I was wondering if any of you string teachers out there would be prepared to share how you teach vibrato. I am first and foremost a piano teacher, but I also teach violin, and this is something that I have always found difficult. I think that one of the main reasons is that I can't ever remember being taught how to do vibrato myself - I just kind of "picked it up" on my own. With my own students, I have in the past used a book called "Viva Vibrato" but with mixed and unreliable results. I would be most greatful if any of you would share your experiences.

I'm not a teacher, but my own teacher put me on to Simon Fischer's "Basics". I found his section on vibrato excellent (the rest of the book too)

Like you, ma non troppo, I don't find Viva Vibrato helpful. I haven't checked out Simon Fischer's section on vibrato, but it's an excellent book so I'm sure what he says is sound.

I teach it like this:-

Make sure that the left arm is free and relaxed. If necessary, try some simple warm-up exercises to release tension.
Slide the 3rd finger up and down the string - big slides, as if "polishing" the string. Keep the arm, wrist and hand acting as a unit. Remember that the thumb must be relaxed, not clamping tightly, and the side of the hand not in contact with the neck.
Pull the action smaller, by degrees, always maintaining the same movement, finally anchoring the finger in one place, but maintaining the same motion. Watch that at this point it doesn't change to wrist vibrato.
Keep the vibrato slow to begin with to promote good control and to consolidate the movement. Try four oscillations per bow, then increase to six, eight, twelve, etc. Vibrato must always be controlled, so establish a rhythm, ensuring that it is always kept even, then gradually speed up.
If extra support is needed, rest the scroll against a wall.
Teach second finger after third, followed by fourth and finally first. This ensures that a good hand position is maintained at all times.

I find that some students pick it up almost immediately, whilst other take considerably longer.

Hope this helps.

When I was studying violin as a teenager I pressed the scroll of the violin on the mattresse of my bed to support it. My hand was then free to practice vibrato on the strings without the need to hold the violin up.

I don`t think I`ve explained this very well, but hope it helps!

Maybe also visit

www.chamberhymns.com which is a vault for muscians, particularly violinists. There are vidoes on technique, and I`m sure there`s a demonstration on vibrato.

Some very useful tips there, thank you. I already try the string polishing thing. I hadn't thought of resting the scroll against a wall before for the extra support but I am going to try it - I find that students' bowing tends to go haywire when they first try vibrato and perhaps this may help.