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
6 days ago
6 days ago
Song: One Foot/Lead with Love
Music by: Melanie DeMore
Notes: Melanie DeMore both entrances and intimidates people -- she is direct, funny, a fabulous story-teller, and fierce and broad in her love. I have to apologize to listeners for the sound quality of this interview -- we had some microphone glitches on both sides that means despite the best sound studio wizardry I could come up with, there's some distortion, and it's not the usual quality of sound. But the quality of content -- where it counts -- is top-notch. Melanie shares One Foot/Lead with Love, including the story of what sparked its creation. She talks about her family, and how the wisdom and experiences of her parents shaped the way she approaches people who hold different world views. We talk about coyotes, kids, accolades, how she takes care of herself on tour as a "4-star, card-carrying introvert". She sends us out with a charge: “Here’s what you need to do, people out there: keep your head up. Keep your heart wide open. Remember to breathe, and keep doing the work. Sing on.”
Songwriter Info: Melanie DeMore is a 3 time Grammy nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director, and vocal activist who believes in the power of voices raised together. In her presentations, DeMore beautifully brings her participants together through her music and commentary. DeMore facilitates vocal and stick-pounding workshops for professional choirs, and community groups as well as directing numerous choral organizations across the U.S, Canada, and beyond. She is a featured presenter of SpeakOut!-The Institute for Social and Cultural Change, the Master Teaching Artist for Music at UC Berkeley/CalPerformances; works with everyone from Baptists to Buddhists, and was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. She is Music Director for Obeah Opera by Nicole Brooks and will be touring with the company to South Africa. She is a charter member of Threshold Choir founded by Kate Munger, a mentor to the Jerusalem Youth Chorus and conducts song circles with an emphasis on the voice as a vessel for healing. In her own words: "A song can hold you up when there seems to be no ground beneath you."
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Melanie for recording and/or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:56
Start time of reprise: 01:12:05
Links:
Lady of Peace – written by Melanie for her mom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94Clq6DHpNA
Threshold Choir: https://thresholdchoir.org/
Children’s Music Network: https://childrensmusic.org/
Bessie Jones: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1BUnRZrkCS0NoTiXefkW6U
Ella Jenkins: https://ellajenkins.com/
Oakland Youth Chorus: https://www.oigc.org/oyc
Obeah Opera (South African/Toronto) – about Tituba: https://obeahopera.com/
All One Tribe collective album: https://open.spotify.com/album/1EEVSonqRIjEB0DapNIRs8
Melanie's GoFundMe for a home in Taos, NM: https://gofund.me/6be198cb
Taos pueblo – Tewa people: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tewa
Bebe & Cece Winans – gospel singers: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3WNUkxJcJeliFx9KXWXMgs
John Lewis: https://civilrightstrail.com/experience/rep-john-lewis/
Margaret Nes - visual artist: https://www.ventanafineart.com/margaret-nes
Something Moving by Mary Watkins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3RTzI4-j64
Whirimako Black: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0dzCFvKwiJQ4w9ViwLzs49
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanie.demore/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/butchyg3/
Melanie's email: melaniedemore(at)earthlink.net
Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, call & echo, chorus & verse, 3-part harmony on chorus
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Wednesday Jan 08, 2025
Wednesday Jan 08, 2025
Song: Standing Stone
Music by: Melanie DeMore
Notes: Melanie DeMore is a powerful community shaper and healer who brings warmth and creative delight to her work with people of all stripes. Standing Stone was my introduction to her songs, and like many people, I have a personal history with it. In 2019, I became a long-term sub in a middle school & high school for a beloved choral teacher who had left to tend to her dying sister. The kids were grieving and suspicious. I brought this song to them so we could make a video to send their teacher to support her. The recognition of their capacity to be a source of strength was a game changer; this song unified us. In next week's episode, Melanie talks about what supports her, what she learned from her family, and more. I hope you can join us.
Songwriter Info: Melanie DeMore is a 3-time Grammy-nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director, and vocal activist who believes in the power of voices raised together. In her presentations, DeMore beautifully brings her participants together through her music and commentary. DeMore facilitates vocal and stick-pounding workshops for professional choirs, and community groups as well as directing numerous choral organizations across the U.S, Canada, and beyond. She is a featured presenter of SpeakOut!-The Institute for Social and Cultural Change, the Master Teaching Artist for Music at UC Berkeley/CalPerformances; works with everyone from Baptists to Buddhists, and was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. She is Music Director for Obeah Opera by Nicole Brooks and will be touring with the company to South Africa. She is a charter member of Threshold Choir founded by Kate Munger, a mentor to the Jerusalem Youth Chorus and conducts song circles with an emphasis on the voice as a vessel for healing. In her own words: “A song can hold you up when there seems to be no ground beneath you.”
