It took me 4 years years to develop a decent vibrato and 26 more years to get a better one.
Start with a draw vibrato from holes 1 through 6.
Say hoo hoo hoo hoo but inhale. Kind of like a monkey.
Get with a metronome. Set it slow and do pulses every click. Then Eighth notes, then triplets, then 16th notes. Speed it up. At a certain point it will go too fast for the latter two.
Place the tip of your tongue on the floor of the mouth about a centimeter behind the gumline. Raise the back of your tongue high. If TBing, just raise the tongue.
There are at least three kinds of vibrato, not counting waving your palm behind the harp.
You can work on throat vibrato. Consider it a long term investment to develop a future option. Frankly, I hear many players that in my opinion overuse this by playing with a consistently strong throat vibrato all the time. I do like it when it is used for effect, particularly in trailing off notes. But I am not a fan of constant strong throat vibrato.
Then there is diaphragm vibrato. This is another long term project. Working on this technique requires that you are breathing from your diaphragm while playing and not just breathing from your upper chest. It is good for improving your tone, and is a useful effect.
The easiest vibrato is done by hand and mouth. You gently and rhythmically move the harp deeper into your mouth and then back out. You can vary the speed for effect. You can easily learn this in one afternoon, but it may take a longer time to fully develop control.
I use all three kinds at times, not even thinking about which technique I am using at any given moment. I don't think I ever use throat vibrato alone, but as an enhancement for the other vibratos. I just think about what sound I want to hear in my music. I use vibrato for effect sparingly and do not favor heavy use of vibrato throughout a song. ----------
Try doing a vocal vibrato first and then just basically reverse it for a draw note vibrato. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
There are at least three ways you can make a sustained tone undulate. Some folks insist that only one of them can be properly called vibrato, but I hang out in a bigger tent, where all three count:
- Varying the intensity (or loudness) of the tone.
- Varying the tone color (overtone profile) of the tone
- Varying the pitch of the tone.
Your diaphragm is the clumsiest to use and varies only the intensity.
Your glottis also varies intensity, but can partner with the deeper part of your tongue to simultaneously vary pitch - this combination is what most people mean when they refer to throat vibrato.
Your tongue can vary both pitch and tone color (as vowel sounds) - try making a 'yoyoyoyoy" tongue movement to get started on this.
Your hands can vary both intensity and tone color: closed hand cup = dark (fewer upper overtones); open hand cup = brighter (more upper overtones). Each note has a sweet spot where the opening in your hands will make the note louder; we mostly pass right through that spot without noticing. But slow down and find it and you can make your hand vibrato more intense. =========== Winslow
Thanks for all the input....but...I've been down this road before, and as I said, I have given up any hope of having a usable breath vibrato that I can employ without conscious thought. I was wanting recommendations on an affordable pedal or other device that produces a pleasant sounding alternative. Thank You
Last Edited by crispyagain on Nov 17, 2015 3:21 PM
@crispy........the gold standard of blues harp is throat vibrato.....I'm still trying to achieve.......but my advice is.......leave cant or cannot out of the equation..it can be done and will be done by me..........it is NOT impossible,but tough.........DO NOT QUIT!!!!!!!!
it is well known that even big walter needed help with vibrato. since he was a big time blues star, he could afford the best gear. it is well documented, he carried a magnatone everywhere he went. us mere mortals can now rely,on a less expensive option.
why put vibrato only on certain notes, when you can now have it on each and every note
Last Edited by 1847 on Nov 17, 2015 6:03 PM
don't know your meaning.......I'm not howlin` wolf,butterfield,nat riddles...terry bean and deak harp..........but love their vibrato......I'm a retired respiratory therapist and know what Ive got to master.............quitting is not an option
thats great...just step on the button when you want the vibe...and again to switch it off...my buddy plays synthesiser/bass this way, on a Moog taurus pedal, while playing guitar with the conventional 2 handed approach...what would be awesome is a foot pedal that allowed you to use feet to adjust the speed and intensity too...or you could have an assistant to adjust the pedal settings when you signal them using a combination of eyebrow and finger movements...eyebrows down for greater intensity, fingers raised for more speed...i suspect some finger signals are being given me right now...
If you are set on gear as the answer, here is a new item being built in Champaign, IL by a local tube amp building company, Analog Outfitters. This is a tremolo and reverb taken from a Hammond organ and built into a unit.
No, I haven't tried harp through it yet. If I do, I will ask if I can record and post it here.
There's a particular style of very popular Japanese music called enka (Japan's country music for want of a better analogy) that relies heavily on repeated vibrato as it's distinguishing feature.
A lot of harp players remind me of enka singers sometimes.
Vibrato isn't an effect, it's a technique. Gear can't do technique. If you cannot do it you'll have to play without it. I wish there was a pedal that could help me play fiddle tunes. A few weeks ago I actually posted Buddy Greene playing Orange Blossom Special with the caption "I think I can, I think I can...". I may not, in the end, be right about that but over the last 2 weeks I've literally cut my face trying. By next year, maybe. Just being real.
Last Edited by Littoral on Nov 18, 2015 4:10 AM
Crispyagain explicitly said he wanted gear advice, but people here are mostly trying to educate him. (Often along lines frequently used ...) My advice to crispy is simple: If you´re playing cupped w/ a microphone, just shake the harmonica back and forth, in a sort of "vibrating movement". You won´t get any Big Walter/Butterfield etc sound, but you can fake it a bit. (If you´re not playing cupped this might not produce enough difference to be that audible.)
Maybe you just need something different. Try inhaling the note and saying the word YaYaYaYa real fast. It may open the throat and get the effect. just might work.....smilin
Martin's suggestion seems like what my 3rd vibrato option above was talking about. It is not difficult to just move the harp in your emboucher gently to get an effect. Worth trying, even if throat and diaphragm aren't working for you.
Here is the embedded YouTube about the Scanner built locally by Analog Outfitters from Hammond Organ parts.
I saw it listed at a local music store for $1400. ----------
Great tip, Michael! I too have been on a long road developing my vibrato. I've received advice from many expert players over the years. I practice it probably as much or more than I practice any other technique. Watching TV. Driving. Most any activity that doesn't require both hands. I'm getting close and am actually pleased with my vibrato -- on the lower holes of lower key harps. I still struggle with holes, say 4 and above and with higher keys.
As a lifelong habitual melodic whistler, tongue vibrato (Chris Michalek style) comes easily to me but IMO it lacks the depth and "guts" of a good bluesy throat vibrato. Most of my success has come from variations on glottal stops (machine gun coughs). But that alone just gives me a tremolo which lacks the gutsy bend component.
To add the wavering tonal quality of a good blues vibrato, Dave Barrett gave me the most effective advice to date. My problem was my tone was wavering too deeply, altering the base tone that I was trying to hit. Very frustrating! I struggled for years until Dave advised that I practice gradually coming up toward the target tone from below instead of trying to hit it directly, to get the feel of a proper vibrato. That helped a lot with the lower tones but I still struggled with higher ones.
Along comes Michael Rubin. A one sentence tip. "Hoo, hoo, hoo." Magic! I had never tried a specific articulation, only sort of vaguely trying different manipulations of my diaphragm, throat and tongue. Then first time I Hoo-hoo'ed I discovered immediate improvement in my tonal shaping on lower holes, and to my amazement, instant gratification on those pesky higher tones!
Of course I'll need to continue woodshedding with my newfound hoo-hoo'ing, but Michael's advice has definitely given me a new tool that's already kicked the quality of my vibrato up a notch or three.
Thank You, Michael Rubin!
(And, thank you, Dirty South!)
Michelle
---------- SilverWing Leather - Custom leather creations for musicians and other eccentrics.
Last Edited by mlefree on Nov 18, 2015 8:49 AM
@1847 -- Since I saw and hung out with Big Walter MANY times over the years, I can tell you for a FACT that every word about him carrying a Magnatone is TOTALLY BOGUS and he was NOT a gear freak. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
There are several parts to vibrato: Amplitude Modulation, Frequency Modulation and speed control.
