspired by a talk given by cultural historian Josh Kun. He spoke about a composition for 50 trumpets titled 'Walls Will Fall - The 49 Trumpets of Jericho' by Mazen Kerbaj.
The musicians gathered in a defunct water reservoir in Berlin.
Mazen says, 'According to the old testament, Jericho’s walls collapsed under the sound of seven trumpeters, blowing their horns for seven days while circling around the city. Far from the religious background of the story, it is the idea of music breaking walls and barriers that is central to this composition.'
The participating trumpet players came from from Australia, Austria, Cuba, Denmark, England, Germany, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Somalia, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Turkey and the United States.
This story and this work deeply inspired me. I wrote LOVE WEARS THE CROWN to invoke the power of music, the power of voices gathered to dissolve barriers, and to dismantle the walls of hatred and injustice."
https://mazenkerbaj.bandcamp.com/album/walls-will-fall-the-49-trumpets-of-jericho
TatiAnah's websites:
Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, unison with call and response section, optional 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
Wednesday Apr 29, 2026
Wednesday Apr 29, 2026
Notes: Our first road trip stop is Kingston, Ontario in Canada, where I got to meet up with three delightful songleaders – and we sang SO many good songs over the weekend! It was impossible to narrow down to one, so this episode is a three-fer, and you get three very different songs, one from each songleader. You hear us playing; making up harmonies on the spot, trying to get the words in the right order – this is an unrehearsed, “what-can-happen-when-you-put-four-people-who-love-songs-into-one-room?” kind of moment. We had such a good time doing it and hope you get to catch our joy as you sing with us.
Song 1: Lifted
Music by: Wendy Luella Perkins
Songwriter Info: Wendy Luella Perkins founded SOULFUL SINGING (singing meditation for all) in 2002. An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, she shares "short-on-words, long-on-meaning; easy-to-learn, hard-to-forget" songs in the oral tradition. Soulful Singing fosters depth and uplift, resonance and healing, connection and community.
Enjoy singing in community? Had a fourth grade teacher who told you to mouth the words? Dedicated shower singer? Shy about singing out loud? Love to belt it out? Committed chorister? Everyone is warmly welcomed into the circle of song. Wendy Luella strongly believes that connecting with our singing voices has beneficial effects on many, many areas of life, including enhancing our capacities to trust ourselves and to learn and grow with others.
Back in March 2020, Wendy Luella, who is based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada responded to the call of our times by taking Soulful Singing online "for a couple of weeks until this whole pandemic thing blew over". She has been singing via zoom every single morning at 9am, and Thursdays at 6pm (ET) since then. EVERYONE is welcome to attend these gatherings. More than 200 of her original Soulful Singing songs are available on tiktok @wendyluellaperkins. She is also working on an online song library of her original songs. Find out more at info@wendyluellaperkins.com.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Wendy for recording and/or performing permission. When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Wendy for permission and rates.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Intro: 00:04:42
Start of teaching: 00:09:40
Start of reprise: 00:47:37
Links:
Wendy's website: www.wendyluellaperkins.com
Soulful Singing with Wendy Luella: info@wendyluellaperkins.com
Nuts & Bolts: slow 4; major, unison, harmonies optional
Song 2: Present Moment, Sacred Moment
Music by: Steph Drouin
Songwriter Info: Steph Drouin (she/her) is a community song leader, singer, songwriter, and Expressive Arts Therapist based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. For over a decade, she has guided people of all abilities into easeful, joyful, and healing singing experiences. She has helped sow the seeds of community singing throughout Toronto and across Ontario with groups such as Sing for Joy, and in 2019 founded her own social enterprise, Fiercely OK.
Through Fiercely OK, Steph offers weekly in‑person and online song circles with her partner, Paul Barton, as well as special events with visiting artists such as Coco Love Alcorn and Luke Wallace - all in the spirit of nourishing a vibrant, connected singing community. Her most recent project includes co‑creating Kingston Pop Choir with Paul.
Informed by a lifelong relationship with anxiety, Steph writes and teaches songs that help people embrace their full, messy humanity and stay connected to their sense of being OK. She is known for her warm, playful presence and her ability to create spaces where people feel safe to show up exactly as they are.
Steph completed the Community Choir Leadership Training program and Lisa Littlebird’s Flight School in 2018, and is a graduate of the three‑year Expressive Arts Therapy program at the CREATE Institute. In 2024, she moved back to Kingston to be closer to family and to share her gifts with her home community.
Sharing Info: Steph says:
"I encourage (and am trying to remember to practice) a slow culture of learning and sharing songs - taking time to embody the notes, rhythms, and stories behind them, and to build relationships with the people who wrote them. Please take your time and enjoy singing this song, and if you feel moved to share it, please do. You have my permission!
Keep it as close to the original as you can to start. If your group wants to play with adding other layers or harmonies later, this is most welcome. This songs invites being in the present moment; whatever comes out being in the moment while singing this song belongs in it! I just ask that the song be taught first as it came to me (and my nephew). If you would like to teach it differently from what you heard on A Breath of Song, please reach out.
I encourage forms of reciprocity that align with your gifts and context. Here are some I love:
- Tell me or show me what it was like to share the song with your community. It's fun to see how songs travel!
- Come sing with us (Paul and me), in person or online. Learn the songs directly from us and hear their stories. This feels important - it means so much when folks carry the songs with an intimate sense of their origins and intricacies.
- Song swaps! If you also write songlets, let’s exchange. I love being in meaningful song‑sharing relationships with other song leaders. This kind of reciprocity feels alive and good.
- Financial reciprocity. If you have room in your budget or are making oodles of money (more than a living wage), we'd love for you to send a little our way. For non-performing groups, folks generally send $25-50 per song or $1 per singer (whichever is greater). Performing or recording rates would be a little higher. For Canadians, e‑transfer works well; otherwise, Wise is my preferred option.
- Follow and share our work. Join the Fiercely OK mailing list, follow us on social media, and help spread the word to folks who would enjoy what we offer.
- Patreon. I’ll be adding my songs to Patreon this year, and I’d love for you to join me there as a monthly patron.
If you have any other ideas, send them my way!"
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Intro: 00:14:01
Start of teaching: 00:20:03
Start of reprise: 00:48:30
Links:
Join the Fiercely OK Mailing List!
https://forms.gle/97Y9hQn55HHL1kHP7
Website: https://www.fiercelyok.ca/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephdrouin3973
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fiercelyok/ & https://www.instagram.com/therestlessinchoirer/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiercelyOK/
Join our online song circles! The next series begins May 11th, 2026.
https://www.fiercelyok.ca/online-weekly-song-circles
If you're ever in the Kingston-Toronto area, come sing with us in person! We offer weekly song circles and a monthly pop choir in Kingston, and occasional workshops in Toronto.
I'll be getting my songs up on Patreon this year. There's nothing up there yet, but you can be the first to get updates here:
https://patreon.com/fiercelyok?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, mixolydian, 3-layer song
Song 3: I Am Grateful Deep Down
Music by: Paul Barton
Songwriter Info: Known by some as a musical “wizard,” Paul makes clever use of his education in Jazz guitar and experience as a professional musician to help song circles run seamlessly. His songs, infused with his passions for the environment, community, and mental health, are among the most requested songs in the Fiercely OK singing community. His simple melodies carry deep truths right to the heart.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Paul always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved. The best way to support Paul's songwriting is on Patreon.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Intro: 00:31:56
Start of teaching: 00:32:45
Start of reprise: 00:49:04
Links:
Paul's website: https://www.paulbarton.ca/
Paul's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/paulbartonmusic
Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, harmonized
Extra links:
Lone Wolf by Steph Drouin and Aimee Ringle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SFrSkZ-0Hs
Thich Nhat Hanh: “Present moment, wonderful moment” https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/710946/present-moment-wonderful-moment-revised-edition-by-thich-nhat-hanh/9781952692239
Present Moment, Sacred Moment movement video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZedwiqraNQ
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
Wednesday Apr 22, 2026
Wednesday Apr 22, 2026
Song: Great Turning
Music by: Joanna Colwell
Notes: It seems fitting that Grace Oedel, who tells us she is “Not doing any of this alone," brings us a song caught by a friend of hers, Joanna Colwell... and that this song references the mentor and teacher Joanna Macy, who helped so many folk seek reconnection. Grace and I are joined by Rebecca Csuy to learn this three part song, and then we dive into a laughter-filled conversation that visits some hard questions and nourishing responses. Grace is doing vital work in the world in many different arenas, seeking ways to help us get comfortable with the enormous changes we are facing, hospicing modernity -- but she points out, “I eat chocolate chips in bed… I am not a holier-than-thou person!” "We're all in it together," like the song says... "we are turning it around."
