How to Sing Vibrato
Open the back of your throat., Relax your muscles completely., To help you breathe correctly, stand correctly., Sing with your diaphragm., Keep your breath flow steady and even., Keep it subtle., Master other things first if need be., Know that your...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Open the back of your throat.
You can do this simply by yawning.Try to keep that feeling of yawning in your mouth and throat while you sing.
Can you mimic that feeling without even yawning, too? Singing well (and singing with vibrato) is largely about being relaxed and open.
If your throat is closed, the noise won't flow and your tone won't be warm and rich.
You may be able to belt a few notes, but your full range will be cut off. -
Step 2: Relax your muscles completely.
If you are not relaxed, you will not be able to sing with vibrato.
It should come naturally if you relax and don't strain your voice.
Shake out any tension from your wrists to your ankles.
Do circles with your neck, stretching out the sides.
Get loose on the outside so you can avoid tension on the inside.
This includes all the muscles in your face and head, too, like your jaw and tongue.
They should be doing very little work, regardless of whether you're singing with a straight tone or with vibrato. , In order to master breath flow (which is alarmingly important), keep good posture by standing with one foot slightly in front of the other, and your neck, head, and back all in a straight line.
Subglottic pressure is actually regulated by your abs, lower back, chest, and butt muscles.If you're sitting, sit on the edge of your chair with your back straight and your head facing directly forward – you shouldn't be looking down, even if you're reading music. , Take a good, solid, deep breath into your core.
Your shoulders should not go up and your diaphragm should lower.
When you sing the note, concentrate on it naturally cycling in front of you.
Let it go on its own – it should do it for you.
Proper singing isn't work.
If you're feeling like you're forcing out a specific sound, you're not doing it right.
Vibrato is natural; don't bother forcing it if it's not there.
It just means you need to concentrate on other aspects of singing first.
Vibrato is the icing on the cake, not the flour in the batter.
It comes last. , Not breathing or breathing inconsistently is surprisingly easy to do while singing.
To produce the sound you're aiming for, keep the amount of air you produce steady and even.
If it's not steady, your vibrato will wobble all over the place.
In addition to being steady, your breath needs to be even to keep vibrato consistent.
If it's not even, you may notice your vibrato slowing down or speeding up – both of which should be avoided. , You've probably heard a few singers whose vibrato is so strong it takes over the song.
It just won't stop, and it's a little distracting.
Don't be this singer.
Vibrato sounds much better when it's light and natural.
It should be like surprise ice cream, not ice cream splattered all over you and splattered everywhere.
What's more, know when it's appropriate – which isn't all the time.
If you sang a song entirely in a straight tone, that song wouldn't be aurally interesting.
If you sang it entirely with vibrato, that song wouldn't be aurally interesting either.
So use it sometimes, don't use it others, and switch it up.
Use it when you feel like it fits. , If vibrato doesn't come naturally to you, well, for starters, don't give yourself a hard time.
Many pros fake it or do it incorrectly (more on this in a bit).
Vibrato is trendy more than anything.
That being said, continue to work on your singing and it'll come.
When you have solid technique, vibrato will be a piece of cake.
Focus on your resonance and timbre, instead.
You'll develop the right habits of singing freely, breathing properly, and being relaxed.
You'll start placing the sounds correctly in your mouth, letting go of your jaw and tongue, and the vibrato will start spilling out. , Some vocal teachers will help you concentrate on developing your "vibrato" by teaching you a few exercises that force it out.
This isn't true vibrato – this is you imitating vibrato.
If you're singing correctly, vibrato will develop – it's a natural physical result of singing correctly.
This is very much so an aspect of singing that comes with time.
There's no magical way to develop it overnight.
It takes a rich, healthy tone and proper breath support for it to even start – and you can't run before you walk. , Technically speaking, vibrato is an even, steady tonal oscillation of a pitch's center.
It's a slight variation in pitch and is the natural function of a well-produced tone.It cannot be naturally manipulated.
Most people believe that vibrato adds a warmth and depth to the voice.
It's perceived by the ears as a pitch variant, but in actually it's part of the tone, centering it. , Sure, vibrato sounds good, but it's also helpful for the voice.
Not only does it center the pitch, but it also helps the muscles relax.
It's your larynx pulsing in order to properly deal with the pressure that's being put upon it.It's there to protect your vocal folds from over-exertion.
Think about lifting weights.
When your muscles are under duress, they automatically start shaking.
Have you ever thought about why? It's a similar mechanism throughout your entire body. , So many people "fake their vibrato," which is to say that they don't actually have a true vibrato at all.
Let's discuss "trillo, "wobble"
and "tremolo":
Trillo.
This sounds like a goat bleating, point blank.
It sort of sounds like a very fast, staccato vibrato.
It is caused by breath that has not properly placed and becomes dispersed.
