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Patricia Norton

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A Breath of SongA Breath of Song197. Ribbon 10: Sun and MoonThe 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.   140. The Feast By Heidi Wilson (sung by Heidi Wilson)   Holy Fire in the sun Water i...2025-07-1618 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song193. Ribbon 9: A DayThe 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.   190. In the Spring By Yuri Woodstock   In the spring, among the flowers Bird song rings in the morning hours2025-06-1121 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song191. Another WorldSong: 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 br...2025-05-2816 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song187. Where Am I Going To?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 t...2025-04-2314 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song186. The Riddle SongSong: 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 a...2025-04-1614 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song185. Vocal Improv with guest David RuffinSong: vocal improvisation Improvised by: David Ruffin and Patricia Norton Notes: It's a first for A Breath of Song! An episode of improvisation -- David Ruffin is our guest, talking about the multiple benefits of the practice of improvisation, his teachers, leading menfolk in song circles, the particular challenges of having a big, beautiful voice, how singing together might build soil in these times... and more! We hope you join us in exploring the voice, and that our questions raise questions for you, too... Songwriter Info: David is a performing artist, community song leader...2025-04-091h 15A Breath of SongA Breath of Song181. Extraordinary Magic with singer Rebecca CsuySong: Extraordinary Magic Music by: Judy Tse Notes: Judy describes the act of witnessing beautifully -- and this song is one that feels so good to have echoing in my head as I practice holding space for other people... really being present and seeing them fully. That seems to get harder and harder as people get older and make choices we disagree with or are harmful. But wishing them well, looking for the extraordinary magic that is in them, even while being clear-sighted about behaviors -- while not always easy, it feels like a way of...2025-03-0516 minWomen\'s Spaces Radio ShowWomen's Spaces Radio ShowJanuary 20, 2025: Rev. Dr. Patricia Keel on the Healing Guidance of Western and Eastern MetaphysicsCo-producer Ken Norton serves as host, standing infor Elaine B. Holtz who is recovering from a fall on January 1.  The show features our guest Rev. Dr. Patricia Keel in discussion on the Healing Guidance of Western and Eastern Metaphysics, with Elaine’s healing Journey weaved in. Check out this show’s archive page for the bio of the guest, reports on each segment of the show, announcements, linksreferenced, this week in Herstory, and the playlist.https://www.womensspaces.com/ArchiveWSA25/WSA250120.html 2025-02-1256 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song168. The NetSong: 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 c...2024-11-1323 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song157. Ribbon 2: FlexThe 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...2024-08-1420 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song156. We Got All The Love with singer Tom NortonSong: 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...2024-08-0718 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song148. Oh the RainSong: Oh the Rain Music by: Patricia Norton ​Notes: Seems like being able to let things fall is my skill-du-jour. Rain, my feelings, other people's experiences... letting it come down and softening around it. I wrote this song during a week of incessant winter rain... and sang it here during a week of hard things to feel. Both times, it helped me be where I am. Songs that help navigate life. Yup. This is how we do it.... Songwriter Info: This whole singing thing is just bringing me so much joy and growth and comfor...2024-05-2917 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song137. Kick Up Your HeelsNotes: You know how sometimes happiness just bubbles up inside you and it feels like the world is unbelievably sweet? And then maybe, you get a little voice that says, "If you notice it, it's gonna disappear!" Or, "Don't be too happy, it attracts bad luck!" Or any other little fear message that says it's not okay to be purely happy for a moment? This song was my way of letting that go, dancing crazy around my living room and kitchen, lifting my hands high, high and releasing into the glow! On February 24th, 2024, A Breath of Song reached 51.5k...2024-02-2814 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song114. All Motion Is LoveNotes: After singing this song, I keep questioning myself, "What if this is true???" If all motion is love, Patricia, what does that look like, right now? If I follow love, what does that even mean? Do I know what love looks like? I'm so often in unthinking motion — what happens when that motion becomes love? Pam Blevins Hinkle is not messing around here! In the next episode, we get to talk, and hear about how she got backed into community singing through a health crisis. The changes it has precipitated. What swung into motion, and how that's leading her...2023-08-2314 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song113. Borrow Trouble with singer Seth NortonNotes: Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with the thought of death, I think I'm going to precipitate it by forgetting to breathe! And then somehow, something will help me back into the present, alive moment... and this song appeared just after one of those moments. I was absolutely delighted to record it with my son, Seth, who was visiting from Boston (you'll hear a little fangirl excitement in my voice)... and also surprised by how different it was for me to sing it with someone else rather than just my own voice on the looper! This voice music thing... i...2023-08-0917 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song103. ReturnNotes: A breakthrough in mindfulness practice for me was realizing that it's not about spending hours in blissed-out presence... it's about noticing that I'm not present and coming back, returning, again and again. I started to sing this when my mind was doing a particularly good imitation of a squirrel on amphetamines, and I needed to strengthen my ability to return! I particularly like that this song can be sung very simply, as a call & response, or have added layers of complexity -- I'm loving a bit of adaptability in my life right now. ​Songwriter Info: In addi...2023-05-1717 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song80. Go Dark with guest Kate ThomasNotes: You get to hear Kate Thomas and I in deep conversation -- complete with creaky chair, and me messing up as Kate teaches me her beautiful song, Go Dark. Do you ever have the experience of being solid on a part, as long as the leader is singing it, but then when they leave to teach another part, you