ATU-VIRTUAL-

DIRECTORSACADEMYJULY28,2020

FluteVibratoKarenFu/erer

ProfessorofFluteArkansasTechUniversity

kfu/erer@atu.edu

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•  Iamdelightedtobeheretodayandthankyouforaskingme.

•  Ihavechosentodiscussvibratobecauseitissuchanelementalcomponentofflutetone.

•  OFenitisnotaddressedinthefirstyearoflearningthefluteandthusisleFtothestudenttotrytofigureitoutatalaterHme.

•  MygoalistoprovidesomeinformaHonthatwillhelpintheteachingofthistechniqueinthatfirstyear,formostthiswillhappeninthespring.

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VIBRATOVibratoisaindisputablecomponentoffluteplaying.

Whileitsusedependsonthehistoricalera,Baroquevibratowillnotbethesameas19thcentury,etc.,thecomposer’sintentordesires.Especiallyin

the20thc.composerswillo?enindicate“novibrato”or“widevibrato”,etc,

andtheorchestraHonoftheperformance,itisalsoaninHmateanddefiningaspectofanindividual’smusicalbeing.AnyonewhofollowsfluHstswill

recognizeJamesGalwayinaninstant…justfromhisvibrato!

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Whatisvibrato?Vibratoinvolves1.Pitch–aboveall,pitchchangemustbepresenttocreateausableandexpressivevibrato.2.Dynamics–thereisadynamicchangetoadegree,butif“vibrato”isonlydynamicinnatureitsoundslikethedreaded“nannygoat”or“machinegun”!Thislacksanyexpressiveormusicalcharacterandusuallyjustsoundsnervous!3.Timbre–thereisalsoacolorcomponenttovibratowhichoccursnaturallyasthechangesofintensityintheaircreatepitchchange.

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Whyusevibrato?•  Allofmyteachers,JosephMarianoandBonitaBoydat

Eastman,andMurrayPanitz,PrincipalFlutePhiladelphiaOrchestra,allstressedtheimportanceoflisteningtoandimitaHngthehumanvoice.

•  Insinging,vibratoisanaturalextensionofvocalmaturity,breathing,supportandrelaxaHon.Itisanintegralpartofthevoice.

•  Asaninstrumentalist,imitaHngthevoiceisoneofthemostelementalwaystocreatethe“oneness”betweentheinstrumentandtheindividual.

•  “Hugyourinstrument”[Lovingyourinstrument!]Learningtoseeyourinstrumentasavehicletoexpressoneselfchangesastudent’saatudeandvibratoispartofthatprocess.

•  JosephMariano–”Thefluteshouldbeanextensionofoneself.”Greatplayerssound“onewiththeinstrument”.

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•  Vibratoimprovesbreathingandsupport.itisimpossibletocreateanaturalvibratowithouttheseworkingproperlysostarHngvibratoearlycanhelpwiththesefundamentals.

•  VibratoimprovesprojecMon.Becauseofthenecessityofproperbreathingandsupport,vibratoactuallyenhancesprojecHon.ItisalmostimpossibletocreatethesametoneandprojecHonwithoutvibrato.

•  PracMcalConsideraMons:AlladvancedfluHstsusevibratoanditisaconsideraHononRegiontryoutseveninJuniorHigh.Thecategoriesof“tone”and“musicality”absolutelyinvolvevibrato

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Whyusevibrato?Cont.

AWordAboutBreathing•  Beforestudentsbeginvibrato,theyshouldhavea

reasonablyclearandcontrolledtone.Thiswillhappengenerallywhentheyhavedevelopedgoodbreathinghabits[deep,fullbreaths],strongsupportmusclesandreasonablecontrolofthelipaperture.

•  IencouragestudentstoexhalebeforeinhalingwheneverpossibleandforfunIsuggesttheybreathelikeDarthVader.Thisencouragesafla/ertongueinthebackandalowlarynx[whichtheyshouldmaintainastheybegintoplay!]

