In the midst of shifting times, it is often a challenge to think about the future. It can also be challenging to consider what resources from the past can be helpful in the present and in seeing ways forward.

Creativity shared in music can offer ideas.

Ideas about, for instance:
Imagining a better vision for what may come
Letting go of past divisions and hurts
Taking time to reflect
Risking caring for one another
Sharing a kind word

All of these and more which can be parts of taking the risks of acting with courage...

In ways both direct and subtle, these things come into play in the music here.

You might not at first think that the traditional song Little Sparrow has anything to do with all this, but think again.

As the song unfolds, there’s grief, there’s learning, resilience, living though hurt and letting it go...all helpful things in going forward. Maybe you’ll lock up your heart for a time as the song suggests; odds are you’ll be wise enough to unlock it again, and wiser when you do.

This version of Little Sparrow is by Jenn Butterworth. You will find it on her album called Her by Design, which is a varied collection of songs which honors the voices of women.

Her by Design is Jenn’s first solo album. If you know the traditional music of Scotland, though, you’ll know she is not a newcomer. As one of Scotland’s top guitarists working in folk tradition, she’s in demand for performance and for recording, is a member of the award-winning Kinnaris Quintet, and is a respected educator who, among other things, is a Creative Producer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

With all that, it is understandable that it took Jenn some time to get to creating an album of her own. In addition to her instrumental skills, she’s also a fine singer, as you will hear in this piece. Several musicians you’ve met in this series and elsewhere in my writing join Jenn on the album, among them Patsy Reid, James Lindsay, and Seonaid Aitken.

Writing a Better Story offers a good bit of wisdom set to an upbeat melody. It is from Carrie Newcomer, who is based in Indiana. As ever with Carrie’s work, there are a number of ideas of explore. It is a song you will want to hear more than once, for ideas and the vivid language in which they are framed. It is recorded on Newcomer’s album The Point of Arrival.

The song Will Your House Be Blessed brings together several ideas explored in the two songs above from a slightly different standpoint. Harry Manx wrote the song; Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem give it a jazzy, bluesy, folk-based treatment. Rani is the lead singer and plays fiddle; daisy mayhem are Scott Kessel on percussion, Anand Nayak on guitar, and Andrew Kinsey on bass. They are all based in New England. It is recorded on the band’s album Some Bright Morning.

Music with no words, that is, tunes as they are known in traditional music, is a good gateway to reflection in times of change, too. This is a set from Massachusetts-based fiddle player and composer Hanneke Cassel, which is comprised of Serendipity and Making Tracie Smile. Joining Hannake on the tunes are Jenna Moynihan on five string fiddle, Keith Murphy on guitar, and Tristan Clarridge on cello. You will find the set on Hanneke Cassel’s album called Infinite Brightness.

In her song Travel These Ways, Karine Polwart reminds that finding ways to care for each other can help both the receiver and the giver of such care. In quietly poetic terms, Karine offers images and ideas of acts of caring, and reminders of that such connections last. Karine Polwart comes from Scotland. You will find Travel These Ways on the duo album from Karine Polwart and piano player and composer Dave Milligan called Still As Your Sleeping. Since it often comes up, I’ll add that the title really is ‘your sleeping,’ a possessive, not a contraction. It’s a phrase from the song Travel These Ways: “the night is as still as your sleeping...”

Caring, kindness imagination, creativity, reflection: there is a lot to explore through the work of these musicians. May such explorations be good companions to you as times continue to shift.

Thank you for staying with us through this journey. Below, you'll find a link that will take you to an article which has a bit more backstory on the series. It also has links to a number of the stories, including ones called Listening for Community, Music for Winter's Changes, and The Geography of Hope.

Music for Shifting Times

Kerry Dexter is Music Editor at Wandering Educators. 

You may find more of Kerry's work in National Geographic Traveler, Strings, Perceptive Travel, Journey to Scotland, Irish Fireside, and other places, as well as at her own site, Music Road. You can also read her work at Along the Music Road on Substack.