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Melanie for recording and/or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:49
Start time of reprise: 00:12:30
Links:
Help Melanie find a place to call her own in Taos, New Mexico: https://gofund.me/6be198cb
A great interview with Melanie about being a vocal activist: https://chorusamerica.org/article/%25E2%2580%259Ci-use-my-voice-weapon-mass-connection%25E2%2580%259D-interview-melanie-demore
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3-part
Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:
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https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html
Wednesday Dec 25, 2024
Wednesday Dec 25, 2024
The Sunday after this episode is released, December 29th, 2024, 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 & Music by Sol Amarifio (title in the Ga language of Ghana)
Composed in 1971
We are going,
heaven knows where we are going,
but we know within.
And we will get there,
heaven knows how
we will get there,
but we know we will.
It will be hard, we know,
and the road will be muddy and rough,
But we'll get there,
heaven knows how
we will get there,
but we know we will.
Wɔyaya, Wɔyaya,
Wɔyaya, Wɔyaya.
Words from Wendell Berry
Music by Kate Thomas
To go in the dark with a light
is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark;
go without sight,
and find that the dark, too,
blooms and sings,
And is traveled by dark feet,
and dark wings.
Words & Music by Anni Zylstra
Finding home
in all that is unknown.
Release
what is gone.
Words & Music by Laszlo Slomovits
Change comes and goes, love stays.
Change comes and goes, love stays.
Life is filled with such mysterious ways.
Change comes and goes, love stays.
Words & Music by Lissa Schneckenburger
1. My mother, when love is gone (2x),
in our darkest hour, hope lingers on.
My father, when peace is gone (2x),
in our darkest hour, hope lingers on.
Chorus:
I will not hate, and I will not fear;
in our darkest hour, hope lingers here.
2. My sister, when equality’s gone…
My brother, with tolerance gone…
3. My love, when honor is gone…
My country, when justice is gone…
Words & Music by Starhawk and Anne Hill
When we are gone, they will remain:
wind and rock, fire and rain.
They will remain, when we return;
the wind will blow and the fire will burn.
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Wednesday Dec 18, 2024
Wednesday Dec 18, 2024
Song: Don't Go Putting the World on Your Shoulders
Music by: Will Lawrence and Erin Bridges
Notes: December in the north is such a great time for me to dig a little deeper -- finding mini-rests, sometimes even by taking an extra breath before I go do the next thing. I love that this song reminds me to lean on other people, too... to widen my base, to remember my connections. The irony of recording this (alone, in my basement!) was not lost on me!!! So I hope you sing extra vigorously along with me, and share this song widely -- I have been loving singing it with my Flow Singers this month, and we are really feeling that "take a nap" verse, I tell you!
Songwriter Info: William Lawrence is an organizer and social movement strategist from Lansing, Michigan. He was a co-founder of Sunrise Movement. He is currently the Coordinator of the MI Rent Is Too Damn High coalition, fighting for rent control, tenants rights and social housing in the Great Lakes State. Erin Bridges was raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where she now lives with her dog and queer family in a big turquoise house. Like many southerners, she grew up with a love for shared meals, music sung in fellowship, pies made from the garden, and a close relationship to earth. Erin's work is rooted in building a world where everyone can access these simple pleasures. In 2017, she co-founded Sunrise, a youth movement that launched the Green New Deal, and more recently launched Hollerin' Up, aiming to fund people-powered teams for the long haul.
Sharing Info: Erin and Will are happy for this song to be shared far and wide, attributed to the two of them!
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:42
Start time of reprise: 00:13:29
Links:
Sunrise Movement: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/about/
Sunrise Movement songbook: https://drive.google.com/file/d/120wccqh6jdV-Cb1gCZgxtuE7ELnYPUXL/view?usp=sharing which includes a beautiful acknowledgment of the complexity of oral songsharing without appropriation
Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, verse & chorus
Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:
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Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
Song: Gratitude
Music by: Kate Munger
Notes: Recording Kate Munger's song for you was SUCH a treat for me!!! 15 members of our extended family gathered in a living room, and sang together about sinking into gratitude.... mmmm-hmmmm!!! You'll hear 5-year-old Claire proclaiming she is right here, and then the beautiful gathered sound of Beth, Peter, Will, Elyse, Edward, Carolyn, Patrick, Ruth, Tom, Rebecca, Forrest, Kathi, Claire, Seth and me. One of the most beautiful things about the whole experience was that the song itself kept reminding me to be present -- to soak into the moment.
