Different types of vibrato

February 19, 2012 at 10:36 AM · Katisha,

Here is how I define these vibrato types:

- "Arm" vibrato uses the same muscles as shifting: a swing of the forearm originating in the elbow. It has little effect on left hand placement and intonation, and it can be rapid and intense while leaving the fingers supple.

- "Hand" or "wrist" vibrato is a swing of the hand originating in the wrist. It is often added to arm vibrato, almost replacing it in the higher positions. Since the hand tilts back and forth, intonation is compromised. It should not overshadow the arm vibrato. It can add much sweetness to the tone.

- "Finger" vibrato is a variation in finger pressure, originating in the knuckles. As it uses the same muscles as normal finger action it is of limited usefullness, except when the other vibratos are blocked: very high positions, or twisted double stops. It has a slightly "bleating" quality.

It is vital to keep in mind that the arm and wrist vibratos act in the direction of the string, and not across it.

I hope this helps. I often find that players and teachers confuse a clear description of vibrato with the excercises they use to achieve it. As with bowing techniques, we nearly come to blows over this!

Look on YouTube for Kyung Wha Chung and Hilary Hahn (two of my vavorites) who have very different left hand positions.

Best wishes, Adrian

February 19, 2012 at 06:44 PM · You forgot to mention chin and shoulder vibrato... but then again, I'm a fiddler, and do things a bit different.

February 19, 2012 at 08:10 PM · The things you mention are varied ways of producing a vibrato. One way isn't better than another, nor is how a vibrato sounds predicated by the way it is produced. The finger-vibrato is mentioned here & on other sites (including fiddle ones), but it doesn't seem to be as prevalent as it once was, or taught so much. How you want to sound, whether your vibrato is under your command, and whether it is comfortable or somehow not comfortable are what matter, imo. Sue

February 19, 2012 at 08:23 PM · I try to not focus on the exact muscle that is used for vibrato. There is just a percentage of each used to create the vibrato to fit the part, and ensemble.

February 20, 2012 at 08:52 AM · My descriptions were purely "mechanical": I don't think about anatomy when I'm playing, and I rarely mention it when teaching. Sometimes, though, we are not getting quite the sound we want, and it is worth analysing the movements.

Roland, I shall now watch fiddlers with special interest!

As fiddlers often hold the fiddle in the palm of the hand, I imagine that "finger" vibrato is the most common?

However, the sounds we make, as opposed to those we imagine, come from our physical movements, and my descriptions come from observing the playing of my students, that of other players, and from my own experience.

Exercises for obtaining, or improving, the vibrato we would like, are numerous. The problem lies in the way that vibrato is a "semi-automatic" movement, but less fast than the faster passages in the music, which are anything but automatic!

In all its aspects, the violin is easy to play, but often very difficult to learn!

February 20, 2012 at 01:49 PM · "As fiddlers often hold the fiddle in the palm of the hand, I imagine that "finger" vibrato is the most common? "

Yes, the "pancaked wrist" often means the finger vibrato is the only option. Common in Irish styles, not so common in Scots or bluegrass where position work is essential for some of the repertoire.

No finger vibrato here (it's rarely used) but the clip shows the "pancaked wrist" of the girl on the left.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR1l169_mVA

February 21, 2012 at 12:23 AM · The fiddlers I know well who make regular use of vibrato don't play with the wrist up. They don't looks precisely classical either. Check out Jay Ungar, Linzay Young, Kevin Wimmer, Mitch Reed. Even with a "pancake" wrist it is possible to do a vibrato that is similar to an "arm" vibrato.

February 21, 2012 at 05:12 AM · I don't think anyone mentioned baroque-style bow vibrato...

February 21, 2012 at 08:56 AM · Scot : Bow vibrato ? Could you explain this please ?

Roland : What is chin and shoulder vibrato ? I do not learn fiddle music but I am very curious all the same.

February 21, 2012 at 01:06 PM · Adrian, you are just plain wrong about "wrist vibrato". Also, there is finger vibrato that is rocking of the finger, not what currently some call "fake vibrato", where the fingertip is slightly elevated from contact but not removed from the string. The latter was in more common practice perhaps a century ago, but has fallen out of favor. Sue

February 21, 2012 at 02:14 PM · Sue,

Please say why you think I am "just plain wrong" about wrist vibrato; do you mean the physical description, or the resulting effect, or what?

