Susan M. Carr's Blog

I recently watched the movie, “Spotlight.” The movie revealed the many years during which priests sexually abused children in Boston. Today, NPR announced that there was a list showing which priests in Seattle, Washington had abused children.

I was raised a Catholic and attended sixteen years of Catholic education. I went to St. Thomas More, and St. Mary’s Academy in Portland, Oregon and Fort Wright College of the Holy Names in Spokane, Washington.

I Googled a list of priests who had taught i...

It is imperative for a singer when searching for a voice teacher to be aware of the teacher’s qualifications. There are many voice teachers advertizing that they can teach voice. But what are the qualifications needed to be a voice teacher?

Education is essential. A voice teacher should have a degree in voice, which means they went to an accredited four year college or university and studied vocal performance and vocal pedagogy with a master teacher.

At a college or university, student voice...

There’s an eight sided log cabin in the Huckleberry Mountains in Eastern Washington. Perhaps there’s snow falling on it as I write, beautiful white thick snow that covers the creek behind it and the large tamaracks, pines, and firs that encircle it.
I hear the birds: the chickadees, the swallows, the blue jays, the hummingbirds, the hawks and the ospreys. Maybe a coyote will walk through the pasture or a mama bear and her cub or a cougar.
I know many deer will be there frolicking in the deep snow as the beavers hibernate deeper in their dens.
The cabin will glow from the lights and the fires lit in the iron stoves and oil lamps. The cracking sounds of firewood will ward off the chilly cold.
Inside stands a tree loaded with ornaments and garlands that a young child once made. By the tree, an old walnut upright piano will be waiting to be played as Christmas songbooks sit patiently to be opened.
It will be quiet there. The bed will be covered with thick blankets as books sit stacked by the bedside. They will have a chance to be read. Journals rest on the large table in the living room with pens ready to be used. Games like checkers, Monopoly, Clue and Scrabble will compete for the prime enjoyment of the long evenings. It’s the time of the year. To get away to your favorite place. And be…..
“The Ballad of Desiree” by Susan M. Carr
Merry Christmas 2015
The Ballad of Desiree

There’s an eight sided log cabin in the Huckleberry Mountains in Eastern Washington. Perhaps there’s snow falling on it as I write, beautiful white thick snow that covers the creek behind it and the large tamaracks, pines, and firs that encircle it.

I hear the birds: the chickadees, the swallows, the blue jays, the hummingbirds, the hawks and the ospreys. Maybe a coyote will walk through the pasture or a mama bear and her cub or a cougar.

I know many deer will be there frolicking in the deep...

A law enforcement officer just spoke on the radio about the San Bernardino shooting. Quoting him: “We’re not going to be there. You’ve got to take care of yourself.”

For the public, recent events are creating a new hyper vigilant awareness. As the events unfold, we may not have protection immediately. No wonder gun sales go up after these shootings by record amounts.

I experienced over the summer another similar situation. My home was in jeopardy because of a forest fire. In a L.A. Times news...

This time of year, I hear Joni Mitchell’s song, “It’s coming on Christmas, They’re cutting down the trees, They’re putting up reindeers, And singing songs of joy and peace….”

I walk down Highland Drive and see another incredible 100 year old tree cut down. The canopy was phenomenal. Standing under the tree, I was in the cathedral of joy and peace.

In 2007, an old Queen Anne house was on the chopping block for a new multimillion dollar home with connecting townhouses. The first thing that came...

Recently in the news media, Meghan Trainor, Sam Smith and Adele have had to cancel their tours. Whether any singer has vocal cord hemorrhaging or polyps or even nodules, they must have strong vocal technique in order to survive tours.

Teaching voice for over 39 years and running a successful vocal studio in Seattle and Los Angeles, I am an expert. Working with successful Grammy winning and nominated bands, I teach strong vocal technique. Technique that has been based in the Bel Canto style of...

In the 1970s, when women got married many of them chose not to take their spouse’s last name. This had long been a tradition for many cultures. That the wife’s maiden name or birth name would be no longer used. Women would of course adopt their husband’s name. The American suffragist and abolitionist Lucy Stone (1818-1893) made it a national issue that women keep their own surname as part of her efforts for women’s rights in the United States.

For me, it was a feminist thing to do. My name re...

As a singer, when you start to feel sick and you have to sing, that’s a BIG problem. First, you can always sing with a cold. Even though you might not want to, singing can help heal your cold quicker. The vibrations that you produce in your sinuses and chest bone cavities stimulate warmth and bring the good cells to help fight the infection. Of course, gargling with salt water does amazing things. Take one cup of hot water (hot as you can stand it), put tsp of salt and gargle every hour for...

In the music industry, you have to have “GRIT” as a woman. Nothing is going to be handed to you on a silver platter. The incredible long hours of writing songs, practicing them, recording them and marketing them is never ending. There is no moment of falling in your puddle and crying. Your journey is a long lonely road full of determination and GRIT.

Do you have GRIT? The courage to do what you want to do without rewards of fame or money.

Do you have GRIT? To keep getting up on stage and perf...