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 Sep 24, 2025
Wednesday Sep 24, 2025
Song: Set It Right Again
Music by: Ana Hernández
Notes: Ana Hernández has been in the music business for quite a while, finding ways to follow the sounds she loves, to express her activist wishes, to ease her anxiety, to remember wise words... and she writes powerful, moving community songs to do all these things! Her book, the Sacred Art of Chant, was a game changer for me when I discovered it in 2019 for the way it named how singing with repetition changed my body. It was a huge honor to be in conversation with her, and then play with harmonies as we sang together (no, I didn't get ALL of them "right"! 😊 But I was having a great time!!!) "Set It Right Again" is a song to take into protests, and Ana advises listening to the speeches to adjust the lyrics to fit... newsletter subscribers will see the flowers and the little black book that get described.
Songwriter Info: Ana Hernández is a composer, recording artist, retreat leader, and activist song leader creating and collecting tunes to build living and just communities through skillful action. A theomusicologist with NYS Poor People’s Campaign, Ana is also the author of The Sacred Art of Chant: Preparing to Practice (Skylight Paths/Turner Publishing).
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in public resistance actions and oral tradition groups. Please contact Ana for recording, streaming, or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:34 and 00:06:39
Start time of reprise: 01:11:55
Links:
Ana's website: https://anahernandez.org
Ana's Patreon: www.patreon.com/anahernandez
Listen on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/in/artist/ana-hernandez/214582777
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0NGPpe3jeQqHFeFArIqYEH
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/anahermusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-p9kisJu1ISLW7w6Wy2lVA
Poor People’s Campaign: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/committee/new-york/
Sojourner Truth: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth
Gandhi’s mantra Om Sri Rama: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramanama
Aham Prema: you are divine love: https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/9462/aham-prema
Raimon Panikkar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raimon_Panikkar
Malka Heifitz Tussman: https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/quotes/quotations/view/33350/spiritual-quotation
Marcia Falk The Book of Blessings: https://www.marciafalk.com/blessings.html
Hold My Hope: https://www.musicthatmakescommunity.org/teach_me_to_be_love
Open My Heart: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vlnE5GMkSsA
Louis Armstrong: https://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/biography/
Miles Davis: Sketches of Spain: https://www.milesdavis.com/albums/sketches-of-spain/
Cantus Firmus in Monteverdi Magnificat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RajAq0Yd-s4
St. Columba: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columba
Ranunculus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranunculus
Alice Parker: “My belief is that a page of music conveys about five percent of the information needed to perform it.” https://giamusic.com/resource/the-anatomy-of-melody-book-g6765
Augsburg Fortress Publishers: https://www.augsburgfortresspublishers.org/
Banquet of Love album: https://anahernandez.org/album/banquet-of-love/
Mame: Ethel Merman play: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mame_(musical)
Sending You Light album: https://anahernandez.org/album/sending-you-light/
Melanie DeMore: https://www.abreathofsong.com/apps/search?q=melanie+demore
Caravan of Empathy: https://ruralmigrantministry.org/save-new-yorks-rural-economy-a-journey-of-empathy-caravan/
Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Tenderland Suite: https://www.aaroncopland.com/works/appalachian-spring/
https://www.aaroncopland.com/works/the-tender-land/
Amina Alaoui from Morocco – Alcantara: https://open.spotify.com/album/1EDReLi3Q3luXIHcUgR0k7
Correction about the Kuan Yin Mantra: Namo Kuan Shi Yin Pusa - We said it was a Hindu mantra and it is actually a Chinese mantra.
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, blues minor, call and response
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Wednesday Sep 17, 2025
Wednesday Sep 17, 2025
Song: May the Way Open Before You
Music by: Ana Hernández
Guest singers: Sadie Jones, AJ Banach, Cameron Brownell, Rebecca Csuy
Notes: Recording this was a complete treat, because I had four friends in the studio with me -- Rebecca Csuy, Cameron Brownell, AJ Banach, and Sadie Jones learned the song and loved it. AJ catches me when I make a note mistake in the harmony, which is fabulous -- friends who have your back! Next week, I have the privilege of talking with Ana and learning about her extensive background and why community singing matters to her... for now, please enjoy this, which she calls "a simple blessing," and her wish for everyone in the world.
