vibrato

The throat vibrato is generally easier to produce at a faster speed. Though powerful... think Paul Butterfield... that intensity is not always appropriate. Gary Smith has a silky-smooth slow vibrato and I remember him saying to me at age 16 that slowing it down was really a challenge... and it was. It took me about a year to produce a good vibrato and another couple of years to slow it down.

The mouth and tongue (in their relaxed state) are influenced by the throat tremolo to produce the vibrato. What I feel when I slow my vibrato down is that I simply slow down my tremolo. continue reading...

Now that you're working on the different vibrato types, it's time to match them all up. Play your throat vibrato on 1, 2 and 3 draw and then chewing vibrato on 3". Work on matching the depth (how low the note bends) and duration (the time between bends) of the chewing vibrato so that it matches that of the 1, 2 and 3. Do the same for your chewing vibrato on 7+, 8+, 9+ and 10+ to match the vibrato on your 4, 5 and 6 draw. You don't have to play them the same all the time (musical context will dictate this), but it's good technique to have an even approach across the range of the harmonica.

The same Chewing Vibrato you experimented with yesterday can be used on blow bends. To prime your embouchure, play a 8+ and then 8'+ a couple of times to feel where the sweet spot is for the pitch of the 8+. Now play the 8+ and move your jaw up and down and the vibrato will be there. The same applies for the 9+ and 10+. The first time I heard of this as a technique was in an audio cassette instruction by Gary Primich. Have a great weekend everyone!

The 3' sounds great with a vibrato, but for most players the 3" swings too much in pitch and is not a very pleasing sound. When performing the 3" try moving your jaw up and down to produce the vibrato. The more you move your jaw the larger the change in pitch. The speed of the jaw movements depends on how fast you want the vibrato. This is commonly known as the "Chewing Vibrato."

If you would like to see and hear me demonstrate this technique visit the lesson "Tremolo & Vibrato" at http://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/tremolo_and_vibrato

To check if you're achieving the vibrato, open up HarpNinja. Play a tremolo (no pitch change) and you'll see the green light of the box for that hole flicker on and off. When performing the vibrato (pitch change) you'll see the readout alternating between that hole and its half step bend.

Let's now try to create the vibrato on an unbent note.

Play your 3 draw and prepare your mouth to bend, but don't bend... keep your tongue and throat relaxed. Your mouth should be tuned to the 3 draw and is ready to influence the pitch when the tremolo starts. Now play your 3 draw with your throat tremolo and the vibrato should be there.

If you're vibrato is not there, then either your muscles are too tense or you're not tuned to the 3 draw. continue reading...

Play a 3' and turn on your tremolo... for most players a vibrato will be produced. As the throat opens it bends the 3' a little more and as the throat closes the bend releases a little bit.

If it's not happening for you... continue reading...

Item three of our three elements needed to produce a vibrato on the harmonica was, "Tongue and pharynx are relaxed enough to be influenced by the throat tremolo." continue reading...

Item two of our three elements needed to produce a vibrato on the harmonica was, "Mouth is tuned to the note you're playing."

An experienced player of the harmonica subconsciously tunes their mouth to each note they're playing. This mostly has to do with tongue position, but can also involve the shape of the mouth (especially for very low and high notes... of which are different shapes of course... larger for lower notes and smaller and more frontal for higher notes). continue reading...

Vibrato is change in pitch, and slightly in volume, and even more slightly in tone. As a technique, it's one of the most difficult skills to teach and learn. Here are the three important elements to producing this technique. Item 1 we've already discussed; we'll discuss items 2 and 3 over this week.

1) Throat tremolo is on

2) Mouth is tuned to the note you're playing

3) Tongue and pharynx are relaxed enough to be influenced by the throat tremolo