Wobble.
This is when the cycles occur slowly and far apart.
There's usually a larger variation in pitch, too.
It generally happens from a lack of focus in tone or poor breath management.
Tremolo.
Juxtaposing the wobble (which is too slow), the tremolo is too fast.
It comes about from too much glottal pressure, resulting in tension around the base of the tongue. , Place your hands at the bottom of your chest and feel where your ribs come together in the middle.
Now move your hands slightly below this point (it's the soft area a few centimeters above your belly button).
Now sing a note on one pitch in your easy range – any note will do.
As you're singing this note, push in gently with your hands.
The key is to push in, then pull out, and push in, then pull out and so on.
Try doing this at a rate of around 3 to 4 cycles a second.
For the record, this type of exercise generally produces a tremolo sound.
The volume changes while pitch remains the same, which is not true vibrato.
However, it can give you a good idea of what muscles are involved and start retraining your muscles. , Some teachers instruct their students to hold a finger on their larynx and wiggle it up and down while singing on a sustained pitch.
This will result in a strange sound similar to a vibrato, but again, not true vibrato.
That being said, it can help get new muscles working in new ways.
Take these exercises with a grain of salt.
As stated many times previously in this article, true, natural vibrato comes on its own.
These are simply to get you and your voice thinking in different ways. , Another method teachers employ is to have their students switch between two notes at quicker and quicker rates until it's reminiscent of vibrato.
The aim is for 6-8 cycles per second.
As you can likely tell, this isn't vibrato either.
It's a mimicking technique that gets close to the sound.
Just make sure the two notes you're switching between are a semitone or less away from each other. , You know those singers whose jaws move up and down with every hint of a vibrato cycle? This isn't how you're supposed to do it, whether you're Whitney Houston or not.
Your jaw should be completely relaxed during singing, along with every other part of your body.
So, yes, moving your jaw up and down can mimic that sound, but it's not natural or healthy.
This is often called "Gospel Jaw" because it's seen so prominently with Gospel singers.
It's also called "jaw vibrato" as it's not emanating from your vocal folds – it's just vibrato produced with your jaw. -
Step 3: To help you breathe correctly
-
Step 4: stand correctly.
-
Step 5: Sing with your diaphragm.
-
Step 6: Keep your breath flow steady and even.
-
Step 7: Keep it subtle.
-
Step 8: Master other things first if need be.
-
Step 9: Know that your vibrato will develop naturally in time if you sing correctly.
-
Step 10: Understand what vibrato is.
-
Step 11: Know why it's helpful.
-
Step 12: Know that vibrato is not the same as "trillo
-
Step 13: " "wobble
-
Step 14: " or "tremolo."
-
Step 15: Try a diaphragm exercise.
-
Step 16: Consider placing a finger on your larynx.
-
Step 17: Switch between two notes
-
Step 18: one note and another a semitone away.
-
Step 19: Don't give yourself "Gospel Jaw."
Detailed Guide
You can do this simply by yawning.Try to keep that feeling of yawning in your mouth and throat while you sing.
Can you mimic that feeling without even yawning, too? Singing well (and singing with vibrato) is largely about being relaxed and open.
If your throat is closed, the noise won't flow and your tone won't be warm and rich.
You may be able to belt a few notes, but your full range will be cut off.
If you are not relaxed, you will not be able to sing with vibrato.
It should come naturally if you relax and don't strain your voice.
Shake out any tension from your wrists to your ankles.
Do circles with your neck, stretching out the sides.
Get loose on the outside so you can avoid tension on the inside.
This includes all the muscles in your face and head, too, like your jaw and tongue.
They should be doing very little work, regardless of whether you're singing with a straight tone or with vibrato. , In order to master breath flow (which is alarmingly important), keep good posture by standing with one foot slightly in front of the other, and your neck, head, and back all in a straight line.
Subglottic pressure is actually regulated by your abs, lower back, chest, and butt muscles.If you're sitting, sit on the edge of your chair with your back straight and your head facing directly forward – you shouldn't be looking down, even if you're reading music. , Take a good, solid, deep breath into your core.
Your shoulders should not go up and your diaphragm should lower.
When you sing the note, concentrate on it naturally cycling in front of you.
Let it go on its own – it should do it for you.
Proper singing isn't work.
If you're feeling like you're forcing out a specific sound, you're not doing it right.
Vibrato is natural; don't bother forcing it if it's not there.
It just means you need to concentrate on other aspects of singing first.
Vibrato is the icing on the cake, not the flour in the batter.
It comes last. , Not breathing or breathing inconsistently is surprisingly easy to do while singing.
To produce the sound you're aiming for, keep the amount of air you produce steady and even.
If it's not steady, your vibrato will wobble all over the place.
In addition to being steady, your breath needs to be even to keep vibrato consistent.