Songwriter Info: Ana Hernández is a composer, recording artist, retreat leader, and activist song leader creating and collecting tunes to build living and just communities through skillful action. A theomusicologist with NYS Poor People’s Campaign, Ana is also the author of The Sacred Art of Chant: Preparing to Practice (Skylight Paths/Turner Publishing).
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in public resistance actions and oral tradition groups. Please contact Ana for recording, streaming, or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:29
Start time of reprise: 00:13:05
Links:
Ana's website: https://anahernandez.org
Ana's Patreon: www.patreon.com/anahernandez
Listen on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/in/artist/ana-hernandez/214582777
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0NGPpe3jeQqHFeFArIqYEH
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/anahermusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-p9kisJu1ISLW7w6Wy2lVA
Also look for HARC (with Ruth Cunningham): https://anahernandez.org/album/inside-chants/
The Miserable Offenders: https://anahernandez.org/album/keepin-the-baby-awake-music-for-advent-and-christmas/
Eternal Spirit (w/ Sr. Helena Marie, CHS): https://anahernandez.org/album/eternal-spirit/
Banquet of Love (w/ Ike Sturm and so many friends!): https://anahernandez.org/album/banquet-of-love/
Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, major, 2-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 Sep 03, 2025
Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
Song: Towo Kalona
Music by: Alix Thorpe
Notes: I did something a little different in the way I shared this -- I took time with the proto-Celtic, so you could be comfortable singing in a Bronze-Era language... and then there's the usual looped section, with a harmony above and below -- but then at the reprise, I sing just the melody with piano, and then just the piano so you can sing the melody yourself, and allow me to accompany you. I find this song of Alix Thorpe's beautifully addictive, and there's something about singing in a bone language that feels like healing perspective to me. After you are snagged by the melody and parts on the podcast, buy it from her on Bandcamp, where you can hear the full English lyrics!
Songwriter Info: Alix is a mother, a birth doula and a shiatsu practitioner who lives in Devon in England. She found her voice and began writing songs only a few years ago. Song for Alix is a way of prayer and an expression of soul. She has written several songs in proto-Celtic; a kind of "spirit language" and ancestral mother tongue made of the earliest traceable fragments of the Celtic languages, dating back around 4000 years. Dreaming with proto-Celtic has been a powerful vehicle for kindling connection with her ancestral roots. Alix's songs are particularly inspired by whales, the spirit of the rose, Buddhism and honouring sacred rites of passage.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Alix always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:01
First full singing: 00:10:40
Start time of reprise: 00:20:16
Just piano: 00:21:20
Links:
Alix's Bandcamp: https://alixthorpe.bandcamp.com/track/towo-kalona
Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, melody with 2 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 Aug 27, 2025
Wednesday Aug 27, 2025
The Sunday after this episode is released, August 31st, 2025, 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
1. The crow calls,
the sun falls;
they know the rhythm,
the rhythm of it all.
(2x)
2. We are the only ones
who have forgotten
how to listen,
we’re the only ones
who have forgotten
how to listen.
We are the only ones
who have forgotten
how to listen,
the earth
is calling us to
open up our ears.
3. Put your hands in the dirt,
let’s heal the hurt.
The earth is waiting
for us to do the work,
do the work!
(2x)
22. When the Water Is Glass Calm
by Paul Barton
1. When the water is glass calm,
the stillness cradles life.
2. The sun rises slowly,
pealing through the trees,
bringing colour to the sky.
3. Listen, listen,
to the small sounds
of this new day.
by Barbara McAfee
based on words of Hildegard of Bingen
There is music
in, in all things;
but we can't hear it
until we sing.
by Jennie Pearl
Listen in
Here I am
this is my center
What is mine, What is mine?
We're learning how to reach for each other
may we reach
may we teach
Through the blurred lines,
The pain and confusion,
may we reach
may we teach
by Lea Morris
Just as you are, without changing a thing.
Just as you are, I accept you.
I see you, I hear you, I
welcome you in; just as you are.
Just as you are.
Patricia Norton
text from My Seditious Heart, p.204
by Arundhati Roy
Another world
is not only possible,
she is on her way.
On a quiet day,
I can hear her breathing.
