Description:
Part 1: vibrato and straight tone. You know what vibrato sounds like. Singing with an absence of vibrato is called straight tone. The pitch does not vary or oscillate.
Counter to what you might think, singing with straight tone is actually more difficult, and more vocally taxing, than singing with vibrato. That’s because with straight tone, the vocal folds are under tension with no release. Vibrato is the resulting sound when your muscles release some of that tension to protect your vocal folds.
In virtually every style of music, we use a combination of straight tone and vibrato. Let’s learn some exercises that will improve our vocal control by switching between straight tone and vibrato.
First exercise: a major scale, alternating between straight tone and vibrato for each successive pitch. Use any vowel you like! I’ll demonstrate on OO. We’ll sustain each pitch for a few beats.
[Exercise: Major scale, alternating vibrato & straight tone]
Next, singing the same pattern, first with vibrato, then straight tone. Our pattern is a simple 1-2-3-2-1. Try that with me! Remember, free vibrato first.
[Exercise: 1-2-3-2-1-2-3-2-1 Vibrato to straight tone]
One more exercise! We’ll sing the following pattern [5-3-4-2-1] with vibrato, then straight tone for our final note. This is the opposite of what you naturally want to do, singing straight tone and ending with vibrato, so it’s a little brain challenge! Let’s go for it.
[Exercise: 5-3-4-2-1 vibrato with straight tone ending]
See you in part 2 for some common vibrato issues!
Lessons:
Instructor: Camille van Niekerk
Camille van Niekerk is a singer, writer and vocal instructor in Southern California. Camille began studying voice and performing in musicals at age seven. In 2010, Camille began working towards her BA in Music Education at Azusa Pacific University. She then earned her teaching credential from San Diego State University and taught classroom choral and instrumental music. Shortly after moving to LA county, Camille began her private vocal studio, providing vocal coaching, ear training, and recording for students of all ages. She is constantly refining her skills and methods for greater versatility and effectiveness. When she is not teaching, Camille enjoys singing with the L.A. Choral Lab and Ensoma Creative. She lives in San Diego with her husband and loves going to the beach, practicing yoga, reading, and cooking.