Songwriter Info: Kate Munger has been passionate about community singing since she was 8 years old at Girl Scout Camp and has led community singing now for over 45 years. In 2000 she founded the first of now 200 Threshold Choirs around the world. Today at 74 she is retired from running the Threshold Choir and has returned to her passions of writing songs for medicinal use and singing at the bedsides of people who are dying, in coma and with folks who are incarcerated. She is a popular speaker among palliative care, choral singing and prison reform professionals and is a gracious, skillful musical host and choral director whose joy is reminding us that we are singing beings, bringing community singing back to "the community.” Kate knows that this work is deep and serious and she offers a fresh, lively, sometimes irreverent, always relevant perspective.
Sharing Info: Kate encourages the sharing of this song and its message; any donation that is generous, affordable and personally significant would be most welcome.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:45
Start time of reprise: 00:12:57
Links:
Kate welcomes emails to kateamunger@gmail.com
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, mixolydian, 3-part harmony
Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:
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Wednesday Dec 04, 2024
Wednesday Dec 04, 2024
Song: Over/Under
Music by: Lyndsey Scott
Notes: Lyndsey Scott talks about her radical trust in life, how she perceives energy, the playfulness and generosity of cyclical wisdom. She shares the origin story of this song, Over/Under, and wisdom from her co-creator, Anthony R. Rhodd about gratitude. We were recording the Thursday after the US elections -- as I listen to the focus on how to find resources and energy, I realize how depleted I felt in the moment of recording. And yet talking with Lyndsey buoyed me -- the deep attunement that she practices shines through our conversation -- I feel like I can really feel the truth of "I am the love that doesn't leave..."
Songwriter Info: Lyndsey Scott is a multimedia artist, songleader, songwriter, and ritualist committed to exploring community singing as a technology of belonging and a strategy for mutual liberation. She currently co-facilitates the yearlong cohort of emergent earth-based ceremonial study with Earthkeeper Wisdom School (Hartsburg, MO), leads song for politicized somatics practitioners in Embodying Racial Justice’s yearlong program, Opening to Freedom (Millerton, NY), and teaches "Community Singing as Collective Power" at the University of Iowa School of Music's Grant Wood Fellow.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Lyndsey always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:05:15
Start time of reprise: 01:06:15
Links:
Lyndsey's website: https://www.lyndseyscott.earth/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lila.gaia/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lyndseyscott
We Do This 'Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1664-we-do-this-til-we-free-us
What It Takes to Heal by Prentice Hemphill: https://prentishemphill.com/book
The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/250673/the-wild-edge-of-sorrow-by-francis-weller/
Song Carrier Toolkit by Liz Rog: https://www.centerforbelonging.earth/store/p/song-carrier-toolkit
Earthkeeper Wisdom School: https://www.earthkeeperwisdomschool.org/
Rebeccah Bennett, Root Teacher, The InPower Institute: https://inpowerinstitute.com/
The Milk-Eyed Mender by Joanna Newsom: https://joannanewsom.bandcamp.com/album/the-milk-eyed-mender
Meredith Monk: https://www.meredithmonk.org/
Emma Koeppel: https://soundcloud.com/emma-koeppel
Anthony R. Rhodd: https://substack.com/@anthonyrrhodd
Woman Stands Shining (Pat McCabe): https://www.patmccabe.net/
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, unison or harmonized, call & response section
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Wednesday Nov 27, 2024
Wednesday Nov 27, 2024
Song: We Are the Door
Music by: Lyndsey Scott
Notes: Best possible things happening on this recording of Lyndsey Scott's song, We Are the Door.... I get to sing with my daughter, Rebecca Csuy and we figured out how to make a marimba sound on my keyboard!!! Honestly, life is just better with a marimba sound AND a loved one to sing with.
This song is a beautiful entry into change and shift and the unknown -- I get a sense of almost prairie-like expansiveness, accompanied by magic and wisdom of a seer inviting me to move in the big shadows. And like most songs, the magic really starts to happen when you sing it yourself, in your own voice, vibrating with possibility. Let Rebecca and me stand by your side and sing with you -- turn it up loud in headphones or speakers so you can really expand into it -- and then go find Lyndsey's recording and sing with her and her co-creator on this album, Michael Linder!