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 Aug 20, 2025
Wednesday Aug 20, 2025
Song: I Walk in Beauty
Words by: traditional Navajo (Diné) blessing
Music by: John Harrison
Notes: John Harrison turned to the teachings of the Diné people, the Navajo, to help him find the awareness of the beauty that exists in our world alongside everything else. As we live in a complex time, beset with multiple crises, wisdom teachings that have survived complex, critical times are a resource. This episode was a challenge for me, as I ended up leaving it in the range that John gave it to me -- one best suited for tenors and sopranos, and requiring a little more opening and exploration for lower voices! I share a technique that helped me find my way, but you are also welcome to just drop it down into the lower part of your voice -- find a way that feels good to sing!
Songwriter Info: John Harrison is a composer, choral director, singer, and voice teacher who has been performing professionally since he was a lad. He sings and teaches in a variety of styles that reflect his eclectic performing background in church music, rock bands, jazz combos, gospel choirs, musical comedy, and a few things that defy description. Currently he directs Rock City!, Vermont’s rock and soul chorus, in Barre VT; Reelin’ & Rockin’, a rock and roll choir for seniors in Montpelier VT; and is the emeritus director of the Montpelier Community Gospel Choir in Montpelier VT. He has taught teenagers and adults in workshops, camps and holidays through Village Harmony, Turtle Dove Harmony, Songways (UK), as well as on his own. He was a K-12 Vermont music educator for 10 years. His compositions have been performed and recorded by many community choirs in the US and the UK. John lives with his wife Scottie in Plainfield, VT.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact John for recording and/or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:55
Start time of reprise: 00:18:21
Links:
John's website: www.johnmarkharrison.com
More about Navajo (Diné) teaching of The Beauty Way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tZHIER3Jb4
Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, minor, round or 3-layer
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 Aug 13, 2025
Wednesday Aug 13, 2025
Song: Don't Give Up
Music by: Becky Reardon
Notes: Thinking about tough times, Becky Reardon says, "The worst thing we can do is go silent." Here's a song to help with that -- a song about both grit and kindness; how a little flex can be the strongest response. She says, “Of all times when we need to get together and sing… this is the time to keep it going.” We talk about her love of the high desert, trees, community... how church and family singing embedded love of harmonies. How Naomi Shihab Nye reminded her, "When times are hard, do something satisfying." Plus a sticky cocklebur song! It's a good conversation to help return you to yourself, your power to bring more decency and compassion into the world.
Songwriter Info: Becky Reardon's voice is familiar to the millions of people who hear her sing on the Charlie Brown/Peanuts TV specials. She is a composer whose songs and rounds are widely sung by community and university choirs, song circles, and singing classes. Sometimes jazzy and fun-loving, sometimes trance-inducing and deeply spiritual, her music always conveys her passion for the natural world and the cycles of life.
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: 00:05:42
The Moon instructional song: 00:42:11
The Sticky Cocklebur: 00:43:19
Start time of reprise: 00:56:19
Links:
Becky's website: www.beckyreardonmusic.com
Alone from “Someday You’ll Find Her, Charlie Brown”: https://youtu.be/5VpmohI_ZZQ?feature=shared
Farther Along from “Why, Charlie Brown, Why”: https://youtu.be/6SY1MNEXHvY?feature=shared
Video of workshop improv singing: https://youtube.com/shorts/i2Z2Ltqy6dA
Rhiannon: https://rhiannonmusic.com/
The Lama Foundation: https://www.lamafoundation.org/
Winter Solstice Song (Deep down in the belly of the night): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbV-DaVxzE8
Becky Graber: https://beckygraber.com/ – and her conversation episode on ABS: https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/165-heaven-above-earth-below-with-guest-becky-graber#/
Sue Coffee: https://www.resonancechorus.org/artistic-director.html
Elise Witt https://elisewitt.com/web/about-elise-witt/
Retreat with Elise and Becky on Ossabaw Island:: https://elisewitt.com/web/calendar/ossabaw-island-retreat-2026/
The Moon instructional song: https://beckyreardonmusic.com/product/where-is-the-moon/
The Sticky Cocklebur: https://beckyreardonmusic.com/product/the-sticky-cocklebur/
Becky’s Bandcamp page - to come!
