vibrato

a

any clues on how to get that intense, fast gypsy vibrato? it looks like django and stochelo really dig into the guitar. i can't tell if the motion is vertical or horizontal.
thanks

V-dub

Paul Mehling comments on Stochelo's vibrato in his video, and says that its a vertical vibrato (bending the string rapidly), while Paul uses the horizontal vibrato.

Watching videos, I can tell that a most modern gypsy jazz players use this vertical vibrato, including Romane, Bireli, Stochelo, and Ritary. I'm about 90% sure that django does it too judging from the one video we have of him.

You can usually tell by looking at the hand motion. If is a shaking motion, then its probably horizontal. If its more of a twisting back-and-forth motion, then its vertical.

I use vertial vibrato and what I do is anchor the bottom knuckle of my pointer finger to the bottom side of the neck. This sort-of acts like lever for the vibrato finger. From there, I do a sort of twisting motion, using the contact point of where my knuckle meets the neck as the center of rotation. From here I sort of rotate back and forth... bending downward on the string. On the high E, you have to bend upward which requires a bit more muscle. I think this is an efficient way to do it and much easier and more stable than having the only contact points to the neck being your thumb and finger on the fret.

I hope that made sense.

dennis

i have yet to crack the secrets of django or stochelo's vibrato.... they're absolutely beautiful....

i tend to believe it comes from a shaking motion from the wrist....

if u watch stochelo play he tends to bend the string up except on the low E....

whereas django bends down most strings and up on the higher strings...

jimmy bends down too

Carter O`Brien

great post dennis, Alfonso has told me I'd get a better vibrato if I used my whole hand, which I think is what you're getting at.

emicad

dennis wrote:

i have yet to crack the secrets of django or stochelo's vibrato.... they're absolutely beautiful....

i tend to believe it comes from a shaking motion from the wrist....

if u watch stochelo play he tends to bend the string up except on the low E....

whereas django bends down most strings and up on the higher strings...

jimmy bends down too

I'm with you and I thinked always the same thing, the secret is the wrist.

pdaigle

Wrist definitely looks like the way to go (although much more challenging!).

For a good non-GJ example of this just look at BB King's killer vibrato technique...

NEvans

It seems like its been awhile since the last post on this topic, but I was just reading some old stuff due to boredom at work and thought I'd offer something. It doesn't quite emulate Django or Stochelo but something I found helps me get more control over my vibrato, both in adding power and/or nuance, is to wrap my fretting hand farther out in front of the guitar and raise my wrist a little. I can pull down on the string and control it that way. Its hard to describe, but once you get your fist closed a little more you have more leverage and its easier to control the string.

frater

Stochelo's vibrato is certainly of the vertical type. What makes it so different from standard vibrato IMO is that he does it with a movement of the wrist more similar to the one used by violin players than guitarists. That's something quite difficult to accomplish but the results are stunning!

a

Swiped the following response from an about.com forum on violin vibrato. Don't know if it's any use for guitar, but it is interesting....

"A lot of violinists don't feel very comfortable with their vibrato techniques, so don't despair because you are certainly not alone. I'll try to give you some pointers that worked well for me; hopefully they will clarify the process.
Contrary to what many violinists will say if asked, vibrato is not an oscillation above and below the actual pitch. Rather, it is an oscillation below the actual pitch only, never above! Therefore, the left hand moves only backwards from the original position, and never forwards from it, when performing the vibrato. A good exercise to establish this is to take a small (small enough to be enclosed by your hand) noisemaker--I recommend a plastic egg filled with raw rice--hold it in your left hand, raise your left arm to approximate violin-playing position, and shake the egg vigorously back and forth with emphasis on the backward motion of the hand. With your right hand, grasp your left arm tightly just below the wrist joint, preventing the forearm from shaking but allowing free movement of the hand. Not only will this help establish the motion but it will also loosen up your left hand.
You may also want to try this exercise: Place your left hand on the fingerboard in playing position, then choose the finger and note you wish to exercise for vibrato. Position the finger properly for that note, then slide your finger up and down the fingerboard while bowing (I'm serious!). Don't worry about the sound, it's not supposed to be pretty. Rather, this will help loosen up your left hand/wrist while gradually getting you used to bowing while using vibrato. This isn't real vibrato, as you know, but just a way of getting your fingers used to the flexibility required for it. You don't even need the violin for this...you could just as easily do the same motion on a pencil, sans bowing of course. Be especially careful that your left wrist is serving as a stationary joint for your left hand--many, many players make the mistake of bending the WRIST in and out while keeping the HAND stationary!
A subsequent exercise would be meant to develop/enhance the actual vibrato. For this, place the finger in the proper position for the note you want to exercise, and then let your left hand move backwards somewhat. The finger should partially collapse and the pitch become slightly flatter. Then move the hand back to the ORIGINAL position--the pitch should never rise above the true pitch, only fall below it. Gradually increase the speed of this motion, but start out slowly. Once again, be very careful that your wrist serves only as a stationary joint and does not bend in and out. A mirror may work wonders here.
When using vibrato in practicing your pieces, first work on the longer/slower notes before the faster ones. Find a speed of vibrato that sounds good to you...too low an oscillation speed may give a "wah-wah" sound, while too fast a speed will make your playing sound nervous. Faster vibrato would be required for faster notes, but don't sweat it for the fastest notes as it may be more trouble than benefit.
You also mentioned discomfort while playing fast music, causing you to grip the neck tightly. First, make sure that the violin is entirely supported by your chin and left shoulder. Drop your left arm completely and try to hold the instrument up without it. If you feel like you're going to drop the violin, you may want to change shoulder rests or chin rests--if you're playing without a shoulder rest, by all means get one because the violin is most likely slipping on your shoulder. Too high or too low a shoulder rest may also hinder the right grip. The point is that your left arm cannot be relied on to support the violin because it is too busy with its primary task of making the notes! All support needs to come from the chin and shoulder.
Another possibility is that your hand is cramping up when you play fast notes. This often happens because you don't have enough potassium in your body at that moment...eat a banana, and your hand will likely feel more flexible within 20 minutes. Is the room too cold? That can cause cramping too. Raise the thermostat, or even immerse your left hand in a warm water bath for more relaxation. Or perhaps your hand is too slippery and your fingers slip on the fingerboard? Put some baby powder on your hands and rub them together. Seriously. It will improve your grip.
I hope these suggestions will be of some assistance. If you have any further questions, please ask away. Good luck with all your musical endeavors! "