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What's my problem with violin vibrato, video
Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 Topic Rating: 5 (1 votes) 
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MajorGeek

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March 8, 2012 - 12:34 pm
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Hope that embed worked.

Nope, it didn't. Here's a link to a video of me trying to figure this out:


What is my problem with vibrato? I'm puzzled by this blockage because I use vibrato on guitar, but with the fiddle, my arm and hand position are different.  Am I developing a bad habit by pinching the neck between my thumb and the base of my index finger?  In viloinstars (oney and a twoey) and fiddlerman's and violinlab videos, they talk about having a space between the palm and the neck.


Looking a Terry's recent post here on vibrato.


I've been playing for 10 months now, and I'm at a stage where some of the nice waltzes and slow pieces are too flat without some vibrato. 


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Guest
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March 8, 2012 - 12:49 pm

From what I see, your wrist is overly bent instead of straight and your elsow is next to your side, you have to get it under the violin. In doing this you put extra strain on your wrist, keeping your hand from moving.  Next you are holding onto the violin with your left hand very forcefully, with this your fingers cannot be nimble. Can you hold the violin up without your left hand, easily? If not your chin rest and shoulder rest are not proper for you.  The left hand should be able to move easily so you can do arm vibrato.  Check out the video on holding the violin and on arm vibrato.

 

Oh yeah, Welcome to Fiddlerman.com

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cdennyb
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March 8, 2012 - 1:05 pm
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try setting the neck on top of the thumbprint.

That will naturally give you space and as Fiddlerman has instructed, your fingers need to bend in line with the neck, not crossways like you did simulating the guitar.

Watch the various vibrato videos on here under advanced tutorials. He has them for finger, hand & arm, arm, and so forth.

Good luck, don't get frustrated too much... sometimes it takes a long time to get it.... but once you do, you'll play for hours afraid that if you stop it'll never happen again. LOL

welcome to the board.

enjoy your stay... hope it's a long one here. Lots of free info and lots of people to help and chat with. 

"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein

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Lost Fiddler
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March 8, 2012 - 1:43 pm
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I recommend Mads exercise for finger flexibility  "Smashing Bugs"

No matter where you go, there you are!

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Guest
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March 8, 2012 - 2:09 pm

Well... I didn't know how to describe this with words, and realized that i'm not so good with English... so... maybe this will be useful dunno

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....e=youtu.be

 

Welcome to the forum, BTW! birthday_balloon =)

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Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
March 8, 2012 - 6:12 pm
Member Since: September 26, 2010
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Fantastic angle and demonstration Naska.
As you can see MG, with the violin you start with an erect finger and pull back so that the finger is flatter. Allow your finger tip to roll on the string. You finger joints straighten out. Doesn't matter if you use your arm to pull back, your wrist, or your fingers.

Also, get your arm under enough so that your finger is not indented against the fingerboard as you mentioned. In other words move the hand away from the fingerboard slightly by moving the elbow more to the right (More under the violin).

Have you seen all three of my vibrato videos?serenade

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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Guest
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March 8, 2012 - 6:49 pm

Oh, Naska...... superb demonstration, I think the best i've seen anywhere.

Not a word spoken. Maybe I can get mine now.thumbs-up

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cdennyb
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March 8, 2012 - 7:06 pm
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Here's something else to add.

I've never seen or heard this statement made but I might have missed it along the way.

In addition to all that's been said, only let you hand apply downward pressure to the finger tips, keep the joints relaxed. I had an old teacher tell me to take a block of wood, a book, or anything solid and hold it with my right hand and cup my hand under the book like a violin neck and hold a small piece of paper on it while 'shaking' my arm back and forth, like vibrato. Don't let the paper move or fall off. That's what got my arm and hand to do what my mind wanted it to. Just a thought. I'm still working on getting my index finger to cooperate.dunno

I never really thought about the term, "keep your finger joints relaxed, just let them come along for the ride." Like riding a dirt bike over bumps and stuff with your legs slightly bent to absorb the up and down movement all the while maintaining contact with the pegs.

"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein

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rotex13
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March 9, 2012 - 6:53 am
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Nice Naska! just try to put vibrato on every piece while you're practicing(slow but even vibrato is a very good start) and make sure that you're very relaxed, it takes months to take to have a good vibrato. cheerleader

 

haha me too I'm not soo good in english lol, at first I thought you're an American. dancinbunny

 

PS I tot it was naska's thread haha my bad

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March 9, 2012 - 1:59 pm
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=) Thank You, Rotex! I very appreciate your advices =) Your vibrato - is the best example !birthday_balloon

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March 9, 2012 - 2:11 pm
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I need to bookmark this thread, Vibrato is on my list to do and learn, it looks like this is a good one, as I have failed at my previous attempts to do vibrato.

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coolpinkone
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March 9, 2012 - 2:39 pm
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Love that video MadWed.....I can not wait to put that in action someday.

Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato

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Fiddlerman
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March 9, 2012 - 7:37 pm
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I tried explaining it again in a new video. I hope this helps. Lot's of great advice above. Naska's angle was brilliant.thumbs-up

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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rotex13
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March 9, 2012 - 8:35 pm
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I made a video too, but FM's video is more helpful than this lol, but this is the way how I do my vibrato.

feature=youtu.be

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springer

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March 9, 2012 - 8:50 pm
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The only thing I will try to add is that for me I used painfully slow movements to get vibrato started and it take months not minutes to get going. Good luck MG. dazeddevil-violin

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Fiddlerman
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March 9, 2012 - 11:22 pm
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Roque, I like the way you walk around and show the movement from all angles. Thanks

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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TerryT
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March 10, 2012 - 3:53 am
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Fiddlerman said

I tried explaining it again in a new video. I hope this helps. Lot's of great advice above. Naska's angle was brilliant.thumbs-up

Thanks for this vid FM.
I hadn't thought about stabilising the violin with my right hand to maximise the practice with my left hand. Before I had spent more time readjusting the instrument as it was moving more than my finger.

I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....

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Fiddlerman
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March 11, 2012 - 10:37 am
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You're welcome.

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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sdsalyer
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March 11, 2012 - 4:24 pm
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Great info here.  I seem to be able to make the proper motions for vibrato and it feels fairly natural, but I have 2 problems (I think) which are hindering me:

 

1. My finger doesn't "stick" to the fingerboard at the note I choose... it wants to slide up and down the string -- does this mean I need to apply more pressure?

 

2. When I hold the violin, the top-left edge of my palm (just at the base of my index finger / knuckle) touches the E-string side (edge) of the neck.  I notice in MadWed's video that she is not touching the neck at all in that area (she only toucher with her thumb and the finger she is vibrating with).  In FM's video, it seems that he does touche the neck in the area I am as well?  

If I try to make a space between that corner of my palm and the neck, the violin wants to slide and I feel like I'm going to drop it.  Is this normal, or am I holding it incorrectly?

 

Also, I found this video with slow-mo to be helpful.  This lady doesn't seem to touch the neck, either.

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springer

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March 11, 2012 - 4:43 pm
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You must NOT touch the neck with your left hand. Try to move your finger very very slow and work up you seed over time. Lots of time vibrato is very hard to get started and then get good at.

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