A vibrato is not learned. It manifests when the voice is functioning in a consistent manner relative to breath pressure/flow. Thus when a singer achieves good vocal habits, the vibrato is simply revealed. - Jean-Ronald LaFond
The singing voice is vibrant by default. Vibrato is a characteristic of a free, well-produced voice. When a style of singing calls for a straight tone, vibrato must be safely and skillfully inhibited. Under all other circumstances, a free voice is a vibrant voice.
Vibrato is perceived by the listener as an inherent component of singing. When all is well, it sounds organic and does not draw the listener's attention; conversely, if a singer has a noticeable vibrato, there's some distortion in their vocal production.
The two most common distortions that draw attention to a singer's vibrato are a tremolo, or bleat, and a wobble. Both have to do with the perceived speed and pitch variation of the vibrato. A tremolo is a vibrato that is too fast and varies too little in pitch, while a wobble is too slow and varies too widely. Another common problem is an unintended straight tone - a seeming inability to produce vibrato at all.
To learn more about how vibrato works, please take a moment to read Jean-Ronald LaFond's excellent description on his blog. Singer and voice teacher Franco Tenelli has also created this nice video demonstration of vibrato in different styles of music and the distinctions between vibrato, straight tone, tremolo and wobble:
It's one thing to describe and recognize these distinctions, but quite another to figure out what to do when you find that you're plagued with a tremolo, a wobble, or a persistent straight tone.
Healthy vibrato is a characteristic of free singing rather than an activity unto itself, so you can't work on it directly. You'll just make the problem worse if you try to manipulate the rate and pitch variation of your vibrato or layer a manufactured vibrancy onto a straight tone. If you want to fix it, you'll need to get to the bottom of what is causing the distortion or inhibiting vibrancy.
Distortions in vibrato are usually the result of resistance and/or entanglement preventing the vocal folds from vibrating freely, combined with excessive breath pressure. In other words, you start singing, you feel like something is stuck or isn't moving as fast or freely as it should, you push on it, and it starts moving… but a little faster or slower than it ought to. A straight tone may be the result of under-energized singing, but it too is usually caused by resistance and/or entanglement.
Addressing all three of these issues therefore depends on discerning the source (or sources) of resistance.
In order to do this, you must first make sure that you are not singing with excessive breath pressure - pushing with your abdominal muscles, squeezing your rib cage shut, or allowing the sternum and shoulder girdle to sink down on your lungs while you're singing. If you want to find the source of resistance you first have to stop fighting against it.
Franco Tenelli doesn't explain how to fix these distortions but the one piece of advice he offers at the end of his demonstration is that you try singing with a straight tone for a while. I myself don't recommend actively trying to produce a straight tone for its own sake, but if you have a tremolo or a wobble and suddenly stop singing with excessive breath pressure, the likely result will be a straight tone. It may drive you seriously nuts to hear your own voice sounding like that, but you have to tolerate this for at least a little while if you want to find the source of resistance.
The potential sources of resistance are many, but they are not infinite. Possible culprits include:
- Over-adduction of the vocal folds
- Tongue tension (retraction/depression of the hyoglossus)
- Excessive jaw involvement
- Directly manipulating the larynx to find pitches rather than allowing it to respond to direction from your ear
- Inadequate resonance
- Poorly coordinated articulation
- Poor alignment
Any of these problems can prevent the larynx and vocal folds from moving freely and efficiently, and all of them can be systematically addressed and ameliorated. But first you have to become aware of them.
Most of these problems can be masked or "overcome" by throwing a lot of breath pressure at your voice. Singers with more forgiving voices may seem to get away with this to an extent, although it causes them discomfort, keeps them from singing as well as they should, and may lead to injury.
Other singers end up with a tremolo or a wobble.
In my experience, a wobble is more likely to result from compensating for over-adducted vocal folds and tongue tension, while a tremolo more frequently results from inadequate resonance and direct manipulation of the larynx.
But the bottom line is that a distortion in your vibrato is symptomatic of a problem in your overall technique. This distortion is likely already the result of something you're doing to compensate for that problem rather than solving it. Attempting to further manipulate your vibrato will add another layer of complication/compensation to the problem rather than bringing you closer to the solution.
Find the source of resistance and resolve it. This will likely restore your vibrato to a more organic and pleasing state, and if you were previously singing with a straight tone, you should now be able to develop a normal vibrato. You may have some more work to do yet in the breath management department, because if you were relying on excessive breath pressure to produce your sound you will now need to find another strategy.
Take heart. With patience and keen focus, distortions in vibrato can be resolved.
By the way, I don't buy that a wobble is an inevitable consequence of aging - it's more likely the case that as the singer ages their voice becomes less forgiving, that the problem causing the wobble is something they can no longer compensate for, and that it may not be too late to adjust their technique to resolve it.
Need some help establishing an organic, consistent vibrato? Get in touch to schedule a free 30-minute initial consultation for a more in-depth demonstration of how to resolve a wobble, tremolo or straight tone:
Comments