•  Anotherrathercommonproblemhastodowithstudentsbringingtheirstomachsinwhentheyareinhalingandpushingoutwhentheyareexhaling.Makesuretheyhavethisresolvediftheyarehaveproblemswiththis.[Yogabreathing][Slowbreathinginandouton10counts]

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BeginningVibratoExercises,NoFluteManyyoungstudentsthinkvibratois“weird”anddon’twanttoworkonit.

•  BeginWithBreathpushes:–  Beginwiththesyllable“who”,”huh”or“Ho”..[SantaClaus“hoho

ho”workswellortheMunchkinsong!]–  Thepointistoengagetheabdominalmusclesasthepointoforigin

forabreathpush.ThelowerabdominalmusclesshouldgoINwhenpushingtheairOUT.

–  HavethemarHculateseparatepushesgoingto2perbeat,then3.[Iyouwanttouseametronome,Irecommendm.m.60perbeat.

–  Returnto1or2andmoveupto4,havingthemconnectthepusheswiththeair.

–  Encouragestudentstoworkforachangeinpitch[sharpandflat!]Youdonotwantthesoundtodisappearwhentheyrelaxtheair.Theyshouldtryfor“rollingwaves”ratherthan“heartmonitor”jags!Thepitchchangecomesfromthepulsingoftheair-relaxingtheairbeforeyouintensifyitwiththepush.

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–  Funandsilly–tryyodelingtofeelthemoHoninthethroatandmouthallwhicharegoingtomovesomewithvibrato

–  Beforeaddingtheheadjoint,havethemdotheaboveexercisesusingaironlyandnovocalphonaHon.Theyshouldexaggeratetheairsothattheycanfeeltheabdomenworkandyoucanhearthewavesinthevibrato.

–  TheyshouldfeelsomeexpansionandcontracHonofthethroatastheairmovesthroughbuttheactualpushshouldcomefromtheabdominalarea.Whilethelowermuscleswillgoin,remindthemtokeepthesolarplexusexpandedaslongaspossible.

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BeginningVibratoExercises,cont.SCllNoFlute

VibratoExercisesWiththeFluteNowontotheheadjoint.Theshorterthelengthoftubethegreaterflexibilityinpitchandthus,theeasiertocreatevibrato.–  Thefollowingexercisesinvolvemeasuringthevibratotocreateevenlyspacedwavesandequalwidthofpitchchange.WhilevibratoshouldNOTbemeasuredinperformance,itishelpfultomeasureitforlearningpurposes.

–  Vibratoshouldneversoundforced.Thisindicatespoorbreathingandsupportandconsequentlyunwantedtension.

– Watchoutthatstudentsdon’ttrytosneakthetongueintothis!

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VibratoExerciseswiththeFluteCont.2•  Graduatedvibratospeed

–  GototheaironlyexercisestarHngwithonepulsetoabeat[60m.m.]Usuallytheycangetto3orpossibly4beforethepulsesbecomeunevenrhythmicallyand/ordynamically.

–  Don’tletthemprogressbeyondthespeedtheycancontrol!–  Somewherebetween3and4orcertainlyat4,thevibratowillshiFtoendupinthesolarplexus,throatandpossiblyeventonguemoHoninthemouth.

–  Thishastohappentocreatethe5and6pulsesperbeat[6isagoodmaximumandnotanaveragespeedsinceittendstoresultinthroatvibrato.

–  Ifitisnotwellsupportedthea/emptatspeedcreatesagreatdealoftensionandbecomesjustdynamicvibratowhichisreallyundesirable!]

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–  Youarelisteningforpitchchange-aboveandbelowtheiniHaltone,sohavethemstartwithagoodsolidtonetobeabletorecognizethepitchchanges.Again,besurethepitchchangesinrollingwavesandnotsharpjabsasthisisnotasupportedtoneorvibrato.

–  Iftheyarestrugglingwiththis,havethemgobacktoaironlyandremindthemoftheabdominalpush.

–  Ifyoudonothearawidepitchchange,conHnuetoworkatslowerspeedsreinforcingproperbreathingandsupport.

–  ItishighlyunlikelytheywillgettoowideofavibratounlesstheyarearHficiallycreaHngthisthroughrollingthefluteinandoutormovingtheirjaw.[MostfluHstsonlygetaboutaquartertoneofpitchchange.]

