tremolo vs vibrato
Wed, 03/13/2019 - 06:45
I was Reading a harmonica post on facebook where the party plays an example lick and then plays the same lick using 9 different techniques. Among those is what he calls with tremolo (change in volume) and then another he calls throat vibrato (change in pitch) Since he already did a hand tremolo example I have to assume his other tremolo was done with the throat as well. Here is my question - when I do any sort of tremolo with the throat I'm pretty sure it's the volume type (loud, soft) I don't think I've learned or attempted vibrato (change of pitch) I'm currently on LOA 5 and wondered if I should already know how to do vibrato vs. tremolo. Thanks
Hello lhobdey. Throat tremolo is what we all start with. After three elements are in place, the vibrato can start to show up in one's playing...
1) Throat tremolo needs to be automatic and relaxed (you don't have to think about doing it... it just shows up, and you don't have to "try" to do it, it's part of your playing).
2) You have to have a lot of experience bending. So much so, that your tongue has intuitively learned to be in the right place for every reed on the harmonica (not when bending, but it's learned to be in the right place, so that it is tuned to the reed you're playing, so that with the slightest tongue movement, it starts to bend).
3) Your tongue is relaxed. Tension will not allow the tongue to move for the vibrato. The tongue is influenced by the pressure changes in the mouth of the throat tremolo, and needs to be relaxed enough for it to move. Point 2 above is important... when the relaxed tongue is moved by the pressure changes in mouth created by the tremolo, the tongue will move sympathetically, and thus cause the change in pitch of the vibrato. The throat also moves a little, but the tongue is the focus.
How long does this take a player to develop? It's different for each player (it commonly takes two years or more for this to be all in place). Take a look at the Tremolo and Vibrato lesson on the site... give the vibrato a try. It can takes some players many, many years (and some never develop it), but at least you know the science and you can start working on making it happen sooner than later.