Miriam Makeba Quotes

All the intelligence and talent in the world can't make a singer. The voice is a wild thing. It can't be bred in captivity. It is a sport, like the silver fox. It happens.

The human voice is the most beautiful instrument of all, but it is the most difficult to play.

The better voice doesn't mean being a better singer.

To sing along with Stevie Wonder, you had to make your voice do things it was not accustomed to doing.

Yes, I am a good singer.

I have sung, but I haven't sung in any way that I would ever call myself 'a singer.'

I have a talent, I can sing.

If you've got a good vibrato, you can get away with a lot.

I'm not the best singer in the world; I'm just good at picking up what I want to sound like.

I do better singing female songs because my voice is so high-pitched.

I'm not a good enough singer to pull off the effect.

I've never had a very quiet voice. I tried in choir to make it smaller, and it just didn't work out. And I listened to a lot of soul music when I was growing up on my own accord. But I was mostly into Mama Cass and Gladys Knight, and they all had big voices too; just different than mine.

I just don't think I'm a very good singer.

I never thought of myself as a good singer.

The thing that's tricky is sometimes the best voices - just because someone hits the big notes and sounds amazing - it doesn't necessarily mean they make the greatest artists.

I am comfortable with anything I sing: jazz, gospel, classical. It doesn't matter. I can do it all.

I can sing, but I never considered myself a powerhouse vocalist but more of a rock-pop singer.

Am I afraid of high notes? Of course I am afraid. What sane man is not?

I never took any vocal training.

I'd love to have the time to learn to sing opera properly rather than bellowing half-formed fragments of melody in exuberant moments.

I could read music and sing all the right notes at the right time. And over time, I literally found my voice, found a way to make sound.

I was a born singer.

And I've had vocal training on and off for years.

Speaking purely from a musical standpoint, I think I am a great performer.

I wish I could sing. I don't technically have a terrible voice, but it's certainly not as good as most of my friends. Whenever I hear myself on a record, it just reminds me I'm not a very good singer.