–  Astheyspeedupthevibratotheywillinevitablelosesomeofthepitchchange,soitisimportanttobeaswideaspossibleontheslowspeeds.

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VibratoExerciseswiththeFluteCont.3

Thefollowingexerciseproducesthesameresultbutallowsastudenttomovemoregradually.Thisisespeciallygoodforstudentswhoarehavingdifficultywithmaintainingpitchchange.•  Beginwiththemetronomeon60[orevenslowerifneedbe].

•  Pulsetriplets.Graduallyincreasethemetronometo120[equivalentto6pulsesintheabovemethod].

•  ObserveallofthesameconcernsasmenHonedabove.

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VibratoExerciseswiththeFluteCont.4

•  Youhavetobeginvibratowithafocusonbreathpushes.Asvibratospeedsup,theabdominalpusheswillbecomelessovertasthemovementofthethroatandsolarplexustakeover.

•  Lowerabdominalmuscleswillnotmovefastenoughtocreatethefasterspeeds,howeverthebreathingandabdominalsupportarecriHcaltomaintainingpitchchangeandavoidingtheglo/alstopthatcreates”nannygoat”vibrato.

•  StudentsshouldpracHcevibratoeveryday.Likeanytechnicalskill,repeHHoniscriHcal.

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VibratoExerciseswiththeFluteCont.5

HowtouseVibrato–  Ingeneral,thehigherthepitchthefasterthevibratoshouldbe,thelowerthenotegenerallytheslower[withinreason!]ThisisoneofthemostimportantreasonstopracHcevibratoupto6pulses.Vibratoshouldhavethecapacitytovaryspeedanwidth.

– Aslowpiecewillmostlikelyinvolveaslightlyslowervibratothanafastpiece.

–  Themoreintensityinthemusicalline,thefasterthevibratoshouldusuallybe.

–  Vibratohelpstoprojectasoundandthuscanbehelpfulifthereisaneedforgreatervolume.

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ForthebestprojecHon,oneshouldworkformaximumwidth,orpitchchange.Likevolume,vibratodecayswithdistance.–  Agreatexercisetodemonstratethisistohavestudentslistentoanotherstudentascloseaspossible[rightnexttotheirearifpossible].Thenhavethestudentplayexactlythesameexamplewhilehavingthelistenermoveasfarawayaspossible.Thebiggerthedistancethebe/er.

–  TheywillnoHceasignificantdecayinvolumeandpresenceofvibrato.Thisemphasizestheneedforgoodsupport,breathingandabigvibrato.

–  BecausevibratotendstocauserelaxaHonandtousemoreairthanastraighttone,theapertureinthelipscantendtobecomelargerandlooser.Studentsshouldguardagainsttheupperlipbeingpushedupandout.Thiswillcausepitch,controlandtoneproblems.

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HowtouseVibrato,Cont

VibratoandExpressionWhilevibratoshouldneverbeoverlycontrolledormeasured,thisdoes

notmeanthattheuseofitshouldbeunconscious.Vibratoshouldalwaysbeconsciouslyapproachedforspeed,widthandgeneraluse.

•  Oneofthemostcommon[bad]habitsisthe“ON-OFF”technique.Ifrequentlymakestudentsplayscalesusingvibrato.Itisagreatopportunitytoobservethisasmanystudentswillplaythefirstnotewithvibrato,thenextwithout,thenextwith,etc.ThishabitisabitlikeadriverwhohasonefootonthegasandoneonthebrakeandkeepsalternaHngthemwhiledriving.[Eggunderfoot]Notaverypleasanteffect!Ifyouhaveastudentwiththishabit,atleastyoucanhavethempracHcedifferentspeedsofthevibratowhenthey“turniton”!

•  OneshouldtakeintoaccountwhatotherinstrumentsareplayingparHcularlyinsoliorlightlyscoredsecHons.Mostinstrumentsusevibratoregularly,theexcepHonsareclarinetandFrenchhorn.Therefore,ifyouareplayingwiththeseinstrumentsyoushouldbethoughrulastowhetheryouusevibratoornot.Simplyplayingwiththeseinstrumentsdoesn’tnecessarilymeanyoushouldn’tusevibrato,butitcertainlymeansitissomethingtoconsider.

