Learning and teaching vibrato
The video outlines the three types of vibrato on the violin and viola
Violin and viola
Comparatively rare and often left to chance are concrete exercises and methodological-didactic principles on the subject of "vibrato" learning and practising. This is a pity, as vibrato is one of the most important means of musical expression. The greatest challenges for a conscious and well-executed vibrato are
- the continuous development of mobility in the arm, wrist and finger joints
- improving independence from left and right
- and the "flexible" regulation of finger pressure with simultaneous stability.
Our ideas on the subject of vibrato are aimed at both practitioners and teachers. The focus here is on the many ways in which you can, for example, develop your own vibrato or how you can teach vibrato in tuitions. The ideas can be roughly divided into the following categories:
- published ideas
- Ideas, that are conveyed and deepened in events
- useful helpers
Arm vibrato
Probably the only comprehensive collection of ideas for arm vibrato on the violin and viola is for all levels and includes solutions to the most challenging vibrato problems.
Vibrato: That's what keeps us busy
We focus intensively on the question of which movement complexes should actually be activated when vibrating, which exercises are suitable for this and how ingrained movement patterns in particular can be specifically and consciously changed, and much more. We always have the practitioners and teachers in mind. You can find our interim results in the form of events or other offers.
The probably two biggest challenges with vibrato
FINGER PRESSURE: The regulation and balancing of the finger pressure provide the necessary flexibility when vibrating. At the same time, good stability and flexibility of the finger on the string is required. The finger must therefore be stable and flexible on the string at the same time, otherwise the intonation will fluctuate greatly. Being able to actively create this balance and constantly adjust it when vibrating is a prerequisite for consciously using vibrato, for which there are a number of exercises and some helpers.
INDEPENDENCE: It should also be possible to consciously control the speed of the vibrato in order to create exactly the sound colour you want for your interpretation. A steadily increasing independence between the bow speed and the vibrato movements is helpful for this. If this independence does not exist, a faster bow stroke automatically produces a faster vibrato movement (and vice versa). The good news is that there are very good exercises for all levels.