Hi there! I’m a 15 year old girl and I’ve been singing for nearly two years.
I have a slight vibrato which sounds great on some vowel sounds and weak on others, and I just found your ‘7 Vibrato Exercises for Perfecting & Mastering Vibrato’ video. I’d like a perfect, Broadway-style vibrato. If I do all the exercises every day, how long do you reckon it’d take for me to sound the way I’d like to?
Hi, Clare. Your question is a tough one to answer without hearing you. The timeframe is going to be different for each person for a number of reasons. I’ve had students who take up to a year to get their vibrato at a really nice, finished place. I’ve had others take as little as a couple of weeks because they were probably on the verge of getting it already when they started the program. Everyone can get it if they just work on it a little bit, 2-8 minutes at most, each day. Don’t rush it, and be patient. It will come.
Hi!
First of all I want to thank you for sharing your thoughts on vibrato!
The “Is vibrato natural” topic is such an eye-opener for me since every singing teacher I had told me that it just comes naturally when you have an open throat and you’re relaxed. I was getting quite frustrated because I don’t have this smooth vibrato, but more this kind of very quick and narrow tremolo. Now I know that you can actually work on it instead of being frustrated and just having to wait for “the right moment”.
Now my question:
How can I turn my quick and narrow tremolo into an ideal vibrato for classical singing?
I’ve tried your exercises but I thought they would be more effective for singers starting with no vibrato at all.
It’s all quite confusing because the tremolo feels good and easy, but it sounds rather annoying.
While one definition of tremolo is basically a pitch wobble, what you are describing is the second definition often used for vibrato which is essentially a very fast vibrato, usually somewhere between 8-10 pulses per second. Can this be cured? Absolutely.
I’ve worked with some terrific singers who have had that problem. LaShaun is one: http://youtu.be/gQbLuSgnyhY
The secret to allowing the vibrato to slow down naturally is to developing your straight tone. The straight tone must “soar” across the note, not press down against it. From there, only let the vibrato only touch the straight tone, not dominate it. I address this very thing in my Perfect Vibrato program. http://www.masteringvibrato.com, or http://www.singwithpower.com/mastering_vibrato_voice_training.html
Hello Eric,
I want to order your full training program but not if it is still available. I am not sure at what email address I can contact you. Please let me know what is the cost of the training program and if I can get the downloadable version and the cd version. The downloadable version would give me a headstart as I await the cds which will be sent to the US and then it will be sent to me in the Caribbean. Please get back to me, Eric. I am very interested in the program. Thanks.
I recently started a job as a choir director at a church. I am working with people mostly in their 50-60’s. Most of the people in the choir have a very wobbly vibrato…We are singing mostly contemporary music and i want to be able to teach them to be able to alternate between straight tone and vibrato. Many say they are not able to sing straight tone. Can you suggest techniques to help eliminate vibrato (at times) and create a more pure vibrato?
How’s four years late on my reply?! Sorry I missed this. Yes, I’ll address the straight tone here. I like teaching straight so as to have someone mimic the sound of flat-lining at the hospital (the straight tone sound the heart monitor makes when the person has died in the movie!) or the AAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! sound made when falling off a deep cliff, crying that one loge tone the whole way down. Both seem a little morbid, but they are fairly effective! 🙂 That’s a short answer, but I’ll try to turn that answer into something a bit longer. The exact process you are talking about are found in the application section of my Perfect Vibrato Program. We address when and how you might choose to shift between straight tone an vibrato, and give you practice examples to use. Take a look at https://www.BestVocalProgram.com
Sing With Power Vocal Studios Blog 
Hi there! I’m a 15 year old girl and I’ve been singing for nearly two years.
I have a slight vibrato which sounds great on some vowel sounds and weak on others, and I just found your ‘7 Vibrato Exercises for Perfecting & Mastering Vibrato’ video. I’d like a perfect, Broadway-style vibrato. If I do all the exercises every day, how long do you reckon it’d take for me to sound the way I’d like to?
Hi, Clare. Your question is a tough one to answer without hearing you. The timeframe is going to be different for each person for a number of reasons. I’ve had students who take up to a year to get their vibrato at a really nice, finished place. I’ve had others take as little as a couple of weeks because they were probably on the verge of getting it already when they started the program. Everyone can get it if they just work on it a little bit, 2-8 minutes at most, each day. Don’t rush it, and be patient. It will come.
Hi!
First of all I want to thank you for sharing your thoughts on vibrato!
The “Is vibrato natural” topic is such an eye-opener for me since every singing teacher I had told me that it just comes naturally when you have an open throat and you’re relaxed. I was getting quite frustrated because I don’t have this smooth vibrato, but more this kind of very quick and narrow tremolo. Now I know that you can actually work on it instead of being frustrated and just having to wait for “the right moment”.
Now my question:
How can I turn my quick and narrow tremolo into an ideal vibrato for classical singing?
I’ve tried your exercises but I thought they would be more effective for singers starting with no vibrato at all.
It’s all quite confusing because the tremolo feels good and easy, but it sounds rather annoying.
I hope to hear from you soon! 🙂
Loes
Loes,
While one definition of tremolo is basically a pitch wobble, what you are describing is the second definition often used for vibrato which is essentially a very fast vibrato, usually somewhere between 8-10 pulses per second. Can this be cured? Absolutely.
I’ve worked with some terrific singers who have had that problem. LaShaun is one: http://youtu.be/gQbLuSgnyhY
The secret to allowing the vibrato to slow down naturally is to developing your straight tone. The straight tone must “soar” across the note, not press down against it. From there, only let the vibrato only touch the straight tone, not dominate it. I address this very thing in my Perfect Vibrato program. http://www.masteringvibrato.com, or http://www.singwithpower.com/mastering_vibrato_voice_training.html
Happy Singing!!
Hello Eric,
I want to order your full training program but not if it is still available. I am not sure at what email address I can contact you. Please let me know what is the cost of the training program and if I can get the downloadable version and the cd version. The downloadable version would give me a headstart as I await the cds which will be sent to the US and then it will be sent to me in the Caribbean. Please get back to me, Eric. I am very interested in the program. Thanks.
Hi, Judith!
To order the training program, please visit http://singwithpower.com/vocal_singing_training_programs_products.html
All of the different vocal training products are there. Let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks so much for you interest!
I recently started a job as a choir director at a church. I am working with people mostly in their 50-60’s. Most of the people in the choir have a very wobbly vibrato…We are singing mostly contemporary music and i want to be able to teach them to be able to alternate between straight tone and vibrato. Many say they are not able to sing straight tone. Can you suggest techniques to help eliminate vibrato (at times) and create a more pure vibrato?
How’s four years late on my reply?! Sorry I missed this. Yes, I’ll address the straight tone here. I like teaching straight so as to have someone mimic the sound of flat-lining at the hospital (the straight tone sound the heart monitor makes when the person has died in the movie!) or the AAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! sound made when falling off a deep cliff, crying that one loge tone the whole way down. Both seem a little morbid, but they are fairly effective! 🙂 That’s a short answer, but I’ll try to turn that answer into something a bit longer. The exact process you are talking about are found in the application section of my Perfect Vibrato Program. We address when and how you might choose to shift between straight tone an vibrato, and give you practice examples to use. Take a look at https://www.BestVocalProgram.com