Duane Moody

"When I was touring with Three Mo' Tenors, I applied my classical technique to nine to ten different styles of music: opera, musical theater, jazz, gospel, new school r&b, hip-hop, old-school Motown, spirituals, and rock 'n' roll. So I teach my students not only a very good classical technique, but also a way to apply that same technique to different styles of music. It's about different placement of sound—how and where you place the sound as it is being delivered from your mouth."

"The three most important things I want my students to have are integrity, patience, and tenacity. You have to have a solid technique in order to have a 30-, 40-, or 50-year career, and getting the technique down is a process. I tell my students they're not going to do it in a year or two. It takes time, and you have to work at it. I tell my students, 'It's up to you to understand how to make your voice shine in whatever style you're after; it's up to you to understand your body.' When I started taking voice lessons at 13 years old, I knew, even at that age, that it's about learning and practicing at least two hours a day every day."

"I knew I wanted to have a career in music at a very young age when I saw Leontyne Price in a commercial for the United Negro College Fund. It was the sound of her operatic voice that I fell in love with. I later learned I had a natural gift to be able to sing opera well, and I had a lot of great support. All my teachers from elementary through high school said, 'You will have a career in music.'"

"I'm still working in the business, which gives me the ability to apply the same principles to my students' singing as I'm still following. I'm also always learning from my students. Sometimes they tell me something new, or something I've never thought about. I also listen to my students when they say something like, 'Mr. Moody, I've tried that, and it should be doing this but it isn't, and I'm feeling this.' I always ask a lot of questions, because I know I don't know it all. This re-establishes what I already know, and seems to affect my teaching in a positive way."