Vibrato
What is vibrato?
Vibrato is a regular fluctuation in pitch and intensity. It is important to consider two things when analysing vibrato. One is the extent of the pitch variation, how far off the central note the sound goes. I would call a vibrato that goes far off the central note a ‘wide’ vibrato and one that doesn’t go far off a ‘shallow’ vibrato. Then there is the speed of the vibrato, whether the pitch fluctuations are fast or slow.
How do we create vibrato?
In simplistic terms, it is created by sets of antagonistic muscles, both in the larynx and the breathing apparatus. These contract at the same time causing tremor like reactions that result in variations in pitch (from the larynx) and intensity (from the breathing apparatus).
Why do we use it?
Vibrato is used to add expression. How it is used depends on genre and so I would call it a stylistic effect. It is a prominent feature of Opera and Classical singing and along with that come rules of how and where it is used. In Musical Theatre it is often used to finish the phrase and sweeten the tone at the end of the note. Big belt notes often sit straight, with no vibrato, and then fall into vibrato towards the end. In Celtic Folk music you often hear those beautiful shallow and quick vibratos that sound so pure. You hear it in Rock music, you hear it in Country music but it’s different in each genre.
In Pop there are no rules as such but certain types of vibratos do go in and out of fashion. Vibrato can become part of someone’s vocal identity, think Jess Glynn, she is recognisable due to her unique shallow and fast vibrato, it is an integral part of her sound. In Pop it is often used in unexpected words in the middle of a line. Words that are not the ones that you would expect to be highlighted, rather than the more predictable end of line vibrato in Musical Theatre. Vibrato can also be very subtle. We hear subtle, loose vibratos in male Indie singers like Alex Trimble from Two Door Cinema Club, it just kind of falls off just after it has established itself.
So how and when you should use vibrato depends on what genre you are singing. Vibrato is also subjective, some people like it, some people don’t, so having a vibrato that is extreme, like a wide slow one and using it a lot may limit your popularity.
Suggestions
Do some deep listening and analyse how and when vibrato is used in the genre that you sing.
Sing your songs through and notice where you naturally put vibrato in, you may need to record yourself and listen back to do this.
Compare the two above, what you are doing naturally with how it is used in your genre. Does it fit? If you are doing something different and innovative does that work?
Another approach is to sing a song totally straight in practise, with no vibrato at all and then choose where you want to add vibrato for expressive and stylistic reasons. So, you map out where you put it to maximise its impact and prescence. It is good to have control over your vibrato rather than it being a default sound on every note.
Vibrato can be a wonderful stylistic feature if it’s used well.