Don't miss next week's episode, when Lyndsey and I snug up as close as you can through Zoom and talk about resources during change...
Songwriter Info: Lyndsey Scott is a multimedia artist, songleader, songwriter, and ritualist committed to exploring community singing as a technology of belonging and a strategy for mutual liberation. She currently co-facilitates the yearlong cohort of emergent earth-based ceremonial study with Earthkeeper Wisdom School (Hartsburg, MO), leads song for politicized somatics practitioners in Embodying Racial Justice’s yearlong program, Opening to Freedom (Millerton, NY), and teaches "Community Singing as Collective Power" at the University of Iowa School of Music's Grant Wood Fellow.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Lyndsey always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:11
Start time of reprise: 00:17:02
Links:
Lyndsey's website: https://www.lyndseyscott.earth/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lila.gaia/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lyndseyscott
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, harmonic minor, 2-layer (plus marimba part!)
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Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Song: The Net
Music by: Patricia Norton
Notes: The Hindu teacher, Sri Nisargadatta, said, "The real world is beyond our thoughts and ideas; we see it through the net of our desires... To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net. It is not hard to do so, for the net is full of holes." I began singing this song to myself in the summer of '24, reminding me that what I thought was an immutable barrier might actually be a net of holes, and if I found fluidity, I could slip right by it. As events unfolded, the song grew and took on layers of meaning for me. What if the net were my safety net, and I felt myself slipping through? Can I be at peace with recognizing that there is no safety, no guarantee -- but there is a truth grounded beyond all of my desires, and like water, I can fall down through to that. Patty gave us a beautiful visual of the freedom in that fall... this song has been a great resource to me.
Songwriter Info: Patricia is excited to be developing an in-person community program called Flow Singing in Burlington, Vermont. You can find more details about that at the Juneberry Music site. Patricia believes in singing as a resource for vibrant well-being, experiencing wholeness, courage, connection and joy along with brokenness, fear, loneliness, and despair... the whole messy catastrophe. She lives with her long-time beloved husband, Tom, in a small townhouse close to their daughter's family (the better to play with their granddaugher!) Patricia reads widely, and also spends time exploring the natural world on these Abenaki lands, knitting, and reluctantly strength-training.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in the oral tradition; please contribute to A Breath of Song as a fair exchange if you are earning money at an event using this song.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:08
Start time of reprise: 00:20:00
Links:
Patricia's website: https://www.juneberrymusic.com
Nuts & Bolts: 12:8, major, 3-part with harmonies
Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:
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Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support.
https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
The Sunday after this episode is released, November 10th, 2024, 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 Wendy Luella Perkins
I awoke to the coos
of a mourning dove
a mourning dove,
a mourning dove;
and her sad, sweet song
drifted down from above
drifted down from above,
drifted down from above.
by Abigail Bengson
Don’t numb to this,
don’t numb it out.
Let it all flow in and out.
You’re strong enough
to feel it all,
and keep your heart alive.
Stay soft to this,
don’t numb it out.
Let yourself breathe in and out.
You’re strong enough
to feel it all,
and keep your heart alive. I said,
Don’t numb to this,
don’t numb it out,
Let yourself breathe in and out,
You’re strong enough
to feel it all
and it’ll keep your heart alive. I said,
Don’t numb to this,
don’t block it out,
Let it all flow in and out,
You’re strong enough
to feel it all,
and it’ll keep your heart alive.
with guest Aaron Johnson
By Rev. Cleophus Robinson, Jr., 1980
Hold on (sing on, love on, march on)
just a little while longer
Everything will be all right
with guest Samara Jade
I trust my roots
*to know where to go* (3x)
I trust my roots
*to know where to go*
down, down into the earth.
Chorus:
Down, down into the earth,
intertwining with all beings,
I'm seeing in every direction;
going down, down into the earth,
I'll send a message on the
world-wide-web of interconnection.
*to anchor me deep*
*to reach what I need*
*to share what I got*
*to lead me to love*
*to connect us as one* ("our" roots)
by Chloe Vispap-Rich
Mark out your golden lines
Create your golden times
Breathe along with life
Away you go.
Away you go,
Away you go,
Breathe along with life
Away you go.
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Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Song: Breathe
Music by: Batya Levine
Notes: This was the song I needed to sing to help myself through the pre-election moment... building trust in myself to navigate whatever comes next, tap into the energy to work up to the last moment to effect the change I hope for. Batya Levine is an incredibly heart-sourced song composer, and they'll be releasing a new album in December... check out their website and get on the list to know when it appears -- it's sure to be wonderful, and "Breathe" will be on it -- and you'll know it!
