TrumpetsAreFun

Hey Manny, I was just wondering what Vibrato is. Its been going around the band room and I am curious on also how to do it.

Thanks.

Manny Laureano

Vibrato is a natural development of a (mostly) subconscious physical technique to help color and enhance your sound. Different styles of music call for different types of vibrato. Some are fast, slow, narrow, wide... listen to as many different kinds of singers from opera to country and western and you'll hear each one do something different. I developed my vibrato subconsciously by listening to the great Rafael Mendez. I stopped using vibrato for almost a year at my teacher's request and when I started again it was slower and I could vary it with a better understanding of when and how I should use it.

I truly don't believe you should bother with the "how to's" of it. I think you should allow yourself to be inspired by what you are presently hearing and see if your talent for imitation is working. Potentially great musicians need to be good mimics when they are young. It's a way of exercising your ears. Do you ever do Napoleon Dynamite impressions? Well, you don't think about how to manipulate your vocal apparati to do it, right? Same thing with vibrato. Hear it and adopt it as your own. you'll develop your own style soon enough. You should be doing a lot of singing at your stage in as many styles as you can. It doesn't matter what. Rap helps develop a sense of pulse and timing but you need melody and harmony to start creating your sense of pitch.

Do you have any opera recordings. If not, go pick up a "Best of" type CD with Pavarotti and listen and when you're by yourself, sing and imitate.

Good luck and listen.

ML

Heavens2kadonka

That is VERY interesting. I have also stopped using vibrato at my old tecaher's request! I actually had a problem of wanting to have EVERYTHING vibrato!

So, I wonder now, is this method of re-learning the vibrato common for many trumpet students?

Van

camelbrass

Van,

Yes I think so.

First you learn how to turn it 'ON' then you learn how to turn it 'OFF'. Then you learn how to vary it and work out where, when and how much is appropriate.

Manny, I like your analogy..listen and imitate, don't analyse. In the earlier post about the type of vibrato you use as a player I had to pick my horn up and work it out. You know, I'm still not sure?!!!

Sorry for jumping in.

Regards,

Trevor

canbugler

Hello all,
This is my first post. I felt it necessary to provide everyone with a link to help with ear training and imitation along the lines to which Manny has already suggested in his post above. I find it to be extremely helpful not only for my career as a musician but for my daily life and for those around me as well. (By the way, turn up your speakers.) Please enjoy.
Dave Michaux

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/ndsound.php

Manny Laureano

YES!!!

My wildest dreams HAVE come true!

ML

TrumpetsAreFun

You voted for Pedro TOO, Manny?

I thought you would provide a clip of Vibrato... i was wrong.

Manny Laureano

Yes, of course I voted for Pedro... that's why he won.

I won't provide a clip but feel free to buy any recording I'm on. Anything with the MO after 1981 would have me playing.

ML

RoccoNut16v

Seriously, learn to turn vibrato "off" just as well as you can turn it "on." I played with a girl who had it litteraly stuck "on." I sat her aside a couple of times and attempted to explain why our school fight song was the perfectly wrong song to use vibrato on. I don't know that she ever has gotten past it, but it's a little better now (4 years later).

I never even used it until at the request of a band director, and then I just whipped it out on the spot. I was a bit scared of going into it early, and it becoming a habbit instead of an ability.

Good luck to you.