{"id":7301,"date":"2023-02-11T11:48:32","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T16:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/?p=7301"},"modified":"2023-02-11T15:00:37","modified_gmt":"2023-02-11T20:00:37","slug":"the-kitchen-musician-february-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/?p=7301","title":{"rendered":"The Kitchen Musician ~ February 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hello friends,<\/p>\n<p>After a private struggle with my inner critic, I wrote a song as a way to show myself a little kindness and to give myself a &#8220;pick me up.&#8221; It worked! I hope others will also take this message to heart. Join me in the kitchen for &#8220;Love Yourself&#8221;.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><HR><\/p>\n<p><H5>Index<\/H5><br \/>\n&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"#news\">NEWS:<\/a><br \/>\n&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"#music\">THIS MONTH&#8217;S MUSIC<\/a>: &#8220;Love Yourself&#8221;<br \/>\n&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/?page_id=56\">UPCOMING SHOWS<\/a><br \/>\n&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"#nonprofit\">FEATURED NON-PROFIT<\/a>: Tunefoolery<\/p>\n<p align=center><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"720\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square-410x410.jpg 410w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square-160x160.jpg 160w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square-636x636.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square-140x140.jpg 140w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square-90x90.jpg 90w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square-110x110.jpg 110w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square-320x320.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Tom-w-guitar-square-560x560.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>Tom at TCPOE, Groton, MA.<br \/>\nPhoto: Peter Fischman<\/em> <\/p>\n<p><a name=\"news\" title=\"News\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><HR><\/p>\n<p><H5>News:<\/H5><\/p>\n<p>This week I had the honor of being interviewed on <a href=\"http:\/\/steverobb.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Steve Robb<\/a>&#8216;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.songcreating.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Song Creating<\/a> podcast. In each episode, Steve gives a songwriter the opportunity to share some of their songwriting journey, and to discuss the creative process of one song in detail. You will be able to hear it on Spotify, Amazon Podcasts and Stitcher &#8211; and on selected radio stations and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.songcreating.com\/general-5\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Song Creating<\/a> web site.<\/p>\n<p>On <strong>Saturday March 4th<\/strong> at 7:30 pm, I am excited to join my talented friends <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chrislavanchermusic.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Lavancher<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kimmobergmusic.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kim Moberg<\/a> in a songwriter-in-the-round show at the venerable <a href=\"https:\/\/lindentreecoffeehouse.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Linden Tree Coffeehouse<\/a> in Wakefield, MA. Tickets available at the door, or reserve the best seats ahead of time by calling 781-246-2836.<\/p>\n<p>More great shows coming up, including:<br \/>\n<strong>March 25<\/strong>, Javawocky Coffeehouse in Brockton, MA accompanied by Seth Connelly.<br \/>\n<strong>April 19<\/strong>, Music Caf\u00e9 in Newberry, NH<br \/>\nand more at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/?page_id=56\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">upcoming shows<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"music\" title=\"Love Yourself\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><HR><\/p>\n<p><H5>This Month&#8217;s Music:<br \/>\n&#8220;Love Yourself&#8221;<\/H5><\/p>\n<p align=center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/EoAhqAEkIQw\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<em>&#8220;Love Yourself&#8221;<br \/>\n\u00a9 2023 Tom Smith (ASCAP)<br \/>\nLyrics in comment below.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In January I attended a wonderful songwriting workshop with eight other songwriters, taught by my good friend <a href=\"https:\/\/cosysheridan.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cosy Sheridan<\/a>. This was not my first Cosy workshop, but she has such a deep knowledge of songwriting and a talent for teaching that there is always a lot to learn from her. This workshop was four weekly virtual meetings, with a discussion and an assignment or two at each one. During one session, she asked us to write a letter to ourselves from our imaginary &#8220;kind and encouraging songwriting coach&#8221; &#8211; who hopefully resides in each of our creative heads. At the end of the allotted ten minutes, my page was still blank. Although I was very troubled by my inability to do this simple assignment, I was not surprised since I have been struggling a bit with my inner critic recently. Many songwriters have told me that they too experience times of self-doubt and internal criticism, even though they have an obvious history of past success. <\/p>\n<p>In that class, we heard several examples of how to make good use of repetition. Cosy also discussed how to kick-start our creative juices to come up with melodies for our songs. She suggested that if we are stuck for a melody, try starting with an existing melody and adjust from there &#8211; even the nursery rhyme &#8220;Three Blind Mice&#8221; would work. &#8220;Three Blind Mice&#8221;? &#8211; really? <\/p>\n<p>I decided I would take another crack at the letter from my &#8220;kind, encouraging coach&#8221; who was absent during the class. My chorus incorporates Cosy&#8217;s suggestion for repetition and even starts with a melody inspired by &#8220;Three Blind Mice&#8221;.   <\/p>\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &#8220;Love is not like other things<br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Like property or wealth<br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; You\u2019ll have more love for someone else<br \/>\n&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; When you give love to yourself&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Steady on!<\/p>\n<p>Tom<\/p>\n<p><em>(If so inclined, I invite you to leave a comment by scrolling to the end of this page.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"nonprofit\" title=\"Featured Non-Profit\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><HR><\/p>\n<p><H5>Featured Non-profit: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tunefoolery.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tunefoolery<\/a><\/H5><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Tunefoolery.jpeg\" alt=\"tunefoolery\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-3214\" \/><strong>&#8220;Tunefoolery Music<\/strong> is a non-profit organization for musicians in mental health recovery. For over 25 years, we have been a community where musicians find purpose and identities as creative performing artists. Our musicians have performed for over 200,000 people (as solo acts or ensembles) at mental health centers, shelters, hospitals, conferences, nursing homes, etc., as well as for the general public. We emphasize our musicians\u2019 strengths and the endless possibilities of healing and recovery.<\/p>\n<p>The healing process for people in mental health recovery can be a very painful journey where one\u2019s traumatic experiences and shortcomings often become the focus of the process. In Tunefoolery, we use music, creativity, education, paid work, and a loving community as a way to transform people\u2019s lives and create a foundation to become productive, skilled musicians who can share the gift of music and hope with others.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Please join me in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tunefoolery.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">supporting Tunefoolery<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p align=center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/H89twgqtVEc\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello friends, After a private struggle with my inner critic, I wrote a song as a way to show myself a little kindness and to&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-7301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsletter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7301"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7335,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7301\/revisions\/7335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7301"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomsmithmusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Flocation&post=7301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}