Hey, I hear my trumpet teacher play every week and he's absolutely amazing and I love the sound he makes - and I was just wondering how one would go about doing vibrato on the trumpet because it sounds so beautiful!

Hi Martl1

I find it quite worrying that you are Grade 8/dip trumpet and have not yet learnt how to do vibrato. Talk to your teacher immeadiately and get them to start teaching you this straight away. You won't alsways need it but you do need to know how to do it!

I had learnt it only a little though coz I had a horn player teaching me up until grade 8 and frankly she wasn't that great (now I've had other professional trumpet players teaching me), and when i changed teacher we were concentrating on changing my embouchure... now my chops are nearly back (but obv in a different position) i kind of need to 're-learn' it...

I was thinking the same too!
Also very dangerous to mess around with an established embouchure!! that can give more problems than its worth - especially if you have been playing for yrs!!!

nono I really needed to change the embouchure, it was practically slipping off my face! happened gradually after i had braces taken off... was not fun...

I played for 2 yrs with braces but never need to change my embouchure - infact the braces made it better!
Just when it came off i found i was trying too hard!! over blowing.

Never had a problem with Vibrato - it just seemed to come naturally.
There are various technique and methods =

it was because before i had braces, my front two teeth crossed over - so the mouthpiece wasn't rested straight even then...


so can no-one help me?

If I knew myself i'd tell you. I am currently learning the cornet; what you'd call a beginner.

With vibrato I know the diaphram plays an important part.

Sorry, don't really know as you probably have guessed i'm a flute player.

Have a look at this website: http://library.advanced.org/10693/vibrato.html

I'm not sure how it is on the trumpet, but for me, on the trombone, vibrato kind of just happens. I think it's perhaps an offshoot of being a singer - the principles to me appear to be the same. Good support, and kind of ease into the note you want the vibrato on, with a little diaphragmatic pressure.

But I don't think you can have this conversation online, really! Talk to your teacher.

finally, can I just say (at risk of starting a riot) I don't really think some of the comments on this thread have been that useful. I'm pretty sure the OP's teacher is in the best position to decide whether s/he needs to work on embouchure. I'm not sure a couple of lines on the internet is sufficient to comment, and I really don't think it's that fair to undermine confidence in a teacher in this manner, with so little good cause.

Apologies for taking your thread off-topic martl1 - best of luck with your trumpet playing.

I have to agree with meerkat here - and even more so here that the working relationship between pupil and teacher appears to be so good.

Although I've given out much technical advice here on the forum, nothing beats having a 'live' teaching experience.

Can't really explain how to do vibrato, but when I was first having it explained I remember being told to play a bottom F sharp as loud as possible. You notice that the note starts to waver slightly without you conciously making an effort to use vibrato. This might help you to recognise the movement needed to play with vibrato more gently. I know that isn't very useful really though...

ok i'll attempt to try and help you - im a brass teacher. What you need to do is play say a long G above middle c - and then try to make the tone waver VERY SLOWLY by moving the bit under your bottom lip up and down in a smooth motion.

You should get like a Dah, ooo, dah, ooo, dah, ooo sound.

How i teach it is to set a metronome going (say about 80-100 bpm) and then play a G again and try to make the fluctuations in pitch described above to each beat. This way you will get it regular. So within a crotchet beat try to do a 'dah' and an 'ooo' and same again on next crotchet beat but just on ONE LONG NOTE. Dont start a new note for each beat or else that defeats the object! When you can do that try to do do two 'dah's' and 'oo's' on every beat and gradually increase the number of dah oos until you can do it fast and flexible

I acquired this way of teaching vibrato whilst learning to play sax and it works although it is harder on brass!

Good luck!
Alison

Wow, alison, that's completely different from the way I do vibrato. Are there different techniques for achieving the same kind of sound? That sounds like, in singing terms, the Whitney chin wobble approach, and I use a diaphragmatic approach - which definitely works on trombone too (my teacher says I have a lovely trombone vibrato). I'm a beginner brass player, so obviously don't have your experience, just wondering about my own!

the technique about moving your chin was taught to me by Mr David James - brass band master and clinician - and i got the bit about trying to do it regular and then speeding it up from a sax book. I know you can do it with your diaphragm too although iv never tried it - with lips i think will be easier.
It does work as i teach it to my advanced pupils at school - although it takes a long time to get it fast and even.
Alison

There are sop many different ways of doing vibrato on brass, you can either use your lips either as suggested by using the bottom bit of your lip, or by using the corners of you mouth almost producing a lip trill, or by using the diapragm and either moving your bottom jaw slighly, or some people will actually wobble the trumpet slightly to produce the vibrato - you just need to keep trying untill you find the way that you find easiest and suits you,
Yes you can be taught how to do it - but then you develope it in to your own way or technique.



It would have been easier to ask his teacher - if he likes the way the teacher produces it then ask the teacher how he does it. Thats wat teachers are for!
Its difficult to give good advice with out knowing the full situation, one simple way of doing things for me could easily cause problems for some one else.
I don't think any one was undermining anyones confidence.

I use two different ways. On flute I use the diaphragm, which I then tried on cornet, but then I noticed that a friend, who is a superb cornetist, wobbles his chin. I found it hard at first, but now find it easier on brass than using the diaphragm. Must admit, I thought there was a hard and fast rule of doing it, but by reading the above threads, I feel a bit easier now