Q&A

Hello,

I am an aspiring singer and I was wondering about the vibrato.

I know that you must have the proper training in order to develop it, but I was wondering why small children have it and I don't?

For instance, The Jackson Five's lead singer, Michael Jackson had a vibrato, so is this a natural vibrato and does that make it possible to develop a vibrato at age 16?

I also heard that "faking" a vibrato will help you develop it as well.

Also, when I use my diaphragm it feels uncomfortable when I sing and I feel better breathing with my chest and my diaphragm somewhat.

Sometimes when I sing my vibrato comes out sometimes, but it is too quick and it stops shortly after it is released. I can't keep it going and I have good breath behind it, but I'm not sure it IS the vibrato. It just feels like somethings going up and down in my throat and it won't continue until I start a new note.

I hope you can answer my question because I've been to many sites, and when someone asks about vibrato, they always recommend a teacher instead of ACTUALLY saying what the vibrato feels and should sound like.

Thank you.


Your questions about the vibrato are quite common, especially among younger singers. First I would say that the proper vibrato is completely natural. You should not try to make it. I always describe it as a symptom. It tells a listener what the condition of your voice is. And just as a good doctor treats the cause and not the symptom, we should not worry too much about the vibrato and set our attention on learning the proper functioning of our voice. When that happens and conditions are right the vibrato starts to appear. The actual physics of the vibrato are very complex and not fully understood even by the scientists studying it. But we can say that it comes from the complexity of the vibrating of the vocal folds. Not from moving the jaw or the throat, or from pulsing the air pressure with the diaphragm.

Some people don't have a vibrato because they sing with a slight squeeze in the throat and this impairs the flexibility necessary for the vibrato to exist. So that would be something to check to see if you are doing. Another possible interference is if you are pushing a lot of breath through or against the larynx. This excess air pressure causes the vocal folds to not vibrate freely so they don't recoil, which is a key element in the vibrato. Both of these can be caused by trying too hard. The reason some people have success by faking a vibrato is because it loosens the grip of the throat muscles and can reduce the amount of air pressure allowing some natural variation in the vibration.

As far as breathing, try to to breath slow and complete. Don't just use your abdomen or only your chest. Feel like you breath a little over a large area and not a lot in a small area. Again the vibrato should feel natural, like it happens on its own. Some descriptions would be shimmer, spin, small quiver, vibrancy. Sometimes we mistake the bobbing of our larynx for a vibrato. That is just an unstable larynx. Always strive for a flexible, steady tone production and the proper vibrato will eventually show up.

Allan Lindquest's Axiom for Vocal Pedagogy

BASED UPON A PSYCHO-PHYSICAL MENTAL STATE OF CALMNESS, REPOSE, PATIENCE AND CONFIDENCE, AND MOTIVATED BY THE URGE TO SING, THE TRAINING OF THE VOICE IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CORPORAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT WHICH MUST BE TRAINED INTO CORRECT FORM AND FUNCTIONING GUIDED BY SENSORY AWARENESS OF:

1. The feeling of correct posture.

2. The feeling of correct breathing reflexes.

3. The feeling of repose in the swallowing complex.

4. The feeling of the opened resonators.

5. The feeling of correct action of the pronouncing mechanism.

Q&A

Dear Michael,

I believe that you are providing an excellent service to singers.

A choral director at my church is struggling with something she calls "scooping" and as one of her singers I'd like an explanation of what she means. Is there a more explicit term she could use? And how might she try to help the choir members with correcting the problem?

I'd appreciate hearing from you.


Thank you for your question. I find coming up with an answer challenging. Scooping refers to sliding up to the intended pitch, usually at the start of the phrase. In cultivated singing that is considered sloppy and inartistic. The desired manner of approaching a note is directly into the center of the pitch. This requires a clear mental image of the intended pitch and the vocal coordination to articulate that pitch. Articulation is usually thought of relating to pronunciation of consonants but we also need to pronounce the pitch, which is part of the sung vowel. Perhaps a demonstration would clear it up. Ask her to demonstrate what she means. It should be very clear then.

Q&A

Dear Mr. Mayer,

I am a Vocal Performance Major, I've had a couple of teachers recently and each are different the first taught a mixture of techniques some from Lindquist and the second teacher basically focuses on no tension at all in the face , jaw, body etc. Well, now I feel like I sing with more tension the wrong posture and my support seems like belly support (not diaphragm ). What is worse is that each one has switched my Fach so now I don't know which is correct. The only thing that has helped me is that I bought David Jones CD and I go to his website and yours and read the articles. But I don't really know how to apply the techniques and if I'm doing them correctly.


I am sorry to hear of your confusing paths. Unfortunately that is too common among developing singers these days. I was just working with students this week on the problem of a lack of good tension causing unwanted tension. If you set up the body correctly there will be flexible tension appropriate for good singing. Then, when the body and voice is functioning correctly, it will tell you what your voice type is. The fach comes later after you have developed. The issue of support is another misunderstood concept that I was just discussing with students. Support happens from doing the correct coordination with the body, it is not something you try to do as in "support the tone". If your posture is correct and you use your vocal mechanism in a balanced manner the voice will be supported.

Q&A

I've always wondered - would you be known as a voice -teacher- or a
voice -coach-? Or vocal coach, vocal teacher? What would the proper
"title," from your perspective.

Yours is a common question. The answer is
it depends on what "world" you are in. If you are in the classical world
what I do would be called a voice teacher. In the pop and musical
theater world someone who works vocal technique is a voice coach. In the
classical world a vocal coach is a pianist who works on musical issues
with a singer. So I usually refer to myself as a voice trainer, like a
personal trainer at the gym. I show people how to make their voice work
better through exercising it a particular way. That is a more
specialized skill, and is less common.