Why did I start this thread? Well, I have been doing a little research into effects, and discovered on this site (http://www.vibroworld.com/magnatone/vibrato.html) that "Vibrato a.k.a. frequency modulation, is a cyclic pitch change", whereas "Tremolo is a cyclic change in volume". Now, I got to thinking about what we actually DO when we do "vibrato" as harp players. I can think of 5 ways of doing "vibrato", but I think that only ONE of those five is ACTUALLY vibrato. The others are actually tremolo. So, in an effort to be scientific, I recorded all 5 types on the same little riff (-2, -4, +4), and will post them here for all to listen to. I used the same harp (Special 20, key of A), and played with the same embouchure and breath pressure. They were recorded through a clean mic, straight into Audacity. I start from the lungs and move up:
Type 1: Diaphragm Tremolo. This is rapid alteration of breath pressure (and thus volume) by pulsing your diaphragm.
Type 2: Throat Tremolo. This is rapid alteration of breath pressure (and thus volume) by pulsing your throat muscles.
Type 3: Tongue Vibrato. This is rapid alteration of the resonance of your oral cavity by moving your tongue (ie. saying "You You You You"), and thus creating a rapid sequence of small bends, producing a variation in pitch.
Type 4: Lip Shake Tremolo. This is rapid lateral "shaking" of the harp against your embouchure (I use my lower lip, but possibly could be done against your tongue) which causes pulses in the airflow to the harp, and thus alterations in volume.
Type 5: Hand Tremolo. This is rapid fanning of the hand at the back of the harp, causing rapid alteration in volume (ie. muting and un-muting the harp).
Additionally, a normal harp shake (rapid alternation of two adjacent holes) is actually a form of vibrato. No recording here because you all know what this sounds like.
So why is it important to understand these differences? Well, for one, if we want to be taken seriously by other musicians, shouldn't we be using the proper terminology to refer to what we do? Plus, I think it is important to differentiate between the two because the effect is quite different, and we ought to understand that so we can use the proper effect in the proper place.
I don't think harmonica players are the only ones who misuse the term. I'm pretty sure the "tremolo" bar (eg "whammy") on a guitar is really vibrato. It's a conspiracy.
And just for shits and giggles, here's a little riff that combines them all:
The riff starts with heavy but short and intense TONGUE VIBRATO on the -4, and goes down to THROAT TREMOLO on the -2. Then rolls down to HAND TREMOLO on the +1. I do a little fill riff, and then go to LIP SHAKE TREMOLO on the -2, and then open up to a swampy DIPHRAGM TREMOLO on the -1234 chord.
Maybe your ears will differ, but IMO, each of these techniques produces a VERY different tone/effect. I think it is extremely useful to differentiate between them all so we can make sure our musical vocabulary actually extends properly to our "harp vocabulary".
Tremolo is "a rapid reiteration of a single note or chord without regard to measured time values".
Vibrato is "a regular fluctuation of pitch or intensity (or both), either more or less pronounced and more or less rapid".
So, as far as musical terminology is concerned, I guess that all your fine exemples are vibratos, although the boundaries are not that clear. Tremolo is more mechanical ; vibrato may be more musically focused, i.e. the intent put in the playing of one note in a musical context.
The problem here may be that the terms don't have the same value in the electronic world. Same with "tremolo harmonica".
And, Isaacullah, don't develop an inferiority complex about not being taken seriously by others musicians. All jazz and classical musicians are jokers. I know that for sure, that's where I come from ;-)
@saregapadanisa: That's interesting that the "musical" definition would vary from the "music effects" definition. I'm a bit confused as to how we can separate "intensity vibrato" from "tremolo". It seems to me that variation in intensity is more closely aligned with "rapid reiteration of a single note" than it is with "regular fluctuation of pitch". Is the only difference that in true tremolo, you must completely articulate each note (ie. cut off air flow completely between each note, like when using tongue articulations or coughs), whereas that in "intensity vibrato", you just pulse the air? Even so, it seems that those two techniques are very much more related than either one is related to rapidly changing the pitch of a note. I think it's more useful for us to keep the two separate, or perhaps more accurately, to have THREE categories: True Tremolo, Intensity Tremolo, and Vibrato.
Isn't it time for this thread to devolve into a big argument over which type of vibrato real blues harp players MUST use?
;-)
BTW, I just came from the definitions thread which had morphed into a discussion on sphincter blocking, once again leading me to believe that the forum had jumped the shark. Then i came here and read some great stuff posted by Issac.
Thanks I, for restoring my faith in the forum.
Last Edited by on Mar 17, 2010 11:54 AM
I've posted this message before... you could say that the handvibrato is more like a tremolo...
The only thing that counts is how and when you use... Ben Bouman www.customharmonicashop.com
Yesterday i did a quick recording for www.bluesharp.nl.. I recorded 8 different vibratos... you can hear them on:
http://www.box.net/shared/vpxe22ooll
here's a short explanation ( on the recording it is in dutch!) vibratos on a Bb harp/hole 4 draw 1. handvibrato 2. mouth/tongue vi.. 3.mouth cavity tremolo 4.mouth cavity vibrato 5. mouth/throat vibrato 6. throat vibrato 7. tongueblocked throat vibrato 8. cupped tongueblocked throat vibrato
There are many more vibratos , this is just a short overview . For more details/explanation you can contact me on: ben@harmonicainstituut.nl I also do on-line lessons through SKYPE..!
