jaw vs. diaphragm vibrato

[Saxy_Dan]

I picked up diaphragm vibrato a while ago and have been using it all the time. Now that I'm taking lessons, I'm told that it's wrong, and I should use jaw vibrato. I'm not gonna go against my teacher and not train myself to use it, but what's wrong with diaphragm vibrato (if anything)?

[Big Nick]

My brother's a flautist who plays sax occasionally.
He uses diaphragm vibrato.
It sounds terrible. Sheep come to mind.
Is that a good enough reason?

[Paul Coats]

The diaphragm vibrato changes only volume. The jaw vibrato changes pitch and timbre, and is more characteristic of the saxophone vibrato.

The jaw is also easer to control rate and depth of vibrato. Additionally, it can be used at extremely soft volumes and the tone sustained, where a diaphragm vibrato will lose the tone.

The jaw is used additionally for bending pitch.

Learn the jaw vibrato, I think you will find it better.

[Anonymous]

Technically, changing the amplitude alone is called tremelo and the pitch alone, vibrato. About two seconds of casual thought will expose the fact that the two are VERY difficult to completely separate!

Modulating the tone with the diaphragm (often called "Nanny-Goat" vibrato) is not considered, by anyone I know of, to be the prefered or even acceptable method , simply because (as pointed out above) no one with even a vestige of aural nerve endings still intact, wants to hear it.

Diddling unnecessarily with the steady flow of air through the horn can't be beneficial to a good solid tone!

But let us not stand in the way of progress! If your muse instructs you to do so....then, by all means, do so!

[Cameron Wigmore]

I use both types of vibrato. The jaw and the diaphragm can both be used to create a pleasing type of vibrato. Yes, avoid a fast diaphragm vibrato, lest your gigs attracts hairy fourlegged women. But DO use it occasionally, in the right spot. Lots of great sax players use both kinds.
Try to avoid the habit of allways ending a long note with vibrato. It's a crutch.

[RS]

Diaphragm vibrato is good if you want to make like a shepard and get the flock out of there. I know. That was baaad.

[Cameron Wigmore]

There is more than one way to use diaphragm vibrato. I don't know which one y'all are churning out, but the way is was shown by Pat LaBarbera is nice and subtle.

[RS]

One tune that I can think of where a diaphragm vibrato would be suitable is "Embraceable Ewe". I know. The sheep's getting deep.

[Squeaker]

As long as you guys are on the subject, what do you think of clarinet vibrato. I know it is used for jazz, but it is considered taboo for classical. Frankly, when done correctly I think it can be pretty, and besides if every single other insturment is allowed to do it, then why not clarinet?

[Harrell]

Listen to Pete Fountain's diaphram vibrato. It is really nice. Benny Goodman once asked him how to do that.

I don't believe 'diaphram' or nanny goat vibrato is really from the diaphram. The nanny goat or machine gun vibrato (a la Tanya Tucker's early recordings) is a vibrato from the epiglotis and not diaphram.