What's with vibrato?

[Tom]

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.

Ah yes, I've seen that.
I took exactly one violin lesson in Grammar school. Took home a violin, made a few screech-screech noises with the bow, and was told to "take it back and don't bring it home again". Switched from music to some other subject (French or wood shop?)

 

[SeilerBird]

You have to endure a lot of screechy noises to eventually learn how to make it sound beautiful. I never got to the beautiful part, only the screechy part.

 

[Ray-IN]

Ah yes, I've seen that.
I took exactly one violin lesson in Grammar school. Took home a violin, made a few screech-screech noises with the bow, and was told to "take it back and don't bring it home again". Switched from music to some other subject (French or wood shop?)

I have a granddaughter that learned to play violin in grammar school. She got a full scholarship when she graduated high school to a major university school of music. Sadly she became overwhelmed with everything and quit college, but now 6 yrs later she has returned with a better grasp on things.
Did I mention I was finally told the difference between playing a violin and fiddle?

 

[Ray-IN]

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.

Must've been before 1954. I remember Bobby Helms playing his guitar for our one-room school in 1951, and his electric guitar had that lever. He made such an impression on me, when I was in high school I took lessons from him.
Bobby's musical forecast for me was, " Ray you'll never be any good trying to play left-handed". How right he was.

 

[SeilerBird]

Must've been before 1954. I remember Bobby Helms playing his guitar for our one-room school in 1951, and his electric guitar had that lever. He made such an impression on me, when I was in high school I took lessons from him.
Bobby's musical forecast for me was, " Ray you'll never be any good trying to play left-handed". How right he was.

Nope it was 1954 that Fender introduced the Strat. Bigsby was making a vibrato unit from 1951 on. Still in production today.

 

[SeilerBird]

Did I mention I was finally told the difference between playing a violin and fiddle?

My violin teacher floored me when I asked her if she played fiddle. This old lady shocked me because she was a killer fiddler.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

A violin sings,,,a fiddle dances..>>>Dan

 

[Larry N.]

Just a note to mention that Perry Como, Doris Day, Frank Sinatra and such generally do vibrato on all but very short notes, and it may be somewhat natural for them but they choose when to and when not to use it.

 

[UTTransplant]

When I took voice lessons in college, we began by concentrating on pure sounds without vibrato. We received worse grades if we used vibrato. Later classes added in vibrato, but I never got that far as a non-major who just liked to sing. Untrained singers who want to sound like pop stars frequently wobble so much on their notes that you can’t match it if you try! My church choir director would call them out regularly.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Untrained singers who want to sound like pop stars frequently wobble so much on their notes that you can’t match it if you try! My church choir director would call them out regularly.

I chuckle when I hear pop performers doing that. Would have been chastised if I ever did such a thing in the groups I sang with. Vibrato should be more sensed than heard as an actual change in pitch.

I never took actual voice lessons but had the good fortune to work for 4 years with a music director who was a professionally trained tenor before he took up teaching and musical theater. I learned a lot about breathe and tone control from him.

 

[Tulecreeper]

All I can say is, in 1999 I won a Karaoke contest at a local bar. Got a steak dinner for two out of it. George Strait's All My Exes Live In Texas, and the one and only time I have ever sang Karaoke. And a guy started crying because it reminded him of his kin folk in Texas, then he bought me a beer.

Yeah, me and Dean Martin are like two peas in a pod.

 

[Ray-IN]

All I can say is, in 1999 I won a Karaoke contest at a local bar. Got a steak dinner for two out of it. George Strait's All My Exes Live In Texas, and the one and only time I have ever sang Karaoke. And a guy started crying because it reminded him of his kin folk in Texas, then he bought me a beer.

Yeah, me and Dean Martin are like two peas in a pod.

George Strait is my favorite, but I would sing Joe Diffie's songs, pickup truck was my best. Never could get Georges style in my head. Then I married and left the night-life behind.