this sounds weird, bt i found dat f u av long nails u canna do vibrato properly. When your nails are short they are annoying cz u cant scratch ur head properly n othr stuff, bt it does help with vibrato! when u av long nails u cant rock your fingr that gd so get ur nails cut and it will help! rite bck with answers

How true... I havn`t had long nails for a LONG time..

soso
has anyone got anything else to say about vibrato that will help me and others out there????

hi,im 22 yrs old n i started learning d violin about a year ago when i join my uni`s band.what i can say is ....be patient and dont force urself too hard.im also learning d vibrato part wit my teacher supervising every now n then.good luck....

when i put my violin in rest position (under my arm), and do vibrato, it looks like that i can do it perfectly. But when i put up my violin and try to do that same thing, it sounds and looks that i can`t


its really messed up

how are you supposed to do vibrato? it`s so hard.

Never be tense. Never buzz.

Vibrato might look like a hard and quick buzzing, but this will create all sorts of problems for you. If you play like this, you won`t be able to control your vibrato sound well, you`ll get carpal tunnel syndrome, and you won`t be able to shift along the neck well.

Vibrato is a loose and relaxed motion - whether coming from the arm, wrist, or finger. Its best to start with wrist vibrato, and this motion is best described as a relaxed wave.

Don`t try to play a fast vibrato too quickly. Its more important to stay loose and relaxed. Speed will come.

Hi. I have been playing the violin for 63 years and have taught for 40. The main problem that students have with vibrato is that they hold the violin to tightly with the left hand. The violin should be supported between the chin and the shoulder and just rest on the left hand thumb. The fingers should not slide or shift they should rock. The finger stays is the same place but a rocking motion allows the finger presser to mover from the front of the finger pad (closer to the bridge) to the back of the finger pad ( closr to the scroll). When you actually use the vibrato in playing this will be a very small movement unless a wide vibrato is desired for dramatic effect. Most teachers use a standard method to start a student on vibrato one soon finds that not all student have the same muscle developement and control. That is when the teacher begins to try to find what will work best for the individual. Take you vibrato practice slow and don`t feel pressured. Tension is the enemy of good vibrato.Just let it happen.

Sorry about the typo`s in the previous message. Vibrato I do very well but typing not so well. I actually read all 6 pages of the posts on this subject. It was very interesting.

thanks for your advice `music teacher`. but my vibrato is very fast and i cant slow it down to get a good relaxed sound. When i try, i can only do it for about a second and then I loose control. I really want to be able to do vibrato on long notes you see because I love playing slow pieces. I have been practising and practising but nothing seems to work. please help me `music teacher`!! please!

I have a great tip for trying to vibrato. I`ve been playing violin for almost 4 years and I needed help, so what you could do is get an egg and hold it in your left hand and have the left arm in a playing position. Then shake the egg back and forth. Then take your right hand and hold your left arm so it keeps it from moving but not so tight. And well that`s how I learned and it worked great for me. I hope you understood.