lose it? You'll hear me doing just that! :) We talk about building a bank of nourishing words for hard times -- and Kate shares a story about something that shook her certainty and ease with life, and how that...2022-12-0759 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song79. Be YourselfNotes: "Be Yourself" was written for 'Body of Sound', a women's group that Kate Thomas leads, for a residential at Laurieston Hall in Scotland which has a lovely open fire. Can you imagine joining with friends around a fire and singing this to each other? And sometimes, I swear, I find myself singing it to just myself (or my many selves???), welcoming all of them around the fire -- the part of me that's anxious, the part that's grouchy, the part that is confident, the part that's flamboyant -- shall I go on? I definitely have enough for a...2022-11-3018 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song78. Thank YouNotes: Barbara says about the song: "I wrote it while driving up to Lake Superior to share Thanksgiving with friends. Some of it was composed while standing in the Brule River in a light rain. Ecstasy...." Here we are, getting close to Thanksgiving in the United States -- a reminder of the great harm humans can do to each other through greed, ignorance, and fear -- and also a reminder of the ecstasy of gratitude. Talk about an example of "both-and". I'm fortunate in that this holiday brings my husband's family all together in one place for many days... and...2022-11-2312 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song77. Winter SongNotes: I'd like to highlight the custom art created for each episode by Patty Piotrowski. If you're following this on a podcast app that shows only the A Breath of Song logo, and not the artwork, then please go here to feast your eyes! Patty sang in a chorus with me for several years before the pandemic and included me in the friends with whom she shared an Advent calendar of one painting a day via email -- and I loved the experience of opening my email to see something beautiful. During the pandemic, she sang Pocket Songs with me...2022-11-1617 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song76. I Am ListeningNotes: After being sick for several weeks, I was lying in bed and trying to come to terms with the fact that I still felt crummy. I was trying to listen to my body, and this is the song that came into my head. The melody is pretty closely related to a Happy Birthday song which I learned from Liz Rog, but I don't know the origin of the song, and neither did Liz at that point. If anybody happens to know it, I'd love to learn! The song can be sung just as the first part, in which...2022-11-0915 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song75. Easy Does It with guest Heather HoustonNotes: Heather says, “I love so easily," and “What’s next? And I just open up…” and “Silence is a part of the singing.” Trust me, this is a person you'd like to get to know a little better -- how can we all access that kind of love and openness? In our conversation, Heather and I dig into how she actually works with singers privately and in groups, finding the heart voice, ways back in when you've dropped your chanting/meditation practice, why to love humming... and more, including, of course, her favorite soup! Heather shares this beautiful song which warms u...2022-11-021h 19A Breath of SongA Breath of Song74. Equinox Blessing (Shadows & Light)Notes: This is song is a taste of Heather Houston's creative, connecting powers -- Episode #75 will feature an intimate conversation with Heather. After she shares another of her songs, we'll delve into why song matters, why voices matter... and a really good soup! Meanwhile, I love this song for noticing the balance of shadow and light -- to me, it's a beautiful song to sing on cusps, like dawn or dusk. Recently, as I've been healing from tick-borne illness, I've hummed it to myself as I watch the shadows and light cross my bedroom wall, encouraging my body to...2022-10-2615 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song73. Love Flows InNotes: I love that after I sing this a few times, I begin to feel more fluid inside -- as though everything under my skin is softening into a tidal pulse of flow. It's a beautiful song to sing over any drone... the words "the mind", or the "in" from "flows in" should land on the drone note -- a way of subverting any annoying repeated note into becoming accompaniment for your singing. This podcast isn't about me producing a polished recording -- it's about you singing, you playing, and you having a new song that you can invite...2022-10-1916 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song72. Unknown (Finding Home)Notes: This song, about settling into the unknown and experiencing that as home, is one that has been singing in my head throughout this last year of transition for me. The delight of letting my voice slide helps me physically experience the release, and the complex harmonies keep my sense of focus and unsettledness... as though I'm practicing finding that home in the middle of the unknown. I think this is a great song for becoming very aware of how your voice feels in your body as you sing, because you'll get used to the words fairly quickly...2022-10-1214 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song71. Lullaby My SweetnessNotes: I am thrilled to announce a 3-generations podcast!!! Our daughter, Rebecca Csuy (pronounced, "Soo-ee"), was kind enough to join me to record this lullaby I started singing to myself a few months ago.... and then Rebecca managed to catch Claire, their almost 3-year-old daughter, singing it to herself the next day! (If you want to skip ahead to that, it's at the very, very end of the podcast, as a bonus, and of course, I would completely understand!) Do you ever sing with someone who makes you feel better about your own voice just by the way they...2022-10-0518 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song70. As I Relax with guest Lyndsey ScottNotes: I've shared this song with my pocket song singers online group, meaning I was live-looping it... and the layers are intricate! The different lines interweave closely, creating a dense, beautiful texture. Lyndsey and I enjoy our conversation -- hear her talk about dropping root to choose what to do in the morning and set an intention, about how grief can be a healer, and wealth of teachers and mentors she draws on. Learn which voices still niggle at her, even with all the wisdom she has steeped herself in, and how she includes and cares for those parts...2022-09-281h 18A Breath of SongA Breath of Song69. Sing Upon Joy (Livian’s Song)Notes: I love this song for the both-and-ness... both joy and grief; both broken and mending; both hurt and healing, lost-found, hidden-revealed. The song appeared in an including way, too... Lyndsey was tasked with finding or creating moments of beauty and surprise at 2017 Village Fire, and as she sat at a table with the youth, creating art and words to decorate the port-a-potties, she saw what 10-year-old Livian had written -- "Sing upon joy". Lyndsey heard it as a song, and sang the first phrase... then