Bel canto
Mike Patton is mostly a self-taught musician and cannot read or write notation. He has perfect pitch. His production methods also grew from him figuring out how to accomplish the sounds he tried to convey every time he was in his studio. In the beginning, Patton mimicked and drew from all the singers whose music he admired. Only once Patton started to continually record himself and listened to these recordings, he was able to establish a foundation to shape his skills. Thereby, he points up that "hearing more", both to his and other music, has been his most important education. Since he began to improvise with saxophonist John Zorn in 1991, along with his discoveries of Demetrio Stratos and Diamanda Galás, Patton started broad explorations into extended vocal techniques and the limits of his voice, with him trying to match Zorn's "immense, bullheaded" range. Many of his vocal deeds and exercises arisen from improvisations were documented on the 1996 album "Adult Themes For Voice". Around the period that Patton moved to Italy, he became acquainted with the singing method of opera teacher Nicola Vaccai, which he studied autodidactically for years, furthering his repertoire more. At the time he also delved into Bel canto, a florid Italian singing tradition, as can be seen in his operatic performances and also in Mondo Cane.