Many of my clients have asked me to help them find their natural VIBRATO.
Vibrato is a complex issue. It has been defined as an oscillatory effect produced in singing by fluctuation in breath pressure or pitch. It is not a wobble it is a smooth constant pulse in the voice. Most professional singers have about 5-7 pulses per second.
Vibrato is as personal
as a singer's face.
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| Click Image & Listen |
It is a healthy vibrato that counts!
Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Rush have a large vibrato while Sade has a very slight and finer vibrato.
Here are three tips that you can use to discover your own natural vibrato.
ONE: The Arm Drop
- Lift one of your arms above your head.
- Imagine that it weighs 200 pounds. It is extremely heavy.
- Inhale and breathe out on tone; and
- while singing the tone allow your "heavy" arm to drop down to the side.
You will hear the tone fluctuate and go into a natural vibrato when it slaps down against your leg.
The force of your arm dropping lets your body respond and release it's tension. Your throat responds accordingly.
This is a great exercise to let you HEAR what your natural vibrato sounds like.
TWO: Drop Into A Wall
Now, instead of letting your arm drop you are going to let your body drop forward into a wall.
- Stand a few inches in front of a wall.
- What you will be doing is creating a tone
while allowing your body to slightly fall towards the wall,
while catching yourself with your hands.
Get ready. Find a flat wall.
- Stand a few inches away from the wall, facing it.
- Inhale and create a tone.
- Hold the tone and allow your body to fall towards the wall while catching yourself with your hands.
Remember you need to catch yourself :-) You do not want a flattened nose.
As you release into the wall you will hear the natural vibrato come into your voice.
THREE: Awaken The Vibrato
A simple way to kick off and awaken the vibrato.
- Think of a police siren.
- Purse your lips and form a U
- Now imitate a police siren and see if you can hear the vibrato begin to appear.
- Be playful and feel like a kid again.
That's it. You did it. You have discovered how to find your natural vibrato.
Why should you make it a point of understanding vibrato? Because vibrato gives your voice
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a natural release and keeps it in flow and healthy.
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It expands the palette of resonance
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It is easier for the audience to listen to. Straight tones and flat tones with no vibrato are harder to listen to over long periods of time.
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It improves pitch.
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Vibrato also helps with trills and runs.
E V A N O V A K 