Songwriter Info: Joanna Colwell is a yoga teacher and song leader in MIddlebury, Vermont. She started the Yoga Equity Project and can generally be found tearing down the patriarchy with art, song, ritual, and good cheer.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Joanna for recording and/or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:03
Start time of reprise: 01:08:19
Links:
Grace's Substack: https://graceoedel.substack.com/
Joanna Colwell – Middlebury yoga teacher:
https://www.yogaequity.org/
www.ottercreekyoga.com
https://www.instagram.com/ottercreekyoga/
Joanna Macy – The Work that Reconnects: https://workthatreconnects.org/
Octavia Butler: "Kindness eases change." "God is change.": https://www.octaviabutler.com/
Moira Smiley on A Breath of Song: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/39-stand-in-that-river#/ , https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/40-render-a-remedy-with-moira-smiley#/
Heidi Wilson on A Breath of Song: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/139-bend-and-rebound#/ , https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/140-the-feast-with-guest-heidi-wilson#/ , https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/228-all-call-this-home#/
Singing Resistance: https://linktr.ee/singingresistance
Kairos Center with Songs in the Key of Resistance: https://kairoscenter.org/projects/songs-in-the-key-of-resistance/
NOFA – Long-Handled Spoon Dinners: https://www.nofavt.org/about/blog/announcing-new-long-handled-spoons-dinners
L’Chaim Jewish collective leadership in Burlington: https://www.lchaimcollective.org/
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst, UVM professor: https://www.uvm.edu/cas/religion/profile/ilyse-morgenstein-fuerst
Elise Witt on A Breath of Song: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/21-song-deep-in-your-bones#/ , https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/211-set-us-free#/
Nero’s Expedition Up the Nile by Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpUIzHWB_zc
James Baldwin “The children are always ours.”: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/notes-house-bondage/
Aylie Baker – wayfinding in Micronesia: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/wave-patterns/
Indigo Girls: https://www.indigogirls.com/
Batya Levine on A Breath of Song: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/166-breathe#/
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 3-layers
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
Wednesday Apr 15, 2026
Wednesday Apr 15, 2026
Song: We Will Not Stand Down
Music by: Grace Oedel
Notes: This song came directly out of protective action, as Grace was asking herself how to develop a chant into a song -- it's got a groove, it's alive, and it's adaptable. Sing it with only a few words, or add some lyrics. Get people moving on the parts they resonate with and help them hear the collective pulse that underlies it all. Add what feels good in your body and voice -- and next week, join Grace and me for a wide-ranging conversation that asks questions about how can we keep showing up with and for each other for the long haul? How can we use rage as a fuel that doesn't burn us out, but helps us to not stand down, to not go home, to do what scares us because love is underneath that rage, moving us on!
Songwriter Info: Grace is a doula for change and an enthusiast for collective action. She's an ordained rabbi who organizes with the L'Chaim Collective and serves as the executive director of NOFA-VT, building power for a just and delicious future. She sits on the boards of Rights and Democracy, Milk with Dignity, National Family Farm Coalition, National Sustainable Ag Coalition, the Better Selves Fellowship, and is an affiliate for the Institute for Agroecology. She leads a monthly community sing for resistance and hope that is a real banger, is a fan of desserts, and is mama to three little ones.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups - use it anywhere it can be helpful! - but please contact Grace for recording and/or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:44
Start time of reprise: 00:15:29
Links:
Grace's Substack: https://graceoedel.substack.com/
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3-layers
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
Wednesday Apr 01, 2026
Wednesday Apr 01, 2026
Song: All Call This Home
Music by: Heidi Wilson
Notes: Heidi Wilson has devoted herself to the craft of songweaving -- and it shows! My groups have all loved this song -- a great mix of almost-rap with sweet harmony swells, and trading back and forth playfully. Once it's in your head, it stays, providing a rhythmic counterpart to walks and a sweet sense of neighborliness with all our more-than-human kin.
Songwriter Info: Heidi Wilson has a passion for sharing songs in service to community and the wild world; songs that celebrate the seasons, bring groups together, offer thanks, muster courage, and make room for healing. She is drawn to the potent and surprising journey of deep-listening and collaborative emergent music making. Heidi has been leading community singing groups in Vermont for the last 15 years and currently sings with the vocal trio Heartwood.
Sharing Info:
Heidi says: "I’m on an ongoing journey figuring out how to share songs (that feel like generous gifts from the world) while also making a living as a songweaver. I am happy for the songs coming through me to be shared! If people are singing them in informal, community, or ritual settings that’s awesome, sing away! If people are sharing them in a setting where they are making a bunch of money or there is a budget for educational/repertoire materials and they are able to pass some of those resources my way I appreciate that. I would feel good about that reciprocity coming in the form of a one time donation (venmo: @Heidi-willsing) or by joining me on Patreon and supporting my songweaving work at any monthly level. And if you are interested in recording any of these songs let’s talk!
Looking for recordings of more songs? I mostly share music through Patreon, an online platform to support artists. On my Patreon site I’ve posted 80+ songs. Each post has downloadable practice recordings of the harmony parts. And through Patreon I also link to a spreadsheet where the songs are organized into categories, so you can listen through and find just the right song for Spring, or Gratitude, or Trees."
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:06
Start time of reprise: 00:15:28
Links:
Website: www.HeidiAnnWilson.com
Patreon: www.patreon.com/HeidiWilson
Heartwood Trio: www.heartwoodtrio.com
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3-layers
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
Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
The Sunday after this episode is released, March 29th, 2026, at 4 p.m. Eastern time, there will be an online gathering of folk who use song to help navigate life -- and we'll sing through this Ribbon of Songs with live-looping! To learn more, click here, or sign up right now to join us!
