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Wow. Thanks for the well-expressed insights, very interesting.
In my past life as an orchestra violinist, vibrato was never discouraged as something that would keep the string section from playing in tune. In fact, passages where the composer specifically asks for non-vibrato are the most challenging to play in tune and with feeling. Orchestra string vibrato, once mastered, is a very effective way to "hide abd blend" intonation as well as bow distribution problems. In amateur orchestras, string sections are sometimes asked to practice without vibrato i/o to improve intonation, as a beginner's vibrato can be wobbly and throw the left hand out of balance. For concerts and recordings, the nice fat even buzz of a string section vibrato is something American audiences have come to expect and love for classical and romantic music. For the same reason , string players are encouraged to avoid the open strings (they can't be vibrated and will show mercylessly if the instrument goes out of tune).
Vibrato tends to get thrown out completely for Baroque performances. Since it's a challenge to make the sound come alive without a Baroque bow, gut strings, and fundamentals of Baroque ornamentation (most ornamentation is not printed in the sheet music), non-vibrato makes for many well-intentioned but terribly boring Baroque orchestra performances that could benefit from an occasional tamed vibrato.
String soloists use various speeds and widths of vibrato to alter the timbre of a note or passage. Orchestra string vibrato tends to be more uniform (narrow width, medium speed). Interestingly enough, the vibrato sound of old orchestra recordings from the 1920s and 30s is much less conformist and does not blend as much as today's typical orchestra. The old-time vibrato makes for a somewhat chaotic, exciting (everybody is talking at the same time but saying something different) sound.
-Annette Brodovsky
On Sun, 31 Aug 2003 14:18 , Sam Weiss <SamWeiss (at) bellatlantic(dot)net> sent:
At 12:28 PM 8/29/03, Fred Blumenthal wrote:
>My understanding is that when singing, one should do nothing to create,
>encourage, discourage, or affect vibrato - that if the voice is produced
>correctly the vibrato will be correct,
Yes and no. The Zen paradox hidden in this statement centers on the phrase
"if the voice is produced correctly..." I have been studying voice for
almost three decades, with countless dollars and hours of effort directed
toward one goal: To sing effortlessly. All the elements of vocal
production - - vibrato included -- are subject to manipulation in one way
or another within the process of honing one's vocal technique. But this
technique must remain transparent to the listener, and an "effortless
vibrato" that is not too fast or slow is indeed one sign of having achieved
the goal.
>if the vibrato is too fast or otherwise "funny" there's something
>wrong with vocal production.
Maybe in a theoretical sense, but not necessarily "wrong" for that person
at that point in her singing career. Children, for instance, will tend to
sing with little or no vibrato, while old people tend to have slow
vibratos. Humans are not machines that can be "tweaked" at will. A fast or
wobbly vibrato may be an unavoidable element in the entire singing
"package" or a culturally encouraged artifact of a particular singing
style.
>So discussion of vibrato from the diaphragm, throat, etc. would be moot.
While the "effortlessly beautiful" vibrato does seem to emanate "from the
vocal folds themselves," this is merely an illusion resulting from a
"correct" balance of complex muscular and aerodynamic
forces. Nevertheless, it is indeed best to remain unconscious of these
forces.
> Weigh against this that I was taught to sing choral, folk and early
> music without vibrato.
Just as the type of vibrato can be culturally determined, so can its
near-total absence. I'm very curious, however, if discouraging vibrato in
early music is stylistically "authentic" (how would one "know" ?) or merely
a projection of our notion of "simplicity." Discouraging vibrato among
choral singers is one way of insuring better intonation in the section.
Seems to work the same way with orchestral vs. solo instrumentalists. (I
would welcome input on this point from orchestral violinists on this list.)
_____________________________________________________________
Cantor Sam Weiss === Jewish Community Center of Paramus, NJ
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