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Is it okay for a beginner to play vibrato?
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09/04/2023 3:33 pm
Topic starter
I'd love to have a list of skill-based checkpoints that a student should know before teaching them vibrato! Too early might disrupt their tone and air direction, but too late might be harder to learn. Thank you!
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10/04/2023 8:36 pm
I don't know that I have a specific list of skills that I want a student to have before introducing vibrato, but I am very interested in the tone development and air control. I find that students develop vibrato more naturally when I focus on helping them to have an open and relaxed sound. If a student is developing a natural vibrato I would encourage that, but I would wait to encourage a student with an underdeveloped tone to start on vibrato. Introducing vibrato prematurely can lead students to create tension in their throats and jaws to force vibrato to happen. When I see this, my first thought is that the student wasn't playing with an open and full sound before introducing vibrato, and so now they a underdeveloped sound and a tight forced vibrato. Also, the vibrato can act as a mask hiding the tone issues a student should be focusing on!
I look for a student to be consistently playing with a clear, open sound in all registers before really focusing on vibrato. Once I hear that, I think it is the perfect time to introduce vibrato, and I think the sound quality is much better in those scenarios.
