Category Archives: Vocal freedom

It’s Your Time – What Will You Do With It?

Posted on March 5, 2025 | Leave a comment

Oh, it’s so easy to get sucked into the sadness and frustration of current world events. The drama of it all activates the addictive brain functions and can cause long bouts of scrolling or TV-watching accompanied by various comfort foods and drinks that dull our senses and emotions. I am guilty of all of the above.

How to snap out of it? Well, one thing that works is to remind myself to stay focused on the tasks and projects that make my heart sing. Remind myself of who I am and what I came here to do and be. And to allow the knowledge of who I am and what I stand for guide every step, moving forward.

It won’t help the world at large if I become paralyzed with fear or sadness or if I turn my light down or off. As a matter of fact, I think the best thing we can do, to contribute to the fight for Democracy, is to shine our respective lights as bright as we can whenever and wherever we can.

For me personally, shining my light means using my voice to write, compose, sing, speak my heart and to empower others to do the same. And when we do these things that make our hearts sing, we also tap into something way bigger than ourselves. We tap into that great big network of inspiration, collaboration and love that makes anything possible.

On that note, I am going to continue with finalizing the mixes for my new album. It’s called It’s Your Time. And here’s my question to you: It’s your time. What will you do with it? What makes your heart sing?

Let’s do this❤❤❤

Musically Yours,
Caroline

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Posted in A Call To Action, Communication, Creativity, Expansion of Consciousness, Getting out of denial, Healing, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Tools for overcoming depression, Vocal freedom

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The Power of Emotional Communication

Posted on April 12, 2024 | Leave a comment

Many of us learned to suppress our emotions at an early age. We were often told not to cry, to be quiet, or to smile, to pull ourselves together, etc. If you were anything like me, you were raised to be a good, clever, service minded and productive person.

For me, since I was a professional performer at an early age, I felt I had no time for the upset or pain that I felt when hurt or injured. So I chose to ignore it completely or turn it into laughter. I became so good at suppressing pain that sometimes I did not feel anything at all.

The problem with suppressing our emotions is that we then also cut off major aspects of what makes us the unique, creative, passionate, loving and thriving human beings we are meant to be. With each aspect of our personality there is an intricate layer of emotion setting the tone, guiding the way and revealing the subtle nuances of creative possibility that resides within that particular aspect of who we are. And for each layer of emotion that we suppress or deny, we literally prevent ourselves from having access to the fullness of who we are.

When we allow ourselves to be present with these emotions. When we dare to invite them into the room and give them a voice. When we dare to listen fully to what they have to say or sing. When we embrace them with all of our consciousness and all of our love, there are treasures beyond our wildest imagination to behold.

Our emotions hold the key to our brilliance, our creativity, our curiosity, our ability to grow and learn and love and be loved. And when we allow all aspects of these emotions to be heard and seen and expressed fully, we also allow the magnificent texture of the fabric of our being to shine.

In communication, our emotions hold the key to heartfelt expression. This means that if we want to communicate powerfully, we need to be on board with the fullness of our emotional spectrum. And that means accepting every aspect of our emotional makeup. The good, the happy, the brilliant, the joyous, the divine, the serene, the ecstatic, the passionate and compassionate, as well as, the silly, the insecure, the bad, the ugly, the sad, the terrifying, the lonely, the self conscious, the malicious, the devious, the cowardous and the un-feeling.

When I teach Journey to Vocal Freedom, I emphasize the importance of including our most vulnerable selves. Those parts of us that we have pushed aside or denied because they embarass or scare us. These parts often belong to our younger selves. And when we allow those parts to be heard and seen and loved and nurtured, there is magic to behold. We suddenly discover that we have so much more to say, to sing, to discover, to explore, to give and to receive. And we begin to realize the symphony of possibility that resides within our own being.

When we add the texture of these voices to our own, we discover a whole new world of possibility in terms of communication, connection and authenticity. Each layer of emotion that we welcome into our conscious communication opens new doors of heartfelt connection with others. This, in my opinion, is also how we make the world a better place: By gently inviting every aspect of who we are, one emotional layer at a time, to sing along.

If you are curious to learn more about Journey to Vocal Freedom and how we can work together, feel free to visit www.journeytovocalfreedom.com and sign up for a free Discovery Call.

Musically Yours,
Caroline

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Posted in A Call To Action, Communication, Creativity, Expansion of Consciousness, Getting out of denial, Self Awareness, Self Empowerment, Vocal freedom

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Motherless Child

Posted on August 23, 2023 | Leave a comment

I posted a video today of me singing Motherless Child. The song was spontaneously recorded on my iPhone as I was mourning the loss of a loved one. And then I created the musical arrangement and the video around it.

