Monday Music Break: Dragon Ritual Drummers

You know what?  Today I need some drums in a serious way.  And so do you.

(Source: dragonritualdrummers.com)

What, you don't believe me?  Take a listen to today's Monday Music Break. The song is "Masters of Chaos," by the Dragon Ritual Drummers.  There is some serious spiritual power behind this song that I can't quite put my finger on.  Listening to this song I kind of just want to put it on a loop and dance myself into a trance. 

See?  I told you that you needed some drums :)

Daughter of the Dagda

Oooo, look, I am on Soundcloud now!  I was growing increasingly frustrated with the difficulty of sharing my chants from my Google Drive.  On the other hand, Soundcloud makes it so easy to share original recordings of music, podcasts, etc., so I am never going back.

Today I was struck with the sudden urge to start writing and making music, but I am still feeling a great deal of "musician's block" when it comes to chant writing.  So instead of starting on something fresh, I decided to (FINALLY) go back and re-record my old Brighid chant, which I wrote several years ago.  It's a 2-voice chant, and while I had recordings of each part on separate files, I had just never gotten around to recording both parts onto one file.  While recording the parts I also made a few much-needed tweaks.

This chant calls and praises the goddess Brighid for all of her accomplishments, and sings of some of her familial relationships.  I remember struggling quite a bit with the melody and structure on this one, and it finally came to me while I was spacing out in the shower.

Normally I would post this around Imbolc, but that is many, many months away!  It seems almost ridiculous to schedule a post that far ahead.  So here you go - I guess, think of it as an early Imbolc present :)


I also wanted to share the 1st voice / bottom part of the chant as a solo recording.  I wanted you all to be able to hear it a bit more clearly, and I also think it would make a fine chant by itself.


Daughter of the Dagda

1st voice / Bottom part:

Daughter of the Dagda
Sister of Aengus
Wife of Bres the Beautiful
Mother of Ruadan
(repeat x1)


2nd voice / Top part:
You gave us keening
You smith the gold
You inspire poetry
You heal our souls

You are the flame
That burns from within
Now  we call to you
As the wheel spins

Please let me know what you think! © Colleen Beaty.  You are free to share my post and use my chants in ritual - and I would love to know that you do!  But please do not record or otherwise reproduce my chants in any other way without permission. 

Make a Song Out of Your Affirmations

Source: sunstone-holistic-health-and-healing.com via Heartache Into Beauty on Pinterest

I mentioned on my Facebook page recently that I can feel a new chant percolating in the background.  I'm not sure what it will be about yet.  I've embraced several affirmations for 2013 and they've been really helpful to me.  Maybe I should try to use one or more of my affirmations as inspiration/lyrics for a chant, like the graphic says. 

The Morrigan has also been poking at me to write a chant for her specifically for use at the Conjure Dance.  I've never written a chant specifically designed to facilitate trance, but I am up to the challenge :)

So I know I haven't been posting much on here lately.  I've been living life!  Real life > the internet ;)  I've been doing things like dating, seeing my high school friend and her sweetheart get married, live tweeting American Idol, getting new glasses, and hanging out with my amazing, genuine friends at Piratz Tavern.  Work has also been keeping me pretty busy.  Trying to keep a work-life-health balance has been a bit more challenging than it was over the winter.

Wordless Wednesday

 

If you don't get the reference, it's one of the many hilarious lines from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!  There's great music, villains who often fail to be evil, a hero who's not so heroic, and the ever-adorkable Felicia Day!

Happy Beltane :)

Happy Beltane!  Today's weather was absolutely perfect for the joyful spirit of Beltane.  The sky was clear and bright blue, and the sun was gently shining.

I took a walk after work in the sunshine to pick up my new glasses.  I am so excited to finally have these.  I haven't had my eyes checked in 7 years, and my prescription changed.  Two little diopters makes a world of difference in clarity.  I can see again!!

Also, I think I look pretty cute in them :)

As the fire festival of Beltane has been approaching, I've really been in the mood for a drum circle with lots of dancing and chanting.  Unfortunately, I am at a loss as to where to go for this sort of thing or who to get in touch with.  Any DC/Maryland locals have some tips?

Did someone say fire? ;)