Vibrato

Vibrato is a musical effect where the pitch of a note is quickly and repeatedly raised and lowered over a small distance for the duration of that note. It is sometimes known as tremolo, but that word is less frequently used because it can also mean a rapid repetition of one note, or between several different notes.

The extent of the variation in pitch in vibrato is down to the performer, but does not usually exceed a semitone either way from the note itself. The effect is intended to add warmth to a note. A helpful side effect is that it can help to disguise bad tuning.

A precursor to vibrato was the trillo (not to be confused with a trill), used in vocal music in the early 17th century, where a singer would rapidly repeat the same note on one sylable. The effect was much more strident than that of vibrato, and is compared by some to the bleating of a sheep.

Not all instruments can produce vibrato, as some have fixed pitches which can not be varied by sufficiently small degrees. Most percussion instruments are examples of this, as is the piano. Some types of organ however, can produce the effect by altering the pressure of the air passing through the pipes, or by various mechanical devices (see the Hammond or Wurlitzer Organs for example).

The method of producing vibrato on other instruments varies. On string instruments, for example, the finger used to stop the string can be wobbled on the fingerboard, or actually moved up and down the string for a wider vibrato.

Vibrato is used most of the time by performers who can produce it in classical music, although in more modern classical music there is sometimes a specific instruction not to use it (in some of the string quartets of Bela Bartok for example). Furthermore, some modern classical composers are against the use of vibrato at all times, especially minimalist composers. In pop music the effect is sometimes heard on the guitar and some, but not all singers, use it (in some pop ballads, the vibrato can be so wide as to be a pronounced wobble). In jazz it tends to be used much more selectively than in classical music, and with more discrimination. Many jazz musicians do not use vibrato except where they want to create a specific effect. The use of vibrato in some folk musics is rare, although in Eastern European gypsy music, for example, its use is very widespread.

External Links

Vibrato or tremolo? technical treatment, but accessible to laymen