At my age, I have resumed my childhood inquisitiveness, and as a fellow teacher, your precise comments would be more than welcome.

Could you also describe a "rocking" finger vibrato: I seem to have missed out on that one!

I knew my matter-of-fact descriptions would provoke reactions, and I would hope for equally clear alternatives..

Best wishes,

Adrian

February 22, 2012 at 12:01 AM · Sue,

I didn't see what was wrong with Adrian's basic description of wrist vibrato either. I'd only say, though, that it needn't compromise intonation if the pitch goes down from the note.

A bow vibrato is just a quick change of intensity in the same direction, like an up or down-bow stacatto but without the hard articulation or bite. Some baroque singers do this as well to ornament notes, such as Emma Kirkby. I'd even go so far as to say that this is a truer vibrato, because while our traditional vibrato only mimics a change in intensity, the bow vibrato uses it exclusively.

February 22, 2012 at 01:32 AM · Greetings,

I think Sue is referring to your argument that wrist vibrato compromises intonation. I too respectfully completely disagree. My teacher at RCM (Ken Piper) played and taught that way. His best studnets intonation was fine (mine is too I think). Ida Haendel plays quite well in tune. Of more modern palyers take a look at Akiko Meyers. Incidentally, Zuickerman apparently said he wished he had used wrist vibrato more a she felt it wa sless wearing on the body. I can`t imagine a player of his stature saying that if it compromised intonation.

Cheers,

Buri

February 22, 2012 at 08:00 AM · Fair enough, I should have said "intonation can be compromised", and not "is compromised". Mine isn't bad either! We have to maintain this balancing act beween stabilty and flexibility.

February 22, 2012 at 12:14 PM · Many players (including myself) say that vibrato should wave under the note, rather than either side of it.

Why? Because the at the "crest" of the wave, the finger-tip presses near the nail where the finger is harder, and the tone is brighter; in the dip of the wave, the tip is often leaning back on the fleshier pad, so at that instant, the tone is more veiled, and a fraction less loud.

This results in a variation of pitch, accompanied by slight variations of intensity and tone. Our ears "tune" to the crest of the wave, rather than its mean level.

Even the baroque/folk bow vibrato has a slight tone variation resulting from the conscious variations in pressure and speed of stroke.

February 23, 2012 at 04:48 AM · Greetings,

I think the basic descriptions and explanations here are excellent but I do find this kind of compartmentalization a little miusleading.

My own conviction is that `pure` arm or wrist vibratos are quite rare. All poarts of the body are so profoundly interdependent it is more a question of a higher percentage of the movement occuring in one part of the anatomy than another. At a deeper level it might possibly be detrimental to talk only in terms of one body part moving, leading to a subconscioous tension in the part that is supposedly immobile.

As part and parcel ofthis isuse I would note that there is a hand/arm combination vibrato. Incidentally, Henryk Szeryng was quite adamant that this was the best possible vibrato, for what it`s worth.

Also keep in mind that the arm interconnects back all the way to the lower back on the oppiste side. Thus many vibrato problems are not local issues but a fucntion of shoulder tension and /or failure to recognize the generative energy of vibato occurs in the back. Issac Stern described this phenomenon as like that of a bullwhip in which the large back muscles provide the impulse and the energy flciks outb thorugh the finger tips.

Cheers,

buri

February 23, 2012 at 08:07 AM · Stephen,

I too feel that well-integrated movements originate somewhere in the back (a little lower than the shoulder-blades?); not just vibrato, but bowing too (another source of lively discussion!).

Sue,

My itemized approach was in answer to Katisha's original question. A real vibrato is a subtle blend of movements, which become sufficiently assimilated to respond intuitively to the music.

John,

I too like vibrato-free playing, where "expression" comes from a lively and subtle bow-stroke.

On copying: I like my students to copy what I show them, so they will be "equipped" to find their own way.

Intuition is like a rushing stream; analysis is like the banks without which the stream would be more of a puddle..