Its a joke. In the Baroque period sting players were taught that vibrato was used to cover up bad bowing technique. That opinion is now generally frowned upon. Therefore, it is funny. See?
Larry Adler used to hate the throat vibrato and whenever he wanted a vibrato, he basically used his tongue. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Yeah! Only sissys use vibrato. You know roughly what note you want to hear but your not quite sure you'll hit it so if you wobble up and down around about the right note, you are bound to hit it occasionally ;)
It's an interesting question. The purpose is to create a note that is more interesting because it varies somehow - it isn't static, and the way of achieving this variety is not so important. Interestingly, it is considered bad taste to use vibrato on a clarinet, but I doubt if Acker Bilk is solely to blame for that! Brass instruments tend not to use a lot of it either. On a violin of course, pitch variation is the only possibility. The question is what's going on with a flute or an oboe? It is always called vibrato although the main change is volume of air-flow, i.e. loudness of sound. Pitch may change as a side-effect of this, but I don't think it does. Or at least, if it does, then it is minor and unimportant. Yes, true tremolo is a rapidly repeated note - violins play it by rapidly vibrating the bow. I suppose the need to split hairs with the vocabulary came with the advent of synthesisers when both pitch-variation and volume-variation became possible and Moog had to distinguish between the two. To summarise, I'm an oboist and I always call it vibrato whether it's on an oboe or a harp or a violin. For me tremolo is a repeated note. Vibrato is smooth; tremolo is jerky.
Vibrato isn't compulsory. One tends to play slow vibrato in slow music, fast vibrato in fast music. A long note might begin without vibrato, then vibrato might come in so that the long note doesn't become boring. Vibrato might be introduced during a crescendo to enhance the effect of the crescendo. I think what Chris is describing is just mechanically applied invariable vibrato. ---------- Kinda hot in these rhinos!
Last Edited by on Mar 18, 2010 3:56 AM
I was implying that I am a heavy proponent of vibrato or what I like to call it.. Vibratiolla and therefore have deficiencies in my technique. It was totally tongue an cheek but quite honestly in my early eons of Vibratiolla I did it on the three hole draw because I had intonationette problems.
---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
I totally agree - vibrato is a very effective way of controlling intonation on the 2- and 3-hole draw bends.
Although possibly on high harps it makes the sound even worse until one can do the vibrato well! ---------- Kinda hot in these rhinos!
Last Edited by on Mar 18, 2010 7:22 AM
Isaacullah, the pitch change as defined for a vibrato is about roughly 1/4 step (and players who have a difficult time getting a vibrato on a bent note are the ones bending to the very floor of the bend and so they don't leave the necessary 1/4 step in order for a vibrato to happen on the bend). ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
is anybody here who can do a spectrum analysis on the vibrato/ tremelo sound samples to confirm volume fluctuation versus pitch modulation, and the relative degrees of both?
Isaacullah, good observations. But I have to disagree in throat being a tremolo. At least I understood from the greats that one should be able to alter the pitch with throat rather than with my tongue. That's the key to a big sound and big vibrato.
I can come up with two other tremoloes. Steve Baker introduced his 5 vibrato/tremolo techniques at the World Harmonica Festival, and included a 1) "jaw tremolo" where you kinda "chew" on the harmonica. It's hard to explain, but can be quite useful. The second is a variation of the harp shake, where you very delicately move the harp up and down to alter the sound, still maintaining a one single note. Modestly used I think it's a great airy effect, but if you overdo it, it sounds like campfire.
Anyone else use these?
---------- Reed to the Beat! http://www.myspace.com/triplejaysinister
Good response guys! J-Sin and Phogi, that's an interesting thing to poitnout. I too bend now with my throat/back of the mouth rather than with my tongue (like I did when I was first starting), so I wonder if a good part of the reason why throat tremolo/vibrato sounds different (to me, anyway) than the other types tremolo and/or vibrato is that it's COMBINING the two effects. In other words, it's altering BOTH volume AND pitch, more so than the other techniques do both. I see diaphragm and lip shake as being the closest to pure tremolo, and tongue vibrato as being the closest to pure vibrato. Hand tremolo does both, but is more on the tremolo side of the continuum, where as perhaps throat tremolo/vibrato is somewhere closer to the middle of the vibrato-tremolo continuum.
BTW, I knew Chris was joking with his comment b/c he is a big proponent and master of the tongue vibrato technique. My response about him being "totally down with the tremolo" was also a joke. ;) ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
Isaac or any other "throat bender" - have you tried looking in a mirror to confirm that your tongue does not hump up at all when bending with your throat? My belief is that your tongue is participating in the bend.
You say if I use throat vibrato on two hole draw, I'm bending the note.......What about when I use throat vibrato on the two hole blow? I don't feel like I'm bending that note. Could blowing vs. drawing change whether it is vibrato or tremelo? It is interesting to alternate between blow and draw on the same hole while trying to hear if one is vibrato and one is tremelo.
