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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Vibrato on chords - tips needed
Vibrato on chords - tips needed
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dan.rfd
6 posts
Nov 23, 2013
9:31 AM
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So I have finally started to get the hang of throat vibrato. It has taken a fair bit of practice and I still have a long way to go and really need some tips!
I can get an ok vibrato on holes 2,3 and 4 but still working on hole 1 - my vibrato sounds slower and too 'on off' on this hole and I can't seem to smooth it out.. guess it is just a matter of time and practice.
I have been trying to learn Adams Front Porch Blues from the video. He plays these 2,5 and 4,5 chords with quite deep vibrato. First problem for me is I can't get any vibrato on hole 5. Also I just can't seem to get any vibrato at all on more than one note at a time and wondered if there are any tricks that I am missing.
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WinslowYerxa
431 posts
Nov 24, 2013
11:00 AM
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Dan -
It may help to think of vibrato as simply putting a wiggle in the line. In other words, any sustained tone can be made to undulate.
You can make a note undulate in at least three ways:
- Varying the loudness (activators: diaphragm, throat, or hands)
- Varying the tone color (tongue, hands)
- Varying the pitch (throat or tongue)
Most vibratos use at least two of these three. Some folks like to reserve the term "vibrato" only for variations in pitch, despite the fact that over the centuries, that term has referred to all three, but in different combinations at different times and places.
Now, if you're getting pulsation in some holes and not in others, I suspect that the method you're using is too specific. To make it work over a wider range of notes and combinations of notes, you may need to broaden the effect by making your technique less focused on those holes.
Right now your throat vibrato is giving inconsistent results. So let's go on a little side trip into using your diaphragm.
Try saying "Ha!-Ha!-Ha!-Ha!" Note how the area just below the apex of your ribcage is jiggling with each exclamation. This is your diaphragm at work.
Now try smoothing out that sound to something more like "AaaAaaAaaAaa." This gives you a sustained flow of air that pulses periodically - a change in loudness.
Now try this with a harmonica on a blow chord. You'll get an intensity based ripple in the sound of the sustained chord. Now try it on an inhaled chord.
How does this help your throat vibrato? It lends support. It also places the pulsation engine deeper, which helps to broaden its effect.
So now try adding throat pulsation to the diaphragm pulsation. For each diaphragm bounce, pulse your throat at the same time. Try varying the speed of the pulsations, even timing them with a slow-moving metronome beat (maybe 40 clicks/second to start). Gradually let the throat take the lead and let the diaphragm fade into the background.
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Winslow
Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Nov 24, 2013 3:02 PM
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dan.rfd
7 posts
Nov 25, 2013
1:07 AM
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Hi Winslow many thanks for the advice!
As I used to play the sax I seem to be able to get a nice blow note vibrato from my diaphragm. However trying to use my throat for blow vibrato does not sound that great. W
hen it comes to draw notes, it seems to come mostly from throat movement right now, if I hold my hand on my diaphragm it is pretty steady. I can only produce it on the easily bendable holes as it involves kind of gently choking the note a bit like initiating a bend then allowing the throat to 'bounce' back up. With the 5 draw this technique does not work for me.
I have just now started practicing getting my diaphragm more involved as you suggested and will report progress!
Many thanks
Dan
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WinslowYerxa
435 posts
Nov 25, 2013
9:40 AM
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Bending and throat pulsation can be separated. Learning this allowed me to start adding throat vibrato to sustained bent notes. But I got there via diaphragm vibrato.
Throat pulsation is produced by the glottis - your vocal cords - opening and closing. By not closing them all the way, you can massage the passing air flow without interrupting it. Try starting with spoken syllables such as !Ah! - !Ah - !Ah!, etc., where each ! indicates a glottal stop. The remove the voice and try it both inhaling and exhaling.
Bending is initiated higher in the air stream. Some players argue that it's in the throat (which is not a precisely defined area) while most researchers and instructors maintain that the tongue initiates bending.
Either way, the glottis is not the bend activator, but it does activate throat pulsation. So learning to uncouple glottal pulsation from bending can help you develop your throat vibrato.
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Winslow
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