Songwriter Info: Batya Levine (they/them) uses song as a tool for cultivating healing and resilience in their work as a communal song leader, shaliach tzibur (Jewish prayer leader) and cultural organizer. Batya is a co-founder and Director of Programs at Let My People Sing!, and they compose original music made of Ashkenazi yearning, queer heart-medicine, and emunah (faith). Batya is releasing their second album, Yivarechecha, in December 2024 through Rising Song Records.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Batya always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:34
Start time of reprise: 00:20:13
Links:
Batya's website: https://www.batyalevine.com
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 3-layer
Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely:
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Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Song: Heaven Above, Earth Below
Music by: Becky Graber
Notes: Becky Graber let her unconscious speak during our conversation, and when I asked what she knows about herself right now, she said, "I am a breath of air on the earth" -- and then laughed a little in surprise and delight. The song she teaches also came from delighted awareness of the place of the body between heaven and earth -- plus a little tai-chi. Becky and I share a wonderfully rambly conversation about shedding old identities and making space, wanting to allow things to bloom rather than push them, and threshold times. We also take a lot of time with this three verse song, including playing with harmonies. You'll hear me making mistakes as I learn and play with harmonies -- but hopefully you won't notice it too much, because you'll be singing right along, too! The goal of this podcast is to encourage you to keep stepping into the power and beauty of your own voice, something Becky Graber has many years of experience at helping people do...
Songwriter Info: Becky Graber has lived her life professionally centered around music and storytelling, teaching and performing, and a heart-drive towards healing and coming to centered generosity. She is the founder and director of the Brattleboro (VT) Women's Chorus.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Becky for recording and/or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:58
Start time of reprise: 01:15:20
Links:
Becky's website: www.beckygraber.com
Brattleboro Women's Chorus website: www.brattleborowomenschorus.org
Psychospiritual paths like psychosynthesis – Roberto Assagioli: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosynthesis
The Diamond Approach – H.M. Almaas: https://www.diamondapproach.org/
Helen Yeomans: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/156-we-got-all-the-love
Natural Voices Network: https://www.naturalvoice.net/
Lisa Littlebird’s library: https://thebirdsings.com/song-library/
Velma Frye: https://www.velmafryemusic.com/
Song “Take Heart, Take Part, with lyrics “Participation is gonna save the human race” – Pete Seeger quote set by Becky Reardon: https://beckyreardonmusic.com/product/take-heart-take-part/
“Spes” by Mia Makaroff – Latin & Sami: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKeikhsVynM
Gaia Music Collective in NYC: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/gaia-music-collective-44369305153
Choir! Choir! Choir!: https://choirchoirchoir.com/
Gareth Malone with “The Choir” on BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008y125
Ry Cooder “Jazz” album with red cover and black letters: https://open.spotify.com/album/3Z6RuwMcmDMgBJsZ01Ouhf
Buena Vista Social Club: https://www.buenavistasocialclub.com/
Bobby McFerrin: https://bobbymcferrin.com/
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Major (Ionian), 3 verses
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Wednesday Oct 16, 2024
Wednesday Oct 16, 2024
Song: Fly Away
Music by: Becky Graber
Notes: Becky Graber really captured that feeling I get sometimes when I'm so uncomfortable, I want to simply fly away... when you are seeking something that feels trustworthy, and it feels elusive. I taught this in an unusual way for A Breath of Song, using solfege to identify the very different ranges of each of the four parts... you may find that useful, or not -- let go of anything doesn't serve you! Next week, Becky and I get to dig into a conversation with both of us here in my basement workspace... newsletter subscribers will see the pairsie (what do you really call a selfie with two?) As a songleader who started a chorus that has felt like mutual nourishment for almost 30 years, Becky has a perspective on group singing that is unique, and I really enjoyed exploring this experience with her.
Songwriter Info: Becky Graber has lived her life professionally centered around music and storytelling, teaching and performing, and a heart-drive towards healing and coming to centered generosity. She is the founder and director of the Brattleboro (VT) Women's Chorus.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Becky for recording and/or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:00
Start time of reprise: 00:16:44
Links:
Becky's website: www.beckygraber.com
Brattleboro Women's Chorus website: www.brattleborowomenschorus.org
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Major (Ionian), 4 part layer
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Wednesday Oct 02, 2024
Wednesday Oct 02, 2024
Song: Radiate
Music by: Lisa Piccirillo
Notes: Going epic this week -- we learn the chorus to Lisa Piccirillo's song, Radiate, with just me and the piano...and then when we're feeling solid, blow our socks off by singing along with her huge soundtrack! If you love the song, then there are links to find it in Bandcamp, etc, just below! I particularly love the way the word "radiate" is the most intimate in the entire chorus -- it feels like a world of confidence and self-connection right there... Enjoy -- I certainly did!!
