How to Do Vibrato on a Violin
Begin practicing vibrato only after you are fairly comfortable with your finger placement and have memorized all of your notes' positions., Understand how your wrist is supposed to move as you vibrato., As you hold your left hand in this fashion...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Begin practicing vibrato only after you are fairly comfortable with your finger placement and have memorized all of your notes' positions.
Hold your left hand in the air as if you are ready to play the instrument. , Try to move your wrist and your arm so that your hand touches the imaginary pencil.
Keep in mind that, while you vibrate, the only thing you should be trying to move is your wrist (in a back and forth motion), as if there were two pencils on either side and you were trying to brush them as your hand moves.
This is the movement you shall use for vibrato.
While doing this movement, your left hand should remain extremely calm. , First you should try the vibrato movement without actually playing, and you should attempt to do it slowly.
Vibrato works best when only one finger is on the string.
You may try vibrato with any finger you would like, although it is usually easier to do on the 2nd and 3rd fingers.
Do not attempt vibrato on the 4th finger until you have mastered it on the rest of the fingers, however. , It rolls against the fingerboard, rather than slipping back and forth.
Again, keep in mind that your wrist should be moving, and not your arm.
You should also not have to put effort into rolling your finger against the string.
Because your wrist is in the vibrato motion, your finger should roll on its own. , You will hear the pitch lowering.
That is because, as you vibrate, your finger should first be on the correct pitch, and then roll towards the scroll, which will lower the pitch.
After that, your finger should roll back towards the previous pitch.
This is what causes the shaky sound in vibrato. , Your finger should roll against the string so slowly that you can hear the lowering of pitch.
And then, after that, the raising of pitch. , Learning vibrato may take a lot of time, but it is very much worth it. -
Step 2: Understand how your wrist is supposed to move as you vibrato.
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Step 3: As you hold your left hand in this fashion
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Step 4: imagine that someone is holding a pencil just centimeters away from the side of your hand.
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Step 5: Try it with your instrument.
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Step 6: Keep in mind that your finger should never slide on the string.
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Step 7: Try bowing the string that your vibrating finger is on.
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Step 8: Move very slowly when learning
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Step 9: to develop muscle memory.
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Step 10: Practice this slowly until you feel very comfortable.
Detailed Guide
Hold your left hand in the air as if you are ready to play the instrument. , Try to move your wrist and your arm so that your hand touches the imaginary pencil.
Keep in mind that, while you vibrate, the only thing you should be trying to move is your wrist (in a back and forth motion), as if there were two pencils on either side and you were trying to brush them as your hand moves.
This is the movement you shall use for vibrato.
While doing this movement, your left hand should remain extremely calm. , First you should try the vibrato movement without actually playing, and you should attempt to do it slowly.
Vibrato works best when only one finger is on the string.
You may try vibrato with any finger you would like, although it is usually easier to do on the 2nd and 3rd fingers.
Do not attempt vibrato on the 4th finger until you have mastered it on the rest of the fingers, however. , It rolls against the fingerboard, rather than slipping back and forth.
Again, keep in mind that your wrist should be moving, and not your arm.
You should also not have to put effort into rolling your finger against the string.
Because your wrist is in the vibrato motion, your finger should roll on its own. , You will hear the pitch lowering.
That is because, as you vibrate, your finger should first be on the correct pitch, and then roll towards the scroll, which will lower the pitch.
After that, your finger should roll back towards the previous pitch.
This is what causes the shaky sound in vibrato. , Your finger should roll against the string so slowly that you can hear the lowering of pitch.
And then, after that, the raising of pitch. , Learning vibrato may take a lot of time, but it is very much worth it.
About the Author
Susan Davis
Enthusiastic about teaching organization techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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