Learning how to sing with vibrato will add richness to your voice when properly executed and used in the right places. Here we’ll discuss what vibrato is and offer an exercise to help you develop it.
So first, what is vibrato?
Essentially, vibrato is a slight variation of pitch around a particular note. The pitch oscillates between slightly higher and lower than the note being sung. Not only does this oscillation add warmth to your tone, but it has the effect of keeping long notes (e.g. notes held for several seconds) on pitch.
For some, singing vibrato comes naturally. But if it doesn’t come naturally for you, then don’t worry. It can be learned with some practice. The following exercise can help you get a feel for what vibrato feels like:
- Place one or both hands on your stomach (just below your belly button).
- While singing, gently press your hand against your belly a few times per second (3-4 times per second is a good place to start) so that you feel bursts of air hitting your throat. While doing this, you should be continuing to exhale–that is, keep your stomach moving inward.
- Listen to how this pressing causes the sound to “pulse”.
- Continue to practice this exercise until you can create the “pulsing” sound without the use of your hand.
When you first start this exercise, you may be able to add vibrato for only a part of the note being sung. Don’t worry, just keep practicing and using this technique until you develop right amount of coordination. When you feel more comfortable, try to increase the number of “pulses” per second to around 5-6.
We hope this is helpful. Feel free to let us know if it’s working or if you have vibrato singing tips to add.
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