My mother gave me singing lessons; that was totally painful, because I couldn't do what she wanted to hear. She used to say: there's more there, there's more voice but I just didn't want to give it to her.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
My mother tried to teach me when I was a small child to sing but failed because of my inability to carry a tune.
I sang all the time, and finally, my mother looked at me and said: 'I have a friend in New York who gives singing lessons. If she says you can sing, you can take lessons. If you can't sing, I never want you to open your mouth again as long as you live.'
When I was 12 and started to take singing lessons from a woman, she told me that I would probably spend the rest of my life taking care of my voice.
I was always singing around my house, and my parents thought they should put me into voice lessons just for fun.
Mum decided that I could sing a bit, so she put me in a choir, which I hated, and it was just a nightmare. I was a rebellious sort of choirboy.
Speech lessons probably did more for my singing voice - they teach you breathing, resonance.
It was my Mum who got me into singing properly - she knew I had to do something with my voice because she knew I was talented. She was the one who pushed me into joining a choir all those years ago, when I was about 12. I remember she told me to start with the choir and just see where it took me.
When I was 6, I opened my mouth and didn't stop singing. I had a voice and wanted to use it.
It was clear to my parents that I had the gift of voice, and they encouraged me to pursue it.
I wasn't actually trained by my mother, she said she never taught me but she was a great singer herself and I can't remember when I didn't listen to her sing and imitate her.