the folk at the table created the interlocking part together. Both music and...2022-09-2115 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song68. Share the JourneyNotes: For most of these episodes, I pick the song many months in advance, because what with artwork & permissions, not to mention my own anxiety levels(!), it helps to have things lined up before.... which sometimes means I haven't listened to the song much until I'm ready to record. Then I wonder -- will I still love it? Will I still want to learn and spend time with it, or was it a temporary infatuation? I can tell you unequivocally, I loved coming back to this song! Katie Sontag's "Share the Journey" felt like reconnecting with a wise, deeply...2022-09-1421 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song67. Gandalf’s BlessingNotes: Ever feel stuck in a really bad place? The hobbits got stuck, and Gandalf blesses the eagles who rescue them. I chose to start this episode with a quote by Cynewulf (9?th century), one of the four Old English poets whose works survive today, because that was a time period J.R.R. Tolkien, (20th century) was deeply influenced by -- and here's Joshua Blaine setting this blessing in the 21st century. This makes for a great "setting-off" song -- and also a song of trust in that wind carrying. As I sing this, I love to feel...2022-09-0715 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song66. We’re Not Walking AloneNotes: This is the determined, comforting chorus of Shireen Amini's song, "We're Not Walking Alone". I love 'walking music' -- and this is one of my go-to's when I'm looking for an up-tempo walk. I'll sing the different parts consecutively, and if I can rope a co-walker into singing one of the parts, even better! Shireen says nature is the "enwrapping companion" that lets her own answers arise. The first verse of this song is, "When we stop trying to force all the answers -- 'cause they never will come from the mind -- they will come from a...2022-08-3114 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song65. Loving-Kindness with guest Wendy Luella PerkinsNotes: Wendy Luella Perkins sings to telemarketers, tells of her brother choosing her for his show-and-tell, and why she has a tik-tok channel. She talks about auditory memory, singing as refuge, and the reclamation of her voice. She describes the transition from singer/songwriter work into the Soulful Singing in 2002, and the challenges unique to this kind of therapeutic singing which is not professional therapy. We have the awkward conversation about money -- is it possible to make a living as a songwriter without commodifying song, which is a birthright? Yet again, Patty Piotrowski has created the most appropriate...2022-08-2400 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song64. Mourning DoveNotes: This poignant song by Wendy Luella Perkins comes from early on in the pandemic -- a time of fear and grieving -- yet also, in the early mornings, the streets were so unusually quiet in the cities that birdsong was clearly audible.  You'll be able to hear the echo of a dove call in the melody, which I teach with extra care so you can feel comfortable and relaxed singing it. This song helps me notice what I'm hearing around me -- and when I notice the sounds around me, I drop into the present micro-second, where all i...2022-08-1714 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song63. Awaken MeNotes: Abigail Spinner McBride has one of those stories -- a choir director told her, "Don't sing, honey, because no one wants to hear your voice." This year she was chosen as Best Female Vocalist of the Year 2022 at the International Pagan Music Awards. I love me a story that says though we may have had voices like that in the past -- voices that shut us down either with dismissal or by sky-high expectations -- those voices have no way of knowing us or our potential. Our excitement can be to wake to our own voices, come out...2022-08-1016 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song62. Let Me Be The LoveNotes: Compassionate presence and meditation facilitator, John Rio Casey, said, “Doin' my best to be the love my deepest heart is dreamin of,” and Karly set this longing unforgettably. One of the ways I choose songs for these podcasts is that they let me soak in words that I want to believe, that I want to inhabit. What I love about this song is the transition from working hard to be this Love my deepest heart can dream of to understanding that I actually AM the Love already -- with every breath I take -- and all I need do i...2022-08-0313 minUTG After Party - (Unloose the Goose) Creators step out & talk shopUTG After Party - (Unloose the Goose) Creators step out & talk shopUTG After Party 15 - Patricia Gets Fancy Brian compelets a Satoshi Furry Suit Challenge Josh recounts a stabbing and Big Brian hooks into a Sugar MommaAll mostly True - as far as we know Josh, the Renegade Butcher ( www.renegadebutcher.com ) Brian Norton, Scramblin @Scramblin University / TheSquatchFEST Founder / FoodForestFarms ( www.foodforestfarms.com ) /Camp SuNeeKee ( www.campsuneekee.com ) Live Events: TheSquatchfest.com Sept 23-25 Longbranch WA     https://www.foodforestfarms.com/store/p125/TheSquatchFEST_-_Fall_Harvest_Party_-_Sept_23-25_2022.html Brian, The LOTS Project / Fireside Freedom Podcast ( www.thelotsproject.com ) Patricia - The LawMa - Agorist Attorney ( www.agoristattorney.com ) Live Events: TheSquatchFEST Co-Founder Tim, ToolManTim Podcast ( https://www.toolmantim.co/p...2022-07-282h 25A Breath of SongA Breath of Song61. Sanctuary with singer Joy TruNotes: This is a vacation episode! I'm on vacation with my dear friend, Joy Truskowski... and what do you think we're doing together? We've been having such a good time singing, and on this episode (I think the shortest yet) you get to hear us together, singing a song I wrote just as a particularly difficult time was beginning. It helps me to not jump ahead to the future or gnash over the past -- that I can be right here, right now, and usually that's a pretty good moment. I asked the A Breath of Song listeners via...2022-07-2711 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song60. Just As You AreNotes: "Singing was never an option: it's like walking, breathing, eating... it's just one of the things that you do." It's a songwriter conversation with Lea Morris, who brings us not only her song, Just As You Are, but also gives us the very earliest possible sneak peek of what she might be writing for the NVN Black Lives Matter commission she has received. You can hear me stumble through learning a new-to-me song. We talk about how a song can transform a relationship or build self-forgiveness and self-acceptance. How singing with others is actually heaven. Lea shares her...2022-07-2053 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song59. Heart Wide OpenNotes: Haven't we all been going through waves of change? Whether it looks like loss or shift or fear or opportunity -- whether intended or thrust upon us -- whether sudden or slowly gathered -- it's not always easy or clear to navigate. I believe in song as a tool, an intentional