This old African American spiritual, written by Harry Burleigh and Harry Brown, is from the US Civil War era and depicts the anguish of slaves torn from their families, their homeland, and even their own identities.

For me the song also brings up strong emotions in relationship to missing my own mother, who passed away at 61. And it brings up feelings of deep loneliness and despair.

In just a few hours from now I’ll be giving my first Journey to Vocal Freedom webinar, where a key element is how to express ourselves authentically, from the deep of our heart and soul.

How do we uncover the fullness of our being? How do we express ourselves with no holds barred? How do we gain access to our most vulnerable selves and thereby also our most powerful and valuable assets?

Let me know if you want to join and I’ll shoot you a Zoom link. More info here.

Musically Yours,
Caroline

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Posted in A Call To Action, Expansion of Consciousness, Healing, Liberation, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Vocal freedom

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The Power of Silence

Posted on July 20, 2023 | Leave a comment

Growing up with three much older siblings and parents with tremendous verbal and vocal ability, I learned to speak up, as well as, sing so I could reach the farthest end of the theatre.

I got so good at being heard that I was able to sing without a microphone, in front of a forty-piece orchestra to an outdoor audience of thousands, and be heard.

Then I met Sue Raney. Yes, the legendary Jazz Hall of Fame singer, Sue Raney. She became my mentor in vocal performance while I was studying at the Dick Grove School of Music in Los Angeles.

One of the first things she said to me was, “I would love to hear you sing at no more than 10-20% of your capacity. And I would love for you to take time to pause after a phrasing. And I would love to see you sustain that pause, in silence, as you energetically reach out and stay present with the audience and allow the them to receive the message you just gave them.”

Sue Raney taught me the art and power of silence, of allowing extended pauses, of taking the voice down to a whisper while still holding the energy of being fully present and engaged. She taught me to hold an end note, perfectly still and then add vibrato for only the conclusion of it.

In her teaching and by the example of her brilliant performance, she helped me connect my voice and my song with the very core of my being. Sue Raney taught me to sing from my heart and soul.

Here she is, performing one of my favorite songs, I’ll See You In My Dreams, written by Isham Jones and Gus Kahn. Just click on the image and it’ll take you there.

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Posted in Communication, Expansion of Consciousness, Vocal freedom

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From Gunk to Grace

Posted on July 1, 2021 | Leave a comment

More often than not, I see myself as a positive person. Someone who tries to make the best of things, no matter what. I try to see the beauty and the light in everyone and everything, no matter what. But sometimes I fail. Sometimes I lose sight of the light and the beauty. Sometimes I fall into a black abyss pit, – a pit containing all the feelings I try to avoid.

I am in this pit right now, tempted to cancel my upcoming performance. Tempted to cancel most things. Tempted to give up on my self. It’s just a feeling, I know. A temporary state of being. It’s no more real than anything else. But at the moment it feels like everything. At the moment it feels like my whole life. At the moment it is nearly unbearable. And at this moment of nearly unbearableness, I can feel a slight shift in the energy.

As I let the pure energy of the black abyss pit wash over me and have its way with me, – as I allow the discomfort of feeling this low, this alone, this helpless, without trying to fix it or avoid it. As I allow it to simply be felt by me in its entirety – as I surrender to it, I can feel it transforming and releasing and dissolving into grace. Such is the gift of grace.

Sometimes I have to let myself feel whatever gunk it is that wants to come to the surface and be released, in order to let grace carry me. Otherwise, I am too busy managing my life. Figuring things out. Making things happen. Being a doer. Sometimes the gunk that reside in that black abyss pit is a huge blessing in disguise, allowing me to surrender completely to my higher power.

Ah, what a joy it is to let life carry me.

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Posted in Communication, Expansion of Consciousness, Healing, Self Awareness, Self Empowerment, Tools for overcoming depression, Vocal freedom

How To Stay Positive During Covid 19

Posted on May 4, 2020 | Leave a comment

It wasn’t fun, I can assure you, to have my entire tour cancelled, due to a tiny little virus. After having spent nearly a decade preparing the Finding Venus album to be launched world-wide, I can safely say, my timing sucked.

My whole, entire, plan for 2020 was about live shows, live seminars and touring. That was how I was supposed to make back all the money I had spent, preparing, producing and pre-marketing this product.

Needless to say, as the pandemic hit, I felt as if the whole rug of financial possibility, my one genius plan for getting out of production debt, got ripped from underneath my feet in one feel swoop.

