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To Vibrato or Not to Vibrato?

5K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  ams264 
#1 ·
Well, I'm a sophomore in high school, I take lessons, but in a half-hour lesson I can't get a chance to ask some questions. For classical playing, my band teacher just told me to vibrato anything that I can. Somehow that doesn't really seem too realistic.

Can anyone add further insight? Should I really vibrato whatever I can manage?

-Jake-
 
#2 ·
Go ahead and use vibrato on held notes.
You know... whole notes and longer.
I'm sure your director is trying to encourage you to develop this aspect of your playing.
 
#4 ·
Try listening to classical saxophonists like Jean Marie Londeix or Frederico Mondelci and imitate their vibrato and eventually develop your own vibrato style. In response to the title of the thread, YES!
 
#5 · (Edited)
Well, I'm a sophomore in high school, I take lessons, but in a half-hour lesson I can't get a chance to ask some questions. For classical playing, my band teacher just told me to vibrato anything that I can. Somehow that doesn't really seem too realistic.

Can anyone add further insight? Should I really vibrato whatever I can manage?

-Jake-
Jake, you've made an astute realization: it's not realistic or even musically sensible to have vibrato on EVERY note. Vibrato should be one of your many tools for expressive playing and should be used in that way. Just as when you speak, you don't inflect in the same way throughout a dialogue, in music you want to create as much variety and nuance through each and every phrase as you can. Vibrato is a big part of this. As a high school student, your biggest priority in regards to vibrato should be working to control it at any tempo. Work with metronome to be completely flexible with various speeds of vibrato at different tempos.

Then, go and listen to NON-saxophonists, especially string players. Listen for how they shape the music and how vibrato comes into play.

So to sum it up, don't use it on every note. Learn to control your vibrato, and use great musical examples you've heard to help guide you to when and where to use it best.
 
#7 ·
Don't just simply "vibrato" some notes..... Practice it for a few minutes of every practice session. Set up your metronome and practice breaking your "pulses" if you will into rhythmic patterns. Do 4 "pulses" per beat, then 3, then 6, then 2. When you have a consistant yaw, and consistant time between yaws, then start to incorporate it where it seems to fit. Like they said, you're beginning to see the outskirts of "artistic expression", it's what makes every player play differently, how you perceive the music and the phrase. Enjoy it, but please don't just start bending random notes, it's a technique, just like articulation, it needs to be practiced!

- Pat
 
#9 ·
I agree. You practice your vibrato with a rythmic pace. I personally think your vibrato should never be rythmic, ever. That's the whole french/german school of sax playing argument. My point was in practicing and learning proper vibrato, it should be practiced evenly, to create an equal pitch on every yaw, but I see where you mis-construed this, I didn't mean to ever play that way, just learn vibrato by using a meter.

-Pat
 
#10 ·
I support Migraine on this on. I learned the same way, by breaking up beats in various pulses of 3,4,5,6,7, and 8 and then applying this to different tempos. Think of it as "technique" practice for vibrato. This allows you to be able to implement any kind of vibrato at any tempo and at any time.
 
#12 ·
Remember that vibrato is an expressive device - not an on/off switch. Vibrato can be applied in so many ways eg. play the note straight and add vibrato half way through. Vary the pulses, fast, slow etc. The key element is to get control of your vibrato and practice it.

differencetone: what? Vibrato does have a rhythm. In fact, in a sax quartet I played in we spent time in rehearsals matching vibrato and plenty of time on tuning chords. I think vibrato sounds horrible if over used.

A great example of vibrato use to my ear is listening to Whitney Houston sing "I Will Always Love You". You don't have to like the song (I don't) but listen to how many different ways that she uses vibrato on that tune.
 
#13 ·
Vibrato is best learned one on one with an experienced teacher.
There are too many finer points to the technique that can't be explained or demonstrated on the internet.

Sit down for an hour with a teacher. Watch, listen, and emulate.
 
#14 ·
I think the more important questions is : ''why use vibrato?'' The answer I think it to make the music sound beautiful/ or to be expressive. A straight note, can sound a little endless and boring, but not always of course. Singers with beautiful vibratos are held in high esteem. Trying vibrato in your own way, allows you to begin to develop your own unique style. Good luck!
Edit: whoops this is the classical sax area. Not my experience at all. I guess there's probably a certain kind of vibrato speed favoured in classical? Worth finding out what it is, I guess, then do your own anyway (just kidding)
 
#16 ·
Edit: whoops this is the classical sax area. Not my experience at all. I guess there's probably a certain kind of vibrato speed favoured in classical? Worth finding out what it is, I guess, then do your own anyway (just kidding)
Laurel you're not far off, but what you're touching on here is the ancient and ever-changing argument over the french and german (Mule/Rascher) school of playing...and there is no "right" answer...I personally play the german expression because to me it sounds more individualized and expressive, but I've had professors (way better than me) say the consistant pulsing vibrato rhythm is correct, all I can say is we're both right as long as the tone and pitch are there. Everything else is secondary...=)

- Pat
 
#15 ·
Yes, it depends on the mood - in some kinds of music. In Baroque music, vibrato was only tolerated as a device to make soft instruments (like the recorder) appear louder. Excessive use of vibrato was named "nickering" (I am not quite sure of the English word here, it is the name for the sound a goat makes).

Then, in the Romatic era, the vibrato was seen as a device to express the mood of the music. This caught on, and at the end of the 19th century everybody put vibrato on everything - which is patently wrong. In my opinion, the strings are always overdoing the vibrato (one wonders if they are not able to hit the correct note but put their faith in the law of averages).

Therefore - vibrato in 19th century music is usually correct, vibrato in 17th century music is usually wrong.
 
#17 ·
First of all, it is very important that, in the practice room, you develop your ability to play vibrato with perfect consistency (both in speed and depth) at different tempos. Once that motion is under control, then work on being able to gradually transition from a straight tone to a wide vibrato and back again. These are the basic tools that you need to play with an artistic vibrato.

As for application, always remember that vibrato serves as a carrier of intensity. Frequently, a more subtle vibrato is used for soft passages, but when you come to a section that demands a quiet intensity--a nervous, anxious, or anticipating feel--soft volume with a fast vibrato is appropriate. Playing vibrato on individual notes is a good start and the way that we all learn, but the goal is to be able to apply vibrato to phrases. Learn to maintain vibrato from note to note without letting it affect your rhythm or articulation. Then, think about the way that intensity builds toward the climax of a phrase and then dissipates and let your vibrato follow that arc.

Finally, remember that vibrato is an expressive tool and so is a straight tone. They both have their purposes and you should be a master of both. Sometimes, a perfect consistent straight tone can make a very powerful statement. These sorts of questions are what being a musician is all about and the fact that you're asking them as a sophomore is a great sign! Keep practicing and listening to great performers and the musical maturity will come in time.
 
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