vibrato

[Jojo]

Hi

Can anyone help me with some tips, exercises etc so I can develop a vibrato. I can only sing with a straight tone and I would love to have a vibrato??

thanks

jojo

[Steven Fraser]

Hi

Can anyone help me with some tips, exercises etc so I can develop a vibrato. I can only sing with a straight tone and I would love to have a vibrato??

jojo

Jojo: Vibrato shows up in a voice when there is sufficient freedom and reasonable vocal function. To be able to make a specific recommendation, its needful to determine what desirable things are missing that should be present, or what restricting things are present that should be removed.

That said, the principal inhibitor of vibrato is unnecessary tension, and right next to it is the too-heavy registration that comes with overpressurizing the air.

So, take off some of the pressure for a bit. Start by practicing with a reduced volume, working the softer end of the dynamic range. If you conceptualize a vocal tone that is soft, and clear, and effortless, your body will respond immediately by re-balancing all the muscular activity involved. Tension will be less, automatically.

That should be a good start.

[VideoHere]

jojo, i'm just a singer, certainly no expert, but there are numerous books and cds that can help.

two i found helpful were a pulsing exercise and a pitch variation exercise to develop vibrato from the abdomen rather than the throat.

[Jojo]

Thanks for your advice regarding vibrato. I do have a tendency to get very nervous and therefore tense! I also maybe 'try too hard' and over push the air flow - things sound a bit loud rather than resonant and beautiful. All things I am determined to try and improve.

Jojo

[jonpall]

I worked on my own vibrato initially with a pulsing volume exercise like VIDEOHERE mentions which gradually developed into a more classical balance-diaphragm vibrato like Steven Fraser is talking about.

[VideoHere]

Thanks for your advice regarding vibrato. I do have a tendency to get very nervous and therefore tense! I also maybe 'try too hard' and over push the air flow - things sound a bit loud rather than resonant and beautiful. All things I am determined to try and improve.

Jojo

jojo, vibrato is worth persuing because (steve, please correct me if i'm wrong) it dosen't always come naturally. try to get it from the abs and not from the throat.

[Steven Fraser]

jojo, vibrato is worth pursuing because (steve, please correct me if i'm wrong) it dosen't always come naturally. try to get it from the abs and not from the throat.

VIDEOHERE, Jojo: Vibrato does not 'come' from the abs. Vibrato is a cyclical variation in vocal frequency fundamental which occurs 5-6 times a second. As I mentioned in my first post, it shows up when there is not constricting tension, and when vocal function is reasonable.

If by 'come from the abs' you mean provide the correct support which prevents overpressure, then I am fine with that. That falls under 'reasonable' vocal function. I would also add appropriate adduction and registration to the 'reasonable' equation.

VIDEOHERE: I think you can see what my recommendation would be... from my just-previous sentence.

[VideoHere]

VIDEOHERE, Jojo: Vibrato does not 'come' from the abs. Vibrato is a cyclical variation in vocal frequency fundamental which occurs 5-6 times a second. As I mentioned in my first post, it shows up when there is not constricting tension, and when vocal function is reasonable.

If by 'come from the abs' you mean provide the correct support which prevents overpressure, then I am fine with that. That falls under 'reasonable' vocal function. I would also add appropriate adduction and registration to the 'reasonable' equation.

VIDEOHERE: I think you can see what my recommendation would be... from my just-previous sentence.

i see what you mean steve..you know better than i do. i know for me vibrato comes much easier in the lower notes than the higher.

[VideoHere]

VIDEOHERE, Jojo: Vibrato does not 'come' from the abs. Vibrato is a cyclical variation in vocal frequency fundamental which occurs 5-6 times a second. As I mentioned in my first post, it shows up when there is not constricting tension, and when vocal function is reasonable.

If by 'come from the abs' you mean provide the correct support which prevents overpressure, then I am fine with that. That falls under 'reasonable' vocal function. I would also add appropriate adduction and registration to the 'reasonable' equation.

VIDEOHERE: I think you can see what my recommendation would be... from my just-previous sentence.

wait, steve..i got off the last post without asking..where should vibrato originate from?

[Snejk]

There is a difference betweem tremolo and vibrato no? Vibrato meaning shifts in pitch and tremolo meaning shifts in volume right?

I prefer to use my larynx for a vibrato in the lower/middle register. For high notes such as falsetto screams or power overdrive notes I use my stomach... That's just me though t.t

[Steven Fraser]

wait, steve..i got off the last post without asking..where should vibrato originate from?

VIDEOHERE: Current thinking is that its an aspect of the way that that nervous system and the intrinsic muscles of the larynx interact during sustained phonation. This motion requires a certain freedom of action to occur. In other words, no restricting tension, and reasonble vocal function.

As I said... it just shows up. You don't have to make it, you just 'let' it.

[Steven Fraser]

There is a difference betweem tremolo and vibrato no? Vibrato meaning shifts in pitch and tremolo meaning shifts in volume right?

I prefer to use my larynx for a vibrato in the lower/middle register. For high notes such as falsetto screams or power overdrive notes I use my stomach... That's just me though t.t

Snejk: that's a pretty good working definition.

[gno]

To me some vibratos seem to be oscillating not just on pitch or volume - a rich vibrato seems to be spinning or oscillating slightly with pitch, slightly with volume and also frequency spectum. I don't think it is always simply one dimensional.

[Steven Fraser]

To me some vibratos seem to be oscillating not just on pitch or volume - a rich vibrato seems to be spinning or oscillating slightly with pitch, slightly with volume and also frequency spectrum. I don't think it is always simply one dimensional.

guitartrek: Good point. The change in frequency spectrum is the result of the way the harmonics move with respect to the resonances of the vowel. For a given vowel, the presence of the vibrato causes all the harmonics to shift as well, and the frequency swing of a given harmonic is the H number times the width of the fundamental change.

To be specific, if a vibrato frequency swing of 10 Hz occurs at the fundamental, at H2, the oscillation is 20 Hz, at H3, its 30 Hz, at H4, its 40 Hz...... At H10, the swing is 100 Hz. You get the idea. As these harmonics move up and down in frequency, they tune variously with the formants. When they align well, the tone is louder for the well aligned harmonics, when thy do not, the tone is softer. The overall effect is as you mention.... the tone spins & shimmers. But those are resonance effects on top of the fundamental frequency cycle.

Sometimes, a vibrato is also accompanied by a wobble... which is a cyclical up/down motion of the larynx. This makes the tone even more complex, but if too obvious, detracts from the tone quality at some point.

[Jojo]

Thanks again for all the responses so far.

Someone has told me a few tips for encouraging a vibrato - whilst holding a sustained note, to 'shake it out' or ' move your hand up and down fast infront of your eyes'? Any truth in either of these or old wives tales??

jojo

[Steven Fraser]

Thanks again for all the responses so far.

Someone has told me a few tips for encouraging a vibrato - whilst holding a sustained note, to 'shake it out' or ' move your hand up and down fast infront of your eyes'? Any truth in either of these or old wives tales??

jojo

Jojo.. they work, because they distract the singer and cause muscular motions in the body that can, overall, decrease the restricting tension. You could just as easily shake a leg, or extend the arms like a zombie and make your hands quiver. Same principle.

[Stan]

I think Brett Manning's Mastering Vibrato CD is pretty good, check that out!