If it's not even, you may notice your vibrato slowing down or speeding up – both of which should be avoided. , You've probably heard a few singers whose vibrato is so strong it takes over the song.
It just won't stop, and it's a little distracting.
Don't be this singer.
Vibrato sounds much better when it's light and natural.
It should be like surprise ice cream, not ice cream splattered all over you and splattered everywhere.
What's more, know when it's appropriate – which isn't all the time.
If you sang a song entirely in a straight tone, that song wouldn't be aurally interesting.
If you sang it entirely with vibrato, that song wouldn't be aurally interesting either.
So use it sometimes, don't use it others, and switch it up.
Use it when you feel like it fits. , If vibrato doesn't come naturally to you, well, for starters, don't give yourself a hard time.
Many pros fake it or do it incorrectly (more on this in a bit).
Vibrato is trendy more than anything.
That being said, continue to work on your singing and it'll come.
When you have solid technique, vibrato will be a piece of cake.
Focus on your resonance and timbre, instead.
You'll develop the right habits of singing freely, breathing properly, and being relaxed.
You'll start placing the sounds correctly in your mouth, letting go of your jaw and tongue, and the vibrato will start spilling out. , Some vocal teachers will help you concentrate on developing your "vibrato" by teaching you a few exercises that force it out.
This isn't true vibrato – this is you imitating vibrato.
If you're singing correctly, vibrato will develop – it's a natural physical result of singing correctly.
This is very much so an aspect of singing that comes with time.
There's no magical way to develop it overnight.
It takes a rich, healthy tone and proper breath support for it to even start – and you can't run before you walk. , Technically speaking, vibrato is an even, steady tonal oscillation of a pitch's center.
It's a slight variation in pitch and is the natural function of a well-produced tone.It cannot be naturally manipulated.
Most people believe that vibrato adds a warmth and depth to the voice.
It's perceived by the ears as a pitch variant, but in actually it's part of the tone, centering it. , Sure, vibrato sounds good, but it's also helpful for the voice.
Not only does it center the pitch, but it also helps the muscles relax.
It's your larynx pulsing in order to properly deal with the pressure that's being put upon it.It's there to protect your vocal folds from over-exertion.
Think about lifting weights.
When your muscles are under duress, they automatically start shaking.
Have you ever thought about why? It's a similar mechanism throughout your entire body. , So many people "fake their vibrato," which is to say that they don't actually have a true vibrato at all.
Let's discuss "trillo, "wobble"
and "tremolo":
Trillo.
This sounds like a goat bleating, point blank.
It sort of sounds like a very fast, staccato vibrato.
It is caused by breath that has not properly placed and becomes dispersed.
Wobble.
This is when the cycles occur slowly and far apart.
There's usually a larger variation in pitch, too.
It generally happens from a lack of focus in tone or poor breath management.
Tremolo.
Juxtaposing the wobble (which is too slow), the tremolo is too fast.
It comes about from too much glottal pressure, resulting in tension around the base of the tongue. , Place your hands at the bottom of your chest and feel where your ribs come together in the middle.
Now move your hands slightly below this point (it's the soft area a few centimeters above your belly button).
Now sing a note on one pitch in your easy range – any note will do.
As you're singing this note, push in gently with your hands.
The key is to push in, then pull out, and push in, then pull out and so on.
Try doing this at a rate of around 3 to 4 cycles a second.
For the record, this type of exercise generally produces a tremolo sound.
The volume changes while pitch remains the same, which is not true vibrato.
However, it can give you a good idea of what muscles are involved and start retraining your muscles. , Some teachers instruct their students to hold a finger on their larynx and wiggle it up and down while singing on a sustained pitch.
This will result in a strange sound similar to a vibrato, but again, not true vibrato.
That being said, it can help get new muscles working in new ways.
Take these exercises with a grain of salt.
As stated many times previously in this article, true, natural vibrato comes on its own.
These are simply to get you and your voice thinking in different ways. , Another method teachers employ is to have their students switch between two notes at quicker and quicker rates until it's reminiscent of vibrato.
The aim is for 6-8 cycles per second.
As you can likely tell, this isn't vibrato either.
It's a mimicking technique that gets close to the sound.
Just make sure the two notes you're switching between are a semitone or less away from each other. , You know those singers whose jaws move up and down with every hint of a vibrato cycle? This isn't how you're supposed to do it, whether you're Whitney Houston or not.
Your jaw should be completely relaxed during singing, along with every other part of your body.
So, yes, moving your jaw up and down can mimic that sound, but it's not natural or healthy.
This is often called "Gospel Jaw" because it's seen so prominently with Gospel singers.
It's also called "jaw vibrato" as it's not emanating from your vocal folds – it's just vibrato produced with your jaw.
About the Author
Patricia Murray
Creates helpful guides on cooking to inspire and educate readers.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: