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Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On
How to Execute Vibrato
PART 3—The Final Chapter

By Douglas Niedt

Copyright Douglas Niedt, All Rights Reserved. This article may be reprinted, but please be
considerate and give credit to Douglas Niedt.


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The Transversal Vibrato

The transversal vibrato is also called the vertical, lateral, and lateral-bend vibrato. Honestly, I
have always thought of it as an inferior type of vibrato suitable primarily for electric and
acoustic steel-string guitar playing, especially for blues and heavy metal soloing. When I say
inferior, I don't mean any reference of inferiority to the music or type of guitar, but simply
inferior in the sense that it only goes on the sharp-side of the mean tone rather than circling it
as vocal vibrato and longitudinal guitar vibrato do.

But, as you have read, sharp-side vibrato has a history of being used on the viola da gamba.
As far back as 1659 (!!) in
The Division-Violist, Christopher Simpson shows the notation for a
"sharp-side" vibrato. He cleverly writes it as a trill-like effect in the confines of one space on the
staff:

Ex. #1














Granted, the execution of this vibrato on the gamba differs from that on the guitar. But the
important point is that the end result is a "sharp-side" vibrato.

Danoville, in his
L'art de toucher le dessus et basse de violle (1687) calls the gamba technique
the
battement and says it "fills the ear with languishing sweetness." Jean Rousseau, in his
Traite de la viole (1687) also calls it the battement. He describes it as an imitation of a certain
gentle agitation of the voice. He says it is used any place where the length of the note permits it
and that it is done for the full extent of the tone.

So you head-bangers and blues players out there; while you may not be shooting for
"languishing sweetness," when you are wailing away on a solo using your transversal vibrato,
pause for a moment in wonderment that you are using an effect that dates back at least to the
17th century.


Execution of the Transversal Vibrato

Whereas the basic longitudinal vibrato is produced by the swinging of the arm and hand
against a fixed stationary finger (sometimes with, sometimes without the thumb on the neck) the
transversal vibrato is produced by the finger alone with the thumb firmly on the neck.

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The finger itself, by flexing its tip and middle joints, moving parallel with the fret, stretches the
string towards the palm of the hand and then releases the string in a smooth rhythmic
movement. In other words, the string is being stretched side to side.

To make the movement mechanically efficient and therefore relatively effortless, place the palm
of the hand (specifically, the spot at the base of the index finger) against the lower side (the
side closest to the ground) of the neck. This serves as a point of leverage. It isn't absolutely
necessary to do this (and sometimes you can't) but it does make it easier to pull the string.

If you are using the transversal vibrato on the treble strings, it is usually best not to use a
knuckles- parallel-with-the-neck hand position. That position restricts the transversal finger
movement, especially on the first and second strings. Instead, allow the 4th finger side of the
hand to swing away from the neck. On the bass strings, either position may be used depending
on which finger is being used and the length of your fingers.

Watch as I demonstrate all these points in this stunning, Oscar-nominated video clip #1:




























One problem that can crop up when using transversal vibrato on the 1st string, is accidentally
pulling the string off the side of the fingerboard. You either have to use a narrower vibrato
(don't pull the string so far) or push the string upward toward the 2nd string instead of pulling it
down toward the floor.

Even if pulling the 1st string off the fingerboard is not a problem, you still have the options of
pushing the strings upward instead of down, or even both down and up. Pushing the string
upward has an advantage in situations involving adjacent strings:

Ex. #2














If we want to vibrato the 5th string B and try to pull downwards as in a conventional transversal
vibrato, we will probably kill (damp or mute) the open 4th string. Instead, if we push up to
vibrato we won't come into contact with the adjacent open string.

Or:

Ex. #3














If we want to vibrato the 2nd string D, if we pull down on the 2nd string, we are in danger of
muting the open 1st string. Instead, push up.

You can see the problems and solutions in this mesmerizing video clip #2:




























Transversal vibrato is useful for dramatizing a single note in a chord rather than vibratoing the
entire chord, especially large bar chords in lower positions:

Ex. #4















In the above example, we can transversally vibrato the 4th finger on the Eb rather than trying to
vibrato the entire chord.

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Transversal vibrato is also useful to vibrato the entire bar chord. Sometimes, it is easier and
more effective to transversally vibrato a few notes within a bar chord (which gives the effect of
the entire chord being vibratoed) than to try to longitudinally vibrato the entire chord:

Ex. #5
















This can be useful regardless of what fret the bar is on. It doesn't apply to only the lower
regions of the fretboard.

Watch as I demonstrate this very useful technique. You will surely be riveted to your seat on
this one, folks (video clip #3):




























Summary of Uses of the Transversal Vibrato


  • 1. In general, the transversal vibrato is favored for use below the 5th fret.
  • 2. Some players prefer it above the 12th fret. (I prefer the longitudinal vibrato
    everywhere above the 3rd fret.)
  • 3. Use it to vibrato a single note within a chord or interval anywhere on the fretboard to
    emphasize or dramatize that note.
  • 4. Use it to vibrato several notes within a bar chord without having to longitudinally
    vibrato the bar itself. This produces the effect of the entire chord being vibratoed.


