The Vibrato Experiement

December 3, 2008 at 5:01 AM

I went to extremes in viola angles/positions to see how this could engage a vibrato on the lower strings in low positions lately. I'm back at the 45 deg. angle nose to string, letting the base of my 1st finger be in contact with the fingerboard. Trying to keep a space with my finger and fingerboard caused tension in my whole body, not to mention destroying my bowing. The A string still dips to the floor a little which has helped my get my fingers across to the C string with less strain, but the scroll is back up where it should be.

I tried the vibrato again from the finger as my former stand partner suggested. I'm still struggling whether it should be an action moving my finger towards me or away from me. A "push" vs. a "pull" of sorts. In a "push" action, my finger starts more on the pad, then moves towards the nail, while a "pull" action starts from the nail and then relaxes to the pad. The "push" seems to generate more tension than the "pull". This in and of itself causes a dilemma. When playing viola, the fingers are typically more on the pad (not flat or collapsed) than towards the nail to get a good tone, especially on the lower and thicker strings, approaching a more cello-like finger position. So a "push" action seems to be the most obvious approach to take if it were not for the tension it creates. When I vibrate in higher positions, it is always a "pull" action that engages the wrist like a knocking the back of your hand on a wall. The "pull" action is supported as my thumb acts as a fulcrum to the movement. When the first finger is engaged, a pinching between the thumb and the first finger with the fingerboard between the two occurs. In higher positions on the higher strings this is not so much of an issue since my left arm is more naturally moved towards my right placing my thumb under the neck at it's base.

So, the biggest problem that must be overcome by far is the tension, or gripping, between my first finger and thumb in lower positions on lower strings. When I first started learning vibrato nearly a year ago, I had this same problem in first position with my 2nd - 4th fingers on all strings. I used a few exercises to relax the left hand: playing with no contact between the thumb and fingerboard, and moving the thumb to different positions (behind the first finger, next to the third, under fingerboard, high on fingerboard, etc...) while playing a single note. This helped tremendously over the course of a few months.

I attempted the "no thumb contact" exercise with my first finger in first position tonight. My thumb just did not want to cooperate with me at all. The moment I lightened it's contact with the fingerboard and dropped my first finger onto the string, my thumb with a mind of its own, instantaneously tightened itself on the fingerboard in a secure and unmovable grip, restricting all movement. When this happened, the contact point betwen my first finger and fingerboard moved towards the middle joint (not the base joint).

I think I need to spend a bit more time in front of a mirror to analyze thumb position. There is something obvious that I'm missing at the moment. It is nearly like training for a gymnastics - conditioning your body to do what you want and when you want it.

From Stephen Brivati
Posted via 210.172.199.2 on December 3, 2008 at 6:02 AM

Greetings,

it`s the `pull` not the `push`. Incidentally, ikt isd importnat5 to recognize that vibrato is actually a circular action. The pad rolls back and releasde presure on the string. Then it rolls forward. It is in this rolling action that the weight is fed back into the string. Failure to make this release of finger weight is a major caus eof tension. It is a good idea to practice without the bow and really focuse on getting this circular rolling action.

Cheers,

Buri

From Mendy Smith
Posted via 72.90.121.245 on December 3, 2008 at 7:04 AM

Buri -

That is what I'm thinking -pull not push. I understand what you mean with the circular motion though. The vibrato I do have is at an angle to the string, not straight up & down the length. I haven't watched closely enough in a mirror to see if it is truly circular or not yet.

That will be a topic for a future blog.

From Stephen Brivati
Posted via 211.1.219.196 on December 3, 2008 at 10:04 PM

Greetings,

looking forward to the next one!

BTW I have often found that violnists tend to get bogged down in finger oor hand issues when trying to develop vibrato when the root cause actually lies in the left shoulder. If there is any unnecessary tension or akwardness there then the energy for the vibrato which actually originates in the back is blocked. If one of my stidnets has difficulty with vibrato I almost always start addressing the problem form here.

Cheers,

Buri

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