What is vibrato? How do I sing with vibrato? Is vibrato natural (happens by itself), or is it consciously “caused” somehow by the singer? My answer is a bit boring, but hang with me!
These are good questions. There are many voice teachers who teach otherwise, but straight tone, not vibrato, is actually the most natural way to make a sound. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! You never hear a baby cry with vibrato, nor do people talk with vibrato (unless you count Katherine Hepburn). Vibrato must be consciously or unconsciously caused physically by the singer.
For some people, their musical ears tell them to sing with vibrato and their bodies react and respond, “kicking off” the muscle work to begin the vibrato. They might not even know how they’re making it happen! Singers without a vibrato, on the other hand, will have to make a more conscious effort to train their bodies to produce vibrato. Once it does begin, though, it soon becomes relatively easy to maintain.
Let me give you this as a crude (and somewhat boring) example of what vibrato is:
It’s a bit like an air hose underwater, slowly letting air bubbles out at a consistent rate; say at 5-7 bubbles per second. Once one bubble is released, there is a little time for the air pressure to build back up, and then it releases the next bubble, and so on. In this example, of course, there is a complete break between each air bubble.
In singing, however, there is a constant, but uneven release of air. There is slightly more air pressure build-up than is being consistently released. As a result, there are periodic releases of that extra build up of air – the pulses that become vibrato. The extra back pressure before the release of each pulse, as small as it is, is felt all the way back in the lungs, and then it’s released. The vibrato sound we hear is the pressure-release-pressure-release pulsing that occurs. There is synergistic pressure build-up and release between the vocal folds (chords) and the muscles controlling the upward air flow (abs, diaphragm, and dozens of others).
But, at the end of the day, the vibrato process has to be “kicked off”, and then maintained by the singer. For many singers, their ear told them their tone needed a pulse to it, so they put it in. It’s frustrating to those who have to work at “causing” it, but it can be taught and it can definitely be learned. Once it’s learned well, it will feel “natural”.
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Tags: how to sing with vibrato, natural vibrato, singer, singing, straight tone, vibrato
June 5, 2010 at 2:16 pm |
Dear Eric,
I just had to write and say thank you!!!!! On a whim, I ordered your set of CDs on developing vibrato this spring, and to my great surprise and joy, they worked!!
It took about 3 weeks of daily exercises for me to sense a small vibrato, and now, 7 weeks into it, I can “get it” almost immediately when I start to sing. I’m floored. I thought for sure I was one of the 1% of human beings whose vocal chords would never vibrate.
The breakthrough for me was to figure out where exactly the vibrato is coming from — I never knew — and your vocal exercises helped pinpoint that. Especially the half-tone wobble and the “Oh No!” exercise. Those are the two that worked best for me.
I’ve been singing flat for decades (I’m 55), and didn’t like my voice for that reason although I do love to sing. I always told myself that if I could just have vibrato, I’d sing and sing and sing.
And that’s exactly what I do now. My vibrato isn’t “perfect’ — it’s much faster than the 5 or 6 beats per second you prefer — but I love it. Maybe as it develops it will slow down? I’m fine either way, because I just love the feeling of vibrato.
I obviously came to the right place when I first started my internet search about developing vibrato, and I couldn’t be happier. This is *huge* for me. Thank you!!!!
Janet Hill
Singing like a bird up in northern Minnesota
April 10, 2011 at 4:26 am |
Janet, I’m so glad your vibrato is developing well. To answer your question about the speed of your vibrato, the general answer is yes, if your vibrato is so fast it is a bit of a machine gun speed, it will slow down. Remember, each person’s vibrato will vary in speed a bit. If yours is closer to 7, as long as it’s relaxed, comfortable and consistent, you’re probably doing quite a bit right. Congratulations!
January 22, 2011 at 5:27 pm |
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I’ve truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!
April 10, 2011 at 4:39 am |
Thanks, Cassondra. Due to some life distractions most of last year, I’ve been behind on a few things, including writing more articles. I’m currently scripting the final lessons of the Sing With Power Vocal Complete Vocal Program and will begin recording next month. I’m shooting for the fall on its completion. At that point I plan to write allot more articles. Keep on singin’!