V.com weekend vote: What kind of vibrato do you use primarily?

June 28, 2013 at 5:25 PM

There are two main kinds of vibrato: arm vibrato, in which the entire arm vibrates; and wrist/hand vibrato, in which the hand waves from the wrist. (Arguably there is a third, "finger vibrato," but this is more of a refinement of how flexible the finger is when touching the string, and it happens in concert with an arm or wrist vibrato. Yes, feel free to argue with me about this, I know someone will!)

Some instances work better with arm, others with wrist, but many if not most instances work just fine with either an arm or wrist vibrato. Most people have one or the other that they do better and default to. Me? I'm left-handed, and I came by a wrist vibrato quite early on. "Arm vibrato" was something my college professor taught me, and I found it to be an interesting revelation. I do use it for double stops, very high passages, etc., but I default to a wrist vibrato on most occasions.

Funny enough, my students have evolved their own vibratos -- several were very natural with "arm vibrato." It's great to learn both, but one usually starts with the kind that works best!

So what kind of vibrato do you primarily use, or do you honestly use the same amount of both? Or are you still working to cultivate this skill? That's okay, too!

Tweet