change-maker, a physic for the body and soul -- as a way of choosing the thoughts we want to carry in our brain. And sometimes for me, it's several voices in my head at once! What I love about this song is the way it has two...2022-07-1314 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song58. When We Are GoneNotes: An elemental song that reminds us of how ephemeral human life is -- yet how we can rely on the solidity of the elements and return to them again and again. This is a song I need when I feel unrooted by grief and anger. I wonder how it will feel to you, what it might touch, how it might help you adapt and flex and grow? Listen for the surprise sound effect... I was recording with the windows open, and my looper caught a passing sound... I decided not to rerecord, both because I didn't really have...2022-07-0614 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song57. FarewellNotes: What are summer songs for you? I think of summer as a time of greeting and gathering and workshops and camps and goodbyes and endings... a time of physicality, sensuality, heat, languor... I notice my body responding to light and heat. When I tune inward, I listen for what hums, what hurts, what is healing. Especially in this time, I notice what memories are loosened and how tender connections feel -- which brings me to this song, which is a farewell wish that could be sung to anyone -- family, friends, people we don't yet know. It might even...2022-06-2916 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song56. Acceptance SingNotes: This is different than most episodes, in which I share a song with you that's already been captured, delineated, and made repeatable. Those songs are chosen because they help me navigate life -- heal, adapt, and grow. Today's episode is another kind of singing that helps me uncover wellness and light-heartedness... what I call for myself, "acceptance-singing" (which runs together into "acceptancing"...) It's an active practice of listening to one's own voice and finding it to be enough, right this moment, exactly as it is. Listening with curiosity for what appears. So when I created this episode, I...2022-06-2714 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song55. Everything Is Changing with guest Kaitie Ty WarrenNotes: I keep singing this to myself... so grateful that Kaitie caught this song-morsel that provides so much release. This idea that life keeps rearranging, sometimes feeling awkward -- but that's not the end -- I get to keep moving through that... for some reason I can hear this so much more easily when it's coming in a song. Kaitie isn't done with this song -- she is still listening for the harmonies -- which means you're getting it at this sweet moment of openness and exploration -- how will you harmonize it, or will you stay with the...2022-06-221h 04A Breath of SongA Breath of Song54. SurrenderNotes: When choosing the searchable categories for this song, "Surrender," I found myself surprised by the juxtapositions -- I picked "Empower" and "Grieve", "Pain" and "Trust", "Accept" and "Flex". I realized how I find the most strength and power and freedom in myself at the moments when I surrender to how I feel, how my body is in the moment, my limitations. Don't miss the back story to this song, told in Kaitie's own words at https://thelivingroomchoir.com/surrender/. Next week, Kaitie and I dive into a songwriter conversation, and Kaitie shares a delightful new song about the a...2022-06-1512 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song53. Wish For WeNotes: Judi is wishing for sunshine, then some rain; moonlight and starlight -- for herself, and for all of us... and when we get to sing this song of hers, we get to wish it for ourselves -- and each other. Every little wish for me and for we.... such a good feeling to remember our social connection, how natural it feels as humans to care for each other. I love the way each part you can sing in this song builds to a natural ending note... and those notes, stacked on each other, create a sweet, surprising chord...2022-06-0815 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song52. Ocean WideNotes: My interest in Eli Marienthal's song, "Ocean Wide" comes directly from how it expands my capacity to be present with deep grief and pain -- that of my own or that of others. My fear of feeling -- fear that somehow the world will crumble if I recognize how much pain I feel -- that fear is eased by the sense of having enough space inside me -- an ocean of space, in fact -- that is wide enough, deep enough, capacious enough for every drop of pain, every howl of grief. I love that this song has...2022-06-0114 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song51. I Release ControlNotes: This song by Alexa Sunshine Rose has been a huge resource for me as I’ve gone through big transitions and grief this spring. I think that’s in part because it is so direct and short -- it settles inside me without worry or fret. And then the potential complexities of possible harmonies keep me interested, as well as the way it feels inside as I sing. You might start by humming one of the drone notes… then maybe humming with the melody. Eventually, when the words start pushing inside you, wanting to come through, let them appear i...2022-05-2514 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song50. Navigate the Current with guest Saro Lynch-ThomasonNotes: There's a freedom in not waiting for a cure. Traditional music is a way to connect to your spiritual ancestral community; it can affirm your experience and there's the "big expansion of empathy that is happening when we sing." Ornamentation and pronunciation of words in oral tradition. We don't create in isolation. How Saro's mom conveyed joy in singing, and what Saro would love "every human being on the planet to understand about disability." The broad umbrella of disability. Speaking with compassion to our bodies, and how that relates to justice work. Why singing is too important to...2022-05-181h 07A Breath of SongA Breath of Song49. More Waters RisingNotes: This particular song of Saro's has gained international attention, becoming an anthem in the movement to end global warming and garnering praise in the Huffington Post. You may already be familiar with it... in which case I'd really encourage you to use this podcast to explore it and use my voice as an opportunity for you to experiment with harmonies, or being a grounded, single note, or be able to pay extra attention to how it feels inside your body as you sing. Or maybe you don't know it yet? That's cause for celebration, because you have a t...2022-05-1117 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song48. I Am FreeNotes: This is the first song Liesel wrote, on an island, starting the process of freeing her voice. What amazes me about this song, and keeps me coming back to it, is how good it feels to sing. From the opening jump of realization up to the word "free" to the rhythmic interplay that sets me swaying on the "Free, I am free, I am free" line, the music and words back each other up. I added harmonies of my own, but you might choose different harmonies