We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patricia Norton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patricia below.

Patricia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

In 2019, I threw my name in the hat of potential people to lead 150+ people in a circlesing in front of Bobby McFerrin, Rhiannon, and many other amazing singers and faculty. Partly I did it because there were enough people, I felt pretty safe that I wouldn’t be picked. I could put my name in as a statement to myself that I was on my side, that I believed in my voice, that I thought the music I heard could bring pleasure to others, too…. but I didn’t really want to actually be picked, because I wasn’t SURE I believed all that.

That was the point I’d gotten to after a many-year intense journey through PTSD and major depression, including hospitalizations and extended medical treatments. Gradually, it became clear that one of the most effective ways for me to heal was to listen to myself — with big love. I had long been ashamed of my voice; I constantly compared myself with others and came up short. (You’ve never done that, right?!)

But I had been developing a new way of being with my voice — physically sensing it as I sang, feeling the breath, the vibration, letting the words I needed to hear appear. Between circlesinging improvisation and the community singing movement, it felt like I was being poured into a river that carried me with ease and generosity. I was enraptured by the way the messages of songs were helping me reshape my neural pathways and brain habits. The acceptance and wide welcome I had begun to learn with mindfulness practice was becoming my reality.

And so I put my name in the hat. Bobby pulled the first name — someone else (phew!) — and they led a beautiful circle that was just my kind of comfort music. The next circle would have to be something different — I wished I could pull my name back out, because now it WOULD be a disaster. Bobby pulled the next name. “Patricia,” he read.

It was real. I stood up, feeling my stomach like a stone, fuzz over my brain, my breath shallow and fast. Should I run? Should I quit? I took a second to feel into my body. Remembered that I love myself unconditionally, including if I mess up this whole thing. And I sang the music that was in me — everyone joined, and we filled that room with a glorious, high-energy, rocking-out song! It was amazing!!! The delight in the room astounded me — and most amazing was that is came from a moment of trusting my voice. The work that I do today has grown out of a practice of deepening trust and acceptance, seeing the ways in which song can help navigate life.

Patricia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I offer a variety of ways to experience singing as a friendly path for growth, because it has helped me navigate my own life. I find I need flexibility in how I care for myself. Each of these practices has bloomed out of my life circumstances, responding to a particular need…. and I’ve seen others respond with delight to what suits their particular moment.

My podcast, A Breath of Song (abreathofsong.com) is a searchable, tagged library of songs for shower singing, family singing, community singing, car singing, any singing! Each week’s episode includes a brief moment to drop into your body and breath, then learn the song a bit at a time, and finally generous time soaking simply singing it. Every fifth episode is a long-form conversation with a song-carrier. Many listeners choose to join the subscribers list, and receive a weekly email including my reflections, the unique watercolor miniature Patty Piotrowski has created for the song, and various extras.

Online, every six weeks, I offer a Ribbon Sing, (https://www.juneberrymusic.com/ribbons-of-song.html). The gathered people sing a set of songs from the library at A Breath of Song, enjoying getting to know each other’s faces and exuberant chats about why these songs matter… there’s some wild freedom and experimentation going on in that Zoom room! I live-loop the songs, so there’s harmony and the feeling of singing with many voices, and everyone else is muted, so can explore their own voice with great vigor or tenderness — whatever feels right.

And on the ground in Burlington, VT, I’ve begun a practice of Flow Singing (https://www.juneberrymusic.com/flow-singing.html). Combining mindful body awareness, presence practice, and harmonic singing, people sign up for a month at a time to learn a series of songs, coming once or twice a week to sing in a circle. Like in a yoga or t’ai-chi practice, there are invitations to attend and deepen, options to add complexity or release into a simple form.

Periodically, I offer Circlesinging workshops — catching ephemeral music made up from the people who are in the room at the moment.

So many ways to encounter our own voices — alone with a speaker playing, with others in a delicious combination of private and connected, or gathered in full sensory inundation, either with specific songs, or catching the music from the air around us — and in all of it, what matters to me is that deep connection to and acceptance of our whole selves, exactly as they show up in that particular moment. Here. Now. This.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As a classically trained musician, I believed there were certain sounds that were “okay” and others that were “not okay”. That quality only came from the highest level of technical skill. In my experience, that meant shutting off people based on a perceived skill level. It meant constant comparison, technical shame, and loss of joy.

Gradually, I’ve come to understand that all sounds are beginnings and expressions. My job as a conductor, composer, and participant, is to listen for what’s next for this moment. Period. When I’m working with a highly skilled ensemble, that might require something different from me than when I’m working with singers who are discovering their voices — but the goal is the same — a free, released sound that is rooted in the body and gathered in intense listening and presence. Technical skill opens some options, but is not necessary to experience music as a transformative practice.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

This is going to sound a wee bit woo, but as I thought about this question, I kept coming back to this understanding — so here goes!

My work is deeply, fundamentally aligned with who I am.

It is my own, life-affirming, necessary work of showing up for myself, being present, accepting what actually is, who I actually am. That includes my grounding of many years of study and technical training, giving me access to a wide variety of musical tools, yes. But I believe what has drawn people to me is the core of truth — that I am willing to be seen as I am, frailties, strengths, and everything in between — and I seek to see others as clearly as I can, holding them in great love, even as I do this work that I need for myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.juneberrymusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abreathofsongpodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juneberrymusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1OvA_cz4kPWOSKd9kC–2w
• Other: Podcast website: https://www.abreathofsong.com/
  Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-breath-of-song/id1573135475
  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4meyhGILdESJfsArmvzZrq

Image Credits

Patty Piotrowski
Wayne Cripps
Alden Weiler-Obelnicki
Rebecca Csuy