The Violin Column v11 n2
Finding the way to vibrato
The question I am most often asked is “How do you teach vibrato?” Vibrato is merely the rapid, rhythmic flattening and sharpening of a note which amplifies the tone and, with variations in speed and width, can express warmth, intensity, a throbbing excitement.
When to introduce Vibrato
Shinichi advises this to be started during study of the Bach Concerto in Book 4. By this point, attention in first position is well-established in both G major and E minor; change of position has also been introduced and with this, the movement of the left arm up and down the fingerboard to achieve change of position; the pupil must have a really secure yet relaxed (violin-hold) between chin and shoulder (Photo 6) and a left thumb and first finger knuckle that are not clenching the neck of the violin: all these are necessary preparation for a successful vibrato.
We are so orientated to the left hand when we talk about vibrato that we forget about the importance of the bow-hold. The pupil needs to have established a strong yet flexible connection of the right thumb through the stick to the fingers of the bow-hold. The connection of the left thumb through the fingerboard has a direct parallel with connection of the left thumb through the stick of the right hand. The difference is that on the left side, the thumb must play a supporting role, thus giving a powerful ground upon which the fingers can dance.
How to introduce Vibrato
With my first group of pupils, I used exercises to develop suppleness in every joint from fingertip to shoulder. This made learning vibrato seem a difficult and arduous task! Since then, I have discovered that simplicity is the best route. Children are so fresh in their responses that they can absorb 90% of the process without exercise – if they are well set-up to begin with.
I use three basic exercises. I am not advocating that everyone uses these exact three, but rather that they follow the basic principles and devise their own.
- (Photo 1) The teacher moves the bow rapidly forward and back and the child can feel the sensation of vibrato. The child is only to keep all four fingertips and the thumb on the stick, though not tensely.
- (Photos 2 & 3.) I call this “tip-tapping” or “bone-tapping,” depending on the character of the child. The pupil puts the heels of the hands together and bends the fingers on the tips that touch, then taps the tips together bouncing the fingers on the bones each hand makes. This develops the action of the wrist. Speed must be built up without tension in the shoulders; beginning quite slowly.
- (Photos 4 & 5.) What uses the right hand as the fingerboard and explores the principle of the left thumb as its supporting role:
(a) Put the left thumb straight inside the palm of the right hand.
(b) Put the top of the 1st finger on the back of the hand.
(c) Move the knuckles sideways along the finger tip. Gradually develop speed without tension in the shoulder.
(d) Rotate back to the right arm forward, gradually extend the right arm to the back and to the left into the position of the violin finger board. It is this twist of the left arm that makes vibrato more difficult on violin than on ‘cello.
To control vibrato, one needs suppleness in every joint from shoulder to finger tip. It is then possible to vary the action of arm-wrist and finger-snap, to obtain variety in the width and speed of the vibrato as required in the many actions of music. I could give you exercises to develop each of these actions but they are so easy to demonstrate and so difficult and dreary to explain in words that I feel you might drop off your chairs with boredom. If enough people respond I will continue this in the next issue!
Felicity Lipman
FELICITY LIPMAN was awarded an Associated Gold Medal for outstanding performance, and studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Hugh Maguire. She led the Linley String Quartet for several years, touring extensively in Britain, and became a member of the BBC Radio Orchestra as well as playing with the Academy of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, the Philharmonic of London and the Richard Hickox Orchestra.
In 1975 she was awarded a Churchill Memorial Scholarship to study the Suzuki Method which involved learning ‘cello from the late Etsuko Hori and graduating from the first Suzuki Teacher Training course in Europe. She has been working almost exclusively with Suzuki students in Britain, and set up the British Suzuki Institute and the European Suzuki Association.
She has directed many Suzuki Violin and ‘Cello Workshops, both in Britain, Australia, and Japan as a soloist and recitalist.
