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
Wednesday Jul 14, 2021
Wednesday Jul 14, 2021
Notes "Be Open" was a favorite Pocket Song in the summer of 2020 -- none of us knew what was coming, and being open to the possibility of something wonderful happening seemed both counter-intuitive in the middle of the pandemic, and surprisingly comforting and hopeful. And indeed, wonderful things happened in addition to hard and perplexing things.
Debbie said she wrote this song to help a couple people in her life that were going through difficult times. She says it is a great song to help manifest a dream into being -- you can think of something you want to come into your life and sing that into being, to embody it as you sing and to really see it happening, to call it in for yourself.
Songwriter info Debbie Nargi-Brown started singing and dancing on the day she was born! A gifted community song leader, an award-winning dance teacher, and a talented songwriter, she offers her songs with love, compassion, and the hope of bringing joy and healing to others. Debbie’s lyrics and melodies are sung all over the world. She writes songs for the heart, healing, transformation, love, grief, and all that connects us as human beings. Bringing people together in dance and song is one of her greatest joys in life!
You can connect with Debbie and her work at debbienargi-brown.com
Support Debbie directly by buying "Be Open" on Debbie's Bandcamp: debbienargi-brown.bandcamp.com/album/grief-joy
Find lyrics, Patty Piotrowski's art, and more at abreathofsong.com
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:09
Start time of reprise: 00:10:00
Nuts and Bolts 2 harmonized sections which can be sung as a round or layered, in 2:2, Ionian (major) mode.
Visit abreathofsong.com for lyrics, more of Patty's artwork, and a way to nominate songs or songwriters for the podcast.
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 Jul 07, 2021
Wednesday Jul 07, 2021
Maggie Wheeler talks about the bravery of this last year, how campfires affected her songleading, and how singing becomes a forgiveness practice. But first and last, she shares a song of hers, Find Our Way Home, which rose out of the pandemic, and will be included on a new project she has just started working on. (I go maybe a LITTLE fan-girl-squeaky, but, hey, my first interview, and someone I deeply admire -- I think I can be forgiven!)
Learn more about Maggie's extensive work, and sign up for her emails (I'm definitely on the list!) so you can keep up with what's coming up at goldenbridgechoir.com
I mention a Peter Occhiogrosso interview with Maggie, in which she eloquently describes the many benefits of singing, among other things...
Maggie mentions a few artists -- if you have a local music store, of course get them there -- but here are some links, as well:
Sweet Honey in the Rock Live at Carnegie Hall
Singer-songwriter Aimée Ringle -- Human and Tender
The South African acapella group The Soil
For lyrics and more episodes, check out abreathofsong.com.
Extra special thanks to Patty Piotrowski, who provides beautiful art for each episode; I particularly love the sea otters in this one!
Nuts and Bolts This layered and harmonized song is in 3:4, Ionian mode (major)
Visit abreathofsong.com for lyrics, more of Patty's artwork, and a way to nominate songs or songwriters for the podcast.
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 Jun 30, 2021
Wednesday Jun 30, 2021
Let's highlight a song by next episode's guest artist Maggie Wheeler. Maggie said she wrote this on her birthday on a gray day by the beach in 2019. She told her husband and daughters to just hang on, because a song was coming through… I thought, ah, she treats her creative urges with honor. Both my cat and dog contribute to this particular recording, but although the purring and dream yips seemed really loud as I was recording, they're quite faint in the final product.... I decided to just let them blow through.
Maggie Wheeler is best known in the U.S and internationally for her 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. She has been teaching her vocal workshop "Singing In The Stream" for over 30 years at retreat centers, universities, communities and schools to provide the experience of creating interpersonal harmony and internal harmony through the powerful act of creating vocal harmony.
Maggie directs the 100-voice Golden Bridge Community Choir in Hollywood, an inter-generational, non-auditioned choir now going in its 16th year.