But I didn’t give up. “I can always stream concerts and seminars via Facebook”, I thought. Since I had spent the last ten years, also building rapport with nearly 5000 Facebook fans, I now focused my attention on how I could reach my goal in a digital fashion.

As fate would have it, less than one week into my new resolve, someone managed to hack their way into my Facebook account. Before I knew it, my personal account and all related business pages, along with all my contacts and content, had been permanently deleted by Facebook.

At this point, you might be wondering what any of this has to do with staying positive during Covid 19. I am getting to that.

Sometimes, in order to appreciate what we have, it has to be taken from us.

All the things I have taken for granted; the ability to travel the world, the ability to perform live concerts and seminars, the ability to reach out to friends and fans via Facebook and the ability to visit my 96-year-old aunt, I don’t take for granted anymore.

What I have learned from this experience, after feeling all the angst and worry, disappointment and despair, from not being able to count on any future plans as I had imagined them, is this:

Being fully present in the moment, is everything.

There is nothing more important than who I am being, right now. As a result of this thought, I become more fully present in each moment and pay attention on a whole new level.

I appreciate my self and everyone around me. Talents, strength, vulnerabilities, differences, nuances, become so much more interesting when I am fully present and aware. What we appreciate, we also nourish. So, when I appreciate my self and those around me, I prepare healthy meals, exercise, rejuvenate and celebrate on a whole new level of being.

When I realise that every moment is precious, because I have no idea what will happen tomorrow or the next day, I fill each moment with what I value the most. For me, that includes catching up with friends and family over the phone, taking care of the house and garden,  singing, playing instruments, writing, composing, arranging, hiking, bike riding, taking care of paper work, updating web pages.

Every challenge that we face is an opportunity to grow and learn and appreciate.

When we can’t make money a certain way, we have the opportunity to let our creative juices flow, to surrender to divine inspiration and to let our talent organically flow towards the possibility of the present situation.

When we can’t travel the way we planned, we have the opportunity to deal with what is here and now and how to make the absolute best of our present situation. For me, right now, it means I get to take care of all those things I put on the back burner when I was busy being productive out in the world.

Now, that I have let go of trying to fix the future, of which I have absolutely no control, it’s actually pretty great. At this moment, I get to finish and record songs I almost forgot about. I get to learn things about my loved ones that I didn’t have time to listen to before. And, because many things that otherwise serve as a convenient distraction has become unavailable, I get to deepen my self awareness.

Because of the pandemic and all the restrictions that come with it, I get to sit with my discomfort and really feel it. I get to allow it to move me to a new level of awareness, where new concepts, songs and musicals are born.

My top 7 keys to staying positive during Covid 19 are:

  • Stop criticising yourself and others. It’s a brand new world.
  • Appreciate what the pandemic has to teach you, personally, professionally and globally.
  • Be fully present to each moment, to yourself and to each other.
  • Allow whatever feelings are there to guide you into the next moment.
  • Celebrate and Savor and Allow your heart to fully open.
  • Find fun, creative ways to express how you feel.
  • Nurture your body, mind and spirit in a joyous, non-judgemental manner.

Enjoy this time, as much as you can. Let it inspire you to create, relate and celebrate. And, please let me know if I can be of assistance to you in any way.

For those of you who wish to empower and enhance your vocal ability, I now offer Vocal Freedom sessions via Zoom. And for those who wish to access and process the emotional root cause of a current issue, I also offer Journey Therapy sessions via Zoom.

Musically Yours,
Caroline

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Posted in A Call To Action, Caroline's Concerts, Communication, Creativity, Expansion of Consciousness, Healing, Liberation, Life and Career, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Tools for overcoming depression, Vocal freedom

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Overcoming Procrastination and Finding Venus

Posted on April 28, 2019 | Leave a comment

Roughly seven years after the birth of the idea to create a musical, based on chapters from the novel-eh-thriller-memoir that took a half a lifetime to dare to write, I am finally ready to release the double album, Finding Venus.

I am both excited and absolutely terrified. Not that the album itself is so dangerous. But the emotional content that is attached to each of the songs, brings up a world of issues for me. They remind me of times in my life where I have felt utterly powerless or deathly buried afraid or wanting to kill myself.

The songs, in themselves, are tremendously empowering, full of hope and strength and courage and humor and powerful expressions. Yet, for me, they bring up all the hidden passages of what it took for me to overcome the fear and pain and uncertainty of the trauma I lived through.

