alma audio series

The Prayer for Plants is an upbeat song in G Major, helping to evoke joy and happiness. The ukulele and shaker provide an offbeat accompaniment, encouraging children to clap along to the beat! Each verse ends with the same refrain, ‘hear our prayer for plants’. The vocal harmony develops in the final chorus, reflecting how everything around us is always growing and evolving.

The SA TA NA MA chant derives from one of the oldest mantras, “sat nam”, meaning “my true essence” or “true identity”. The repeated melodic sequence of “SA TA NA MA” in the chorus of this song reflects the continuous cycle of creation. The song is in A Major with warm vocal harmonies. The strummed guitar accompaniment and the rhythmic claps encourage listeners to sing and clap along, sharing in this uplifting mantra song.

The meandering flute melody takes notes from the Asavari raga, a Hindustani Classical raga, which is performed in the morning hours. The sound of the glockenspiel cuts through the mellow flute sound, helping to bring a sense of wakefulness as we slowly breathe and wake up our bodies and minds.

The Gratitude Song is upbeat in a Major key, reflecting our joy and thanks for life, nature and love. The rhythmic strumming of the ukulele and the bells encourage us to move to the music as we sing along to the chorus!

I introduced the koshi chime for the AUM chanting, the resonant sound acting as a backdrop for the layers of vocal chanting. For the final part of the chant, where we sing AUM in full, the lower note is added in the vocal part, allowing us to hear and feel the full resonance of all 3 vibrations together. 

The sound of the kalimba helps us to ground ourselves in the process of chewing and digesting. The ‘chewing’ rhythm helps us to focus on the act of chewing our food. The vocal sound develops to a humming sound ‘mmm’ as we bring our awareness to the process of digestion. The rhythmic movement of the voice and penny whistle mirrors the motion of rubbing our tummies as we digest our food.

The Winding Down song takes some inspiration from the concept of ‘binaural beats’, which helps the body and mind to go into relaxation. The harmony passes through moments of dissonance with close frequencies sounding together. The koshi chime acts as a grounding musical backdrop, with the sound of the flute and voice layered on top. The calming waves of sound help us to wind down.

The rainbow meditation takes us through each of the 7 chakras of the energy body, each linked to one of the 7 colours of the rainbow. The koshi chime helps us to focus our minds on each of the chakras of the energy body. The ‘Rainbow’ chorus brings us colourful harmonies through the layers of voices. Each colour has its own melody which we hear weaving into the chorus.

Miss Happy Gut & The Spinning Monk:
Exploring Planet Earth, Miss Happy Gut encounters a Tibetan Monk, and together they learn the first of the Tibetan 5 rites.

Mr Avocado & Pachamama:
Mr Avocado is on a journey through the Andes in Peru. Here, he encounters the sacred Pachamamma whilst learning the second of the Tibetan Rites.

Miss Heartful in the Himalayas:
Join Miss Heartful as she decides to join the Llama monks on their long walk from Nepal to Tibet. Here she encounters the Wind and her friends teach her the third Tibetan Yoga practice.

Mr Balance between Chaos & Cosmos:
Mr Balance and Nandi, a milky white cow decide to river raft along Maa Ganga, to arrive in Kashi. Kashi is the meeting point of Chaos & Cosmos, it is here Mr Balance learns the 4th Tibetan Rite.

Miss Banana Bones and the Water Priestess:
Miss Banana Bones is discovering the rainforests of Bali. Here she meets the Water Priestess, together they learn the 5th tibetan rite.