What's with vibrato?

[Tom]

I must admit that I'd never heard this term until a few years ago when a talented musician told me "you've got an interesting vibrato". Wish I'd asked him to explain.

Today, after watching some talent shows (American Idol and The Voice) where vibrato was mentioned several times, I decided to Google; Some interesting results, including:

Vibrato: What It Is and How to Develop It — SingWise

I'm not conscious of any vibrato that emanates from my voice. How do folks know they have one &/or are modulating it?

 

[Laura & Charles]

I could easily be way off base, but I always assumed it was something controlled. Not something innate that one wasn’t aware of, but something you consciously applied or not.

 

[8Muddypaws]

I don't think I have much of it but I know how to make it in my studio.

It's something that gets way overused on those shows.

 

[Tom]

I could easily be way off base, but I always assumed it was something controlled. Not something innate that one wasn’t aware of, but something you consciously applied or not.

That's basically what the article says. But I'm not conscious of its existence or that I'm in any way 'controlling' it.

 

[Ray-IN]

I'm only familiar with vibrato on guitar, Electric guitar can have a lever that accomplishes this.

 

[SeilerBird]

Fender really muddied the waters in 1954 when they started manufacturing the Stratocaster guitar. They included a vibrato but called it a tremolo.

What is tremolo vs vibrato?

Tremolo is a steady increase and decrease in volume. Vibrato is a steady increase and decrease in pitch. So a lot of people confuse the two.

 

[Tom]

I recall friends in my early youth playing electric guitars with a "tremolo" arm. The effect sounded like very noticeable changes in pitch. Maybe that was the "Fender-inflicted confusion"(?) OTOH I see a lot of interchange & mixing of the two terms (vibrato and tremolo), even in "authoritative" works. But, as we say, don't believe everything you read on the internet.

In my case, it's like my AFIB - I'm not conscious of either vibrato or AFIB, and don't know when I'm in one state or the other, and I'm not conscious of altering them.

When I listen to TV talent shows, I hear the judges comment on contestants' vibrato, but I'd missed it. This might be what some written works refer to as me hearing the "average pitch".

 

[Utclmjmpr]

I notice vibrato alot,, because I am a Bluegrass nut and Bluegrass is noticeably with out vibrato omong vocalists.. A good mix was with Ronda Vincent ( without ) and Gene Watson ( with ) in duet..>>>Dan

 

[Tom]

I notice vibrato alot,, because I am a Bluegrass nut and Bluegrass is noticeably with out vibrato omong vocalists.. A good mix was with Ronda Vincent ( without ) and Gene Watson ( with ) in duet..>>>Dan

Thanks for that. I watched/listened to a couple of YouTube videos of their duets. The place (I think) I hear the vibrato is on the trailing note of a phrase in Gene Watson's singing
If that's correct, then I have a better understanding of vibrato and how it's produced.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I could easily be way off base, but I always assumed it was something controlled. Not something innate that one wasn’t aware of, but something you consciously applied or not.

While a singer can add intentional vibrato, it's also a natural thing. As the vocal cords vibrate to make a sound of a given pitch, there can be a slight but regular variation. The subtle shifts can be seen on an oscilloscope but for most listeners their ear just averages it out. The effect is mostly a vocal quality that listeners may describe as "warmth" or "fullness" of tone, but occasionally a vocalist will have enough vibrato that many can actually hear a slight pulsing. Back before my hearing problems began I was very sensitive to pitch and could hear (or maybe sense is a better term) most vocal vibratos. Not so much any more because I've lost some common frequencies.

Vibrato should not be confused with distinctly shifting pitch, which is a stylistic thing some performers do. Or yodeling, an extreme example.

 

[SeilerBird]

Learn about vibrato from the undisputed king of vibrato, BB King.

 

[Onyrlef]

I must admit that I'd never heard this term until a few years ago when a talented musician told me "you've got an interesting vibrato". Wish I'd asked him to explain.

Today, after watching some talent shows (American Idol and The Voice) where vibrato was mentioned several times, I decided to Google; Some interesting results, including:

Vibrato: What It Is and How to Develop It — SingWise

I'm not conscious of any vibrato that emanates from my voice. How do folks know they have one &/or are modulating it?

I thought it was what singers did to keep (disguise) there voices from breaking on the high notes, especially like the National Anthem. Celine Dion and Adele would never use it.

 

[Tom]

Gary's comments reminded me ...

In the 60's, when I worked at a very noisy steel plant (largest in Europe), I lost some frequencies in my hearing, mostly at the lower end. It didn't bother me at the time, because I used instruments such as oscilloscopes and frequency generators/signal injectors to diagnose and fix audio, video and RF equipment, including friends'/neighbors'/colleagues stereos and TVs. (Kept me busy on graveyard shifts while some colleagues slept).

18 months after leaving that work environment, while watching TV at home, I became aware that I could again hear those previously-missing frequencies. I erroneously assumed my hearing issue was reversed, but not so ...

To this day, in a noisy environment, including some restaurants, bowling alleys, and the like, I virtually go deaf and can't hear someone adjacent or across the table shouting at me. Sometimes, I just have to excuse myself and leave. Other times, I just avoid such places.

I didn't fully understand/appreciate this (bad) stuff until I returned to college in the 70's and, among other '101' subjects, I studied the undesirable effects of all kinds of pollution, including noise pollution. One of the places I returned to with a noise/sound meter to make ambient noise measurements was the periphery of that steel plant.

 

[Tom]

Learn about vibrato from the undisputed king of vibrato, BB King.

Interesting. Seems a little like playing slack key, but not as much stretch of the strings. He's obviously a master at it. Now I need to figure out how to introduce vibrato into my voice by wiggling my fingers.

 

[Tom]

I thought it was what singers did to keep (disguise) there voices from breaking on the high notes, especially like the National Anthem. Celine Dion and Adele would never use it.

Since puberty arrived, I can't hit those high notes with or without vibrato. IMO Whitney Houston sang the best ever version of our National Anthem.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

Strike a note and thump your adam's apple rapidly at the same time,,, kinda like that..>>>Dan

 

[Tom]

Strick a note and thump your adam's apple rapidly at the same time,,, kinda like that..>>>Dan

That would look funny while singing a solo in a concert.

 

[SeilerBird]

I first learned about vibrato when I was a freshman in college taking violin classes. I was instructed that half notes and longer should always be vibrated. It is hard to find a violin/fiddle player who does not vibrate every held note. It just sounds better.

 

[Ray-IN]

Interesting. Seems a little like playing slack key, but not as much stretch of the strings. He's obviously a master at it. Now I need to figure out how to introduce vibrato into my voice by wiggling my fingers.

Wasn't there a woman country comedian/singer(60 yrs ago) that would move her throat with her hand to produce this effect?

 

[Tom]

Wasn't there a woman country comedian/singer(50 yrs ago) that would move her throat with her hand to produce this effect?

Probably before I crossed the Rio Grand in the dark of night.