hey guys, Im not satisfied with my vibrato, does any one have any suggestions for building a more solid and expressive sound?
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Double Bass Help with vibrato
- Thread starter SigmaNu_bassist
- Start date
Well, the first thing is to have your thumb behind your vibrato finger. Unless you are past the fingerboard.
Sit there (this takes a while) and slowly rotate your finger as wide as possible. This is very boring but you are going to have to do it. Do this with different fingers in different positions across the fingerboard. Slowly try and speed up while doing this. Make sure you keep a nice wide vibrato when doing it at higher speeds.
None of this is fun, it takes hours, and days to see a "Vibrant
" result.
Sit there (this takes a while) and slowly rotate your finger as wide as possible. This is very boring but you are going to have to do it. Do this with different fingers in different positions across the fingerboard. Slowly try and speed up while doing this. Make sure you keep a nice wide vibrato when doing it at higher speeds.
None of this is fun, it takes hours, and days to see a "Vibrant
" result.
My experience is that a good sounding vibrato depends on a firm, centered pitch AND relaxation (lack of tension- not really relaxed, but not tense). The advice about working on the vibrato slowly is the only way to go... Also, the hand motion of a trill (rotating the arm, not just fingers) is similar to the motion of vibrato. You can spend time working on trills... That helps me sometimes.
trying doing this exercise, my teacher calls them mosquitos, basically you start by picking your favorite note, maybe one on each string, and do smooth even pivots starting with pivots at quarter not pace then on to eighths sixteenths and other things like triplets if you like. THe key here is to keep it even and make sure your make a difference in pitch when you do it. Take it slow and work on it every day and youll improve alot. Also you might try it with a metronome to help keep it even.
- Jul 3, 2007
- 1,380
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- Disclosures
- Author of "Soul Fingers." I'm the Duck Dunn expert.
I remember in junior high, one of the bass players using a racquetball to work on his vibrato. He would hold it on the string and roll it back and forth slowly to go through the motions, then work on it without the ball.
I've heard of using things like small toy cars too, but I've never seen it done.
Nick
I've heard of using things like small toy cars too, but I've never seen it done.
Nick
http://www.smithbassforums.com/showthread.php?t=87
This exercise is also mentioned in Max Dimoff's warmups (search the forums, or Jason Heath's blog)
This exercise is also mentioned in Max Dimoff's warmups (search the forums, or Jason Heath's blog)
