Practice Tip: Playing Without Vibrato

Many young flutists think vibrato is the be-all and end-all of the perfect flute sound; however, vibrato is a double-edged sword in flute playing.  Really, vibrato should be treated sensitively, like an ornament to your playing....not the foundation of it.  Speaking of over-active vibrato, congratulations to Sir James Galway on recording everything ever written for flute and therefore winning the Lifetime Achievement Prize at the Gramophone Awards.  Hate him (or rather his vibrato) or love him, you have to admit that he can play the flute, extremely well.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand.  How is vibrato created?  There are many schools of mind on this, but most would say it comes from your stomach.  So if you are sustaining a pitch without vibrato and you wanted to add a very, very slow vibrato, you would feel your stomach make a short sharp movement (as though someone punched you in the gut) and this action would create a wave in your sound.  Another thought about vibrato production is that it can be achieved by "merely" using the proper, and perfect, air support.  In this theory, it is all in the air and it, sort of, just magically happens.  Give it a try, why not?  One thing I can say is that if you are producing vibrato with your throat, One) ouch, doesn't that hurt? and Two) don't, it's gross.

So why am I bringing this all up?  Because a great technique for practicing is to practice without vibrato.  Why?  Because sometimes vibrato hurts your playing by covering up bad air support and lack of musical phrasing (for the record, I don't think Sir Galway has this problem...I just dislike the heavy use of vibrato ALL THE TIME).  Every so often try playing without vibrato, yes this is hard and extremely frustrating (you won't like how you sound initially, probably), but it will show you where your air support is lacking which will impact your dynamics, tuning, and phrasing.  Taking away the vibrato allows you to actually focus on whether your intervals are in tune, whether you are successfully playing piano, forte, achieving a crescendo/decrescendo, etc., and whether your musical ideas are being communicated well.  As always, you may think you are doing something, but your audience might not be hearing the same thing you are (plug for recording yourself...as always).  If you find your dynamics are less than wonderful, try playing an entire passage at a full forte and/or at a full, supported piano.

Again, your vibrato, in my humble opinion, is the icing on the cake...not the cake itself.  Happy practicing!  Try not to get to upset with this tip...it is, in fact, good for you in the end. :)