In addition to working hard to have it all come together, the book, the musical and the album, I must confess that procrastination techniques have been at play. Techniques such as, nitpicking, delaying making a decision, constantly debating the pros and cons of each decision made, beating up on myself for not being slim enough to present it, etc.

Now, that I have made the decision to move forward with the release, I realize the amount of fear that has been holding me back. I realize the kind of self doubt that I have carried with me for so long. In spite of the fact that I have been a great promoter of Vocal Freedom, I have held myself hostage, in a way, to my own fear.

The fear that I now have surrendered completely, in order to move forward with this release, is connected to a very old message, launched deeply within my younger self. This old message is about Not sharing personal stuff, about Always smiling to the camera, about Appearing strong and happy, even when I feel vulnerable or sad. Serendipitously, herein lies the core of the new message I wish to relay with my music and story:

Don’t be afraid to Be and Share who you are. There is tremendous power in opening to the inner wisdom of your being, allowing it to move you and expressing it powerfully in words, music and action.

All the songs for Finding Venus can now be enjoyed and purchased via www.carolinewaters.com and we’ll be super happy if you can make it to the Release Party at Kulak’s Woodshed in North Hollywood on May 4th.

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Posted in A Call To Action, Caroline's Concerts, Concerts, Creativity, Expansion of Consciousness, Feel Good Music, Getting out of denial, Healing, Liberation, Musical Theatre, Posttraumatic stress, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Tools for overcoming depression, Vocal freedom

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3 Keys to Communicating With Ease

Posted on October 24, 2017 | Leave a comment

Have you ever experienced feeling like you expressed yourself with such immaculate clarity, but for some bizarre reason, most of your intended communication got lost in translation? I have. Many times. In fact, over and over. It’s really frustrating.

So, here’s the deal: We receive 400 billion pieces of information every second. Of these 400 billion pieces, only 2000 gets delivered to our conscious mind via our brain’s filtering system. And, this filtering system is continuously formed by our emotional experiences, which of course varies greatly from person to person, depending on our DNA, our upbringing and our surroundings at any given time.

This explains why we perceive things so differently and why we can experience the same event, but observe completely different aspects of it and thus tend to give entirely different accounts when we reiterate said event.

Seeing and hearing and feeling things so differently from one another can make it difficult to communicate. Here are my three keys to making it easier:

1 – Listen with the intention to learn where the other person is coming from and how they experience what they experience. Ask them to clarify if anything is unclear.

2 – Resist the urge to offer an opinion, unless specifically asked. And, even then, I often find it more useful to ask more questions so that the other person can arrive at their own understanding first.

3 – Let new information sink in before jumping to conclusions. Recognizing that we are only perceiving a small part of the whole picture at any given moment opens the door to more playful, curious and exploratory communication. When we resist the urge to judge, we open for the possibility to expand our vision. This, in turn, expands our ability to collaborate and co-create.

For those of you who are interested, I am designing new Vocal Freedom seminars that include fun and empowering processes for expanding our self awareness and enhancing our communication skills. This, in addition, of course, to finding, freeing and exquisitely  expressing our voices.

If you want me to stop by your town for a Vocal Freedom Seminar and/ or House Concert or to give a concert at your favorite venue, feel free to shoot me an email. Many choose to book a seminar/ concert as a one- or two-day event.

Email booking@redheadrecords.com with any questions or booking inquiries.

Vocal Freedom via SKYPE/ FaceTime is also an option.

Musically Yours,
Caroline

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Posted in A Call To Action, Communication, Expansion of Consciousness, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Sivilized Debate, Vocal freedom

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3 Keys to Resolving Conflicts

Posted on August 7, 2017 | Leave a comment

It was recently suggested to me that I displayed classic symptoms of Battered Women’s Syndrome. My symptoms were as follows: I felt verbally paralyzed, unable to speak out or take a stance in fear of what consequence may follow.

I don’t remember being battered, but I have experienced near death accidents that have caused post traumatic stress reactions and I have experienced other forms of suppression, such as verbal abuse, scare tactics and withholding.

Some of these experiences are still affecting my life from time to time in the form of fear. Fear of conflict being the most energy- and time consuming. In the spirit of Vocal Freedom, I am going to share 3 key elements that I have found to be the most useful in terms of regaining my confidence and ability to resolve conflicts:

1 – Being Fully Present

My automatic reaction to stress is to dissociate, to leave my body. Dissociation may be an effective tool to handle stress in the moment, but is not conducive to being effective or productive or resolving conflicts. So, in order to move into a better feeling place and a place of power, I first need to become present in my own body, to ground myself in the here and now, to feel my feelings.