Lyrics & Links to the original episodes for the songs in this ribbon.
by Heather Houston
Honoring the darkness, Honoring the light,
Honoring the day, Honoring the night
All things find their way into balance
Suspended in time
Shadows and light
by Ana Hérnandez
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.
by Jean Farmer
I begin again with my breath,
joining earth,
earth and spirit.
I return again to my breath,
walking home the unknown path.
by Patricia Norton
(inspired by Sri Nisargadatta)
The net that I thought
was holding me,
it is full of holes, full of holes.
The net that I thought
was holding me,
it is full of holes!
The net that I thought
was holding me tight –
it is not a big barrier,
I can get by it.
The net that I thought
was holding me,
it is Full. Of. Holes.
There is a ground of truth
beyond the net!
(a gazillion times)
Like the water,
I’m falling free. (4x)
by David Ruffin
Where the river flows
and the moss on boulder grows,
we can remember what we deeply know.
There is time to be here
and see what becomes clear...
when we let it go,
and go where the moss grows.
Oh, when we let it go,
and go where the moss grows.
by Jenny Cook
There's so much hope in a snowdrop,
the promise of spring to come.
Hold on, hold on
through the cold,
brighter days will come.
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
Wednesday Mar 18, 2026
Wednesday Mar 18, 2026
Song: Life's Dance
Music by: Tarren van Ettinger
Notes: This dance of a song loosens me up every time I sing it -- both with the original two parts from Tarren, and then I snuck a third part in when I was singing it on my looper, and I was having so much fun with it, I added it too! Learning the steps as we go -- in and out of the circle, day into night into day, confident, then confused, and back again -- I am grateful for the way this song makes a sweet dance of the whole kit & kaboodle!
Songwriter Info: Tarren is an AuDHD, agender singer/songwriter from Davenport, IA, formerly from Alaska. They have been writing songs actively since 2015, when they wrote their first song at the Village Fire gathering in Decorah. They take inspiration from everything from literature to personal experiences. Tarren lives with their animal-trainer partner, a dog, bird and rabbit, and the occasional foster-critter.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Tarren always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:19
Start time of reprise: 00:16:33
Links:
Bandcamp: https://tarrenvanettinger.bandcamp.com
Mastodon: https://musician.social/@tarrenvane
Discord: @tarrenvane
Email: tarrenvane@proton.me
Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, major, 3-parts
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
Wednesday Mar 11, 2026
Wednesday Mar 11, 2026
Song: Walk Me Home
Music by: Una McCann
Notes: What do you do with anger? Can you set shame gently aside so you can get out of the way of what's coming through you and wants to be voiced? How do you move through times of doubt and grief to do what you are called to do? Una shares with us a beautiful song companion for walking each other home, and we explore these questions and so, so much more in this extended conversation.
Songwriter Info:
Una McCann is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland where she works as a choir leader and songwriter. She has been leading groups in harmony since her school days and has been working with adult choirs for 15 years.
Una is a proud and active member of the UK Charity The Natural Voice Network, and works in line with the principle that we are all born to sing. She is passionate about the power of song and creativity to transform lives.
Song writing is a part of life that sustains and supports Una. She writes melodies and words that she needs to hear in that moment and is always delighted when they resonate with other people too.
In her spare time, Una enjoys running singing holidays and retreats.
Sharing Info: Una says: "Please sing these songs; they were born to be sung.
If you make money through singing the songs and would like to support me in my work as a song carrier, please purchase songs through my website or drop me an email for more options."
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:05:32
Start time of reprise: 01:28:35
Links:
Website: www.unamccann.org
Facebook: Una McCann Music
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unamccann47/
Rhiannon: https://rhiannonmusic.com/home
Earthsong camps with John Bowker: https://www.earthsong.ie/about-earthsong
A note in sand or water: https://youtu.be/-CZlrgq8syE?si=VzijHkmvxuPUJ7MD
The first song Una remembers singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QfXXj8RoPk&t=32s
Stéphane Grappelli – musicians of the eyes and musicians of the ears: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%A9phane_Grappelli
Una’s Soundcloud – Henrietta!: https://soundcloud.com/unamccann/henrietta
Tara Brach – teachings of kindness and wellbeing: https://www.tarabrach.com/
Natural Voices Network: https://www.naturalvoice.net/
Indigo Girls: https://www.indigogirls.com/
The Roches: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roches
Airplane: https://youtu.be/MhVcbRldEfs?si=rubOOaeZ2S8lXF-a (from the Indigo Girls 1992 “Rites of Passage” album – my gift to Una was finding the song she loved!)
Gamelan instrument: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamelan
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, harmonized (intriguingly, it starts with a descending Phrygian scale...)