She is a prolific songwriter with a catalog of powerful and timely songs that have been sung by choirs worldwide. Maggie’s original music for choirs and communities is available on iTunes and other music platforms. To accompany her most recent CD entitled 'Walk With Me’, Maggie has created a songbook available by request through her website www.goldenbridgechoir.com Throughout this year of change Maggie hosted a weekly online community gathering called Together In Song, bringing together people from around the world to join in the healing power of singing.
To learn more about Maggie’s work please visit: www.goldenbridgechoir.com and maggiewheeler.net
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:01:51
Start time of reprise: 00:12:42
Nuts & Bolts This layer song is a slow 4:4, Aeolian mode (natural minor)
Visit abreathofsong.com for lyrics, more of Patty's artwork, and a way to nominate songs or songwriters for the podcast.
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!
Friday Jun 25, 2021
Friday Jun 25, 2021
Notes You'll hear me playing with different patterns and rhythms under this song... some of which work well right off, and some of which are more... umm... experimental! But we're all about exploring and growing and changing here -- and one of the downfalls of the highly polished recordings we are immersed in is that we forget that in real life, as we sing by ourselves or with each other, some of our experiments sound great, and some turn out to not be ones we want to continue -- heaven knows where we are going! But we'll get there...
Sol Amarifio, composer, was the Ghanian drummer of the band Osibisa.
Nuts and Bolts It’s harmonized, in 6:8, Ionian mode (major)
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:10
Start time of reprise: 00:16:18
Visit abreathofsong.com for lyrics, more of Patty's artwork, and a way to nominate songs or songwriters for the podcast.
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!
Thursday Jun 24, 2021
Thursday Jun 24, 2021
This is a grounding song that's popular in the community singing movement, and after this episode was released, I learned it is by Molly Hartwell. As a white, European American cis female in my 50s, raised to value formal education, let me tell you, my brain is littered with words like, evaluate, compare, weigh, measure, process, careful…. For me, it can be a real challenge to get out of my head and into my body! But, oh the difference when I do… the connection, the power, the sense of being enough. I love the way this song reminds me of the soles of my feet and to sense the blood rushing through my body. Trillions of cells working together so I move and breathe… and I can just watch and feel all that with amazement.
And here's an update in September 2021: Molly Hartwell shared her own original version in Heather Houston's song library (which is a magical internet spot to learn fabulous songs!). Molly also generously gave permission for songleaders to continue sharing the song however it came to them, since the song took on a life of its own after she created it!
Links:
Here's the Thrive Choir singing it;
I learned it in person from Lisa Littlebird, a vital, generous songleader whose course, Flight School, helped me expand my musical world in 2019.
And here's an update in September 2021: Molly Hartwell shared her own original version in Heather Houston's song library (which is a magical internet spot to learn fabulous songs!).
Molly also generously gave permission for songleaders to continue sharing the song however it came to them, since the song took on a life of its own after she created it!
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:35
Start time of reprise: 00:13:04
Nuts and Bolts: It’s harmonized, in 4:4, Aeolian & Dorian modes (minor with shifting harmonies....)
Visit abreathofsong.com for lyrics, more of Patty's artwork, and a way to nominate songs or songwriters for the podcast.
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 Jun 23, 2021
Wednesday Jun 23, 2021
Here's a song I wrote that was inspired by the ujjayi breath practice for calming and strengthening that creates an ocean-like sound. For lyrics, links, and more episodes, check out abreathofsong.com.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:01:07
Start time of reprise: 00:11:31
Nuts and Bolts It’s a round in 3:4, Aeolian mode.
Visit abreathofsong.com for lyrics, more of Patty's artwork, and a way to nominate songs or songwriters for the podcast.
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!
Saturday Jun 12, 2021
Saturday Jun 12, 2021
What does it mean to sing for wellness? How can this podcast support you as you heal, adapt, and grow? The answers to these questions, and more, in this introductory episode with Patricia Norton, who will be sharing songs with you.
Visit abreathofsong.com for lyrics, more of Patty's artwork, and a way to nominate songs or songwriters for the podcast.
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!