Re: BENT Slow Vibrato

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Andrew Wimhurst writes:

>I had left out the important detail in my post -
>I'm looking to achieve a slow vibrato on a bent
>draw note. I don't have any problems on unbent
>notes...

Ah, NOW you tell me.

Bent notes pose a challenge for pitch-based
vibrato, because pitch-based viibrato is a bend
in itself, and can create problems for a
sustained bent note. Either the pitch of the bend
becomes unstable, or it starts to break up into a
series of separate notes instead of an undulating
long note.

Players have a variety of approaches to this.
Howard Levy, for instance, will use a tongue
ibrato on bent notes, in effect saying
yoy-oy-oy-oy-oy.  Cupping and uncupping the hands
is another wave-inducer that will not disrupt a
bend. 

My favorite way of doing vibrato on bent notes is
to use diaphragm vibrato - the hah-hah-hah that
comes from the muscles just below the peak of the
ribcage. To feel the in action, try panting in
and out rapidly like a dog. Done repeatedly in
one breath direction, this makes a series of
little air puffs that can put a wave in a note
without affecting the pitch.

Once you get the knack of doing diaphragm vibrato
while playing a bent note, you can start adding
the tiniest bit of throat vibrato, sort of riding
on top of the diaphragm vibrato in trace amounts.
This allows you to re-introduce an element of
pitch variation into the vibrato, without letting
it overwhelm the bent note.

Winslow


__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more
http://taxes.yahoo.com/