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
Wednesday Mar 04, 2026
Wednesday Mar 04, 2026
Song: We All Need A Little Love
Music by: Una McCann
Notes: In this super-satisfying song, Una McCann stepped into the funk so we can all dig into a little more love in our lives -- not a bad thing to wish for filling our hearts. Doesn't matter what the regimes of the world are doing; we can invite a little more love into our hearts right now! Next week Una and I get to dive right into a conversation about the songwriting shift from singer-songwriter to community songs, how Una manages the energy of 300 singers every week, and more -- hope you can join us!
Songwriter Info:
Una McCann is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland where she works as a choir leader and songwriter. She has been leading groups in harmony since her school days and has been working with adult choirs for 15 years.
Una is a proud and active member of the UK Charity The Natural Voice Network, and works in line with the principle that we are all born to sing. She is passionate about the power of song and creativity to transform lives.
Song writing is a part of life that sustains and supports Una. She writes melodies and words that she needs to hear in that moment and is always delighted when they resonate with other people too.
In her spare time, Una enjoys running singing holidays and retreats.
Sharing Info: Una says: "Please sing these songs; they were born to be sung.
If you make money through singing the songs and would like to support me in my work as a song carrier, please purchase songs through my website or drop me an email for more options."
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:16
Start time of reprise: 00:18:15
Links:
Website: www.unamccann.org
Facebook: Una McCann Music
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unamccann47/
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, SATB
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
Wednesday Feb 18, 2026
Wednesday Feb 18, 2026
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.
https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html
Wednesday Feb 11, 2026
Wednesday Feb 11, 2026
The Sunday after this episode is released, February 15th, 2026, at 4 p.m. Eastern time, there will be an online gathering of folk who use song to help navigate life -- and we'll sing through this Ribbon of Songs with live-looping! To learn more, click here, or sign up right now to join us!
Lyrics & Links to the original episodes for the songs in this ribbon.
Words by Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker
Music by Elizabeth (Beth) Norton
There is a Love holding me; There is a Love holding all that I love;
There is a Love holding all; I rest in this love.
There is a Love holding us; There is a Love holding all that we love;
There is a Love holding all; We rest in this love.
210. In This House with MaMuse
By Karisha Longaker
In this house, we lead with love.
In this house, we lift each other up.
In this house, we learn to fly with the dove.
Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of.
Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of.
So come on over (come on over),
Welcome in (welcome in),
Come on over (come on over).
Let's be friends (let's be friends).
Come on over (come on over).
There is enough.
Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of.
Oh, this is the house we've been dreaming of.
By Hannah Jeffery
The only way to be here is to be constantly breaking open
How else do we make sense of this human experience?
Beauty, break me open
Tragedy, break me open
Humility, break me open
Love, crack open my heart
Heartbreak is our birthright
It's the only way to be here
Heartbreak is our birthright
It's the only way we can heal
Music by Eileen Webb
Lyrics by Kai Skye
It's quiet at first,
this song of love
for all the living things.
But once you start to hear it,
it's quite impossible to pretend
there's something better
you could be doing.
By Alexandra Sarton Love
My body is fly
My body is beautiful
My body is bold
My body is mine
By Alexa Sunshine Rose
Come now child, lay it down
Just breathe
Just be
Come be cradled in the arms of love
Just breathe, just be.
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
Wednesday Feb 04, 2026
Wednesday Feb 04, 2026
Song: Heading Home
Music by: Ben & Dom
Notes: I read a commentary by Ailey Jolie, saying, "You cannot breathe your way out of patriarchy." She was observing that regulating the body's emergency responses is good to do as a way of caring for ourselves -- but not if it means simply increasing our ability to tolerate a situation that is causing our bodies to cry "emergency." We need to breathe and steady ourselves, as this song of Ben & Dom's does so beautifully -- and the reason is to bring ourselves even more fully into the present, ready to respond effectively to what actually is because we have the capacity to look directly at what is not working. So let this song bring you home to yourself -- whole, rested, and ready.
Songwriter Info: Ben & Dom are a singing duo, weaving their voices around songs old and new. Ben takes the high notes and Dom takes the low notes (most of the time). Their lyrics touch on friendship, nature and what it means for two men to sing together in this modern day.
Sharing Info: Ben & Dom say: "We would love this song to be sung and shared in any circle. It is a parting song suitable for lots of different situations and occasions. If you feel like you want to share the song we have sheet music and teaching tracks available on our website. There is a tiered pricing structure to suit groups of different sizes and setups. If the cost is any kind of challenge for you then please be in touch and we can send you the materials free of charge. "
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:04
Start time of reprise: 00:18:29
Links:
Ben & Dom's website: www.BenAndDom.com
Ben & Dom's Bandcamp: https://benanddom.bandcamp.com
Buy score for Heading Home: https://benanddom.bandcamp.com/
Essay of Ailey Jolie: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16LcZ7iR43/
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3-part harmony
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
Wednesday Jan 28, 2026
Wednesday Jan 28, 2026
Song: Pray With Our Feet
Words by: Paul Vasile, based on a quotation by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Music by: Paul Vasile
Notes: This is what folk in Minneapolis are doing -- praying with their feet, getting out on the street. They're singing songs to bless each other, the people they're protecting, and the ICE agents who are so misguided. And this is not the only place in the world where people of "middle power" gather -- not super-powers, not uber-wealthy -- just people who care about living in a world where we feed and educate our children, hold jobs with purpose. Paul Vasile describes it as "belonging belovedness -- you are safe, you are seen, you are heard." In this conversation, we dive into the sometimes knotty weeds of faith and how someone who is deeply connected in a faith tradition might want to expand into questions of what world we want to create together. Big trees. "Talk less, sing more." "As a queer person, I experienced a faith that helped me be a bigger, better me."
