Wendell Pierce Quotes

Speech lessons probably did more for my singing voice - they teach you breathing, resonance.

When I was a kid, my aunt coached me a little bit for choir, and what she taught me actually stuck with me. She basically taught me to sing from my diaphragm and not from my throat.

Thousands of kids and parents come up to us and say, How do we get better as a singer?

Everybody sings from their diaphragm.

That's right, I take vocal lessons - done it for years. There's nothing wrong with it.

Everything I'd taught myself about screaming is basically a big no-no for singing. Your posture, your airflow - you're just pushing all the air out. When you start out, you're fast, heavy and loud but you're hiding behind it in a way. When you stop screaming, that's when it gets hard.

When I first started singing - before 'Treat Me Like Fire' when I was working with a vocal coach - I realized that I wasn't even breathing when I was singing.

But actually just yesterday we raised the key of one of my songs two steps up, so my voice is obviously responding. It's a muscle, and the more you use it, the more you use it right, the more you should get out of it. So yes, I sing.

Someone told me that you could learn to sing, and that there are muscles that if you build, you will sing.

You know, your speaking voice comes back, but your singing voice you use in a different way.

When I sing full-on I use my whole body. I open my throat and let it fly out.

With classical singing you have to put out so much air - you project, you emit force.

To sing in a lower key is harder work. You have to use your diaphragm more.

Over the years, I was lucky; right from the beginning, I studied with a lady who had a lot of... she was a classical singer, and of course, they're a little bit more into, you know, preserving the voice, making sure your instrument is ready to perform.

My voice is not good enough for me to sing a song.

I went to this vocal coach, Ron Anderson, who has worked with Axl Rose and Chris Cornell, to train my voice and learn a whole new way of singing.

I think I've learned a lot on the vocal side of things.

I don't have the slightest idea of how to do vocal exercises or scales or anything like that, but I did always know to breath properly from the stomach. I'm a pop singer and never really felt I needed more.

I remember Pavarotti telling me, 'Oh, Neil, after seventy, the voice is going to go.' But I've been lucky. You almost have to learn how to sing all over again. You use your diaphragm more. You have to choose the notes and pace yourself.

I started taking vocal lessons steadily. I started taking it seriously.

We do scales, vocal exercises every day. I run the voice up and down, get as high as I can and as low as I can. I work on breathing, too.

I also have to support my speaking voice by sitting in a way that engages the diaphragm in the way I would for singing.

When I had my first voice lesson I was 15 years old. And I had a really good teacher. This is what made all the difference. A good teacher will teach you the technique, but also how to listen to your voice.

I know how to treat my voice to make it sound as good as it possibly can - which is still not that good.

I truly wish I could sing.