2 – Identifying the Most Ideal Outcome

It is easy to get wrapped up in other people’s words and actions, to take things personally. And to respond from a place of feeling wounded and needy. So, in order to counter this victim-based reactive behavior, I step back and try to see the situation from a higher perspective, by identifying the most ideal outcome. In order to do this effectively, it is vital that I don’t act from an emotional charge, but wait until I have identified what I really want to get out of the situation.

I recently stepped into a difficult conversation with a group of people I didn’t know. And, because my initial engagement happened as a knee-jerk reaction, I fell flat on my face. It took almost a day and a half to untangle myself from the emotional defense I had gotten myself into and to see my carefully drafted ignorant BS for what it was. This can be a tricky thing to identify, since the ego automatically will come up with a number of self-glorifying justifications for our behavior, as long as we remain emotionally charged. Stepping back and identifying the most ideal outcome, helped me see clearly how to untangle myself and proceed in a more constructive way.

3 – Humbly Embracing the Opportunity to Learn

It takes a great deal of courage to be humble. It requires enough personal strength, confidence and wisdom to see the value of such a receptive state of being. For me in particular, being humble is something I have fought, tooth and nail, every step of the way. Why? Because I mistook it for weakness. Fortunately, I have come to realize that humility can serve as a most wonderful tool to discover what is possible to achieve and receive. When I humbly embrace the opportunity to learn from a situation, however triggering, confusing or challenging it may be, I put myself in a position of optimal reception. Being humble and unassuming enable us to see and receive what we have to offer each other with greater ease and precision.

Here’s a song I wrote that expresses the magic and beauty of being fully present, identifying a most ideal outcome and humbly embracing the opportunity to learn: Dancing In The Nude. It features Jennifer Leitham on bass, Katisse Buckingham on sax and programming, Tom Zink on keys, Chris Wabich on drums and Caroline Waters on piano and vocals. Enjoy!

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Posted in A Call To Action, Communication, Expansion of Consciousness, Getting out of denial, Healing, Liberation, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Tools for overcoming depression, Vocal freedom

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Back On the Inside

Posted on March 10, 2017 | Leave a comment

I’m back in Los Angeles, after an intense few months in Sweden. I gave only three performances this time around, all well received and the last two sold out. One of them in concert with Norwegian country-artist extraordinaire, Tove Bøygard. In-between concerts, I took time off to get knee surgery, physical therapy and go on a week vacation to the Canary Islands to recover.

Looking at it from a neutral perspective, I feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Being on my way to recovering completely and getting in good shape for the upcoming Finding Venus album-, musical- and book release feels really good. The possibilities that lie ahead as a result of what I have accomplished so far are numerous and exciting. Producers, directors, film makers and bookers from both Europe and the US are showing a real interest in the book, musical and album. An expanded journey of traveling and broadening the horizons for Finding Venus lies afoot.

Yet, my mind is beating up on me for not having everything figured out already for the upcoming release. “Show me the money,” it says. “You should have had it all strategized, financed and in motion by now.” This is of course my workaholism at work, telling me that no matter what I do, it’s never good enough or fast enough or enough, period.

So, I try to sit back and just breathe, in the California sun, and remind myself that just for today, it’s enough just to be. Just for today it’s enough to appreciate where I’m at, how far I have come and to be excited for the journey that lies ahead. I tell myself that it’s okay to focus on getting fully back in shape before attempting another quantum leap. And it’s okay to take the time it takes to organically arrive at the most delicious solution to my dream building.

I realize that in and through all of this, getting back on the inside, looking at the world around me from the power that resides within me, is the most important course of action I can take. As I realize this, my shoulders drop and I am able to fully exhale. The moment I allow myself to just be, my mind opens wide to attract exactly who and what I need to proceed. Funny how that works 😉

Back On the Inside is on my Venus Envy album, which I co-produced with Greg Matheson and Katisse Buckingham. You can check it out by clicking here.

A Call to Action for you, my dear friends and fans:

Many of you are eagerly awaiting the Finding Venus album release and tour schedule. In that process I’d love to get your feedback!

– Where would you like to see me perform and in what setting?

– Do you have a favorite venue that you can recommend?

– Do you know producers and directors in your area that you’d like for me to get in touch with?

– Would it be of value to you if I offer Vocal Freedom seminars in conjunction with the Finding Venus performances?

Let me know your thoughts and ideas. I have a feeling it’s going to take the whole village to get this ball rolling as fabulously as I am feeling it.

Musically Yours,
Caroline

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Posted in A Call To Action, Caroline's Concerts, Musical Theatre, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Vocal freedom

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