Re: [Harp-L] Vibrato



Adam Gussow demonstrates using a diaphragm tremolo/vibrato on his you tube
videos.  I use it as well.  Mostly for blow notes and chords.  However,
sometimes when I really want to rip, I will pull a very hard and fast
diaphagm vibrato or whatever you want to call it on it a single note.  Often
times the 6 draw.  However, I find the most controlled vibrato to be using
the throat muscles..larynx..or whatever you want to call it.

There are lots of vibrato effects.  I like to use them all. I think it
creates nice textures.

Moving the jaw.  This works especially well on blow bends.  I learned this
watching Filisko and PT Gazell.

Shaking the harp.  I always thought this was stupid, but then I heard a
local guy in Atlanta on record and loved his vibrato.  I met him and all he
was doing was the shake the harp thing.

Using the tongue.  I learned this from Madcat.  Moving the tongue while
bending and using the hands makes a really nasty sound.

Using the hands of course.

Using the diapgragm for deep, rough but nasty sounds.  Also works well for a
soft vibrato effect on chords and octaves and blow notes.  If anyone does
not believe it is possible email me and I will send you an audio.

These are just a few tricks I use.


On 3/7/07, Rick Dempster <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Been playing for 37 years Tony, and I never liked standing still. If there is such a thing as 'diaphragm' vibrato, I've never heard it or seen it. The hands can make what is probably better described as a tremolo, as can the tongue; these practices produce a variation in tone and/or volume (and when I say' tone', I am referring to bass & treble variation, not 'pitch' - by which I mean fluctuations between flatness and sharpness) A true 'vibrato' (rhythmic variations in pitch) is produced by the opening and closing of the vocal chords (read 'epiglotus' if you want) I am no great shakes as a singer, but when a 'vibrato' occasionally appears in my voice, I think it is a variation on this process, but still caused by movement of the vocal chords: If my diaphragm is controlling the flow/pressure of air, my vocal chords can be relaxed enought to viabrate according to the frequency of the note to produce a vibrato. With the harmonica it is a slightly different process: it is not the vocal chords themselves that are making the sound but the reed in the harmonica. Hence the function of the vocal chords is not to flex and unflex to change their own pitch, but to act as a shutter to cause sudden build-ups of pressure followed by equally sudden release/decrease. Naturally, the diaphragm retains its importance in keeping a constant 'demand' for air (I could say 'pressure', but the pressure varies with the stopping of the epiglotus) but any viabration felt there is a result of the 'glottal stops' (choking of the epiglotus or vocal chords) This is all a re-phrasing of Tony's conclusions, which have been well observed and considered. Reading over what I have just written, I realise that I have used the word 'demand' (ie as opposed to 'supply' as in blowing) when talking about the role of the diaphragm in the production of vibrato. Hmmm...this opens up another matter all together: vibrato while blowing, not drawing....does it exist? Obviously not, on holes 1-7, because there is no appreciable pitch variation available (ie the blow notes don't bend) I do attempt to use the glottal stops (hiccups, chuckles, coughs or whatever) on blow notes, but they act more like 'tremolo', and I am not aware of ever really making the same process work on the blow-bend notes (8,9,10) It just doesn't seem to be appropriate on the hight register notes. I use a kind of harmonic trill, a la Gwen Foster, which gives a wide variation from one semitone to another,; but they are two separate notes, so it is not really 'vibrato' as such. I have not yet tried a blow vibrato on the lower two octaves of an XB, but I intend to experiment as soon as I get away from this desk!

Cheers,
RD

>>> Tony Renshaw <tonyrenshaw268@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 3/03/2007 12:33:18
>>>
As a three year player who has heard lots about vibrato and the way to

create a deep, melodious one using my diaphragm, I would like to
challenge
explanations I have been given with my own conclusions, and wait to get

torn apart. Simply, it has been explained to me that the diaphragm is
the
key to a deep vibrato. I believe this, but it has historically been
described to me in isolation. I believe, for me anyway, that the only
way
to get a good diaphragmatic vibrato is to use it to create a "back
pressure", or area of "negative pressure", using your epiglotis. In
isolation one can argue that it is all about the diaphragm, and to
create
such a "negative pressure", it is. The problem I have is that I can use
my
diaphragm, that big muscle for prolonged periods, but generally only in
one
direction or the other. I certainly can't "vibrato" it. To try and do a

deep, rhythmical vibrato from the diaphragm with a completely relaxed
throat and mouth is damn near impossible. I am persistent though, so if

enough people convince me of the error of my ways, I will conquer this

diaphragm issue, if in fact it is the way to go. So, in conclusion, in
my
narrow and short experience, I believe the vibrato is a combination of
a
"negative pressure" created with the epiglotis being somewhat closed,
or
modulated, whilst the diaphragm creates the "negative pressure" which
pulses the air through the harp. At the same time, it is the
interaction of
the epiglotis and the base of the tongue that creates the bends, or
partial
bends which embellishes the vibrato and gives it it's classic aural
signature. If in fact it does not involve the epiglotis, but does have
the
characteristic bends, how can you do that with a fixed, relaxed throat

position, and have simply the airstream modulated in intensity through
the
instrument, with the diaphragm?Surely this would pulse volume, but not

create the bends.
OK, I'm ready for the heat.
Reg
Tony Renshaw
Sydney Australia

_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l





This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.