Vibrato Practice Tip

When learning to use vibrato, a relaxed and comfortable hand position on the fingerboard is essential. The thumb needs to be relaxed as it slides up and down behind the hand on the instrument. If the hand is tight, the whole arm becomes involved and you can’t develop appropriate speed or flexibility. This also will limit resonance in the sound and can lead to tendonitis. A great way to start developing a relaxed and natural vibrato is using a plastic egg filled with rice or beans as a shaker. Little plastic egg shakers (like the ones on the left) work wonderfully for achieving a relaxed hand and tall finger tunnels simultaneously. (Some teachers recommend using TicTac candy boxes – if you can keep from eating the contents!)

To start using an egg shaker, cup the egg in the palm of the left hand with your fingers gently curved around it.  Hold your arm out and up at 90 degrees with the palm facing you. Focus on maintaining a loose grip. Shake the wrist as if flicking water off your fingers. The more you practice this, the better you’ll get at making a consistent even motion. Once you’ve got the motion down, add a metronome at quarter equals 60 to practice achieving consistency in the tempo. As this becomes easy and effortless, increase the speed.

A great way to transition to using the motion with the instrument is to use a plastic cat toy ball with a bell. Small and light, you can slide it up and down the fingerboard as you keep your hand relaxed and your fingers curved. Gradually put 10% weight of your finger on the string and move your finger and wrist back and forth. Slowly increase the weight of your finger on the string up to 90% – no more – of your weight on the string.

Pro tip: Be mindful that string vibrato should always start with the knuckles tilting toward the scroll!