VOCAL IMPROV TRACKS

A few (in process) recordings - stay tuned for the finished product.

Songs from Days Past  :  COVERS

Home recordings of songs shared in circles. For your home practice!

PRAYER BEADS: chants for sitting, walking, praying...

Return Again
Return Again
Return to the land of your soul

Return to Who You Are
Return to What You are
Return the Where You Are
Born and Reborn Again

improv on this chant with 
Dave French on guitar and
Jason Gong on piano

Return Again

a new chant to learn! 
composed by Paul Barton

oh the rising tide of beauty
oh my heart, hang on, and you will see

so I'm reminded, again, of how beautiful life can be
the sadness, the joy of the space between

Oh The Rising Tide Of Beauty (by Paul Barton)

The Clear Bead at the Center
changes everything
There are no edges to my loving now.

I’ve heard it said, there’s a window 
that opens from one mind to another.
 But if there is no wall 
there is no window, 
And if there is no window, 
there is no need for a latch

There are no edges to my loving now. 
The clear bead at the center 
changes everything.

 – Rumi, translation by Bly & Coleman

The Clear Bead at the Center (meditation)

this meditation is dedicated to Mary Hirshmugl, who loved this song.

May my heart reflect thy light, Lord
As the moon reflects the light of the sun
in love, 
always in love

Hu Allah

~based on a poem by hazrat inayat khan

Hu Allah (piano / voice)

Feeling Groovy

thank you, i'm sorry, forgive me, I love you

Our love is stronger than fear

HU ALLAH (LIVE AT INTERFAITH)

IT'S NOT THAT EASY BEING GREEN (LIVE AT INTERFAITH)

THANK YOU, I'M SORRY, FORGIVE ME, I LOVE YOU

live at the Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth
with
Sam Clark on guitar
Dan Bilich on bass
Lori Fithian on percussion

LET EVERY VOICE (LIVE AT INTERFAITH)

based on a quote from Neil deGrasse Tyson

Need to cry at night, but don't want others to know? 
Look up to the sky. 
Your tears won't fall, and the stars will make you smile.

Need To Cry at Night

Inspired by Jun Miyake's song The Here & After

calling Peia / Jun Miyake

lori

2 DEEPER INTO PRESENCE (by lyndsey scott)

EASE UP THE REINS (live)

FEAR NOT THE PAIN (by Rachel Pollack Kroh)

ANCIENT ONES (calling the...) LIVE by Sophia Barrelll

Written by Deva Vani, words inspired by Mary Oliver :

Walk slowly
Bow often
Never hurry through the world

Love or Loving-kindness (metta)
Compassion (karuna)
Sympathetic Joy (mudita)
Equanimity (upekkha)

Walk Slowly, Bow Often ( by Deva Vani)

thanks to Karein for sharing this poem, as we sang into the darkness, as december presses down with its ever growing night:

 
To Know the Dark

To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. 

Go without sight, and find that the dark, too, 
blooms and sings, 
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.

Wendell Berry

To Know the Dark (poem by Wendell Berry)

by Jeremy Fulwiler

May You Know Deepest Love
May You Know Deepest Peace
May you Know Deepest Bliss
May you rest in the lap of All

Hallelujah!

May You Know Deepest Love (by Jeremy Fulwiler)

YOU AND I (by Laurence Cole)

[dedicated to Robert Flack]
written by Ewan MacColl

THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE (LIVE AT INTERFAITH)

DUST IN THE WIND (LIVE AT INTERFAITH)

INTO THE RIVER (LIVE) by Starling Arrow

This is a mantra I need every day. I learned it from an album by Velma Frye and found myself wanting to improvise on it as I prayed with Velma's version.

The line comes from a wonderful nun, Macrina Wiederkehr, and her work:   Seven Sacred Pauses, Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day

I will believe the truth about myself 
no matter how beautiful it is:

I believe in my power 
to transform indifference into love.
 I believe I have an amazing gift 
 to keep hope alive in the face of despair.
 I believe I have the remarkable skill 
of deleting bitterness from my life.
 I believe in my budding potentia
l to live with a nonviolent heart.
 I believe in my passion to speak the truth
 even when it isn’t popular.
 I believe I have the strength of will
 to be peace in a world of violence.
 I believe in my miraculous capacity
 for unconditional love.

I will believe the truth about myself 
no matter how beautiful it is.

I Will Believe the Truth (by Velma Frye)

Challenge was to create an improv based on "Studio" names, chosen by participants in the Vocal Lab for our semester.

Vocal Lab Looper: STUDIO NAMES

Doon Tak Tak

Today
Hold close your Wild spirit
as this nation churns.
Cup your hands around it
like you would a candle in wind,
preserving your flame.

That source—your Wild nature–
is being called forth.

Hold fast
to everything in you
that sings in the storm.

~Chris Heeter

Hold Fast to Everything in You That Sings in the Storm

chant inspired by this important saying from the Talmud:

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief.
Do justly, now.
Love mercy, now.
Walk humbly, now.
You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.
   -the Talmud

Do Justly Now

This is an arrangement, inspired by Jane Winther's version of this chant.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.

I find it’s helpful when you chant, to feel the meaning of each of the words, at least initially:
lokah: 		location, realm, all universes existing now
samastah:    all beings sharing that same location
sukhino:       centered in happiness and joy, free from suffering
bhav:            the divine mood or state of unified existence
antu:             may it be so, it must be so
(antu used as an ending here transforms this mantra into a powerful pledge)

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

This, in the category of one minute improvs! Vocal only.

SCRATCH TRACKS

What a way, What a way

Just sit there right now
Don’t do a thing
Just rest.

For your separation from God,
From love,
Is the hardest work In this World.

Let me bring you trays of food And something That you like to Drink.

You can use my soft words
As a cushion For your Head.

~Hafiz~
The Gift: Poems by Hafiz Translations by Daniel Ladinsky

Spirit Singing Band

Just Sit There Right Now

Bird on a Wire by Leonard Cohen.


featuring:
Kath Weider Roos, vocals
Dan Bilich, bass/bugarija

Bird on a Wire

What A Dream I Had - Bass/Voice Sketch

First draft of Rainy Night House by Joni Mitchell. Stay tuned for updates!

featuring:
Kath Weider Roos, vocals
Dan Bilich, bass

Rainy Night House - Bass/Voice Sketch

First draft of our version of River. Stay tuned for updates!

featuring:
Kath Weider Roos, vocals
Dan Bilich, bass

River - Bass/Voice Sketch

Ana El Na ReFa Na La

These Hebrew words are a prayer of Moses, asking for the healing of his sister Miriam (Numbers 12:13). They have been recited for thousands of years.

When we are moved to ask for healing - a cry for mercy, for blessings, for the healing we seek - for ourselves, for a loved one for suffering, for the world, we can us this prayer song. it's helpful, I find, to note the meaning of each of the words as we chant.

ana = I ask, I beseech    
El = God, divine Power   
na = please, now, I pray
refa = heal      
na = please, now, I pray    
 lah = her

credits:
Kath Weider - vocals, piano
Dr. Funk - production collaborator

Ana El Na Refa Na La (voice + piano)

facilitating song prayers and vocal expression

kathweider

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