Need violin vibrato help?

Question:so i have been playing violin for about 3 years. And i was wondering if anyone could give me any good tips about violin vibrato?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: so i have been playing violin for about 3 years. And i was wondering if anyone could give me any good tips about violin vibrato?

Well, my ultimate recommendation is to find a good teacher that can help you. Learning on your own or online is fine for beginners, but in order to truly do well with a violin, you need hands on help.

However, in the meantime:

First off, ensure that your hand is loose. Hold your violin in playing position, and lightly tap your thumb on the neck of the violin. Long story short, this loosens the hand, which will help your playing, fingering, and vibrato.

Next, you need to know which type of vibrato you wish to use -- there are more than just a single form.

There's vibrato by the wrist, which is similar to waving your hand toward yourself while a finger is stationed on the string.

Arm vibrato is sort of a cultivated swinging motion of the arm.

The third form, I wouldn't recommend -- vibrato can be acheived by shaking your finger slightly, however, it's got the least quality of sound, and can not only be painful but potentially dangerous.

Once you know what type you're going to use, or is best suited to you, and you learn the basic idea, keep your hands loose and steady.

Start out slowly -- don't go too fast at first; you won't be a virtuoso in a day. Each day, or every few days, increase the pace a bit -- over time, you can develop a nice, steady vibrato with a beautiful sound.

Good luck =)

Resources on Vibrato
http://beststudentviolins.com/PedagogyTe...

Holy doo doo. Don't you have a teacher?

Vibrato on violin is done by moving the wrist. Taste dictates whether it should bve extreme or modest, fast or slow. Practice, practice!

Here is a good site that I used to get me started :

http://violinmasterclass.com/vibrato.php

Click on exercises and watch all the videos.There are three types of vibrato : finger, wrist and arm. The wrist vibrato is the most important and is the one you should learn first. That is what they are teaching in the videos.

Remember , vibrato is NEVER sharp ; it flat then natural, flat then natural....do NOT go above the note. Let the hand fall back and then return. Start off slowly and gradually increase your speed each day.

It is better to begin learning vibrato in the third position as it is easier to do there. After a few weeks you can try it in the first position (I did not bother with the orange).LOL

Remember to leave a slight gap between your first finger and the neck of the violin as indicated in the video. This was the big "aha" moment for me. Once I did that, things got moving.

How I learned vibrato is like this: Play with a super exaggerated vibrato, with one finger playing one note but wavering it up and down about a major 5th or more. Your roomates will love it. So, maybe the G on the D string with your ring finger, playing it up and down from an F to a C. It sounds crazy! But keep at it for a while and little by little you develop a more refined ability in the muscles used. Little by little you will be able to make control the muscles involved better and after about two months of this you will have the beginnings of a vibrato. I still do this as an exercise regularly. Another thing to do is to play an entire tune all the way through two or three times all with a wildly exaggerated vibrato. This also sounds crazy, but it's also exercise and you can feel it. Have this be a part of your practice routine until your vibrato improves to your liking.
Another tip I heard is to hold the violin against a wall so that your neck muscles don't get so strained holding it up. I don't do this, but it was advice from an accomplished classical player so I thought I'd pass it on.
Good luck!

There are different types of vibrato. Perhaps you should learn the wrist vibrato first? To practice this, place you hand in fourth position so that your palm touches the neck of the violin. You do not want it to clench. It must be completely loose. Place ONE of your fingers (which ever finger you are practicing) in a direction so that it can pivot---that is, so that you can be able to move your fingertip flatter and distort the pitch. Practice SLOW (always the key). Make sure everything is even---you may start at one note metronome marking=40. Everything must be loose.
There is an excellent book by Ivan Galamian called "Principles of Violin Playing and Teaching" that you absolutely MUST get if you want to learn vibrato (with or without vibrato).