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Hey Andrew! Thanks for the vibrato lesson. Those exercises should keep me busy for a while. I did have a couple of points I was wondering about …
- You emphasize matching the intensity of the vibrato to the feel of the music. I was wondering – do you always vary the amplitude and frequency of the vibrato proportionally to each other as they are in your examples? Or could you sometimes want to have a wide, slow vibrato or a small, fast vibrato?
- You don’t really explain the body mechanics behind the vibrato, but in the video it looks like the action is originating primarily from a slight rotation of the forearm rather than pushing and pulling with the finger muscles. Is this correct?
Hi Tony, glad you enjoyed the new lesson! Let’s knock these questions out 🙂
1) Yes, can mix and match as you please. It really comes down to creating a pulse with the vibrato that will match the music that you are playing. I’d encourage you to experiment to see what kind of dynamic you could create with your vibrato(s).
2) The movement is all in the fingertip, but as that is attached to everything else, there will also be movement in the wrist.
Hi Andrew,
I’m really happy to see the vibrato lesson because I’ve never been able to play it. So here’s my really basic question. When you say “up and down” for the single note vibrato, do you mean:
a) back and forth from pegs to sound hole
b) back and forth from G string to A string or
c) up and down as in on and off the string almost like a tap?
I think the answer is b, which is almost like bending.With the barre chord I think you said to move sideways as in a) left to right or pegs to sound hole. Is that right?
If you have any other tips on vibrato I would love to hear them. Maybe learning vibrato is like barre chords which I thought I would never be able to do!
Thanks for your help. I think I may have asked for this lesson on your survey!
Hi Lesley,
Yes, option B. For single notes, the movement required can be minimal for a subtle effect and greater for a more pronounced effect. And yes, sideways for barre chords. I have a question for you, have you had a chance to read through the entire guide and watch the entire video lesson?
To be honest, I don’t think I have any additional tips, as that lesson covered all I could think of. It may be best for you to post a video and for me to provide feedback if you are struggling with anything. I’d be more than happy to do that.
I find it really hard to do a sideways (G to A) vibrato but will keep at it. I’m used to a more vertical style (pegs to soundhole) that I use on violin. When I looked at the tutorial on Red is the Rose, it looked like the vibrato was vertical rather than sideways. For the sideways version, is the finger essentially rocking back and forth?
Thanks.
@lhamilton – Check out this lesson, it covers single note and chord vibrato.
Yes — I worked on that tutorial and have been finding the sideway vibrato difficult especially for the A string. It seems that if it must be sideways, it is more of a push on the A string upward toward the G and on the other strings downward toward the A, but I could be wrong.
Hi,
I know it’s not a great video or playing :-). The first is a rough version of a “vertical” vibrato. It’s closer to what I’ve used on violin, but I know it has less noticeable effect on ukulele. In the second runthrough I’m trying the sideways vibrato. I think perhaps for the E string it’s not too bad as a start though I’d need to work not to make it too wide — but for the A string, it leaves a lot to be desired.
Linda
The movie file is at http://www.northernnightingale.com/temp/vibrato.mov
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