David Bowie has a fast one. Mary J. Blige has a slow,
sultry, one. Maynard James Keenan doesn’t have a trace of one. Singing with vibrato
is a matter of taste. Having a choice is a matter of control. For most singers, the
subtle, rhythmical movement of vibrato feels more like fate. When you want vibrato, it
hides on you; don’t think about it, and it shimmers on the end of a note. Vibrato
brings vitality to a voice. Sound without variation is boring. Compare a refrigerator to a
fly buzzing around. The steady hum of the compressor quickly becomes background noise
while the bug gets harder to ignore. With the exception of rappers and singers like Beck
who don’t sustain notes, those without vibrato tend to rely on overdrive to create
excitement. This often leads to blow outs. The more vocal colors available on your pallet,
like vibrato, breathy, nasal and gritty, the easier it will be to paint an interesting
portrait of a song without killing yourself.
The mechanics of vibrato are simple and reflexive, which is
what makes it so elusive. Picture the fret hand of a guitarist sustaining a note. The
finger movement alters the length of the string creating a slight waver in pitch. Things
are just a little more complex with the voice. Like a stringed instrument, the tension of
the vocal folds is varied rhythmically, creating movement in pitch. Along with this
tension change, though, is a variation in the thickness of the vocal fold. The combined
movements of pitch, volume and tone are what set vibrato apart from tremolo (change in
volume only) and wobble (change in pitch only).
Tension squashes vibrato. Not just the obvious neck bulging
stuff, but subtle everyday stiffness can neutralize it as well. Like the freedom required
to wiggle your finger when sustaining a note on guitar, vocal vibrato requires muscle
independence. Backing off the air pressure is the first step to releasing your voice. Let
the ability to produce vibrato be your guide. Lay down flat on your back and place your
hand on your belly button. Breath so that your hand rises and falls. Now sing a
comfortable note and look for the presence of vibrato. If the pitch is stiff notice what
your abs are doing. Are they contracting to drive the note? Check the behavior on various
pitches. If you push too much from your stomach, the muscles surrounding the larynx will
brace and vibrato will be lost. Reduce the volume and try again. The goal is to reduce the
air pressure to the point where flexibility is found. Don’t be alarmed if this only
happens at very low volumes. With practice, you’ll be able to increase the volume
without loading the neck with pressure. Strike the proper balance during a song and
vibrato will blossom. That’s why it tends to come in at the ends of notes; once we
feel safely on pitch, we ease off the pressure a bit.
Another check for vibrato-eating throat tension is to rotate
your head in a small circle when singing. Pretend you are tracing the outline of a quarter
with your nose. Does the rotation stop when you begin to sing? Is it stiffer on high
notes? Again, reduce the volume until you find the correct air pressure. Neck tension is
not a requirement of singing loud or high. We often see singers so locked up in the neck
that they literally have to shake their heads or jaws in order to create vibrato. In the
same way, a guitar player who needs to shake the guitar to move a note must be applying a
death grip on that fretboard. There’s nothing wrong with using force to make a strong
statement. Too often, though, the statement it makes is that we are overcompensating to
mask weakness. Be brave and do the dirty work in private. Use vibrato as your guide and
discover the power within.
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