I am in my fifth year of playing, and no one has really explained vibrato to me very well. What exactly is it, and how do you do it?

hi,
Vibrato is, according to the dictionary, "a pulsating effect produced by rapid but slight alternations in pitch"... and on the violin, to produce vibrato, you rock your finger while playing the note, back and forth--as a brief description. It is considered a bit difficult to master, for a lot of people, and takes a lot of practice in most cases. Here is a site that might help: http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Vibrato-on-a-Violin

Hope this was helpful!

Hmm.. Vibrato can be done on almost any instrument. Basically, it's when a note is slightly altered back and forth. On a violin, this can be practiced either by using a pack of tic-tacs and shaking it horizontally(this is like as basic as you can get for vibrato). Every now and then, you should practice using this technique. Another technique is to just practice on the violin. start with the middle finger(tihs is the easiest finger to vibrato) and slowly rock backand forth with your wrist. If that is a bit uncomfortable, try moving your entire arm back and forth. Both ways will get you the sound you want but with of course, PrAcTiCe!!

If you have a teacher, just ask him/her to teach you vibrato!

Hello. Vibrato is when you move your finger back and forth on the fingerboard. (Not up and down.) Doing this raises and lowers the pitch of the note and can add a very dramatic effect if done properly. It does take some time to learn, and you should practice it daily. But it's very rewarding once learned. For more information and for an example of how it's done, please visit my site at www.classviolinist.viviti.com

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