Vibrato is a natural phenomenon
Vibrato is an oscillation in pitch. The two most important characteristics of vibrato are:
Scientific studies demonstrate that there is no such thing as a truly “straight” tone because there is always some variation in pitch and/or amplitude. “Straight tone” is only the listener’s perception and is not physiologically attainable (Titze, 2008, Walker, 2006). Instead, we refer to "straight tone" as minimal vibrato.
Moderate vibrato is heard by the vast majority of listeners as a richness of tone. It is the result of a singer developing proper breath support, learning to relax the vocal apparatus and having moderately firm contact between the vocal folds. Singers of styles requiring minimal vibrato either reduce firmness of vocal fold contact (creating a somewhat breathy sound) or use firmer vocal fold closure (as in belting).
- Extent--oscillation (variation) in pitch above and below the note you are singing.
- Rate--the number of oscillations per second
Scientific studies demonstrate that there is no such thing as a truly “straight” tone because there is always some variation in pitch and/or amplitude. “Straight tone” is only the listener’s perception and is not physiologically attainable (Titze, 2008, Walker, 2006). Instead, we refer to "straight tone" as minimal vibrato.
Moderate vibrato is heard by the vast majority of listeners as a richness of tone. It is the result of a singer developing proper breath support, learning to relax the vocal apparatus and having moderately firm contact between the vocal folds. Singers of styles requiring minimal vibrato either reduce firmness of vocal fold contact (creating a somewhat breathy sound) or use firmer vocal fold closure (as in belting).
Style Differences in Use of Vibrato
There are substantial differences in how vibrato is used according to style. In most classical singing moderate vibrato is used throughout a phrase. In operatic solos, vibrato extent may be wider and quite noticeable.
In most contemporary styles moderate vibrato (sometimes, even wider vibrato) is not used until the end of a phrase on the final, sustained note. The shift from minimal to moderate vibrato typically occurs after starting the note, and there is a widening of extent as the note is sustained. Often, this is accompanied by an increase in sound level. The final note thus blossoms and vibrato may be noticeable to the listener in some cases, particularly in contrast to minimal vibrato during most of the phrase. This is called terminal vibrato. Moderate or even wider vibrato may also be used to enhance emotional expressivity for certain words.
Vocal Technique addresses vibrato differences by style in more detail.
If you only have minimal vibrato
Since most styles involve at least some use of vibrato, it's helpful to understand what is necessary to produce moderate vibrato. Tension is the root cause of many singers' difficulties. See the page on Reducing Tension for some suggestions. Here are some specific issues related to lack of moderate vibrato:
Avoid artificial methods to create vibrato
Singers must take care to avoid forcing vibrato through artificial methods like breath pulsation or throat manipulation. These methods create a vibrato that varies excessively in pitch and is inconsistent. Furthermore, artificially induced vibrato involves high levels of tension and energy expenditure.
Vibrato is something that develops over time as singers learn to use coordinated onset and eliminate tension in vocal production.
There are numerous vibrato issues that arise in both solo and choral singing. Vocal Technique addresses the following additional topics, among others:
In most contemporary styles moderate vibrato (sometimes, even wider vibrato) is not used until the end of a phrase on the final, sustained note. The shift from minimal to moderate vibrato typically occurs after starting the note, and there is a widening of extent as the note is sustained. Often, this is accompanied by an increase in sound level. The final note thus blossoms and vibrato may be noticeable to the listener in some cases, particularly in contrast to minimal vibrato during most of the phrase. This is called terminal vibrato. Moderate or even wider vibrato may also be used to enhance emotional expressivity for certain words.
Vocal Technique addresses vibrato differences by style in more detail.
If you only have minimal vibrato
Since most styles involve at least some use of vibrato, it's helpful to understand what is necessary to produce moderate vibrato. Tension is the root cause of many singers' difficulties. See the page on Reducing Tension for some suggestions. Here are some specific issues related to lack of moderate vibrato:
- Freedom from tension throughout the entire vocal tract is critical. With tension, the laryngeal muscles cannot relax sufficiently for natural pulsation to occur.
- Firm vocal fold closure prevents vibrato. Singers of many contemporary styles use this to their advantage to suppress vibrato for much of a phrase, relaxing closure to a moderately firm level to allow for vibrato (e.g., as in terminal vibrato).
- A breathy method of production prevents vibrato.
- Coordinated onset is critical to create the optimal amount of closure in the vocal folds necessary for vibrato. With a glottal onset the vocal folds are pressed together too tightly and thus cannot pulsate freely. The same is true of a breathy onset.
Avoid artificial methods to create vibrato
Singers must take care to avoid forcing vibrato through artificial methods like breath pulsation or throat manipulation. These methods create a vibrato that varies excessively in pitch and is inconsistent. Furthermore, artificially induced vibrato involves high levels of tension and energy expenditure.
Vibrato is something that develops over time as singers learn to use coordinated onset and eliminate tension in vocal production.
There are numerous vibrato issues that arise in both solo and choral singing. Vocal Technique addresses the following additional topics, among others:
- Detailed information about vibrato use in various styles
- Curing the "wobble"
- Reducing tremolo
- Appropriateness of vibrato in early music
- Modifying vibrato extent
- Modifying vibrato rate
- Vibrato in choral singing
- Vibrato exercises