Ssssss

Flute Vibrato

Vibrato is that shimmery variation in pitch that warms up the tone of the flute. It is similar to the effect produced by a violinist's hand as it moves back and forth. As Sir James Galway wrote in his book Flute,

Vibrato is another subject on which experts violently disagree, and all of them are right. If one thing rather than another expresses the individual, it is vibrato.[...] There is no last word on what vibrato should be used, or how it should be varied to suit the musicality and individuality.

Why Vibrato?

Vibrato gives life to the sound, allows for intensity, and helps a player to focus. Occasionally the music calls for stillness, and then a note or two or a phrase can be played without vibrato to advantage. But as a rule music without vibrato is apretty lifeless thing.

On the other hand, if the vibrato never varies, neither does the life of the music, and the result is rather tiresome and tedious. The human body has a range of intensity of life, from sleeping peacefully to running the hundred yards' sprint. Music needs this too; but the intensity should always be intended and under control. Therefore, the ultimate target is to master awhole variety of speeds of vibrato, on every note and at every volume level.

What Exactly is Vibrato?

Vibrato is the pulse of the sound brought about by the rapid alteration of more or less forceful pressure of the breath. Where it comes from, that is, what part of the breathing equipment actually operates this alternating pressure, is not agreed upon by all flutists. The received wisdomhas it that the muscles of the diaphragm are responsible; others maintain that the throat is responsible, while the diaphragm merely quivers in sympathy. Still another position is that proper vibrato is produced by a combination of pulsations by the diaphragm and throat.

These two extremes are commonly referred to as “stomach vibrato” and “throat vibrato”, and they are the only methods possiblefor producing a vibrato sound on the flute. Other techniques, like the movement of the jaw sometimes employed by saxophonists, are impossible or impractical for flutists.

It is important to observe that flute vibrato is a more complex phenomenon than the vibrato produced, for instance, by string players. In fact, while a violinist's vibrato mostly consists of a periodic variation in the pitch(frequency) of a note, a flutist's vibrato also introduces large fluctuations in the volume (intensity) of the note.

How Do You Learn Vibrato?

In some flutists vibrato occurs naturally as a result of having good breath support. Sometimes, though, vibrato can be a difficult concept for the beginning flutist, because being an internal process it is hard to grasp.

It has been said thatvibrato is something a performer should feel, not something to be learned. For those who feel it this may be true; but for the large majority who can't do it and want to know how to do it, it is something that should be studied and correctly learned.

Focused and in-depth study on vibrato can be found in volume 4 (Intonation and Vibrato) of Trevor Wye's Practice Books for the Flute, published byNovello. We highly recommend purchasing this book for serious work on flute technique, but here are some basic exercises to get you started.

First of all, it is absolutely essential to be able to play a perfectly straight note without any bumps or pulses, with the air coming directly from your lungs in an open, relaxed pipeline. It is of primary importance that the air meets no constrictionfrom your lungs to your lip opening, and that you are comfortable with relaxing your throat.

Once you can do that, take a full breath and play a long, controlled note that you like. You should choose a note that is easy to produce, like low A or low G. Now increase the volume of the note in short (but not too short, say one per second) rhythmic bursts, basically saying “ha ha ha...” into the...