and end up with a very different kind of sound... or take...2022-05-0416 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song47. Shadow ListeningNotes: I didn't actually write this as a community singing song; I wasn't expecting anyone else to want to sing it. I wrote it because I was finding a way to comfort and strengthen myself through the process of sorting old journals... being placed back in some difficult times, times when I wasn't really able to treat myself compassionately. Going over to the piano and creating this song helped me listen to and love my younger, struggling self -- I really felt like I was catching myself. I shared it with a dear friend, who responded so strongly and...2022-04-2717 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song46. We Are the WayNotes: I came across We Are the Way in 2020 when I was joyfully listening through Annie Zylstra’s online collection in Heartland Harmony – if you love songs and haven’t found her library yet, you are in for a huge treat! Annie had this song, which lifted my heart and became a touchstone song for me in very short order. She explains that Christine Kick was living in her basement during a major home renovation that was taking longer than expected, and she found herself feeling a little shamefaced when friends would ask, “How’s it going?”, as it very much WASN...2022-04-2014 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song45. First Light with guest Penny StoneNotes: Penny includes us all into her circle of friends by sharing "First Light" -- a song she wrote for 5 close friends, including her partner. Then we have a rollicking conversation, covering big voices, purposeful singing, what a requiem might do, and a few little questions like, "What has singing taught you about life?" Also, how and why you might say "FTS"... Songwriter Info: Penny Stone is a musician and activist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She believes that everyone can sing and that every voice is valuable and beautiful. Penny facilitates singing groups and writes accessible music f...2022-04-131h 11A Breath of SongA Breath of Song44. One Day At A TimeNotes: Personally, I dread being trite or dull. And this hard-earned wisdom from the recovery community is so prevalent, it's tempting for me to dismiss it as "too common". Whenever I get obstreperous like that, it doesn't help me at all... just saying. I love the way this song voices my own experience with this wisdom in a way.... does that sound weird? Let me explain. The song seems almost annoyingly simple -- a call and response section with repetition and not many notes, and then two layers that use the same words and repeat the same phrase the...2022-04-0613 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song43. MusicNotes: This song has an Appalachian feel, and a wonderful way of rising and falling, gradually filling you up with the music that it's singing about as you sing it. Matthew says, “Great songs have great ideas in them, too. They are simple but they are not simplistic.” On the podcast, you'll hear me poking around with different rhythms and experimenting with harmonies and interspersing... and I encourage you to explore, too, as soon as you feel comfortable with the song. Let the music do its thing by filling us up, and let's enjoy the feeling of our voices toda...2022-03-3014 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song42. Be Safe, My LoveNotes: Creativity is so often the process of connecting disparate things in a new way. Juliana Murphy crafted this sweet, reassuring wish for safety, wellness, and fearlessness by combining a text from a modern-day fable of awakening with a folk song that came with disturbing, murderous lyrics. She adjusted both and ended up with a song that to me, at least, sits easily in the voice, and lightly on the spirit. I can send this wish to myself, family members, friends, or strangers. I don't take "awakened" to be a politically-angsty, aggressive kind of "wokeness", but rather an eyes-opened...2022-03-2315 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song41. I Am the CalmNotes: As we prepare to leave our home of 22 years and shift to a new kind of community for us, let me tell you, this song is proving useful! As I sort belongings, as inspections get scheduled... and spring begins to rise, and world news swirls, and how to responsibly bring people together is still confusing and uncertain... something sweet, short and simple that I can repeat to myself, exchanging the words "It's all falling apart! I can't do this!" with "I am the calm in the eye of the storm..." is a huge gift I give myself with...2022-03-1615 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song40. Render A Remedy with guest Moira SmileyNotes: Conversations with songwriters can be illuminating. Moira and I talk about wanting our voices to make a difference, and how to evaluate that, how Moira's voice has protected and shaped her, rest as part of the job of being a creator, and so much more. She shares a song that is in the process of becoming, and we get a very special glimpse of this creative process, which includes a calling sound that fascinates Moira right now. As you sing along, you'll be able to really tune in to what feels good to you this day -- is...2022-03-0957 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song39. Stand In That RiverNotes: Okay, I procrastinated on recording this episode for the longest of any song yet... I respect Moira so much, and I desperately wanted to share her song in a beautiful way that convinced you to love it, too. I felt like I wasn't good enough, and I got a good run of the whole imposter syndrome going, yada, yada, yada. But you know what shifted? I remembered why this podcast exists -- to share songs that help me heal, adapt, and grow, so you can sing them, too. And this song is one that I've sung to myself o...2022-03-0215 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song38. This Is A WaveNotes: I find I keep returning to Emily Roblyn's song after learning it many months ago... I find myself singing it when times are really sweet -- and when they're really hard. It helps me remember I don't need to try to clench the almost painfully beautiful, wonderful times, because they won't last forever no matter how hard I hold -- and it helps me trust that the difficult, heart-aching times will pass. And as I sing, I can feel my voice vibrate in my body, and it brings me into awareness of my own body. Now, I'm no...2022-02-2317 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song37. Lead With Your Heart, FriendsNotes: I love the bloom of trust I can feel inside myself after singing Ian Carrick's "Lead With Your Heart, Friends" for long enough to let it settle inside me. I find myself relaxing, trusting that my heart knows the way already, that the day can unfold and I can follow it without worry or fret. It's a generous gift of a song, and I'm happy to share it forward... including all my mess-ups and squidgely tuning (highly technical term right there!) I figure the point of this podcast is for YOU to do the singing and take this...2022-02-1614 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song36. Brighter DaysNotes: Whether or not you have snowdrops blooming right now, who doesn't recognize the promise we sometimes can sense in a bloom? The cycle of blooming, falling, disintegrating, resting, reforming, growing, blooming... this song has a beautiful criss-cross of lines, so the first line burrows into the second line, while the second line starts low and grounded, then rises hopefully above the first. The third line lets you sing out a sort of commentary and affirmation of the first two. I take time teaching the first part, especially, so you can feel really confident as the song develops... 