Vibrato

The vibrato is in the music, the recurring, slight change in the frequency of a held tone. In contrast to a non-vibrating sound a tone with reasonable vibrato is perceived as alive. Therefore, the vibrato is widely used among other things in classical music.

In the voice vibrato can arise involuntarily without being learned or taught. Often, however, it is consciously used as a stylistic device. On strings and some brass instruments it is generated by specific performance techniques. It is assumed that the instrumental vibrato is an imitation of the singer vibrato.

In the musical practice mostly various forms of periodic change in tone are combined ( vibrato, tremolo, vibrato, beat and change the tone). The delineation of the vibrato of these related phenomena is difficult and is not handled uniformly. Frequently, therefore, the term vibrato, deviating from the strict definition used for a combination of these phenomena.

The Sound show that vibrato, tremolo, and beat are perceived very similar.

• Example of a real vibrato ( modulation frequency), Period 6 Hz frequency Sorry, but your browser either has JavaScript disabled or not supported playback software. You can download the clip or download a software player to play the clip in the browser.
• Example of a tremolo ( " vibrato " ) by modulating the amplitude, period, frequency 6 Hz Sorry, but your browser either has JavaScript disabled or not supported playback software. You can download the clip or download a software player to play the clip in the browser.
• Example of a tremolo ( " vibrato " ) by beating between two tones of 500 Hz, 506 Hz Sorry, but your browser either has JavaScript disabled or not supported playback software. You can download the clip or download a software player to play the clip in the browser.

Vocal vibrato

The voice has a natural vibrato. It consists of a periodic variation of the frequency, amplitude, and spectrum formant. The vibrato is often missing in untrained voices. If the voice but educated in the sense of "classical" singing tradition, then it is attained during the singing training without being additionally taught or learned.

The singer may increase the vibrato as a musical design element consciously or weaken. The complete suppression of the vibrato but often leads to vocal fatigue. Excessive frequency fluctuations or too fast or too slow period frequency are often perceived as unaesthetic. Fischer ( 1993) assumes that the vibrato is perceived as pleasant at a frequency between 4.5 Hz and period 8 Hz of people, the music culture have grown up in our ( modern Western ). In singing, the term is often used pejoratively to wobble too much and too slow, the term Caprino or tremolo for speeding, bleating vibrato.

The emergence of the vibrato when singing is still not fully clarified. On the one hand there is the idea that the vibrato is caused as a physiological tremor antagonistic muscles of the larynx ( laryngeal vibrato ). On the other hand, there is also the notion that the column of air is compressed periodically by a tremor of the diaphragm ( diaphragmatic vibrato ).

Fischer ( 1993) assumes that the larynx and diaphragm vibrato vibrato are parallel functions. The diaphragm vibrato have a slow frequency ( below 4 Hz), the laryngeal vibrato fast frequency (8 Hz). By coupling the two systems results in a so-called " complex vibrato " which einschwinge at a frequency from 4.5 to 8 Hz. The affect of the singer then causing the slowdown or acceleration of the vibrato by dominance of laryngeal or diaphragmatic function.

Vibrato in musical instruments

On historical flutes (recorder and transverse flute ), there are several methods:

When stringed instrument vibrato is produced by moving back and forth movement of the finger on one string. This periodic fluctuations in pitch are produced: The sound is not quite " straight " or clear. The continuous vibrato in the symphony and string orchestra came on in the 1920s, to the chagrin of composers like Stravinsky or Schoenberg; this expressed purpose emphasizes negative. Since the 1990s, occur more conductors in appearance, are pushing for a return.

In the organ, there is the so-called beat tab. In this case, for every two tone voices that differ slightly in pitch; the vibrato is thus caused by beating. An example is the principal beat in Italian organs of the 16th century, including as Voce Umana called ( " human voice "). Obviously was the Italian organ builders of the 16th century, the vibrato as a characteristic of the human voice. Still very much more frequently found in the organ, however, the so-called Tremulant that puts the wind in slight pressure fluctuations, thus ensuring a Tremulieren the whistle sound. In many organs, the fluctuation frequency of the tremulants is adjustable.

The beat system was transferred in the 19th century on harmonica instruments where per angespieltem two tone punch tongues are associated with slight frequency difference to the blades ( see Tremolo harmonica ).

A stronger vibrato effect can be produced by the specially provided tremolo or pulling the string on the electric guitar.

Is no need to use the vibrato especially in instruments whose sound is mainly due to the reverberation of a generated short sound as percussion, harp, piano, etc. For these instruments is a vibrato usually only be produced with additional aids.

Vibrato in electronic musical instruments

In effect devices or electronic musical instruments, the terms vibrato and tremolo for different effects are used:

• Vibratory means the periodic variation of the pitch (frequency modulation)
• Tremolo means the periodic variation of the volume (amplitude modulation)

The effect of the effect in this case depends on the strength and frequency of the fluctuations and the nature of the fluctuation ( the waveform of the modulation signal ):

• Slow, sinusoidal fluctuations with low frequency sound more soft.
• Fast, rectangular fluctuations with high frequency sound rather harsh.