Songwriter Info: Lisa Piccirillo almost gave up on songwriting, but the muse wouldn’t let her. The inspiration for her latest record came to her as a vision: the silhouette of a woman, backlit by the sun, alongside the word RADIATE. Fueled by this idea and the desire to reclaim her creative identity, Lisa devoted herself to daily songwriting sessions at sunrise and the new record was born. An unapologetically loud follow-up to her mellow and folky 2008 debut (momentum), RADIATE chronicles Lisa’s vast emotional landscape with her signature blend of vulnerable songwriting and powerhouse vocals.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Lisa always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:03
Start time of reprise: 00:13:57
Links:
Website: www.lisapmusic.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/lisapiccirillo
Tickets for Radiate Release Event Oct 19th 2024: https://tinyurl.com/48t8dna7
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7GJmGSN3Era6CJspcpMMY4?si=PFoGHPmUTQOVLYSJv0UlNg
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/lisa-piccirillo/289758509
Bandcamp: https://lisapiccirillo.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lisapiccirillo
YouTube: www.youtube.com/lisapmusic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisapmusic
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, unison
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Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
The Sunday after this episode is released, September 29th, 2024, 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.
Note: Angela Gabriel has made a melody change (which she can, right? Her song!) to We Were Made for These Times -- I made a new recording for this ribbon of songs, reflecting this update. If you click here, it will go to a teaching youtube video she created (which wonderfully includes the full lyrics...) https://youtu.be/kZfD7YbZJew?feature=shared
by Molly Hartwell
Put your roots down,
put your feet on the ground,
can you hear what she says
when you listen?
(2x)
‘Cause the
sound of the river,
as it moves across the stone
is the
same sound as the
blood in your body
as it moves across your bones.
Are you listening?
The title link goes to Molly Hartwell singing her original… but as she has given her blessing to the “telephone” versions that have travelled around, I am still singing (more or less) the version I learned from Lisa Littlebird in 2019…
by Lisa Littlebird
There’s a wheel that is turning,
calling me into my power.
There’s a wheel that is turning,
calling me into my voice.
It’s turning, we’re learning
to stand inside our hearts.
It’s turning, we’re learning
to stand in love.
I will not be silent.
by Elizabeth Melvin
words inspired by John Lewis
Stand up and make good trouble
Speak up and make good trouble
Get up and make good trouble
Rise up and make good trouble
Never, ever be afraid
to make some noise, make some noise
This is the struggle,
the struggle of a lifetime
(Make good trouble)
86. We Were Made For These Times
text by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
music by Angela Gabriel
Don’t lose heart,
We were made for these times.
(3x)
Show your soul,
it shines like gold in these dark times.
Don’t lose hope….
Don’t give up….
The link goes to Angela’s own recording… Here it is as a podcast episode.
by Christine Kick
Celebrate the difference, celebrate the distance,
celebrate the love, celebrate this brand new
way. We are the way.
We are the way… we are the way!!!
All night and every day
we bring the love, we bring the love.
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Wednesday Sep 18, 2024
Wednesday Sep 18, 2024
Song: Good Friend
Music by: Jan Harmon
Notes: Both harbor and freedom, connection and release, seasons and timelessness. Jan Harmon's song, written in 1985, has generous space for harmonies, and impels us singers forward, as though we were the sail catching the wind. I love the feeling of holding and letting go as I sing this song -- it helps me grieve, helps rejoice, helps me open, helps me curl up... I wonder what you will experience as you sing it with me?
Songwriter Info: Jan Harmon (1940-1993) was a published poet, a writer of short stories and biographical non-fiction, as well as a prolific composer of choral music, topical songs, ballads, rounds, musicals, and instrumental pieces. She was born in Saginaw, Michigan and lived in many places from southern California to Maine.