A Top Secret Transversal Vibrato Tweak

As we know, the transversal vibrato only goes "sharp-side" of the mean pitch of the vibratoed
note. When I do a transversal vibrato, whenever possible, I compensate for its innate
sharpness by pushing the string longitudinally to the right at the same time. This makes the
pitch go flat roughly the same amount the transversal pull makes it go sharp. The result? A
perfectly in-tune transversal vibrato.

Watch this, vibrato freaks (video clip #4):




























How and When Do I Use Vibrato?

A guitarist could just "wing it" and use vibrato as he feels inspired at the moment. But it is such
a powerful and expressive tool that I think it is best to meticulously plan for its use.

Its most basic use is to add fullness to one's sound. Vibrato was an important part of the
famous "Segovia sound." Segovia's lush, beautiful tone combined with his amazing vibrato
technique resulted in a singing tone seldom equaled by anyone since. It is hard to hear on his
poorly engineered (in my opinion) recordings, but those who heard him live will never forget
that sound.

Christopher Parkening, in his superb recordings, emulates the Segovia sound very
successfully. The Parkening sound is simply drop dead gorgeous, especially on his earlier
EMI/Angel recordings produced by Patti Laursen.

One of the main things to keep in mind is that vibrato adds emphasis and intensity to any note
to which it is applied.

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Here is a list of a few ways to use vibrato artistically in your playing:

  • 1. Add emphasis to a single note within the context of other notes that are not vibratoed
    at all or very little.


  • 2. Give the illusion of longer sustain to long notes and chords.


  • 3. If a melody is in the bass register with accompaniment above, vibrato the low notes of
    the melody but use no vibrato on the accompaniment notes above. This will make the
    melody in the bass stand out.



  • 4. Use vibrato to add intensity to a crescendo. Begin a phrase quietly with no vibrato. As
    you crescendo, add more vibrato. The speed and/or amplitude of the vibrato can be
    increased or varied depending on the effect desired.

Watch as I demonstrate how vibrato can enhance your changes of dynamics. George Lucas
and Spielberg were speechless after watching this (video clip #5):





























  • 5. Use vibrato to emphasize a decrescendo. After playing loudly perhaps with heavy
    vibrato, lighten the vibrato's intensity by slowing it down and decreasing the amplitude as
    you make your decrescendo.


  • 6. Along these same lines of using vibrato to "amplify" crescendo and decrescendo, let's
    remind ourselves that the guitar has a relatively limited dynamic range. The use of
    prominent variation of the speed and amplitude of the vibrato can actually take the place
    of volume changes in passages where we need to conserve our dynamic range in order
    to "let loose" in a later passage.


  • 7. When it comes to vibrato, less is not necessarily more. In romantic period music
    (Tarrega, Albeniz, Granados, Llobet) vibrato is an essential and prominent ingredient of
    the era's sound and sensibility. If you want to play romantic period music authentically,
    use a lot of vibrato. It doesn't matter if the piece you are playing was written for the piano
    (which of course cannot really produce vibrato though Franz Liszt would disagree—as
    pointed out in Part I of this article, he actually specified vibrato in some of his piano
    works). You are playing a string instrument and the language of the period demands the
    use of prominent vibrato on any instrument capable of producing it.


  • 8. Use vibrato to vary repeats or repeated passages. Instead of (or in conjunction with)
    color changes or changes of dynamics, use no vibrato on the first appearance of the
    passage and prominent vibrato on the repeated passage, or vice versa. Or vary the
    speed and/or amplitude of the vibrato on the repeated passage.


  • 9. When playing with another guitarist, decide how you will each use vibrato. It would
    sound wrong if one player used vibrato frequently and the other hardly at all. On the
    other hand, planning the use of vibrato in one part but not the other can be very
    effective. One player could use heavy vibrato on a particular section in contrast with light
    or no vibrato by the other player in his part.


  • 10. Some players recommend the occasional use of vibrato to cover up intonation
    problems. I don't think it's a particularly effective use of the technique. Instead, use good
    strings and tune properly to begin with. But maybe in a pinch? However, according to
    Gerhard Mandel in Cello Technique (see Part 2 of this article) it wouldn't make much if
    any difference.


Dealing With the HIPPLFs

Historically, light vibrato has been part of string players' and singers' sound for centuries. It is a
given part of their basic sound--their "blank" canvas.
In other words, when we use the term
"blank canvas" we aren't saying no vibrato; we are including vibrato as part of the
soundscape from the beginning.

When I say "we" I am speaking about the pro-vibratoists. In my opinion, that would be almost all
musicians.

On the other hand, there are fringe elements out there called the HIPPLFs (members of the
"historically informed performance practice" lunatic fringe) who assert that historical treatises
only support the use of vibrato on a very limited basis. But the HIPPLFs don't apply their rules
only to early music. They have expanded their domain to cover most pre-World War II music!