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Therearedivergentviewsontheuseofvibratoonfastnotes.Ibelievethatitreallydependsonthecircumstances.Usingvibratoonfastnotescancreategreatenergy,vibrancyandhelpwithprojecHonwhenusedappropriately.•  ThebiggestargumentagainstitsuseisasenseofrhythmicdisrupHonthatcanoccur.IfoneisplayingarapidpassageinconjuncHonwithotherinstruments,itcanbedisrupHnganddifficulttomaintainensemble.However,inasolopassagethereisnoreasonnottouseitifyouliketheeffect!Itispersonaltaste.

•  Note:Usingvibratoonfastnotes,doesn’treallysoundlikevibrato.Itsoundslikeenergyandsparkle.

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VibratoandExpression,cont1

•  PracMcescalesatfastandslowspeedswithvibratooneverynote.Thisworkstoimproveflexibilityandcontrolofvibrato.Italsoworkstoimprovebreathingandsupport.[Italsohelpstolearnscales!]Playscalesat60pernoteusingpulsesof3,4and5foreachnote.

•  Longtones–pracHcethesewithandwithoutvibrato.Mostpeoplewillrealizethattheirtonesoundsbigger,fullerandmorerelaxedwhenusingvibrato.Ifthatisthecase,usevibratothefirstHmeandstraighttonethesecondHmeinanefforttomatchthequality,volume,etc.

•  SeasickAffect-InaddiHontothe“on-off”habit,studentscangetintohabitsofturningvibratooninthemiddleofanote.Thisleadstoa“seasick”affectofstarHngwithoutandthenacrescendoasthevibratoincreases,thenturningitofftostartthenextnoteandexpandingagainwhenthevibratocomesin.Ifindthisveryhardtolistento!

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VibratoandExpression,cont2

•  Slowpieces-SothatyoucanbethoughrulastohowyouulHmatelychoosetousevibratoasanexpressivedevice,IhighlyrecommendthefollowingpracHces.

•PracHcethepiecewithoutanyvibratoatall.A/empttoplaymusicexpressivelyanddynamicallyandwithavarietyoftonecolors.Ifyouareusedtousingvibrato,youmayfindthisverydifficultsinceyoureallyhavetocontrolyourair!

•PracHcethesamepiecenowusingvibratooneverynote.Youwillhavetolistenverycarefullynottomanipulatetheairandkeepthevibratosteadythroughout.

•Nowyouarereadytomakechoicesastowhen,whereandhowyouwillusevibrato!

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VibratoandExpression,cont3

YouTubeVibratoSuggesHons•  IhaveapublicYouTubesitewithavarietyofvideosthatIfind

inspiringforvibrato[andbeauHfulplaying!]•  Lookup:KarenFu/erer•  Playlist:Vibrato•  AllofthesevideosuHlizeavarietyofspeed,width,intensity,

Hmbreandillustratethepersonalnatureofvibrato.•  ThestringvideosareparHcularlyinteresHngsinceyoucan

visiblyseewhattheyaredoingtocreatevibrato.ThewaveringofthefingerupanddownonthestringsillustratesthepitchchangecomponentandalsoillustratesthespeedvariaHon.

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VibratoTaughtthe“OldWay”•  TradiHonalteachingofvibratowassimply;•  “Justlistentoothersandimitatethem”•  SomestudentswillinsHncHvelydothisbutmostneedone

ofthemoreregimentedexercisestogetstarted.•  However,listeningisacriHcalcomponenttolearningand

usingvibrato.

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VibratoCanandShouldbeTaughtWhatevermethodyouchoosetouse,youcanandshouldteachingvibrato.Oncestudentsleaveyourbeginningclass,youwillnothavetheopportunitytoworkwiththemonthisveryimportantelementoftheirplaying!

Appendix:HandoutMaterials

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•  OntheTechwebsitetherearethefollowingextramaterials:

•  1.KLFAlternateHighFingerings•  2.KLFLongToneWarmUps•  3.KLFWhatisVibrato•  4.KLFWho-WhoforVibrato!•  5.SuggesHonsforplayinglongtones