Vibrato

This is where things begin to get rather Shakespearian;

To vibrato, or not to vibrato, that is the question.

A matter of personal taste for us all. It is also a practice that goes in and out of fashion, and will probably continue to do so. In terms of general acceptance and useage it seems to be a fairly new practice in the orchestra.

Leon Goossens was the first wind player noted for vibrato whilst Principle Oboist in the pre-war orchestra of Sir Thomas Beecham, citing the violinist Fritz Kreisler (Carl Flesch says that Kreisler was the first violinist to play with continuous vibrato) as his inspiration. Reginald Kell, Principle Clarinettist followed suit as did his successor, Jack Brymer. Brymer stated that he had been using vibrato before this (his background before being invited to play for Beecham included a keen interest in jazz, which would likely explain his use of it).

Vibrato warms and colours the sound, and whilst some players are vehement that vibrato must not be used when playing Haydn or Mozart for example, they must concede that some composers do require it.

Canzonetta in Eb, op.19 by Gabriel Pierne is surely more appropriate and correct with the use of vibrato.

The clarinet is also an arguably better accomplice to the soprano voice in Der Hirt auf dem Felsen by Schubert with the use of vibrato.

There are a growing number of jazz-influenced pieces in the solo and orchestral repertoire. Did Gershwin envisage a Rhapsody in Blue opening clarinet solo without the use of vibrato? Aaron Copland wrote his Concerto for Clarinet for Benny Goodman. Goodman was a well-tutored and gifted classical clarinettist but it is for his prowess as a jazz musician that so inspired Copland. Goodman recorded the concerto and his use of vibrato is evident.

In the orchestra we are surrounded by the use of vibrato. In our own section, we would usually be in an absolute minority should we choose not to use it. The clarinet is blessed with a rich tone (not unlike the French horn) even without the use of vibrato and this enables the players of both instruments to decide whether to colour their sound or not.

Many flute teachers have their students playing with a lovely vibrato within their first year or two of learning, giving them a wonderful maturity to their sound. In this respect clarinet teachers in general are lagging well behind. It must be conceded that vibrato is an intrinsic part of flute playing in almost every style of music and its beauty, power and overall depth of sound is greatly diminished without it. Once again, we, as clarinet players, have a choice based only upon our personal belief in the requirements of the music, not upon the requirements of the instrument.

I do not think that it is appropriate to teach vibrato to a clarinettist much before grade five standard, but far too many players of grade eight standard or more have little or no knowledge or ability for, vibrato, and at this stage it is important to be looking beyond the notes on the page and creating music, of which vibrato is a very important tool.

Very often, the student who intuitively learns to use vibrato either through mimicking their teacher or favourite recording is the best user of it. It can be somewhat of an intangible subject but it should not be that difficult a technique to learn for a discerning, dedicated student.

To the technique itself, then.

We have a choice in actual fact: diaphragm vibrato or jaw vibrato. Either can be used to good effect and each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Diaphragm vibrato generally tends to be more subtle, a pulsating effect, with jaw vibrato producing a fluctuation in tuning, and arguably being more versatile. Jaw vibrato is ideal for jazz, with a fast, wide wobble being easily achieved. Diaphragm vibrato is wholly inappropriate for jazz (and most other styles of non-classical music), as a fast, almost constant wobble would be very tiring and probably not truly possible. Also, Big Band playing (especially) often requires fairly short notes to have rather a wild vibrato (like a shake on a trumpet), not at all achievable with the diaphragm.

With jaw vibrato the jaw moves up and down causing a variance in pitch. It is a slight movement, probably not even visible to someone but a few feet away. The movement of the jaw is the sole creator of the vibrato, therefore the depth and speed of the vibrato is in direct relation to the movement of the jaw.

Diaphragm vibrato as used by flautists and oboists among others, involves a fluctuation in the airspeed by use of the muscles in the stomach, a feeling that is not dissimilar to laughing. A vibrato using the throat is possible but produces a poor effect in comparison and would most likely mean a constricting of the throat resulting in a thinner tone quality.

The player must be able to vary the depth and speed of vibrato appropriate to the style of the music. When practising, use a metronome (various tempi) and vibrato in crotchets, quavers and triplet quavers in order to gain complete control.

Whether we are fans of vibrato or not, it would seem an oversight not to be able to use the technique or even know how. Furthermore, whichever technique for vibrato is used, complete control of it is paramount.