Ella Fitzgerald: https://www.ellafitzgerald.com/
René Marie: https://renemarie.com/
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, mixolydian, 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 Aug 06, 2025
Wednesday Aug 06, 2025
Song: The Turtle Remembers
Music by: Becky Reardon
Notes: Becky Reardon's songwriting drew me toward community singing when I was still in a choral paradigm -- and this round is a stunning example of combining a haunting melody with words that help me remember the ancient self that moves within. Happily, I didn't sing it alone for this episode -- I'm joined by friends and neighbors, Karen Chickering, Molly Moerdyk, and you may recognize Rebecca Csuy from earlier episodes?! We take our time with the round, leaving space for you to sing a line alone for a bit if you'd like -- or sing with any of us! Next week, in our conversation, Becky talks to me about singing with others and the communities that's built -- and we get a little peek into cartoonist Charles Schultz's life, too -- because people are connected in all kinds of wild ways! (A wee blooper at the end -- what happens when you start a round and no one else comes in?)
Songwriter Info: Becky Reardon's voice is familiar to the millions of people who hear her sing on the Charlie Brown/Peanuts TV specials. She is a composer whose songs and rounds are widely sung by community and university choirs, song circles, and singing classes. Sometimes jazzy and fun-loving, sometimes trance-inducing and deeply spiritual, her music always conveys her passion for the natural world and the cycles of life.
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: 00:03:14
Start time of reprise: 00:15:09
Links:
Becky's website: www.beckyreardonmusic.com
Abbey Lincoln's song Down Here Below: https://youtu.be/S4jvYELMUZc?feature=shared
Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, harmonic minor, 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 Jul 23, 2025
Wednesday Jul 23, 2025
Song: Loosen
Music by: Aly Halpert
Notes: Written in 2017, this song by Aly Halpert catapulted its way around songleader circles, shared friend to friend, sung in cars and buses, after dinners, on walks, between dances, around fires, beside rivers and on beaches. I learned it in 2019, and it has accompanied me since through the pandemic, an intense year of many deep losses, over to Europe twice, in groups, with single friends, and alone. Some songs are like sunscreen in summer, a warm coat for winter. You may already know this one; please enjoy singing it with me. It may be new to you -- may it spread wider, carrying its healing, kind reminder to loosen.
Songwriter Info: Aly Halpert (she/her) is a queer Jewish musician, educator, and activist living on Lenni Lenape land in Philadelphia, PA, USA. A singer, pianist, drummer, and guitar player, Aly writes songs for building community and visioning different worlds. Aly leads music and prayer for Jewish community, including Let My People Sing, Kol Tzedek Synagogue, Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, and Hadar's Rising Song Institute. Her songs have been sung in national gatherings, song circles, and quiet moments of personal prayer, and have moved people all over the world. Her first full-band album Loosen was released in April 2022 with Rising Song Records. Aly believes deeply in the power of music to awaken us to the loss and hope we carry, expand our sense of possibility, and connect us to each other and our collective strength.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups. Aly welcomes financial and/or networking support, she would like to be contacted re: recording/performing permissions, and she appreciates donations when used by organizations with means.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:12
Start time of reprise: 00:16:10
Links:
Aly's website: https://www.alyhalpert.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/alyhalpertmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alhalpal
Loosen with Aly on Bandcamp (great opportunity to support her directly!): https://alyhalpert.bandcamp.com/album/loosen
Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, minor, 2 layers, optional harmony, optional round
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 Jul 16, 2025
Wednesday Jul 16, 2025
The Sunday after this episode is released, July 20th, 2025, 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 Heidi Wilson
(sung by Heidi Wilson)
Holy
Fire in the sun
Water in the river, and
Wind within my lungs
Oh holy
Earth beneath my feet
All of us are offerings
and also at the feast
Words: J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings)
Music: Joshua Blaine
May the wind, may the wind,
may the wind under your wings
Bear you where, bear you where
the sun sails and the moon walks.
Not all who wander are lost.
By Chandler Yorkhall
(sung by Patricia & Rebecca Csuy)
Full Moon outside my window
this warm September night
Pulls me into wakefulness
far too early.
I’d rather be sleeping
the day is already too long for me
I’ll just wait for dawn.
By Judi Vinar
Every little wish
that I wish for me,
is a wish
for we.
Sunshine,
then some rain.
Sunshine,
and then some rain.
Moonlight and starlight (3x)
By Jane Lewis
Let me sing as the sun rises
Let me sing as the day falls
Let me offer this prayer to the moonlight
Let me stand in the beauty of it all
(Let me sing to the beauty)
By Patricia Norton
May you know
the love that surrounds you
is as warm
as summer sun on sand;
and until
the time that we meet again,
may love hold you
in the palm of her hand.