The first exercise is to sit up strait in a chair and slowly play one note in a triplet feel (ho ho ho). You should put a slight accent on the note first of each triplet and practice slowly speeding up and slowing down. Think of it a wave with a triplet breath going through it. This is first part. If you loose the triplet slow down !!!!!
Precisely, Komuso, but Littoral did raise a good point. He said "If you cannot do it (vibrato) you'll have to play without it." My question, why not play without it?
Crispyagain: I've never been able to make heads or tails out of anyone's posted advice about positioning your tongue, or where the tip should be or any of the other suggested exercises to develop vibrato, or to develop bending technique or overblows. I've found the best way to develop any of these techniques is to just keep practicing, playing with your embouchure and trying different things until, VOILA! all of a sudden you've got it! After that it will become more and more natural for you until you don't even have to think about it. Don't give up...just keep trying. Some day you'll surprise yourself and a grand feeling of elation and accomplishment will come over you and you'll say to yourself, "I CAN do it! I CAN do it!"
"Conventional Wisdom" dictates vibrato MUST be used though;-)
Usually the argument seems to be because the human voice does it to indicate emotion therefore harp must emulate (an argument also used a lot in guitar teaching re: vibrato).
In vibrato's case I think a little goes a long way.
This is one of my 45 minute lessons from HarmoniCollege. These are my opinions, some may disagree. ======================================================= 6 Types of Vibrato (Don't just blow, shake something)
For this discussion, we will call vibrato and tremolo the same thing. Vibrato is a change of pitch. Tremolo is a change of volume.
1)Diaphragm. From the stomach, not the lungs. With an open throat this give you the best tone by creating a large tube from your lips to the bottom of your lungs. It creates a soft vibrato that is not to fast. When you first do this, you will feel your stomach muscles ache until the muscles develop. 2)Throat. Some people say this is like coughing. You can get a fast vibrato with a hard on off sound. It is harder to get a soft vibrato with the throat. 3)Tongue. Move you tongue up and down. There will be a vibrato, but if you are not careful, there will be too much. I find it to be an unreliable technique 4)Jaw. Similar to Tongue, just move your jaw up and down. You can get a nice low and slow vibrato this way. 5)Lips. With lips loosely wrapped around the harp, move the harp left and right. Try lightly patting the harp for a quick waver 6)Hands. Don’t forget to open and close your hands. This is a fundamental technique we all can do, but frequently forget to use.
---------- theharmonicaclub.com (of Huntington, WV)
Last Edited by Jim Rumbaugh on Nov 19, 2015 11:35 AM
"Making Vibrato is a technique, using it is an effect." True enough, as a more precise application of the term effect. Point is, addressing OP, that vibrato doesn't happen with gear. Vibrato is technique. BB King.
Good links above from members. I'd recommend trying all the videos you can find, as one may make more sense than others to you personally. Like bending, teachers describe vibrato in various ways. Sometimes it can take minutes, sometimes years!
Good luck.
Liam
---------- "Nothing says heartache like a harmonica"
Liam Ward https://www.youtube.com/learntheharmonica http://www.learntheharmonica.com/ https://liamwardmusic.com
Last Edited by GobIronWard on Nov 19, 2015 1:11 PM
I think I have 2 suggestions that will get you on your way to throat vibrato. 1) Practice starting and stopping your breathing at your diaphragm, slow and fast, inhale and exhale, to the max, and then beyond, of your lung capacity. Practice this consciously and at some point in the near future you will be able to make that diaphragm muscle vibrate as you breath. Voila, vibrato. 2)Incorporate snoring into your harmonica.
I find Tremolo and Octave harps are good to practice breathing techniques because they take lots of air and also have nice nuance tones that give you lots of feedback.
I think all the well-meaning talk of "from the diaphram" can sometimes be confusing to someone who can't currently get a satisfactory vibrato. Not sure if that's a problem for crispyagain but I wouldn't get too hung up in the language.