Songwriter Info:
Paul Vasile (he/him) is a church musician, teacher, coach, and composer who finds his greatest joy in collaborative and community-centered work. Committed to modeling expansive, imaginative, and hospitable experiences of music making wherever he goes, Paul's leadership builds trust, invites spaces of creativity, vulnerability, and play, and supports practices of reflection and holistic learning.
For the past decade he has offered short- and long-term transitional leadership, consulting services, and creative resources to faith communities in seasons of discernment, challenge, and transformation. From 2016 to 2023, Paul served as the Executive Director of Music that Makes Community, a non-profit that shares "paperless" (oral tradition) leadership practices and songs. He traveled across North America modeling distinctive approaches to communal singing and learning at retreat centers, conferences, denominational gatherings, seminaries, and in congregations of all sizes.
Paul also composes music that invites communities to express and explore their connection to sacred stories, their bodies, and the ecosystems that sustain us. His music is represented in Glory to God, All Creation Sings, and Voices Together, as well as The Hymn Society’s resource, Songs for the Holy Other: Hymns Affirming The LGBTQIA2S+ Community.
Sharing Info: Please buy sheet music on Paul's website if you plan to share this song as a songleader.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:35
Start time of reprise: 01:15:00
Links:
Paul's website: https://www.paulvasile.com/
Paul's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovedintobeing/
Sheet music for Pray With Our Feet: https://www.paulvasile.com/products/pray-with-our-feet
Feb 7th workshop at Lutheran church in Ft. Washington, MD with Maren Marchesini: https://www.sharingthesong.org/
Inspiration for lyrics, including quote by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: https://www.tbemaine.org/praying-with-hearts-and-feet
Music that Makes Community: https://www.musicthatmakescommunity.org/
Rev. Donald Schnell, a 2012 interview as Music Makes Community was beginning: https://www.conversations.org/story.php?sid=329
Bobby McFerrin: https://bobbymcferrin.com/
Taizé chants: https://www.taize.fr/en/the-songs
Chanda Rule: https://www.chandarule.com/
Hold Me by Nina Wise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxU_egWayc4&t=16s
Nina Wise: https://ninawise.com
East Coast songleader trainings:
Mila Redwood in Toronto: https://www.milaredwood.ca/song-leader-training
Patricia in Burlington, VT: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/songleader-training.html
Alice Parker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Parker
Liz Rog -- here's a place to find her book on songleading: https://www.centerforbelonging.earth/
Arvo Pärt – Passio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passio_(P%C3%A4rt)
Spencer LaJoye: https://www.spencerlajoye.com/
Spencer's song Plowshare Prayer: https://youtu.be/MhOZv5i7CHY?si=S5bbjdBDJP2cU_4I
Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, unison
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
Wednesday Jan 21, 2026
Wednesday Jan 21, 2026
Song: Trust the Work
Words by: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.
Music by: Paul Vasile
Notes: Trusting the work of love inside us, as excruciatingly slow as it seems sometimes.... this is a mantra I can fold right into my life, singing it on the regular to remind me back into the power of inner trust. Next episode is a conversation with Paul where we talk about the choice (he ok'd) to replace the word "God" with "love" -- and what it is we all seek. I offer this as a somatic check in as well -- as you sing it in different ranges, how does your voice and body respond?
Songwriter Info:
Paul Vasile (he/him) is a church musician, teacher, coach, and composer who finds his greatest joy in collaborative and community-centered work. Committed to modeling expansive, imaginative, and hospitable experiences of music making wherever he goes, Paul's leadership builds trust, invites spaces of creativity, vulnerability, and play, and supports practices of reflection and holistic learning.
For the past decade he has offered short- and long-term transitional leadership, consulting services, and creative resources to faith communities in seasons of discernment, challenge, and transformation. From 2016 to 2023, Paul served as the Executive Director of Music that Makes Community, a non-profit that shares "paperless" (oral tradition) leadership practices and songs. He traveled across North America modeling distinctive approaches to communal singing and learning at retreat centers, conferences, denominational gatherings, seminaries, and in congregations of all sizes.
