Vibrato?

Recently, a conductor of mine pointed me out and said;

 "Increase the frequency of your vibrato, it'll lessen the brightness of the pitch."

To which I thought 'How the hell do I do that...'

After asking my fellow music peers, and with no success I've turned to research. 

As I've learned through these numerous sites (they'll be posted below, so go check them out!) that vibrato is caused by the free oscillation of the vocal cords. 

This can be caused by :

• an open pharynx or what many call the "open throat" along with healthy "closure of the cords" 
•  the even sub-glottic breath pressure. This is regulated by the "support system" which involves the abdominal muscles, lower lumbar/upper gludial muscles, intercostal muscles and pectoral muscles. 

Natural vibrato will appear over a short period of time. It's dependent on the singer's mind/body coordination! With good technique, training and "embracing the process", one can develop a healthy vibrato in due time. Just be patient! 

While continuing this study, I stumbled across vibrato problems and the different kinds of unhealthy vibrato.  

1. The Vocal Wobble:  We have all heard singers that have a wide and slow vibrato. If a singer has a wide vibrato, it us usually caused by a lack of proper "resistance of the breath pressure" or a lack of "focus in the tone". It can also be a result of a lack of proper adduction of the vocal cords. One or all of these problems create a sound that our culture defines as "age in the voice". 
2. The Overly-Fast Vibrato: Some singers have an overly fast vibrato that can be as disconcerting as the wobble. Neither the wobble nor the fast-vibrato is the desired vocal sound for healthy singing. A fast-vibrato can be caused by a number of vocal situations. (1) Pressure at the root of the tongue. This pressure at the root of the tongue can have its origin at inhalation or at the attack or onset of sound. (2) Lack of vocal cord approximation: Many singers who do not quite understand that the vocal cords must close after inhalation. This lack of proper adduction of the cords can result in a faster vibrato speed. If the vocal cords do not approximate closely enough, the vibrato can become faster depending upon the size and shape of the vocal cords themselves. (3) Lack of support is another cause of this vocal problem. Most of us have heard singers with definite vibrato problems and we have experienced singers with healthy vibrato. One key factor in attaining a healthy sound is to be sure that the vibrato is vibrating at an even rate. An uneven vibrato can be caused by sudden changes in the sub-glottic breath pressure. This is caused by a lack of even "body resistance" or support in the body. The vocal cords then begin to separate and vibrate unhealthily. The result is an uneven vibrato sometimes accompanied by pitch problems. The fast vibrato is less noticeable if the rate of vibrato is even rather than sporadic.
3.  The Straight Tone: Singers with straight tone (no vibrato)are often not aware of vibrato or how it is developed in the voice. Some straight tone singers have sung in choirs where the director has demanded straight tone. This is potentially a damaging circumstance. Straight tone singing is extremely unhealthy for the voice. Vocal nodules can result from such vocal production because of too much pressure held at the glottis to prevent vibrato from occurring in the tone. Choral blend is developed through vowel and acoustical alignment, not squeezing the voice into straight tone sound. The proper vowel and acoustical alignment can create a beautiful vocal blend. Most straight tone singers cannot use the idea of vocal cord closure during the first part of their training because "too much pressure" has been held at the vocal cords for too long a time period.Vibrato comes into the voice when the singer achieves proper balance in the "support muscles" and when the singer keeps the feeling of the "u" vowel in the pharynx. The Italian "u" is a crucial part of a singer's training in order for vibrato to occur. The "u" vowel allows a healthy adduction of the vocal cords without too much pressure at the glottis. It is understandable that this vowel is crucial in the Italian School.The "u" vowel must be produced without the "bunching" of the back of the tongue and with a "high and wide soft palate" in order to be efficient acoustically. The result is beauty and resonance simultaneously.\
4. Diaphragmatic Vibrato: A diaphragmatic vibrato is the pulsating of the diaphragm during a sustained tone to "create" a false vibrato. Music theatre singers develop this damaging vocal habit in order to have some sort of vibrato when none is present in the tone. This is a huge mistake. A diaphragmatic vibrato is difficult to repair because the lower abdominal muscles memorize the pulsating sensation so deeply. This situation can be repaired with lots of time and hard work. 
5.  The role of the vocal trill: In some cases, a singer can begin to awaken the vibrato function by using a trill. A trill is an educated yodel at the vocal cords that may or may not be easy for a singer to produce. Some connect with this idea and begin to release the "over-squeezing" of the vocal cords, therefore allowing for the development of a vibrato.

There are many different types of issues that come along with these poor uses of vibrato, but hopefully that with much care and observation, you'll be able to avoid them! 

Gotta thank http://www.voiceteacher.com/vibrato.html  for all it's knowledge for this post!

Until next time, 

Tessa