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RE: Vibrato (was Re: The ISB)

Hi, fellow bands-people!

As an American brass band cornetist as well as an orchestral trumpet player, 
I'd have to agree with Bill's statement with the following modification.  I 
believe that over here, it's not the AMOUNT of vibrato used, as much as the 
SPEED of the vibrato.

At least in the Chicago area (as well as the US midwest) we seem to use a fair 
amount of vibrato, but at a slower rate.  A typical English vibrato seems to 
have a frequency of on the order of 6 to 8 Hz, while here, it's more in the 
range of 3 to 5 Hz.  I also try to vary the speed of the vibrato a bit, 
starting out a little slower and speeding up if I am holding a note for a few 
seconds or more.

To me,  the English style sounds a little like shivering, or nervousness.  I 
realize, of course that this is not the origin of the vibrato, as guys like 
Russell Gray and Phil McCann play rings around me any day of the week!

Like Bill says, its purely a personal stylistic phenomenon.  I DO notice, 
listening to tapes of my band from a few years back, that I now play with a 
faster vibrato than I used to.  Maybe I've picked up the style from listening 
to BNFL and Black Dyke, et al...


Guy Clark
guyclark@xxxxxxx
principal cornet, Illinois Brass Band
etc...

----------
From: owner-brass@xxxxxxxxxxx on behalf of Bill Buffam
Sent: Sunday, January 05, 1997 10:13 AM
To: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: brass@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Vibrato (was Re: The ISB)

Kristopher Richardson u wrote:
> 
> (snip)
> listen to the ISB over some competition bands because they don't have an
> excessive amount of vibrato!  Could someone explain why European bands
> have so much vibrato!  I realize that it is traditional, but I think
> there would be greater demand if they caught up with the times,
> especially with orchestral players!  I go to school for music and study
> trumpet.  I usually introduce brass banding to my peers!  The first thing
> they mention is the vibrato!  It could be executed a little more tastefully,
> as it is an essential part of being musical.  All they need to do is slow
> it down a bit!  This is however just my opinion!
> 
>		 Kris
> 
> 

Ah, a vibrato thread. It would be good to get some opinions out on this
most contentious of issues. 

Seems to me that vibrato is a matter of very personal taste. I always
find it more than a little ironic that many orchestral players (of all
insruments) deride brass bands for their vibrato - yet the string
players play *everything* with vibrato! (And that's personal taste too,
not a global given. When McCartney and the Beatles recorded "Yesterday",
they used a string quartet. To get the sound he wanted, McCartney
insisted the string players use no vibrato. They complied, but were very
upset about it.)

To me, a euphonium played totally straight, without any vibrato, sounds
like something floating down the Thames (and this is not a complimentary
comparison). On the other hand, several trumpet players from the top
ranks of the supposedly vibrato-averse orchestral world use (or used -
the guys I'm thinking about have since retired - or were retired) a very
unpleasant form of vibrato (to my ears, that is - I have participated in
heated cyber-debate over the musical merits of one of these gentlemen).

Seems to me that one's perspective on vibrato has a lot to do with
preconceived notions of the functions of brass tone, and the context of
the music. If you're used to hearing brass in an orchestral context,
where heavy vibrato is often muscially inappropriate, there's a danger
of mapping this preconceived notion of brass sound onto other musical
contexts: to wit, brass bands. If you take an orchestral piece, and
transcribe it for brass band, what happens? The orchestral arrangement
is played by violins using vibrato - translate to brass band, and the
cornets need to sound like violins (warm, with vibrato), not trumpets.
(If someone wants to open up the tangent on the merits or otherwise of
orchestral transcriptions, that's a whole 'nother thread - and might be
an interesting one.) Are the vibrato-averse telling us that vibrato is
okay for violins, but not for cornets, *on the same piece of music* ???

One last observation before I bring this ramble to an end: American
brass players tend to think British bands use too much vibrato; British
brass band players hear American brass bands as having no warmth, no
soul (because their sound is so straight). It's the personal taste thing
again.

Bill Buffam


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