Paul also composes music that invites communities to express and explore their connection to sacred stories, their bodies, and the ecosystems that sustain us. His music is represented in Glory to God, All Creation Sings, and Voices Together, as well as The Hymn Society’s resource, Songs for the Holy Other: Hymns Affirming The LGBTQIA2S+ Community.
Sharing Info: Please buy sheet music on Paul's website if you plan to share this song as a songleader.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:43
Start time of reprise: 00:16:07
Links:
Paul's website: https://www.paulvasile.com/
Paul's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovedintobeing/
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 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
Wednesday Jan 07, 2026
Wednesday Jan 07, 2026
Song: The River
Music by: Coco Love Alcorn
Notes: Coco is entering a long and challenging journey with an aggressive cancer diagnosis. She’s hopeful and grounded, but as an independent musician, she doesn’t have access to benefits like employment insurance or sick leave. With her treatment schedule, she’s had to cancel every concert, every tour, and even postpone the recording of her new album. She also had to pause her local choir until further notice. This means she’s facing at least a year ahead with almost no income — while focusing all her strength on healing. Supporting her directly through buying her music, or donating to the GoFundMe will make this time easier. In the meantime, you can sing this song of Coco's, bringing river healing energy into the world!
Songwriter Info:
“Coco is the ultimate musical spark plug... an electrical connector through which the creative energy flows. In my 30 years of touring around the world, I have never seen another performer able to bring people together like Coco does.” ~ James Keelaghan - Artist Director, Summerfolk and renowned Canadian singer/ songwriter
The first thing you notice about Coco Love Alcorn, is the voice. It's a rich, dynamic, supremely soulful instrument – hailed by the press as extraordinary, beautiful, and stunning – that has a way of touching your heart and making you care.
As a performer, Alcorn is always in the moment, joyful, and genuine. She combines diverse musical influences including jazz, R&B, pop, folk, and Gospel. Her playful and witty character, love of improvising, and willingness to engage fearlessly with the audience has made Alcorn an established presence on the Canadian music scene.
Born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and now based in Owen Sound, Ontario, Alcorn’s career has spanned more than 20 years, 12 (9 solo) albums, cross-Canada tours, collaborations, festival appearances, award nominations, and notable success in TV and film licensing. And it took someone with a spirit like Alcorn's to navigate this path.
"Throughout my career I have explored across many genres, collaborations and projects, taking a winding path to get to here,” she says. “But I’ve loved every step of my journey and trusted my inner curiosity to take me where it wanted to go.”
Sharing Info: Please support Coco directly if you are sharing this song, either by buying the music on her website here: https://cocolovealcorn.com/store or supporting her GoFundMe here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/SupportCocoThroughCancer
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:49
Verses taught slowly: 00:11:55
First run through: 00:15:50
Start time of reprise: 00:20:53
Links:
Coco teaching the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgmg1K7BFxo&t=133s
Coco's GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/SupportCocoThroughCancer
Lisa Littlebird teaching tracks: https://thebirdsings.com/the-river/
Sheet music for The River: https://cocolovealcorn.com/store
Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, verses & chorus, harmonize
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
Wednesday Dec 31, 2025
Wednesday Dec 31, 2025
The Sunday after this episode is released, January 4th, 2026, at 4 p.m. Eastern time, there will be an online gathering of folk who use song to help navigate life -- and we'll sing through this Ribbon of Songs with live-looping! To learn more, click here, or sign up right now to join us!
Lyrics & Links to the original episodes for the songs in this ribbon.
by Maggie Wheeler
Let it blow through, let it blow through.
Open up the windows of your soul, and let it blow through.
Hard times come, and hard times go, let it blow through.
Open up the windows of your soul, and let it blow through.
Hard times come and hard times go, let it blow.
Open up the windows of your soul, and let it blow through.
by Abigail Spinner McBride
1. Open my eyes to the miracles around me,
wake me up, wake me up.
(2x)
3. Shake me from my sleep and stir me from my dreaming.
Chorus: Awaken me. (4x)
by Patricia Norton
Let me not borrow this trouble
ahead of time.
Let me not carry this sorrow
before it's mine.
It will come when it comes, and go when it goes.
I will know; I will know.
It will come when it comes and go when it goes,
I will know.
My trust and love are banks on the river
where grief and praise can find a flow.
My tender heart, it floats on the ocean.
The waves come. The waves go.
by Jan Harmon
Oh the wind, it is a song
that harbours through the winter,
Oh the sail, it is a door
that bids the song to enter,
And let us sail the sea, good friend,
And let us sing together,
The singer lasts a season long,
While the song, it lasts forever.
204. May the Way Open Before You
by Ana Hernández
May the way open before you.
