Vibrato Basics

Vibrato is taught in many different ways. My own teacher at Interlochen, Rosemary Malocsay (1925-2021), had been a student of the great Ivan Galamian, so her approach was quite similar to that described in his book, Principles of Violin Playing & Teaching. I have found that using her methods results in a reliable vibrato that can be refined into an artistically sensitive vibrato for violin and viola players.

I am still searching for a youtube that demonstrates vibrato practice with optimal physical alignment. Most of what I have seen is marred by tension in the thumb, overly flat fingers at the top of the pitch, or unnatural positioning of the elbow.

Below are my preliminary notes for learning the basics of Hand/Wrist vibrato and Arm vibrato. To decide which one to start with for a student, I have them perform the basic movement slowly, then rapidly. Whichever looks more natural for their arm becomes the one we choose to start with. Generally, students learn a functional vibrato (fast enough, maybe not artistically refined) within 4 to 12 weeks if they practice daily for 3 to 5 minutes. Without regular practice, learning the physical coordination usually takes much longer and there is often a re-learning process to undo tension patterns leading to an irregular pulsation and unpleasant sound quality.

HAND or WRIST VIBRATO BASICS 

Basic Concepts:

• Move from the wrist joint
• the forearm does not move, which is why we stabilize it against the upper bout
• Keep all of the finger joints in a curved position, I don’t teach this vibrato with any movement of the distal finger joint although some other teachers might
  
  
  

Preliminary Practice:

• Hold the violin or viola up with your right hand assisting
• Place your forearm near the wrist on the upper bout so you will be in third or fourth position
• Relax the left hand and put all four fingers between the middle two or lower two strings
• Slide the four fingers up and down from third position to fifth position approximately, keep the wrist stationary and only move from the elbow joint, try to move both higher and lower
• Adjust your forearm placement to be sure all four fingers are curved and you can move your wrist freely—i.e come more to the outside of the upper bout, adjust higher or lower
• The thumb remains in one place, usually wrapped around the underside of the neck where it joins the body of the instrument
• Start the slides slowly and gradually increase speed, use a metronome if you wish

Using the Finger:

• Start with 2nd finger, place it where you can comfortably move towards the scroll with your forearm motion, be sure you are on the fingertip with the last joint close to a 90-degree angle to the string (70 deg or more is good enough)
• Slowly move from your wrist joint, keeping the fingertip stable and bent, and roll slowly from your wrist joint from the fingertip to the fleshy part of the finger towards about a 30 degree angle between fingertip bone and string. If you are plucking or checking with your bow, this should be close to a 1/2-step, i.e. “G” down to Gb or F# if you are on your D-string
• Avoid curling up the ring and small fingers, try to keep them extended and pointing towards the lower strings

Developing Speed:

• Once you have mastered the basic movement, put your metronome on any speed between 50 and 76
• Start with quarter notes, one per click, for each movement up and down
• When those are smooth and in control, advance to two eighth notes, eighth-note triplets, sixteenths, and sextuplets. For the faster rhythms, it’s fine to alternate eighth notes between the faster notes.
• Try dotted rhythms, i.e. “up”-hold, down-”up”-hold (up & down for finger pitch) and the opposite-”down”-hold, up-”down”-hold
• Try UP-hold-down-up-DOWN-hold, up-down-UP-hold, etc. (alternating the long note), I nicknamed this the “Tweedledee---, Tweedledu—m” exercise
• For violin, a goal speed is 32nd notes (8 wiggles) at metronome 76, for viola sextuplets (6 wiggles) at 76

ARM VIBRATO BASICS 

Basic Concepts:

• Move from the elbow joint
• the wrist does not bend but remains in a straight line with the forearm
  
  
  

Preliminary Practice:

• Hold the violin or viola up with your right hand assisting
• Relax the left arm and put all four fingers between the middle two or lower two strings
• Slide the four fingers up and down from first position to third approximately, keep the wrist stationary and only move from the elbow joint
• Start the slides slowly and gradually increase speed, use a metronome if you wish

Using the Finger:

• Start with 2nd finger, place it where you can comfortably move towards the scroll with your forearm motion, be sure you are on the fingertip with the last joint close to a 90-degree angle to the string (70 deg or more is good enough)
• Try to have the scroll of the violin/viola supported, maybe on the back of a tall chair with a towel to protect your instrument
• Slowly open from your elbow joint, keeping the wrist unmovable, and roll slowly from the fingertip to the fleshy part of the finger towards about a 30 degree angle between fingertip bone and string. If you are plucking or checking with your bow, this should be close to a 1/2-step, i.e. “G” down to Gb or F# if you are on your D-string
• Try to keep your elbow joint hanging towards the floor and stay relaxed through the shoulders, feel weight pulling down through your curved finger
• Avoid curling up the ring and small fingers, try to keep them extended and pointing towards the lower strings
• Keep the left thumb very relaxed, initially it will be sliding up and down with the forearm motion

Developing Speed:

• Once you have mastered the basic movement, put your metronome on any speed between 50 and 76
• Start with quarter notes, one per click, for each movement up and down
• When those are smooth and in control, advance to two eighth notes, eighth-note triplets, sixteenths, and sextuplets. For the faster rhythms, it’s fine to alternate eighth notes between the faster notes.
• Try dotted rhythms, i.e. “up”-hold, down-”up”-hold (up & down for finger pitch) and the opposite-”down”-hold, up-”down”-hold
• Try UP-hold-down-up-DOWN-hold, up-down-UP-hold, etc. (alternating the long note), I nicknamed this the “Tweedledee---, Tweedledu—m” exercise
• For violin, a goal speed is 32nd notes (8 wiggles) at metronome 76, for viola sextuplets (6 wiggles) at 76