hey yea I have been playing for 3 years but i have already learned vibrato But unlike the rest of you I am a viola student. Im an amazing violaist none the less but there is no competiontion for me in my school for in my orchestra I am the only viola. As seen above yes take some object preferabbly a round 1(I used 1 of those orange pill cases) And it NEEDS to have stuff in it put like 3-4 Small beans. and place the bottle inbetween ur 4 fingers on ur left hand start of just putting ur hand in playing position W/O the viola/violin and just shake it without tensing ur arm. ur arm needs to be relaxed the shaking motion need to come from the wrist not the elbow. So just shake the pill case or ur object u will need to start of slowly but build up to smaller motion and faster moving BUT STAY relaxed. then when u think u have that down go next to a desk o somin sit on the side of the desk w/ ur right hand out on the table all the way so ur elbow is on the table take ur pill case in the same place and just do the same thing hitting the back off ur hand on the table then. wen ur done w/ that u will know by the sound wen u start the objects in the pill case will b going CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK but at the end it should sound pretty smooth. so wen ur done w/ that take ur viola/violin and get into playing position W/O the bow and put ur fingers onthe A string for viola Efor violin the HIghest sring then put ur pill case under ur fingers again and put the pill case on ur fingers and on ur string BUT this time make sure that ur pinky is not on the top of the pill case it should be resting on the white cap part so the white cap should be on the right side of ur instrument hanging off and ur pinky on the FACE side of the pill case. then W/O the bow simply practice wat u have been doing this whole time shaking the pill case back and forth and back and forth make sure u r very relaxed and the motion is only coming from ur wrist and not the whole arm wen u feel comfertable w/ the pill case between ur fingers and ur viola/violin and u can shake it w/ a good sound take ur bow and make big bows listen to the sound then wen u know the sound take away the pill case and practice with only ur instrument and bow no pill case. this should take a long time for me it took 5 months for a good sound so dont give up after a week of sitting on ur couch watching TV shaking ur pill case. IF me a 7Th grader can do it SO CAN YOU. so just practice and pratcice it everyday. oooooo yea and u should be able to hold ur viola up in playing position w/ NO hands. U should be able to hold up ur instrument using only ur chin area and ur shoulder if u r having trouble look at a professionel player u will notice the lean to the left side so ur left shoulder will be higher than ur right shoulder. and DO NOT TRY ro play 3rd position if ur INtonization is off. U need gr8 intonization for 3rd position cause wen u play in 3rd position u only use 1 finger. Ur elbow needs to be out ur fingers have to be curved. there needs to be a space inbetween that area inbetween ur pointer finger and the neck. Well Good luck and tell ur teacher every week how u r doing. show him/her wat u r doing for comments cause u dont want bad habbits but practice makes near perfection so good luck---Reid 7th grade A.K.A the solo white kid and the solo viola.

just fill a small container that fits just in the palm of your hand with dried rice and beans and hold it to your fingertips of your left hand with the palm facing up

go back and foward until you get a nice gentle rthyme... it should start you on your way

but what kind of container you have to be more specific!

Hey everybody!
I happened upon this website and found your posts quite interesting. I have played the violin for nearly 12 years and have taught orchestra in public schools at the jr high/high school level in addition to private lessons for nearly 10 years now. This is what I tell my students. You must keep your left hand relaxed. To do this, you must use your shoulder rest to support the instrument and not your left hand. Pull the side of your 1st finger away from the neck so only the pad of the finger you are going to vibrato with and the pad of your thumb are touching the neck. I prefer starting with #2 finger because it balances your hand better. Then 3, then 1, and last, 4. It seems easier for most to start with arm vibrato, which is accomplished by the "gradually smaller shifting" many of you have mentioned. I call it "shine the strings." Without the bow, slide the finger from 1st position to 5th or beyond, and then repeat going back and forth. Gradually make the distance you slide smaller, until your arm is still making the motion but your finger is planted. Focus on how relaxed you were when sliding, and keep that relaxed feel even when the finger plants. Next, practice it with the bow. It will sound like a horror movie at first, but that`s ok. Listen for the "wah wah" sound when your finger "plants," and STAY RELAXED! That is so important! Keep your wrist solid and make sure your whole arm from the elbow up is moving. When you have mastered arm vibrato, move to wrist, which is the "wave" and the shaking of a small prescription bottle filled with rice I`ve read about on this forum. The key is to start slow. Get with a metronome and don`t force it. Just gradually click up a few notches, and if you get tight, slow it back down. Try to click up a couple of notches on the metronome each day. Most of the "I taught myself" students I have to re-train have vibrato-like sound, but it`s too tense and un-controlled. I may be biased, as I make a living teaching students to vibrato, but you MUST have a professional help you to make sure your technique is correct. That is, if you`re serious about being a professional musician someday. If you are playing for your own "fun," then don`t worry about it. Vibrato however you like. Just RELAX so you don`t get carpal tunnel or some other nasty thing like that. Anyone can get a vibrato like sound just by rocking a finger. The difference between an amature and professional is the ability to control the speed and sound of the vibrato. Hope something I said was helpful! I commend you all for working on vibrato. It is the mark of a distinquished musician! MS