May you see beyond darkness and light
to the love you are;
to the love you bring into the world.
by Debbie Nargi-Brown
Be open for something wonderful to happen
Be open to the possibility
(x2)
Aiye Aiye Aiye, Aiye Aiye Aiye (x2)
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
Wednesday Dec 24, 2025
Wednesday Dec 24, 2025
Song: I Believe
Music by: Una McCann
Guest singers: Rebecca Csuy, Seth Norton, Tom Norton, Marika Tabilio
Notes: You'll hear a wonderful group of singers helping me cover all the ranges of this song: Tom and Seth bring the bass, Marika nails the tenor, Rebecca lines up the alto, and I take on soprano. There's a bit of octave confusion -- where do we find these pitches in our different voices?! And then this fabulous song and groove reminds us to see the goodness -- in you, in me, in everybody. So grateful to Una McCann for living into the teachings of Tara Brach and catching this song that feels so good to have singing in my body! Wishing everyone a week of discovery and festive comradery, whether you are celebrating holy days or simply the close of 2025...
Songwriter Info:
Una McCann is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland where she works as a choir leader and songwriter. She has been leading groups in harmony since her school days and has been working professionally with choirs for 15 years.
Currently the chair of the Natural Voice Network, Una runs 6 Natural Voice style weekly choirs. She also enjoys running singing holidays and retreats.
Una is passionate about the power of creativity to transform lives and encourages her singers to improvise, play and explore their own creativity.
Song writing is a part of life that sustains and supports Una. She writes melodies and words that she needs to hear in that moment and is always delighted when they resonate with other people too.
I Believe was born out of the wish to always see the best in people even when it’s hard and we don’t want to, and to remember that underneath all of us is someone who just wants to be happy. We all come from love but sometimes we lose our way a bit.
It was inspired by listening to Tara Brach who creates beautiful talks on topics such as this.
Sharing Info: Please buy sheet music on Una's website (see below) if you plan to share this song as a songleader.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:05:24
Start time of reprise: 00:19:52
Links:
Una's website: www.unamccann.org
Sheet music for this song: https://unamccann.org/product/i-believe/
Una's Instagram: www.instagram.com/unamccann47
Una's Facebook (Una McCann Music): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558408430060
Tara Brach's website: www.tarabrach.com
Natural Voice Network: www.naturalvoice.net
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 2 layers, one layer with melody & two 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
Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Wednesday Dec 17, 2025
Song: What A Gift
Music by: Angela Gabriel
Notes: What a gift it was to be in conversation with Angela Gabriel -- we talked about how to deal with having been "poked in the voice" -- and the sensation of healthy singing. -- What was "one of the most idea shattering things" Angela has ever done in her life, and how "that butterfly excitement" led her there. How she's gotten to a place where, "I don't shame myself anymore," and a slew of adulting tactics she practices. ("I have a lot of arrows in my quiver.") How community singing can show up in activist spaces, where "it is difficult, but it doesn't have to be somber." How she sets up her own space -- "I actively choose to make it colorful..." and how that helps with healing. "The tremble" when singing for someone who is dying. Percussion and how it that has made Angela's voice distinctive in community singing songs... SO many things I loved in our conversation, not to mention this song!
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: 00:04:55
Start time of reprise: 01:22:01
Links:
Moira Smiley: Leather Britches: https://moirasmiley.com/downloads/leather-britches-2/
“The Truth” – Velma Frye: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/18-the-truth#/
Josh Habermann – Santa Fe Desert Chorale: https://desertchorale.org/about/our-people/#artistic_director
Susan Swaney – choir director in Bloomington UU church: https://www.uubloomington.org/about/our-ministers-and-staff/
Kate Munger – Women Singing In Circle retreat: https://www.lamafoundation.org/engage/events/women-singing/
Threshold Choirs: https://thresholdchoir.org/
Melanie DeMore: https://melaniedemore.com/
Becky Reardon: https://beckyreardonmusic.com/
Terri Garthwaite: https://terrygarthwaite.com/
Poor People’s Campaign: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/
Pam Blevins Hinkle – No Kings Song doesn't seem to be online yet, but her website is https://pamblevinshinkle.com/
Online group called “Lumos Transforms”: https://lumos-transforms.mn.co/
PetCanvas: https://mypetcanvas.com/
Mbira: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbira
Unitarian Universalist Church in Bloomington, IN: https://www.uubloomington.org/
Rhiannon’s All the Way In improvisation class: https://rhiannonmusic.com/2026-all-the-way-in
“I live my life in a river of grace…” Kate Munger: https://thresholdchoir.bandcamp.com/track/life-grace-trust
Yes – Fragile: https://www.yesworld.com/discography/fragile/
Willow Smith – Empathogen: https://willowsmith.com/products/empathogen-digital-download
Angela's website: www.angelagabriel.me
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, blues minor, 2 layers and body percussion
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
Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
Song: Make Good Trouble
Music by: Angela Gabriel
Notes: I had the privilege of recording this song together with many members of my family -- 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
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
Wednesday Nov 26, 2025
Wednesday Nov 26, 2025
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