Vibrato is a slight, even fluctuation in pitch. It’s created by rolling the left-hand fingers over the notes.
Vibrato gives longer notes a rich, singing quality. It’s great on slower tunes like waltzes, not as useful on fast things like jigs, reels and breakdowns.
Vibrato can be challenging to learn, so if you’re a beginner, I recommend holding off on the full course. Wait until you’ve learned all the basic finger positions (including low first, fourth and raised third fingerings). However, you can start doing some of the basic hand motions now. That way, when you learn vibrato down the line, your hand will have a head start.
I’ve made a six-lesson series to help you learn this challenging skill. On each step I’ll be coaching you through the physical, practical and emotional challenges that arise.
In this lesson you’ll get the basic gist of how to learn and practice vibrato.Then we’ll get started with some exercises to train your hand. You’ll also learn a pre-cursor to vibrato: Chromatic Shifting.
Think of learning vibrato as a journey. Instead of seeking instant gratification, learn to enjoy the ride.
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I suggest learning and practicing the chromatic scale and left-hand sliding. If you’re very comfortable with these, it will be easier to learn vibrato. Here are lessons to take or review:
Here’s the learning journey we’ll take. Though it seems like a linear progression, I encourage you to constantly return to simpler, more fundamental exercises. For example, if you’re in lesson 5, I recommend you still practice the basic hand motion without playing.
In each lesson, I’ll give you a series of exercises that will slowly train your hands and ears.
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I’ve made some “Learning Chunks” to help you learn more easily. These focused exercises contain sheet music, tabs and mp3 snippets to guide you on your Vibrato journey.
Note: The dots indicate Staccato (stopping the bow). You can decide how pronounced you want to make this. The basic idea is to discretely move the finger from one position to the other. Next, you’ll practice Sliding, which is a continuous motion.
Variation: alternate between exercise 1.1 and 1.2 (between a discrete shift and a slide) using the same track. I call this a Practice Loop. Generally speaking, practice loops are a great way to practice anything.
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
The remaining tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
Sure is. But remember: quality of practice over quantity. I suggest staying with the D2 exercises for awhile, until you can play the in a relaxed manner with joy. 😀
I recommend you practice the basic motion without making any sound. You don’t even need your fiddle for some of these practices. Here’s what I go over in the video lesson:
In the exercises above, you’ll practice shifting fingers a half step in a rhythmic pattern. For example, on the D string, you’ll practice shifting fro D2 to DL2. This is a small step towards moving your hand in the vibrato motion.
Take beaks from this to “practice without playing” (see notes above). Or just do something totally different like a tune. Then return to chromatic shifting.
This is probably the most important part of the whole lesson.
Take the journey. For most folks, learning vibrato takes time. Just prepare for this mentally. And enjoy the ride. Lots of other things will improve as you work through these lessons, like your form, tone, tuning, chromatic scales and sliding.
The whole process will be less frustrating and more interesting with this attitude shift. Plus, it will carry over to everything else you learn and practice.
Consistent practice. More than ever, you’ll need to play every day. But that’s a good thing right? Your hands need time to slowly learn new skills…even when the brain after the brain gets bored. Just commit to working on vibrato for two minutes a day. See The Two-Minute Rule
Interleaving. Simply put, alternate between practicing vibrato and other things within a single session. Studies show that the brain learns better when you repeatedly move between new skills. This is also a form of kindness to yourself. Before you get too frustrated, just switch to something else. Then switch back to vibrato later in the session. Learn more here: Mix Up Your Music Practice With Interleaving
Enjoy the physical sensation of playing. This is an amazing way to make your practice fun and productive. We’ll start with some hand movements. See if you can be fully aware of these motions and take some pleasure in them. This will help you to relax. This powerful practice can transform the way you learn and play because it applies to all physical motion.
Keep returning to simpler steps. In each lesson we’ll layer on a new challenge. This doesn’t mean that you’re done with the earlier steps. In fact, even if you’re doing just fine with each new lesson, I still recommend you return to earlier steps and practice those exercises.
Sheet music downloads are available to paid users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
Are you ready to begin your fiddle journey? I’ll send you some free lessons tailored to your current skill level.
Click here to become a FiddleHed!
Here is a quick way for you to access the essential practice tools you need. Under each tab you'll find play-along tracks, tabs and condensed teachings to help you as you practice. This is an evolving idea, so let me know in a comment below if it could be better.
Here's a listing of all core lessons you've completed in the main course (modules 1.1 to 2.9).
Here are drones for the most common fiddle keys. A D drone can be used to practice tunes in D major or D minor (Dorian or Aeolian).
For drones in different keys as well as different textures and beats, go to: Drone Central.
Learn more about how to play in tune with drones here: Drone tuning the notes on the D string.
This track speeds up in 10 bpm increments.
For more fun and inspiring beats go to Beat Central.
Here's a newer version of the Notefinder which is based on sheet music. If you're interested in learning to read, this will be an invaluable reference. I'll be posting lessons on this in 2020.
Note: the brackets indicate notes that are the same pitch but spelled differently. For example, AH3 (D#) sounds the same as AL4 (Eb). Without going into too much teory detail here, this will be determined by the key of the tune or piece you are playing.
Here's he original table version of the Notefinder. Sometimes people learn in different ways...
This is used to find notes in Sawmill tuning (when the G string is tuned up to A and the D string is tuned up to E). If you're a beginner...best to ignore this! Learn more about sawmill tuning in the Appalachian Fiddle course.
G0-1-2-3-D0-1-2-3-A0-1-2-3-E0-1-2-3
Here are some common scales used in fiddle tunes. Each runs through a series of variations: two bows legato, two bows staccato, four bows, tucka (4 shorts, two longs), hoedown (1 long, two shorts), throwaway bow, triplets, tremolo.
D Major
G Major, starting on D3
A Major
D Dorian
A Dorian
Practice a tune with its scale (Kerry Polka is in G major, so practice a G major scale). Practice scales before, during and after practicing tunes.
For more scale play-along tracks, go to Scale Central.
Tucka
Short-short-short-short-long-long. Practice on D string:
Practice more: Fingering with Bowing Exercises
Hoedown
Long-short-short. Practice on D string:
Triplets
1-2-3 notes per step. Practice D0-0-0-A0-0-0 with plucking:
Practice more: String Crossing Exercises
Swing
Long-short. Practice G0-0-2-2-D0-0-3-3-3-3-0-0 with the 'swing double' rhythm:
Slur two
Here we play two notes per bow. Practice D0-1-1-0 with slur two:
Practice more: Slur Two Exercises
Slur three
Here we play three notes per bow. Practice D0-1-2-2-1-0 with slur three:
Practice more: Slur Three Exercises
Slur four
Here we play four notes per bow. Practice with D0-1-2-3, first time downbow, then upbow:
Practice more: Slur Four Exercises
Slur two-separate two
This forms a hoedown pattern (long-short-short). Practice it with D0-1-1-1:
Practice more: Slur Two-Separate Two Exercises
Find all play-along tracks for intervals here: Interval Central
Practice intervals with a drone: 5 minutes
Experiment combining or alternating routines.
Here are a few technical reminders to remember as you practice.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you —— I’ve been waiting for this. This is soooo fine !!!!!!!
Gwych. Diolch.
FYI. Looks like the sound loops for 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 don’t match the score and are more advanced. Maybe the next lesson?
I don’t think 1.1, 1.2. 1.2 match the sound loops. Any chance they could be fixed?