Re Jim Rumbaugh's post above - nice tips, although I think the distinction between vibrato and tremolo is an important one. They serve similar purposes but they are a slightly different sound.
Here's my video lesson on vibrato. Hope it helps. Warning: contains a hairy belly!
---------- "Nothing says heartache like a harmonica"
Liam Ward https://www.youtube.com/learntheharmonica http://www.learntheharmonica.com/ https://liamwardmusic.com
Last Edited by GobIronWard on Nov 20, 2015 12:49 AM
P.S. If you've truly given up on producing one, I'd recommend working on a tremolo sound by moving the hands and/or harmonica. I've not used any 'vibrato gear' so can't help I'm afraid. I hope you find what you're looking for!
---------- "Nothing says heartache like a harmonica"
Don´t want to sound pessimistic here but I´d advice Crispyagain to be really careful and test a vibrato-pedal before buying. I tried a few of them in a recording context a while back, looking for a particular effect (don´t remember the brand names at the moment), and although they were wonderful for guitar, they all sounded like crap with a harmonica. I found that my own, slightly ingratiating, vibrato enhanced even a bit more, did the job much more convincingly.
In response to the OP: The Line6 MM4 modulation modeler pedal produces the best vibrato/tremolo that I've heard on harp. http://line6.com/mm4/
In response to the rest of the thread: Agree with the distinction between the "technique" and the "effect". Also agree with the general breakdown of the techniques at ones disposal to make this kind of effect. My extra 2 cents is that I think it's often best to cultivate MULTIPLE ways of getting this type of sound, and to practice seamlessly changing between techniques, or even combining them. For me, I can switch between "throat" and "mouth/tongue" vibrato pretty much seamlessly, and can do so with our without the "hand" vibrato going on at the same time. I find that "mouth" vibrato is easier on bent notes, or high up the harp, but that "throat" vibrato sounds better/smoother on the lower natural draw notes. Blow notes are harder to get smooth vibrato than draw notes, so I often accentuate my throat or mouth vibrato with hand vibrato on blow notes. ----------
Oh, and to the OP. Whatever pedal you end up getting, I'd suggest putting it into a true bybass loop, with an external loop stomp switch, and some feedback control. You won't want it "on" all the time, but you will want to be have the "tails" fade out naturally. If you don't have this, it's gonna sound overly processes. By "loop", I don't mean a "looper", which records and plays back sounds. I mean an "FX loop" pedal, that routes your signal to different pedals, and then back to a main audio bus. This is an example of what I mean (though I ain't use this particular one): http://www.nosepedal.com/store/nose-feedback-looper-deluxe ----------
I have tried to translate unseen body functions into words and communicate them to others. I usually wind up encouraging practice. "Give it time and it will happen". "Keep plugging away". "You gotta really want it". You don't want to hear that stuff. Good coaches and teachers have regimens prepared for those who say, "I can't do it". I wouldn't even try to imitate them. Besides, my coaches sometimes used naughty words which would violate the guidlines hereabouts.
I agree with the above posts that mention a similarity in the technique used to create vibrato on other instruments. Vocals, flute and harmonica are just my few of the many. I created a trace amount of vocal vibrato and worked at it. It was fairly easy to incorporate it into the other instruments once I had a grip.
So, if you have not completely thrown in the towel, you might search for videos on "flute vibrato" and "vocal vibrato". You don't have to play either. All you have to do is listen. These 'voices' are much more popular outside of this small piece of the musical universe and have been more widely taught for much longer than the harp. You may find the seed you need.
But all this is irrevelant to the OP. I enjoy the progress of technology and would love to hear an electronic vibrato mimic. I'd also love to hear the 'Jason Ricci Combination Speed and Overblow Pedal' with or without the 'Inflection & Passion' option. I would not rule either as impossibe. My adventure continues the long way tho shortcuts are great if they don't veer me off.
Thanks for all the responses to my post. This topic always seems to generate a lot of good discussion. Again, thanks to AG for this super valuable resource, the MBH website.
