the vibrato subject - again

[georgia]

I know this one has been asked before, but maybe not this way -

My teacher has asked me to get my vibrato lower - more into my stomach than from my chest or throat.

I'm really trying, but not sure if i'm doing it right. I can't feel anything going on inside my body and the broad vibrato i produce (definately not from my throat) feels manufactured and hard work whereas the one from my chest or throat feels natural although my teacher thinks this vibrato is too fast. My teacher plays with a very big wah wah vibrato which to be honest i don't like very much - i sort of want a cross between mine and hers.

Can anyone enlighten me -

thanks, george

[Zevang]

The problem of concentrating vibrato in the throat is that it could restrain the air stream, so you get no volume in sound when needed.
It's natural for the throat to vibrate a little, not intentionally, but in consequence of the vibrato produced by the abdominal muscle.
The place where you should pay attention is the upper part of the abdominal muscle, that portion right above diaphragm.
Remember the force one does when sit at the bathroom (funny but true , well that's the kind of muscle movement you must do to practice the "right" vibrato. Of course the amount of movement is much more subtle, and with time you learn how to make many movements in a small portion of time, which is indeed the vibrato itself.

In fact, the vibrato is part of we can call as being "abdominal support", that must occur all the time when you play the flute.

There are many exercises you can do for practicing vibrato. As a guide line, you should practice amplitude exercises, when you search for the limits between high and low intensity, and velocity exercises, when you search for different speeds, one at a time.

After all, the important is to find the kind of vibrato that makes you confortable playing with. But I'm sure this is a subject that must be learned and practiced, and is not that easy at first.

Zevang

[georgia]

thanks zevang - i read your message and tried again (thinking about the toilet) and i understand the physicality much better so thats great.

I have a bit of difficulty in understanding your last buy one paragraph where you're talking of amplitude and velocity etc. anychance you could explain that one a bit more for me = i'm a thicko, sorry

thanks
georgia

[flutepicc06]

I have to disagree slightly with Zevang. I believe that ultimately the sound is yours, and YOU have to be happy with it. If the type of vibrato your teacher wants is not something you like, talk to h/im/er about it, or even switch teachers if (s)he still insists on a vibrato you don't want. Consider though, that depending on your teacher's experience, you may be more inclined to go with him (If he's played with a major symphony orchestra, he likely knows what he's talking about, but if he's a self taught doubler, you might be more wary). Because every flutist has a different physiology, every one uses a different combination of throat and abdominal muscle to priduce vibrato. It may be that your teacher favors the abdominal muscles over any throat involvement because that is the way he produces vibrato, and is only way he knows how to do it. I'm of the opinion that it doesn't really matter how you produce vibrato as long as you can get a full range of amplitudes and velocities necessary for full expression, and it does not negatively impact any other facet of your playing (such as tone, breathing, articulation, etc.). I hope Zevang does not mind me answering your last question, but if you imagine vibrato as a sine wave, it begins to make more sense. The amplitude is how far from pitch you move in each direction (vibrato is essentially a fluctuation of pitch), and velocity is how many times you go flat and sharp in a given period of time. You need to be able to a range of different speeds and amplitudes to be able to express yourself fully, with options all the way from fast, wide vibrato to slow, tight vibrato, and also the option of not using vibrato at all.

[Zevang]

Flutepicc06,

I don't mind at all. Thanks for the complement to my message

Having English as my second language sometimes leads me to difficulties in making my thoughts come to written ideas.

I completely agree with you that the student must be happy with what he/she is doing, and must not accept blindly what is said by the teacher. Besides they need guidelines to make things more clear in the path, the teacher must incourage them to find their own ways of doing things, and discover their individualities as instrument players.

Zevang

[fluteguy18]

Zevang- What an interesting visual for trying vibrato...... Very cool. Gross, but cool. I have to agree with both of you guys. Vibrato, and your sound are very personal choices. When I do vibrato, depending on the octave I am in, I use combinations of the abdominal vibrato, and throatal vibrato. So far, it works for me, and my teacher likes it.

[georgia]

thanks all you guys for the messages, i can see my teachers point of view now though because when i thought about how my muscles felt when using the zevang method the impact on the tone was huge, giving me a much richer sound which i really liked, and the wah wah i discovered i could control and then make as fast or as slow as i wanted - i will have another go today and hopefully i will find a speed of vibrato i am comfortable with.

i am reading many books on the subject of vibrato Galway/Wye/Morris and Hunt so i do realise theres a time and a place for vibrato in music (they all agree not to use it all the time, and to speed up or slow down the vib where necessary) but nothing kicked in so quickly as Zevangs mental picture of it lolololololol

georgie

[Zevang]

Georgia, important thing is that it will come, sooner or later, because you show interest in it, make hard research, and it's just a matter of practice now
good luck
regards,
Zevang

[FOXOMATIC]

I remember as a youngster how I felt a fast, wide vibrato seemed a bit icky, just not cool. I wasn't playing flute then, but sax. Twenties jazz players commonly used fast, wide vibratos and I guess I wanted to be modern (well, 1950s) so I steered clear of it. Now, many years later, after picking up flute too, I find a fast vibrato to be appropriate for a flute, but, of course, not always. There is also a large difference between playing a reed instrument with vibrato and a flute...well, for me. It is more in the embouchure with the saxophone and abdominal with the flute. I play mostly an alto flute, mostly jazz, but I am very musically undereducated and depend on my ears to guide me. Playing the alto flute, predominantly in the low register which I really like, I try to blend with other instruments and may use no vibrato or match whatever the other player(s) are doing. Soloing, I may often change from none to a lot, when going from one register to another...for effect. There is no one way to play vibrato for me. It depends on the music I'm playing.

Sorry about being a bit wordy about not much here. I have only recently discovered this forum and am enjoying talking flute.

Robert

[jefkearns]

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