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 Jul 09, 2025
Wednesday Jul 09, 2025
Song: I Am Blessed
Music by: Desirée Dawson
Notes: Ok, so there's a bit of mess in this episode -- the reprise happens twice, because I couldn't get my Loopy app to turn off when I wanted it to -- but we just get to sing it again, so it turns into a good thing! Desirée's song really helps me remember how blessed I am, with my mess, my stress -- the way it all opens my heart, like a treasure chest. Great body percussion part for all you rhythm-hungry folk, plus oohs for the Supremes fans. I take some time picking it apart so you can find some of the intricacies...
Songwriter Info: As a recording artist, songwriter, producer, facilitator, and yoga teacher, Desirée is driven by a passion for collective liberation. She is a two time SXSW music video winner and was nominated for a Juno Award for best adult contemporary album of the year in 2022. She has had multiple viral moments on TikTok and Instagram with her most popular video being for her song I Am Blessed. With her powerful voice as her main instrument, Desirée often accompanies it with her baritone ukulele, body percussion and other musicians. She has a passion for harmonizing and singing with others. She blends folk, soul, pop, Americana, and old-time country influences into her creations, though she often labels her music as 'singer-songwriter' for simplicity.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Desirée for recording and/or performing permission. Desirée says, "Donations are encouraged and welcome but I do not want money to be a barrier for people to share and learn the song."
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:31
Start time of reprise: 00:21:53
Links:
Desirée's website: www.desireedawsonmusic.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/desireedawsonmusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/desireedawsonofficial
Desirée singing I Am Blessed on Bandcamp: https://desiree-dawson.bandcamp.com/track/i-am-blessed-loop
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, melody, harmony, 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 Jul 02, 2025
Wednesday Jul 02, 2025
Song: Get Up
Music by: Barbara McAfee
Additional vocals by: Lia Falls
Notes: Barbara McAfee describes herself as "A nice Minnesota girl -- I like things that work!" -- and in her framework of the Full Voice, she has shaped the teachings of skilled choir leaders and the Roy Hart vocal work, as well as her own discovery of her voice into just that -- a framework that works! She says, “I’ve never believed more in the need for people to find their own voice…” and observes the deep courage of people coming to community sings for the first time after vocal wounding. The work of Angeles Arrien inspired Barbara in her own journey, and this song pulls in the grittiness and determination needed to keep waking up. Barbara adds a surprise bonus song in the middle of the episode -- "May It Go Easy As You Go" -- as we talk about singing as a way of saying what's hard to say. So much more in this conversation -- "twisting on a meathook", scheduling "workity-work" things, doing laundry before listening to the muse -- enjoy Barbara's Full Voice, and let it help you find yours!
Songwriter Info: Barbara lives on the wild and scenic St Croix River about an hour from Minneapolis/St Paul. She is a master voice coach, songwriter, song leader, hospice choir director, long distance swimmer, poet, and author of Full Voice. She feels so lucky to be alive on planet Earth.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Barbara for recording and/or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:05:43
Start time of bonus song: 00:47:50
Start time of reprise: 01:03:55
Links:
Barbara's website: www.barbaramcafee.com
Barbara's community singing page: https://www.barbaramcafee.com/community-singing.html
Barbara's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/barbaramcafee
Barbara's first TEDx talk about Full Voice: https://youtu.be/Ze763kgrWGg?si=hueWlQGYCqtDrarr
Song: "May You Go Easy" https://soundcloud.com/barbara-mcafee/may-you-go-easy-for-tom
Lia Falls: https://soundcloud.com/user-860092984
Diana Ross: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Ross
Full Voice: https://books.google.com/books?id=pETKks1jdKUC
Saule Ryan/Roy Hart Centre: https://roy-hart-theatre.com/teachers/saule-ryan/
Rhiannon: https://rhiannonmusic.com/
Daniel Nelson: https://www.facebook.com/singingfortheearth/
Jenna Lindbo: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/jenna-lindbo/395790602
The story of Inanna: https://tamedwild.com/a/blog/storytime-inanna-descent-into-the-underworld
Te Martin: https://soundcloud.com/temartinmusic
Lyndsey Scott: https://www.lyndseyscott.earth/
Sarina Partridge: https://sarinapartridge.com/
Heidi Wilson: https://heidiannwilson.com/
Laurence Cole: https://www.laurencecole.com/
Melanie DeMore: https://melaniedemore.com/
Joni Mitchell’s Blue album: https://open.spotify.com/album/1vz94WpXDVYIEGja8cjFNa
Jon Batiste: https://www.jonbatiste.com/
Jacob Collier: https://www.jacobcollier.com/
Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, 4.5 layers
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Wednesday Jun 25, 2025
Wednesday Jun 25, 2025
Song: Hildegard's Song
Music by: Barbara McAfee
Notes: Sometimes a great groove and simple harmonies is exactly what you need to explore over -- and this song is a beautiful way to listen to your own singing voice playing. Barbara McAfee joins us next week to talk about her journey toward becoming a voice mentor to many folk, developing the Full Voice program, and what that means to her. We were both reeling a bit in the wake of the apparently politically motivated shootings in Minnesota, close to Barbara, shortly before we recorded. Reflecting on the effect of listening to our own voices helped us both stabilize and ground.
