I don't use my lips. I use my tongue to make - create the vowels.

Singers are experts at keeping things from dripping on their throats. Believe me, they're experts.

Singing is connected to the body. So there's a - there's a depth in the body that's necessary to perform this kind of music. And a lot of that expression comes from a kinesthetic awareness. And it's - that's one thing that I think people identify with, and of course there's the moment that you're in.

Singers actually used to begin singing at a much younger age than they do now. I would say for me, I started late. But it's not unusual. I discovered I had a voice. I wanted to be a pianist when I was seven, and circumstances didn't allow that I studied it.

I remember when I finally figured out how simple one aspect of singing was, and I looked at my voice teacher and I said, is that all it is? And he put his head on the piano keys, and he said, why do I do this to myself?

Sometimes a musical imagination is as important as singing itself, you know, the voice, what you do vocally, the vowels. So there's a percussiveness that can sometimes be quite energizing and useful in singing as an expressive device.

The most important person is the audience and the composer. The rest of us - and even the composer is a servant to the audience. And of course, the audience is a servant to the higher art.