2022-02-0916 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song35. Hymn To Loving with guest Lisa ForkishNotes: Lisa Forkish shares her song, Hymn to Loving, and talks about song titling, songwriting away from keyboards, deconstructing binaries, singing as a pure, liberating expression of the self, learning to love and be tender with our voice... and the surprise of connections through Zoom. Now, maybe that's all immediately appealing to you, or maybe it sounds complicated and brain-challenging! Let me tell you, Lisa has a gentle, welcoming presence and wide-open curiosity and questioning that makes this conversation a pleasure to eavesdrop on -- and whether her views raise questions for you, or drop easily into your pocket...2022-02-021h 06A Breath of SongA Breath of Song34. PossibilityNotes: I love a layer song which gives me options -- what do I feel like singing? Is singing low and warm feeling yummy? Or floating high? Or getting snuggled in the middle of a set of harmonies? Lisa Forkish's "Possibility" song offers all those choices, starting with a low, potentially gritty, determined line that says "An end is not THE end -- it can be the beginning." Then a fluid river line that requires some release to sing, as it flows among notes. Finally, when singing about being open, there is an amazing note on the word "open"...2022-01-2614 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song33. There Is A LoveNotes: What does it take to allow you to fall to rest, deeply & completely? Rest is such a necessary component of healing, and sometimes can be tricky to come by -- unless I'm the only one awake at 2 in the morning sometimes, with my head spinning fruitless circles? Feeling completely safe -- completely loved -- is one of the things that lets me rest, slows the adrenalin responses, and lets my body and mind heal. This song does that for me... whew!!! The composer, Elizabeth Norton, points out: "Please note that there is no "you" verse. This is because...2022-01-1916 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song32. Seed SongNotes: A song with two voices, in a way -- the cry of the heart which feels swallowed by darkness and lost, and the response or presence of a wisdom -- an angel, or ancestor, or Yoda?! -- who sees the seed inside the darkness that holds the dream of green during the waiting time.  I love the way this song lets me give voice to different experiences. Barbara has given us an extremely satisfying lift on the "call to the sky" line... and a lovely low rumble for "cannot remember", and "to the night." In western classical baroque t...2022-01-1215 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song31. Voices RisingNotes: Lisa wrote this song in a beautifully flexible way, so we can each adapt it to what we need to be singing in the moment... in the podcast, I only sing "All our voices are rising up...", but you can insert your own word for the kind of voices rising up inside you. In the community singing world, songs like this are called "zipper songs", and they can be a beautiful practice of awareness -- as you sing, over and over, other words might appear in your head -- and some of them may surprise you, or make...2022-01-0515 minWomen\'s Spaces Radio ShowWomen's Spaces Radio ShowJanuary 3, 2022 Our Guest Rev. Dr. Patricia Keel on the ABC of Making a New Year's ResolutionOur first show of the year 2022!. Our guest Rev. Dr. Patricia Keel guides us in ABC of Making New Year Resolutions. Dr. Keel was our guest the first show of last year, as well, and, after applying her technique she shared that show, our co-producer Ken was able to retrain his brain from an anxiety disorder he had suffered from for 20 years, and  after one year has passed Ken has not had any more attacks. Be sure to listen to this show to make and manifest your New Year Resolution. The show can also be accessed through y...2022-01-0457 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song30. Labor On with guest Lissa SchneckenburgerNotes: Lissa Schneckenburger's song has a personal back story that we get into during the conversation part of the episode -- along with discussion of change-making as integral to music-making, the similarities and differences of violin and voice as instruments, why Lissa chose songs with words for her recent solo album... Lissa spills over with ideas, generosity, connections, and a deeply caring heart -- our time together was a treat for me. This song feels particularly appropriate at this turn of the year, when we are tired of COVID and injustice and it is easy to be fearful... "we...2021-12-2959 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song29. Hope Lingers OnNotes: "Hope lingers on"... I love singing this to myself as a reminder that a pandemic is not the only thing lingering around. There are so many beautiful recordings of this piece online, I encourage you, like always, to use this podcast as a way to learn the song, and then if it speaks to you, follow the links and sing along with gorgeous professional recordings! Sometimes, honestly, it makes me uncomfortable to put my voice with loops out there when there are such polished renditions available (that sound better!) -- but then I remind myself that I'm not...2021-12-2214 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song28. Drifting DarkNotes: This song began to appear Sunday morning, December 4th, as I was making breakfast, thinking about snowy drives through our town, looking at Christmas lights. It was one of those warmish, wet days with snow on the ground, so there was a mist lifting up from the snow, and the sky was the same color as the fields. December is a complicated month for me, with rich memories of so much happiness as a child, and difficult loss as an adult...  