Songwriter Info: Barbara lives on the wild and scenic St Croix River about an hour from Minneapolis/St Paul. She is a master voice coach, songwriter, song leader, hospice choir director, long distance swimmer, poet, and author of Full Voice. She feels so lucky to be alive on planet Earth.
Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Barbara for recording and/or performing permission.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:58
Start time of reprise: 00:10:14
Links:
Barbara's website: www.barbaramcafee.com
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, mixolydian, 3-layer
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Wednesday Jun 11, 2025
Wednesday Jun 11, 2025
The Sunday after this episode is released, June 15th, 2025, 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 Yuri Woodstock
In the spring, among the flowers
Bird song rings in the morning hours
Sun is up and the day is bright
What a time to unleash your light!
153. Blessings Whenever You Breathe
By Melanie DeMore
Blessings whenever you breathe
Blessings whenever you breathe
Blessings whenever you breathe
Blessings all around
Bless your heart
Your tender, tender heart
Bless your heart
Blessings whenever you breathe
138. My Thoughts Make A Difference
By Chandler Yorkhall
My thoughts make a difference
My feelings make a difference
My words make a difference
My healing makes a difference
I will not shy away from the struggle in my soul
I will waste no time, for this day is growing old
What can I do for this broken world?
By Ishka Shir
I am here on this planet, living my life,
doing what I do, feeling grateful.
I am here, this is life, I'm grateful. (2x)
By Te Martin
I let go
I lay down
I release
Return again
By Patricia Norton
Lullaby my sweetness, rock me forever;
cradle me deep in an ocean of blue.
Lullaby my sweetness, hold me so gentle;
this is the song that I sing for you.
White birds winging above me,
calling wild and calling free.
White thoughts, wheeling away now;
loose and alight and afloat on the sea.
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Wednesday Jun 04, 2025
Wednesday Jun 04, 2025
Song: Freedom Over Fear
Music by: Tembre de Carteret
Notes: Which freedoms do we get to choose? What are the places or times in your life when certain freedoms were not available? Have you ever lost freedoms because of violence or threat? Sometimes it's hard to release fears that may have helped protect us in the past -- and sometimes the feeling of letting go of fear is like standing on an ocean cliff, proclaiming again and again, "I choose freedom over fear!"
Songwriter Info: Tembre de Carteret lives in County Clare, Ireland, and has led a beautiful online singing circle called "We May Sing" since 2020. You can learn more about her and the way in which she facilitates, mentors, and builds song communities at her website, www.tembresong.com
Sharing Info: Tembre says: "This song is free to share with your circle of loved ones and singing group. I just ask you credit me and I whole heartedly welcome any recording/video you do of the song with your group, please send to me."
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:45
Start time of reprise: 00:16:35
Links:
Tembre's website: http://www.tembresong.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tembre.decarteret
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tembredecarteret/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5NOOeWM2w3Og68acT2zPei
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbhgwiqOGcvICIjSsJq6iJg
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3-layer
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Wednesday May 28, 2025
Wednesday May 28, 2025
Song: Another World
Music by: Patricia Norton
Lyrics by: Arundhati Roy
Notes: Hearing these words in 2020 for the first time felt like a gift of possibility. I love the deeper listening they invite. It took five years before they found a melody in my head -- and the reminder of the quote in its entirety, which is, "Another world is not only possible, she's on her way. Maybe many of us won't be here to greet her, but on a quiet day, if I listen very carefully, I can hear her breathing." Listening. That's the invitation of this melody, which stacks up into an complicated chord when sung as a round.