Sharing Info: When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Scott at Harmon Publishing for permission and rates: https://harmonpublishing.com/contact.php
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:47
Start time of reprise: 00:16:25
Links:
Song info on the Harmon Publishing website (including a sheet music PDF): https://www.harmonpublishing.com/jan/music/library/good-friend
Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, round
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Wednesday Sep 11, 2024
Wednesday Sep 11, 2024
Song: (O Spirit) Guide Me to Those I Need
Music by: Aimée Ringle
Notes: If you've run across Aimée Ringle's work, you know her wicked musical skills, her exuberant, high-energy presence, her huge heart and desire to be of service... and you may not yet know how she grew into her voice, the questions she asks herself around how best to contribute to songcircles, her deep desire for village community, and questions about how to make that real in the here and now. We dig a little into one of the hard conversations in songcircles or any group situation where people bring varying skill levels -- how can people of varying skill levels feel welcome and find space and satisfaction as they are? We talk about what Aimée finds she needs to be able to let songs come through and more! Aimée shares the story of how O Spirit came through and we sing it both with guitar and in an up-close and personal way. It's a big episode because we let our conversation spread out, enjoying the end of summer and a sense of expansiveness. I hope you, too, find that pleasure of connection when you join us.
Songwriter Info: Aimée Ringle is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, song-leader, and storyteller. She has an invigorating teaching style that is enriched by her capable percussion and guitar skills. Aimée’s work as a song-leader and storyteller have woven her into an ever widening community of cultural shifters around the country in the realms of sustainable agriculture, alternative education, community living, healing, creativity, and spiritual exploration ~ all of which are reflected in the songs she carries. As a song-leader, Aimée’s work and example have become a valued part of several Ancestral skills gatherings including Winter Count, Spirit Weavers and Sharpening Stone.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Aimée for recording and/or performing permission. She says: "For now, the song is just the chorus, but I am paying attention to its evolution and leaving space for the possibility of verses, etc. But this will not be a group process and I'm not inviting unsolicited creative ideas in this process."
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:53
Start time of reprise: 01:34:28
Links:
Aimée's website: www.aimeeringlemusic.com
Aimée's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AiméeRingle
Aimée's O Spirit video on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8wzISTpTsh
Aimée's Bandcamp: https://aimeeringle.bandcamp.com
Earth Practice: https://www.instagram.com/earthpracticemusic/
Tone Home by Elijah Ray: https://soundcloud.com/entheo/tone-home?in=l29rjc61w9os/sets/the-upload-1
I'm My Own Walkman by Bobby McFerrin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8DUi9RCTiQ
Samara Jade: https://www.instagram.com/samara_jade_music/
Three Wheels Turning: https://threewheelsturning.com/
"We are what we repeatedly do." Aristotle interpreted by Will Durant: https://blogs.umb.edu/quoteunquote/2012/05/08/its-a-much-more-effective-quotation-to-attribute-it-to-aristotle-rather-than-to-will-durant/
The Sharpening Stone: https://www.instagram.com/thesharpeningstone/
Laurence Cole: https://www.laurencecole.com/
Liz Rog: https://www.facebook.com/liz.rog1/
Shireen Amini: https://shireenamini.com/music
Song Village: https://www.songvillage.net/
Emergent Strategy and Holding Change by Adrienne Maree Brown: https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/emergent-strategy/, https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/holding-change-2/
Billie Eilish: https://www.instagram.com/billieeilish/
Ganavya: https://www.instagram.com/ganavya
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Aeolian, unison chant
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Wednesday Sep 04, 2024
Wednesday Sep 04, 2024
Song: The Ambulance Song
Music by: Aimée Ringle
"Ooo Love" part by: Laurence Cole
Notes: We live on a busy road, not far from a fire station -- an ambulance is not an unusual sight -- and thanks to Aimée Ringle, I have the perfect song to wish the people involved well... and now you do, too! Next week, Aimée and I talk about the tender place music is able to open up, how someone with considerable musical skills and experience finds how they, too, can be included in community singing... how we are what we repeatedly do, and what that means for Aimée. She is generous, vulnerable, clear-sighted, and willing to name her own challenges. I hope you can join us... but before that, please enjoy adding this song to your personal repertoire!
Songwriter Info: Aimée Ringle is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, song-leader, and storyteller. She has an invigorating teaching style that is enriched by her capable percussion and guitar skills. Aimée’s work as a song-leader and storyteller have woven her into an ever widening community of cultural shifters around the country in the realms of sustainable agriculture, alternative education, community living, healing, creativity, and spiritual exploration ~ all of which are reflected in the songs she carries. As a song-leader, Aimée’s work and example have become a valued part of several Ancestral skills gatherings including Winter Count, Spirit Weavers and Sharpening Stone.
Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Aimée for recording and/or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:12
Start time of reprise: 00:17:38
Links:
Aimée's website: www.aimeeringlemusic.com
Aimée's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AiméeRingle
The Ambulance Song video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b6WxqtlIbo
Aimée's Bandcamp: https://aimeeringle.bandcamp.com
Laurence Cole's website: https://www.laurencecole.com
Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Aeolian, 4-part
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Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Song: Quiet At First
Music by: Eileen Webb
Lyrics by: Kai Skye
Notes: How often do you get to sing with a thrush? Eileen Webb has made that possible for us... and so we get full enjoyment out of it, singing the entire song twice after learning it. The song itself, with words from Kai Skye, is a succinct reminder to drop in to that sensation of connection to all living things and how good it feels. What could be better? Recording this was unusual for me, because instead of loops on Loopy (where I just have to get it sounding right once!), it's layered tracks because of singing with the thrush... so I got to practice staying centered for the entire length of the song... not once, not twice, but three times plus a bit! It was really good for me -- so thank you for singing with me and perusing the A Breath of Song library -- I love the way my sense of responsibility to you keeps me in practice.
Songwriter Info: Eileen is a consultant and facilitator who helps tech companies build stronger relationships within and across their teams. She loves how music-making helps create deep connections in diverse groups of people, and leads the circlesinging community in Portland, Maine.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share, but please remember to share the lyrics credit to Kai Skye as well!
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:33
Start time of reprise: 00:17:52
Links:
Eileen's Portland circlesinging group: https://www.meetup.com/circlesinging-portland/.
Kai's art website: https://flyingedna.com/
Note: For credit purposes, his NAME is Kai Skye, his PEN NAME (also his previous name) is Brian Andreas, and the site where people can buy his arts is Flying Edna.
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 2-3 part harmony plus some extras
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.
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Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
The Sunday after this episode is released, August 18th, 2024, 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.
84. May I Be Open
by Heather Pierson
May I be open to things as they are right now,
because this is how things are right now.
Remember the breath, remember the body,
remember the goodness that you carry.
55. Everything Is Changing
by Kaitie Ty Warren
Everything is changing.
Life keeps rearranging; and
sometimes it feels awkward,
but we cannot go backward.
We cannot go backward.
34. Possibility
by Lisa Forkish
An end is not the end, it can be the beginning.
Like a river, I flow.
I am open to all the possibility.
148. Oh the Rain
by Patricia Norton
1. Oh the rain,
the rain it comes down,
and it carries a world
in its sound.
Oh the rain,
oh the rain,
it comes down.
2. Some
times I feel blue;
I’m
gonna take a breath or two
and soften,
let my heart
be tender.
3. Softly,
gently,
let it fall as it will.
Softly, gently
tender, tender.
139. Bend & Rebound
by Heidi Wilson
Bend and rebound, bend and rebound
Gentle strength of the willow is found
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!
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
Song: We Got All The Love
Music by: Helen Yeoman
Notes: So many different things going on in this episode! First, in some ways this is a "greatest hit" of the community song world, so maybe you already know it? Helen Yeoman's confident, sweetly harmonized zipper song speaks to what can build and sustain hopefulness -- this knowledge that, in some way, we are exactly where we need to be. I am delighted to welcome onto the podcast my beloved husband of almost 35 years, Tom. He gives us the benefit of his long vocal chords to reach some low notes that are out of my range! Instead of looping this episode, I went back and edited in the alto and tenor parts -- and, oof, the pressure to perfect it, to sing exactly in tune -- I'm not sure I could ever let it go. But here you have the best I could do this week, with the alto panned left and the tenor panned right, soprano and bass in the middle. If it's a song you already know, I hope this gives you great practice; if it's new to you, welcome (and check out the shownotes for other learning options)! Fill in our sound with your voice!!!
Songwriter Info: Helen is a well-loved choir leader & composer from the UK. her songs are sung all around the world - literally. She is self-taught and calls on every day events as well as global issues for her inspiration. In 2015 she won the esteemed international UK Songwriters Contest in the gospel category. She has four children and lives in Devon, England. Helen runs workshops and holidays in the UK and Europe and is coming to the USA in September 2024.
Sharing Info: When sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Helen for permission and rates.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:35
Start time of reprise: 00:17:09
Links:
All of Helen's music can be found at www.helenyeomans.co.uk
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major with raised 4 & 5, 4-pt 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, or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!