Lyrics and guitar chords for traditional and modern folk songs.

Can you change the world through song? This appealing idea has long been the professed aim of singers who are part of choruses affiliated with the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA). Theses choruses first emerged in the 1970s, and grew out of a very American tradition of (often gender-segregated) choral singing that explicitly presents itself as a community-based activity. By taking a close look at these choruses and their mission, Heather MacLachlan unpacks the fascinating historical and cultural dynamics behind groups that seek to change society for the better by encouraging acceptance of LGBT-identified people and promoting diversity more generally. She characterizes their mission as “integrationist rather than liberationist” and zeroes in on the inherent tension between GALA’s progressive social goals and the fact that the music most often performed by GALA groups is deeply rooted in a fairly narrowly conceived tradition of art music that identifies as white, Euro-centric, and middle class--and that much of the membership identifies as white and middle class as well. Pundits often wax eloquent about the power of music, asserting that it can, in some positive way, change the world. Such statements often rest on an unexamined claim that music can and does foster social justice. Singing Out: GALA Choruses and Social Change tackles the premise underlying such claims, analyzing groups of amateur singers who are explicitly committed to an agenda of social justice.

Attempting to escape his abusive father and generations of cyclical poverty, young Jonah Hargrove joins the mysterious River—a teenage girl carrying thousands of dollars in stolen meth—and embarks on a southern gothic odyssey through the East Texas river bottoms. They are pursued by local drug kingpin John Curtis and his murderous enforcer, Dakota Cade, with whom River was romantically involved. But Cade and Curtis have their own enemies, as their relationship with the cartel controlling their meth supply begins to sour. Keeping tabs on everyone is the Thin Man, a silent assassin who values consequence over mercy. Each person is keeping secrets from the others—deadly secrets that will be exposed in savage fashion as their final paths collide and all are forced to come to terms with their choices, their circumstances, and their own definition of God. With a colorful cast of supporting characters and an unflinching violence juxtaposed against lyrical prose, River, Sing Out dives deep into a sinister and sanguinary world, where oppressive poverty is pitted against the need to believe in something greater than the self.

"The story begins in Puritan New England, with its many repressions. Through its scenes wanders a fellow out of legend, one Barnaby Goodchild, who is imprisoned in the stocks in the first scene, and condemned by Parson Killjoy to go singing and dancing through the ages. Barnaby moves blithely with American music through history, bringing his singing ways to a Civil War campfire, to Texas of railroading days, to the Gay Nineties and the Roaring Twenties, and into the world of today. Only three performers appear throughout the show; the rest of the parts may be cast as desired" -- Publisher's description.

The Old Testament prophets were not just predictors of things that would happen long after their time. Nor were they purveyors of religious platitudes. They were people with an urgent message for their own generation and a passion to declare it whatever the risk. They were singers, poets, demonstrators and protesters, radical critics of their own society and dreamers of a world that could be different.

The Sing Out Loud series is an innovative vocal training program designed specifically for kids, teens, and beginning singers. Each book is filled with pictures, illustrations and audio files, designed to function like a personal vocal coach, with easy, fun, step-by-step assignments that will help the beginning singer develop their singing voice. Sing Out Loud Book I: Discovering Your Voice is all about finding your own voice. Understanding the three vital steps to vocal technique as well as vocally experimenting with a variety of sounds will help you discover your own unique sound and help you discover a healthy, effortless new way to sing.

An oral history of North American folk music revivals that draws on more than 150 interviews to explore the musical, political, and social aspects of the folk revival movement.