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Frederick Neumann, one of the premier authorities on baroque ornamentation and
performance practice has pointed out in great detail how these people (and other well-meaning
scholars) incorrectly quote or misuse quotes from historical sources. For example, many fine
musicians such as Leopold Mozart wrote about excessive use of vibrato. But notice that the
language in these quotes from the historical treatises acknowledges that vibrato is a natural
part of the sound.

It is only when too much extra vibrato is added to the "blank" canvas that objections arise to its
use among the historical writers. But how much is too much is impossible for most of us to know
from this distance in history. Only the HIPPLFs seem to know!

We often hear the mantra that vibrato was regarded as an ornament in Baroque music and was
therefore used judiciously and only where emphasis was necessary. Music critic David Hurwitz
from www.ClassicsToday.com nukes this quite well:

    Baroque musicians, we know for fact, did not always ornament their music "tastefully" and
    abstemiously. They often went crazy, producing strikingly dense agglomerations of
    musical clutter--witness various examples of written-out ornamentation that have come
    down to us. The idea that ornaments should be used sparingly is a wholly modern
    concept utterly at odds with the Baroque aesthetic, in music, architecture, painting, and
    just about everything else. "Good taste" has not been synonymous with "less" at all times
    in human history, and we can be sure that if vibrato was indeed considered an ornament
    in baroque music, it was used to the hilt. The modern conception of correct style in such
    pieces as the famous "Air" from Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3, which permits it to be
    decorated with assorted musical doodads but with little or no vibrato, is an unmusical
    atrocity that must have the Leipzig master spinning (or vibrating) in his grave.

You will very possibly come into contact with a HIPPLF or someone who has been unknowingly
duped by them. Don't get me wrong. There are many fine non-HIPPLF performance practice
scholars such as Frederick Neumann who have the very best of intentions and work hard to
root through all the static and fog to find hard evidence to support their theories.

But the HIPPLFs are self-serving and somewhat dishonest. They originally appeared on the
scene as early music specialists and many were second-rate musicians. The only way these
inferior players were able to find any kind of success was to exploit the angle of authenticity—
play on period instruments under the guise of "this is how the music was really played" when all
that they were doing was no more than a wild guess in terms of authenticity and oftentimes just
plain wrong.

As David Hurwitz says, the HIPPLIF's use of historical data tends to be selective, biased, lacking
in context, and self-servingly opportunistic. They have been on a rant to eliminate vibrato from
the performance of almost any music they touch. They pontificate that their way is correct
although the very sources they cite often contradict their view.

Hurwitz takes them to task in a tour de force two-part 227-page article about orchestral vibrato.
Looking for something to read on the beach? Something to curl up with on a rainy Sunday
afternoon? I think this would be perfect.







I think it's absolutely fascinating. But then I’m the kind of person who enjoys reading the 500-
plus page Finale software manual in my spare time.

But aside from that, most musicians and critics agree that the HIPPLFs' music simply sounds
bad. It is lifeless and unnatural. Unfortunately, they are indulged anyway. After all, this opens
up a new market for players, managers, agents, record companies, and concert promoters. I
hate to sound negative, but that is how the biz works.

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David Montgomery in The Vibrato Thing states the problem very succinctly. Actually there are
two problems. One is to figure out if, when, and where to apply "blank" canvas vibrato to older
works (actually any works pre-WWII). The other is to decide when and where to apply additional
vibrato as an expressive tool.

And all this has to be done "without getting metaphysical sand kicked in your face by high-brow
performance sophisticates" (the HIPPLFS). Montgomery goes on to say, "The good news is that
after all is said and done, they don't know much more about the whole thing than you do." In
the end, you must simply decide how YOU want the music to sound.


One of my favorite Julian Bream stories tells of how he once dealt with a member of the
performance practice police. He was being driven back to his hotel after a concert by a snooty
young man obviously indoctrinated in the teachings of the elite HIPPLFs. "Mr. Bream, don't you
know you are supposed to start trills from the upper neighbor of the notated pitch? Why do you
play some trills beginning on the primary pitch?" Bream winced and with a tone of finality said,
"Because I like them that way." End of discussion.

My point is it is your choice. If you don't like vibrato, then don't use it. But don't make your
choice based on someone else's questionable interpretations of historical documents. Make
your choice based upon how the music
sounds. If you like vibrato in a song, in a passage, or all
the time, by all means use it. But don't allow it to become a mechanical habit. Think about how
you can use it artistically to add beauty to your sound and expressiveness to your music. Use
the vibrato techniques I have detailed in the three parts of this article to add a new dimension
to your playing. This isn't subtle stuff. It will make a huge difference in your sound. Whole Lot of
Shakin' Goin' On? Absolutely.

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BE SURE TO VISIT DOUG'S "SECRET VAULT"

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Doug's Guitar Technique Tip of the Month will be sent to you monthly. These are the best on
the Internet. No one else's technique articles and videos even come close. Most of the written
tips run over 20 pages. Most of the videos run from 15-30 minutes. The tips are thorough and
the production is excellent.
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