Different Types of Tremolo and Vibrato - Part 1, Components

Using a tremolo or vibrato is one of the most important techniques for players of wind and string instruments to utilize to add soul to their playing (which is mimicking the human voice by the way, if you didn’t already figure that out). To start our series let’s first define that there are three components that make up this sound we call tremolo or vibrato. First, a definition... Tremolo is change in amplitude (volume) and vibrato is change in pitch. Though tremolo always (for wind instruments) has some pitch change involved, it’s very minimal and for our purposes tremolo, though slightly scientifically incorrect, is still the best term. So, we have two components so far, change in volume, change in pitch and the third is change in tone.

This will be a fun series. I hope you stay with me this week… there’s a lot to be learned about this important technique.