Songwriter Info: You can find out more about me in general here: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/about-patricia.html
Or the whole team that puts this podcast out here: https://www.abreathofsong.com/about.html
Sharing Info: Please share freely, and consider contributing to the A Breath of Song gratitude jar in reciprocity -- or write a review, leave a comment!
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:25
Start time of reprise: 00:14:00
Links:
Flow Singing: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/flow-singing.html
All of what I'm up to: https://www.juneberrymusic.com
Kindred Voices Retreat: https://kindredvoicesretreat.com
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, round
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Wednesday May 21, 2025
Wednesday May 21, 2025
Song: In the Spring
Music by: Yuri Woodstock
Notes: Yuri Woodstock describes himself as the "bossy pirate in the middle of the room" when songleading, and tells a supernatural story of his phone bringing him song advice. He also describes why he thinks his song gatherings have grown so large, why he's now living in a "housey-house" (and what he did before), how literally letting his hair down helped him "tease out the subtle mystery" of what makes him feel most like himself. Fortunately for us, that includes songleading and writing this joyous spring round. You'll learn it with me (and hopefully not mess it up with me when I go a bit wonkers at one point!) We talk about the importance of noticing when you're okay, not giving "the stank-eye" to people who miss notes, and how his brother, Jonah, helps kickstart his songs.
Songwriter Info: Yuri Woodstock is a community song leader based in Asheville, NC, who has run the now 180-member Hark! Community Choir for the past seven years. It is a non-performing, non-auditioned group that sings for joy and connection. He specializes in quick teaches of layer songs and SATB bangers that are easy to learn and fun to sing. Often Hark! feels like a singing dance party.
Sharing Info: Fully free, no donation requested
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:04:44
Start time of reprise: 01:02:21
Links:
Yuri's website: https://www.weringlikebells.com/
Yuri's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weringlikebells/
Village Fire: http://www.villagefiresinging.org/
Jonah Woodstock: https://www.woodstockbookstock.com/
Community Choir Leadership Training – CCLT: https://www.communitychoirleadership.com/
Tebe Poem: https://www.omniglot.com/songs/bcc/tebepoem.htm
The Wild Ashville Community chorus with Susannah Park: https://www.wildashevillecommunitychorus.com/about-1
Laurence Cole: Let Things Ripen and Then Fall: https://www.laurencecole.com/album/let-things-ripen/
Shireen Amini: The Sun Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vLa23Lfe5w
Bex Lipps: Take Your Medicine: https://music.apple.com/au/album/take-your-medicine-single/1729594936
Karly Loveling: I’ve Got a Fire: https://karlyloveling.bandcamp.com/track/ive-got-a-fire-2
Alexa Sunshine Rose: Pool of Love: https://alexasunshinerose.bandcamp.com/track/pool-of-love
Kira Seto: https://www.instagram.com/kira.is.singing/
Heather Houston: https://www.instagram.com/heatherhoustonmusic/
“We contain multitudes.” - Walt Whitman: https://poets.org/poem/song-myself-51
“Shrinking”: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15677150/
Laurence Cole: “Notice where you are” from "Attention is the Healer": https://www.laurencecole.com/album/attention-is-the-healer/
The Strokes: "Is This It": https://music.apple.com/us/album/is-this-it/266376953
Double syrinx birds – veery or hermit thrush: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hermit_Thrush/sounds
The Bowerbirds: “Tuck the Darkness In”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeFTPj8zljQ
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, round
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Wednesday May 14, 2025
Wednesday May 14, 2025
Song: Hearth
Music by: Yuri Woodstock
Notes: Yuri Woodstock knows how to start and tend fires -- and this song sings the magic of smoke and spark. He's managed to make it feel dark and joyous, with a sinuous, smoky sound to remember the mystery, the dream of being alive. Next week is a conversation where Yuri brings his high energy take on community singing and how he found his way into the world through a combination of friends and mentors and skills so deeply embedded it's hard to remember how he got them. By the end I was wishing I could visit his song groups -- I may have to plan a road trip!
Songwriter Info: Yuri Woodstock is a community song leader based in Asheville, NC, who has run the now 180-member Hark! Community Choir for the past seven years. It is a non-performing, non-auditioned group that sings for joy and connection. He specializes in quick teaches of layer songs and SATB bangers that are easy to learn and fun to sing. Often Hark! feels like a singing dance party.