the longing to connect with and create happiness for all whom I love -- the rueful recognition t...2021-12-1515 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song27. What Am I Rushing To?Notes: I stumbled upon Wendy Luella Perkins a few weeks before recording this episode, when I was browsing in facebook groups of songleaders, looking for new music I loved and wanted to share. I heard "What Am I Rushing To?", and went hunting online to learn more. Several Soulful Singing sessions later, I can say that this intuitive songleader and gracious, gentle song and space creator has become a great gift in my life. Not only do the most beautiful, varied songs seem to pour through her with ease and fluidity, but she understands how to tend herself and...2021-12-0815 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song26. There‘s A Light In YouNotes: I asked the people who have signed up for the A Breath of Song mailing list to share words they'd like to hear in this song... and I got SO many responses!!! Narrowed down to 21 words... so we sing this song in three different ways, each time with seven different words. As you sing to uncover your own wellness, you may find a song feels better slower or faster on different days, or sung with high energy or very calmly. I explore three different options with this song -- you may find more. You'll hear my voice crack...2021-12-0116 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song25. The Song Inside with guest Heidi McCurdyNotes: I told Heidi that when I learned this song from her recording, I had misheard it, and sang, "My inner child sings wild." She laughed with delight, and said, "Maybe you tapped in to what it is actually supposed to be!" Heidi is at home with change and improvisation and trusting her inner voice -- and the inner voice of others. Heidi shares the sound of her singing bowls, talks about being both shy with her voice and in love with music and singing, and where that led her. An overview of the physical benefits of singing, an e...2021-11-2453 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song24. My Song Is A DropNotes Heidi McCurdy used an ancient interval, the fifth, to create a song that invites awareness of resonation and connection across time and space. On the next episode, Heidi comes on A Breath of Song herself to share another song, and talk about her beginnings as a shy singer, experimenting in the car, what expressive arts therapy is, and how you might take a song and extend it further. I love the way this song invites me to turn inside and outside, to feel the inner resonation reaching out, for the song to be a drop and a bubble... a...2021-11-1716 minJAM Podcasts & AudiobooksJAM Podcasts & AudiobooksSpark - Patricia NortonPatricia Norton is a choral director, and music innovator who believes singing is a learnable skill that sparks joy and promotes wellness. In this episode, Patricia speaks about how singing together helps us bolster courage and be healthier as individuals and communities, about the evolution of her approach over the last two years, and the new documentary about her work during the pandemic. 2021-11-1426 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song23. Falling AcornsNotes: It's a generous mast year here around the Connecticut River -- another gift of the trees, our breathing partners. Joy brought this song to my Pocket Songs group in the fall of 2020, and it is much loved by the Pocket Song Singers. A thing to know about Joy is that she has an extraordinary ability to be present with the feelings of those around her -- and an incredible capacity for delight and kindness… as well as an openness to learning that is hard to have unless you feel confident about your own innate worth. There's something about thi...2021-11-1018 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song22. When The Water Is Glass CalmNotes:  I met Paul Barton in 2019 at a Circlesinging workshop with Bobby McFerrin -- a quiet, gentle redhead with a warm smile, he was easy to like… and then gradually since then, I’ve been discovering his music, which unfolds itself the more you sing it. I live not far from a pond, lake, and river, all which I have seen at moments of glass calmness (although, truth be told, not at sunrise!) I love the way I feel calm and clear after I sing this song, which he says Stephanie Drouin helped write as they were visiting a friend...2021-11-0315 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song21. Song Deep In Your BonesNotes: I met creator Elise Witt online during the pandemic, when we were both in a course led by the extraordinary improviser Rhiannon… and I was so honored, because I already knew of Elise as a composer of unusual choral work that I had explored doing with my community chorus. In fact this piece was conceived as a choral piece, and Elise very generously let me excerpt a bit of it to be a pocket song. I love the way the rhythm wakes me up from an uninspired, tired place -- whenever I sing this, I almost always end up...2021-10-2714 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song20. Great-full with guest Ishka ShirNotes: Ishka talks about music making while hiking and cuddling, the influence of her singing mother, the difference between singing alone and in large groups, kitchen singing, good food, how songmaking could be available to anyone, and why she sometimes says she doesn't like music (!) And in with all that, she shares this song which originated as a walking song, but can be used in many moods... and I get to sing along so you can hear how it rounds... we can imagine ourselves in the kitchen making a yummy fall soup, singing together.... feeling grateful. ...2021-10-2035 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song19. You‘ve Got To Move SlowNotes: Ishka Shir says, "I created You've Got To Move Slow when I was hiking an area called Shining Rock wilderness in North Carolina. It was part of a healing from an abusive narcissistic relationship that I had been in." I learned it from Aimée Ringle at a Zoom circle, then shared it first with my Pocket Songs singing group in the summer of 2020. Personally, this song gives me a sense that I, myself, can create the space I need to heal. I love the practical, grounded approach Ishka has to singing and song making.... and for the next...2021-10-1314 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song18. The TruthNotes: I was so surprised when I first learned this Velma Frye song from Roy Willey by how difficult it was for me to actually sing these words to myself. One of the beautiful things about mantra singing -- short phrases, repeated over and over -- is that you have time to notice how it feels to sing these particular words. You have time to get distracted and come back. And if you hear yourself singing the words often enough, maybe they become less surprising? Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B., wrote a book called Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully T...2021-10-0614 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song17. Ancient GreenSong: Ancient Green Words & Music:​ by Kathleen Hannan Notes: Kathleen says she caught this comforting song while lying on a huge rock next to the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, crying her heart out over a relationship that was transforming.  