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Re: Vibrato

The discussion about vibrato is interesting, if for no other reason that it
illustrates how musical beauty is in the ear of the beholder!

Bill Buffam said:
> American brass players tend to think British bands use too much vibrato;
>British
>brass band players hear American brass bands as having no warmth,
>Kristopher Richardson u wrote:

I can't speak for all Australians, but my impression is that we, like the
Americans, believe that British Bands use a lot of (not necessarily too
much!) vibrato.

As Bill implies, vibrato is a part of a musician's armory of techniques, to
be used to different degrees when appropriate (and that's where the ear of
the beholder comes in).

> (The Beatles) 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.)

If this was the case, then the string quartet could not have very
professional.   A musician should do what the composer wants, and there are
many instances in classical music where string players are asked to play
without vibrato (the slow movement in one of the late Beethoven quartets,
I'm pretty sure).

Modern jazz trumpeters (probably since Roy Elridge!) perhaps make the most
effective use of vibrato.  Listen to a Miles Davis ballad, and try  not
getting carried away when he vibrates after a long straight passage - and
likewise when he stops the vibrato.

Singers are often the worst offenders when it comes to unrelenting vibrato.
At the risk of being exiled from Australia, I must say I can't stand
large slabs of Joan Sutherland because of her vibrato.

Vibrato must make a big difference to unison playing in ensembles.   The
fact that not all players will vibrate in the same phase is one of the
factors which makes some classical orchestras have a particular "sheen",
and the same must be said for 3 or 4 cornets playing in unison.


By the way how do you do vibrato on a brass instrument?   I can't recall
seeing any "how to's" in tutors, and I suspect most of us figure it out for
ourselves.   I've seen people shaking the instrument, their chin, or their
cheeks.  There must be some who do it by vibrating their diaphragm... Is
there a "best" way?

Music is such fun - why bother doing anything else?

Jack Alexander
1st Baritone
Waverley Bondi Beach Band
Sydney    Australia

Telephone: (61) (2) 9385 5290	 Fax: (61) (2) 313 8604
E-mail: J.Alexander@xxxxxxxxxxx


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