Sharing Info: Free to share!
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:53
Start time of reprise: 00:13:08
Links:
Yuri's website: https://www.weringlikebells.com/
Yuri's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weringlikebells/
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, 3-layer, one layer harmonized
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Wednesday Apr 30, 2025
Wednesday Apr 30, 2025
The Sunday after this episode is released, May 4th, 2025, 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 Batya Levine
Breathe, breathe, breathe in
Breathe, breathe out
Let it go, let it go, let it go
Let it go, let it go
Trust in what's coming
Trust in your knowing
It's deeper and wider and holy
Words & Music by Sarina Partridge
Part 1:
I'm gonna dive deep, a little deeper
Into the grit and the mud and the muck
that I don't wanna see
'Cause I think there's a seed,
there's a teacher
There's a pearl in the dark shining!
Part 2:
I will lean into this darkness, this darkness
A seed is shining,
there's a pearl in the dark shining!
Part 3:
Ooooh, shining like a pearl
Ooooh, new leaves unfurl
Ooooh, a new way is possible -
there's a pearl in the dark shining!
Words & Music by Eli Marienthal
Open the ocean wide in us,
open the ocean wide.
Take all the pain inside of us,
take all the pain inside.
Open the ocean wide in us, oh,
open the ocean wide.
Take all the pain inside of us,
take all the pain inside.
Words & Music by Neal Jolly
The beat of the heart in the chest,
The pulsing of blood in the hands,
The in and the out of the breath,
The here, the now, the you.
Words & Music by Elise Witt
When you're feeling dry, there's water in the well. (4x)
No rain from the sky, just a tear in your eye,
all alone, far from home, you roam.
Feeling tired, uninspired, like you're drifting away
from your heart and the part you play.
Words & Music by Sara Stutz
All you need is a quiet moment.
All you need is a quiet moment.
All you need is a quiet moment,
go inside. Go inside.
Breathe deep, breathe deep.
Breathe deep, everything's alright.
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Wednesday Apr 23, 2025
Wednesday Apr 23, 2025
Song: Where Am I Going To?
Music by: Patricia Norton
Notes: I heard adrienne maree brown describe humans as "bags of water" -- humans on average are around 60% water.... like a delta, or the land around a pond or river with its banks, or a bathtub and its water pipes -- we are a way of shaping water -- we are, literally, a flow. This song was born in motion, the kind of walking where the rhythm of your steps and breath becomes the soundscape, and you can release everything else, dropping into the flow.
Songwriter Info: Patricia loves to walk fast from one spring wildflower to the next -- averages out to a stroll!
Sharing Info: Please share freely, and let people know about A Breath of Song when you do.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:03:19
Start time of reprise: 00:11:40
Links:
Flow Singing: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/flow-singing.html
All of what I'm up to: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/
Kindred Voices Retreat: https://kindredvoicesretreat.com
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, round or 3 layers
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Wednesday Apr 16, 2025
Wednesday Apr 16, 2025
Song: The Riddle Song
Music by: traditional
Notes: I find myself feeling like we live in a bit of a riddle right now -- how can this impossible thing be so, and what will resolve it? I literally learned this song at my mother's knee... it's one of the earliest I remember singing, and I was so delighted by the riddle form! As a young teen, it was one of the first songs I learned on guitar. I sang it to kids I babysat in college, where I learned about the Child Ballads and Cecil Sharp's collecting in southern Appalachia. I sang it with my children, with our granddaughter -- and now I get to sing it with you! There's a through-line for a song.... what songs have travelled with you your whole life?
Songwriter Info: Patricia was born in Boulder, CO, and is grateful to the burgeoning folk music scene that encouraged family music, which is how she learned this song.
Song Learning Time Stamps:
Start time of teaching: 00:02:20
Start time of reprise: 00:12:08
Links:
An intriguing discussion board about trad music: https://mudcat.org/
An introduction to Child Ballads: https://folkways.si.edu/playlist/child-ballads
Text of Child Ballad #46 (which The Riddle Song is believed to have come from): https://sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch046.htm
The Cecil Sharp collection of The Riddle Song: https://archives.vwml.org/records/CJS2/9/2688
Doc Watson's recording: https://youtu.be/fRO6egtKipg?feature=shared
Carly Simon's recording: https://youtu.be/4O_Lu_khQDM?feature=shared
Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, strophic (3 verses)
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