A beautiful oak tree was growing out of the rock, and as the song was born her sorrowful feelings washed through with the sound of the river, and she was left feeling whole, and at peace with the way things were. She also shared this story with me, "One time I sang the song in a show with...2021-09-2916 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song16. Well HeldNotes In 2018, Lyndsey made a quick facebook recording of Well Held, and she said, “This little ditty tapped me on the shoulder, came through intact, and has basically been hanging out in my lap…” That's very much how this song is for me -- it just gently rumbles around in my head, letting me know that even while there is part of me that is anxious or jittery or grieving, there is another part of me singing this song -- it  has my back, can remind me to breathe, and reassure me to pay attention to this very moment, in whic...2021-09-2214 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song15. Brave This World with guest Tembre de CarteretSong Brave This World Music & Words by Tembre de Carteret Composed in​ 2020 Notes Tembre shares her song that was created in a bathtub during lockdown, "Brave This World".  I learn it as she teaches it. We talk about free-ranging children in the natural world, cold water, slowing down, expanding, spicy sweet potato soup, how Tembre can SEE someone find their voice, Ireland, and more. Tembre has been leading group singing since May of 2001, and developed a beautiful online presence hosting "May We Sing" during the lockdown. She says, "Having an English accent and a French name g...2021-09-1545 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song14. Rolling RiverSong: Rolling River by Tembre de Carteret Take 2 has arrived!  After listening, Tembre realized I was sharing an early, unfinished version of this song, which later evolved into a version she loves and shares. Tembre said, "As I remember when Rolling River was complete for me when the extra parts/delayed harmony was created , it was a special moment, as I felt this song was complete in that moment and it is loved.  I love the simpleness of the melody, as the other parts are added, it slowly becomes something that is resonant, full and fluid. " So he...2021-09-0814 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song13. ReplenishSong Replenish Music & Words by Elisa S. Keeler Composed in​ 2020 For lyrics, artwork, to suggest a song, or search past episodes, visit abreathofsong.com Notes I love the way songsharers around the country during the pandemic dug into music as a way of healing, comforting, hoping. So much new music came out of this time that helps us uncover the wellness that's already there, inside us. Now you might think those songs would all at tempo=comfort, or heartbeat pulse, or something else that soon feels trite. But this song, for instance, has a drivi...2021-09-0115 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song12. Finding My Way Back To NowSong Finding My Way Back To Now Music & Words​ by Heather Pierson Notes Heather unified the message and the music in a beautiful way in this song, which helps the singer wind their way back into the present moment. As you sing the melody, you start on the home note, and then the different "ways" land in various places that are NOT the home note... until you get to the word "now", when all the voices together come together the home note. So you come back to where you begin, which is now. If the practice of...2021-08-2514 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song11. Dust DryNotes: Written at a time when my soul felt dry and fragile in response to wildfires, drought, racial injustice, pandemic, climate and political crises... I needed a song that recognized how I felt, but could also call on hope, water, justice, breath, vision -- and a song I could bring to groups which could be quickly taught and singers could name what they wanted to call for themselves. I love the determination and sharpness I feel at the beginning, followed by a peaceful settling when the rain "falls down" on us all. If you'd like to bring...2021-08-1813 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song10. I Trust My Roots with guest Samara JadeNotes Samara Jade and I talk embodied intuition, the musical Rent, vocal health, names, mycelium, Moonshadow and trust... and Samara shares "I Trust My Roots". I sing along, periodically smudging the words, as I often do when I first learn a song. A squidge of laughter, a dollop of wonder... it was a fabulous hour! Find lyrics, sign up to know when new episodes are released, and leave something in the tip jar at abreathofsong.com Music referenced in the show: Cat Stevens, Moonshadow the musical Rent by Jonathan...2021-08-1155 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song9. Right Place, Right TimeNotes Lisa Littlebird shared that Samara wrote this in the Big Sur, after her first surfing lesson, and said it was a personal cure for FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). During the pandemic, I heard it differently, and it became my go-to song for letting go of what I wanted to be happening, and just riding the crazy times. Click here to listen to (and sing along with?) Samara Jade and Acorn Kin singing "Right Place, Right Time". Songwriter Info A modern folk troubadour, Samara is dedicated to the art of listening deeply and crafting sou...2021-08-0414 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song8. Penobscot Water SongNotes: Today’s song is by Gabriel Paul, of the Crow and Eel Clan of the Penobscot, whose homelands are located along various waterways in Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. The song is a song to thank and honor water. I encourage you to learn and take it to water near you to sing -- and then maybe create your own water song and connect to the water that is near you! Gabe describes the song's origins on this webpage, and he and his niece, Leigh, have given permission for this song to be sung and shared free...2021-07-2814 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song7. SpiralNotes I wrote this song a few months into the pandemic, when I was disappointed with how I seem to know all this wisdom in my head, but I was having so much trouble translating it into body knowledge... I was tearful & fearful – and so frustrated with myself. Then I realized – oh, right -- this what it feels like to grow! Moving from comfortable to uncomfortable in a spiral of growth. Which started me thinking about prairie grass – the beauty of acres of grasses swaying and moving in the wind. Roots in the dirt and touching the sky... both growin...2021-07-2116 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song6. Be OpenNotes "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 t...2021-07-1412 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song5. Find Our Way Home with guest Maggie WheelerMaggie 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...2021-07-0745 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song4. Let It Blow ThroughLet'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...2021-06-3014 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song3. WoyayaNotes 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...2021-06-2517 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song2. Put Your Roots DownThis 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 t...2021-06-2414 minA Breath of SongA Breath of Song1. Ocean of BreathHere'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...2021-06-2413 minA Breath of SongA Breath of SongIntroduction to A Breath of SongWhat 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 occas...2021-06-1302 min