Practice Tracks
~A note on cultural appropriation~
•Recordings are for your ears only! Do not disseminate. For real. It's illegal.•
•And bare with me on some of these, they're quite imperfect. Sometimes its flat by the end of the recording, or my voice is straining. But I hope these rough cuts get the basic parts across!•
•If a track glitches, try refreshing the page.
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A quick and easy opener round meaning "Rejoice" or "rejoice in God". A great back-pocket song.
This reassuring and seriously groovy tune speaks to the sentiment of acceptance and moving with the "crazy world" we live in, to ride the wave of what surrounds us rather than bemoan it. Good thoughts, and a really fun and catchy sing!
Practice Tracks
Part 1:
I believe that I'm in the right place at the right time,
This wave is crashing down and it's the one for me to ride.
Part 2:
Ebb and flow, rising falling
Part 3:
Crazy world, crazy time. Gonna let go of what ought to be, and hang on for the ride.
Remembering who we are by Susie Ro Prater
A mesmerizing and hypnotic round that reminds me of the feelings of spinning and spiraling.
Under the full moon light we dance
Spirits' dance we dance
joining hands we dance
joining souls rejoice
One of my favorite rounds! High energy - turning the singers into a workshop of elves... It is one of four seasonal rounds John Krumm composed on his album of nothing but rounds. There are places to add claps that adds an extra element.
When the Winter comes we gather,
to dance and sing together
When the winter comes we gather,
to dance our cares away.
Everybody clap hands, Everybody sing now
Sing a song of gladness, sing a song of joy
Winter, cold Winter, blows hard upon my windowpane
dance 'round the fire, till springtime comes again!
An instant classic! This song is hot off the presses from Seattle-based songleader, activist, and grief-tender Ahlay Blakely. It reminds us that we don't need to hold the story alone. We all hold a part. And so fun to sing with a drone, a building part, and a chanting crescendo.
Everyone feels and carries different parts of the story
And together we weave, we weave a net of rememberance
We were not made; we were not created to hold this; hold this all alone
I have been hunting for this arrangement for about four years, and finally found it. A couple Winters ago I arranged it myself but wasn't satisfied with the outcome. Mine had more going on, but I like the simplicity here. Just to make things needlessly complicated, you can find my arrangement under the Winter 2020 archive. Tommy Sands is an American songwriter, though this song is Celtic influenced. Here is the Original. A sweet song about inclusion and welcome.
Let the circle be wide ‘round the fireside
And we’ll soon make room for you.
Let your heart fell no fear
For there’re no strangers here.
Just friends that you never knew.
Teaching Tracks
One of my mentors from BC composed this. He said, roughly, “There are so many songs that only use ‘Alleluia’, that I wanted to make a really special one, and only do it once. This is my alleluia”.
Classic Helen Yeomans, this one speaks for itself.
We have all come together to sing
alay alay alay
release the burdens of yesterday
may our hearts beat the tune
for our dreams of tomorrow
allelu, allelu allelu-u
allelu, allelu, allelu-u
A Hark community choir classic way back from the beginning, Unto this Land is a Marriage vow to the earth. I great example of Natural Voice Network style, a call and response, parts joining and branching apart, animist sensibility.
Unto this land, my heart I seal,
to always love and cherish as my own
and through my veins her crystal waters flow
to the ocean of my soul.
Unto this land, I shall return
when all my days upon this earth are done
and in her arms, I lay my body down
and my heart will have found its home.
What a magical tag line. To be remembering how to return to the presence in feeling "all is well". I feel constantly in the struggle to remember to tap into the goodness all around me. And this song speaks as well as shows that. Its almost as if the melody line is a person rambling along a lane, while the beautiful droning overlays are the omnipresent magic we can choose to tap into...
-This life is an act of learning how to be ever returning to the living stream of all is well
-This life, return, come on home, come on home, all is well.
- This life is learning, ever returning, all is well.
The source of this website's name, and a reminder to shine bright with your gifts in the world, because it makes you a permissionary for those around you. Laurence wrote it when he was training to become a choir leader, and it resonated with me when I was in the same place. It's a great simple round to carry with you, and good words to live by.
When we come into our calling
We become bells
Calling to everyone else:
Oh come, come into your calling!
Such a sweet song! A blessing song with straightforward harmonies that gives everything you would want in such a song. soaring highs, rich, thick harmony, intuitiveness, and positivity. Fun to sing!
May the pool of love we have gathered here
spread its wings and fly, far and near
from the depths of our hearts
to the farthest star
may our love bless everyone
may our love bless everyone
This song can strike instant resonance for a lot of people. It was introdiced to me by Laurence Cole, who simplified this arrangement. The original is very specifically Christian, though the message of fully saying "yes!" to something is a powerful one, no matter how it lands in your own heart.
-broccoli, kale, rutabaga, brussels sprouts
-who would name a food rutabaga
-believe it or not, rutabaga tastes good
-mama says to eat your vegetables, even, that's right, rutabaga
Melody - I will lay me down by the river. I will lay me down and rest. I will lay me down by the river and know the world is blessed.
High part - I lay down by the water's edge. I lay down and know I'm blessed
Low part - Water heal me with your song. Whisper love poems all night long
Finnish Herding Song, oley leyloyla