In Sankey's  view, he and Moody were both preachers; the only difference, he said, was that "[Moody] reaches men's hearts with words that are spoken, while I reach them with words that are sung."
Sankey lacked formal voice training; it is likely that the only tuition that he received was during his attendance at a  12-week session run  by George Frederick Root, Lowell Mason and William Bradbury, which prepared potential music teachers and choirmasters for their work.
Nevertheless he possessed a sound vocal technique; a contemporary description refers to "an exceptionally strong baritone", while a newspaper review of the times wrote that "he expresses the gospel message with exquisite skill and pathos ... but the secret of Mr Sankey's power lies not in his gift of song but in the spirit of which the song is only the expression".
 According to Sankey: "Before I sing, I must feel, and the hymn must be of such kind as I know I can send home what I feel into the hearts of those who listen".
His technique for communicating this feeling involved the clearest possible enunciation, with careful use of pauses for dramatic effect:  "You've got to make them hear every word and see every picture ... Then you'll get that silence of death, that quiet before God".

For his solos, Sankey would accompany himself on a small portable reed organ.
  An important part of the song ministry was the congregational singing, always a significant feature of campaign meetings.
Sankey chose hymns with accessible tunes that were easy to learn, and insisted that the accompanying music  be played softly, so as to emphasize the message of the words.
Sankey's methods had a marked effect on church music, and were widely adopted by later generations of revivalist singers.

In the secular world,  not every listener was captivated by Sankey's singing style.
A.N. Wilson, in his social history of the Victorian era, quotes a contemporary pamphlet from an anonymous "London Physician" which is dismissive of both Moody and Sankey.
Having characterized Moody as a ranter and "a third-rate star", the writer goes on: "As for Mr Sankey ... his voice is decidedly bad, and, like all worn-out singers he endeavours to conceal this by startling alternations of high and low notes".
Against this judgement is that of a newspaper published towards the end of the first British tour: "Music in his hands is ... the handmaid of the gospel and the voice of the heart."
In Sankey's  view, he and Moody were both preachers; the only difference, he said, was that "[Moody] reaches men's hearts with words that are spoken, while I reach them with words that are sung." Sankey lacked formal voice training; it is likely that the only tuition that he received was during his attendance at a  12-week session run  by George Frederick Root, Lowell Mason and William Bradbury, which prepared potential music teachers and choirmasters for their work. Nevertheless he possessed a sound vocal technique; a contemporary description refers to "an exceptionally strong baritone", while a newspaper review of the times wrote that "he expresses the gospel message with exquisite skill and pathos ... but the secret of Mr Sankey's power lies not in his gift of song but in the spirit of which the song is only the expression".  According to Sankey: "Before I sing, I must feel, and the hymn must be of such kind as I know I can send home what I feel into the hearts of those who listen". His technique for communicating this feeling involved the clearest possible enunciation, with careful use of pauses for dramatic effect:  "You've got to make them hear every word and see every picture ... Then you'll get that silence of death, that quiet before God".
For his solos, Sankey would accompany himself on a small portable reed organ.   An important part of the song ministry was the congregational singing, always a significant feature of campaign meetings. Sankey chose hymns with accessible tunes that were easy to learn, and insisted that the accompanying music  be played softly, so as to emphasize the message of the words. Sankey's methods had a marked effect on church music, and were widely adopted by later generations of revivalist singers.
In the secular world,  not every listener was captivated by Sankey's singing style. A.N. Wilson, in his social history of the Victorian era, quotes a contemporary pamphlet from an anonymous "London Physician" which is dismissive of both Moody and Sankey. Having characterized Moody as a ranter and "a third-rate star", the writer goes on: "As for Mr Sankey ... his voice is decidedly bad, and, like all worn-out singers he endeavours to conceal this by startling alternations of high and low notes". Against this judgement is that of a newspaper published towards the end of the first British tour: "Music in his hands is ... the handmaid of the gospel and the voice of the heart."
Ira D. Sankey