I'm disappointed with my vibrato. I always thought that by this stage in playing (post G8) it would be great- expressive, easy and natural but it just isn't and I don't know how to make it better.
It's fine on it's own, often sounds quite good in fact but when it comes to using it in music it's just not good enough. I feel like a vibrato exercise expert, and can change speed, intensity, arm/finger/hand, no problem, when I'm doing it in isolation, but give me a tune to put it in and it usually goes horribly stilted and unpleasant. Where am I going wrong?

I can't answer that - only just starting vibrato, but with my teacher if I'm struggling with something in a "hard" piece we'll practice the technique in a simple piece until it becomes comfortable, so what I'd try is:-
Play some vibrato, get relaxed, get a good tone, then add another note. Then play vibrato + note until that feels natural and relaxed. Then add another note, maybe a note before the vibrato (note + vibrato + note) and so on gradually making up a simple tune(or choose a simple tune).

Also teacher would be wanting me to hear the sound and feel the emotion I want before playing it. So you could try that.

You probably know this stuff already. . .

I have this problem also
I daily do exercises - slow wide vibrato keeping your wrist and arm COMPLETELY free (free-er than you would if you were actually playing, completely floppy tensionless) and i also do slow vibrato in different rhythms (always keeping your hand and wrist loose) so you learn to gain control over it.
My teacher has said my vibrato is improving a lot, and finally now (i've been doing these exercises for months and months) i'm hearing a difference!

Hi ffliwt: do you have any more detail on your vibrato exercises? Are they written down anywhere? How long do you do them every day? Do you use a metronome to keep in time?

(I am at a similar level to inigo and have similar issues with my vibrato!)

Simon Fischer's Basics has a very good section on vibrato.

I LOVE that smiley!

W

(......know any quartets like that?)

Sometimes i use a metronome sometimes just keep a strong pulse in my head - sometimes its good to even not think about it. My vibrato problems were mostly caused by tension and my hand not being free so therefore i didnt have control over it and my hand would seize up, it'd be fast and tight and uncontrolled and yucky!! Still often is but it's improving
I usually use the a string as i find it most comfortable, i just play 1st finger with vibrato in crotchets for one bow, then quavers for the next bow, then triplets, then semiquavers so each one gets faster. then do your other fingers. sometimes i just find something that feels comfortable eg. 3rd finger on the a string and just do random vibrato with my hand as loose and free as possible. then i move up to 3rd position and do all 4 fingers up there
it only takes a couple of minutes if that

Thanks ffliwt - will try that a bit more often..

Thanks for the helpful replies; to be honest I have and do use all these methods and have done so for quite a while. I guess there is no magic answer except to keep at it. I think the tension is such a deep rooted habit that it's really hard to lose it the moment I stop trying to - maybe I should down a couple of pints before practicing?

It doesn't really help, but my sister had similar issues (vibrato being too tight/tense) until a year or so ago and her solution was to start from scratch and relearn vibrato Her playing level was far less advanced though, and knowing her and her teacher I doubt she had nearly as much control over it. She could only do an arm vibrato before, so she decided to "start over" with the wrist and now has a much nicer wrist vibrato...