Mastering Vocal Vibrato: The Science of Production and Perception
Tuesday 24th June 2025, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
Vocal Vibrato: Production and Perception
Is vocal vibrato something that can and should be consciously controlled? What makes a ‘good vibrato’ and is there such a thing as ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ vibrato? Vibrato is a common musical feature, and yet it remains a controversial topic amongst pedagogues and singers.
In this session you will learn how vocal vibrato is produced and its acoustic properties. The history of vocal vibrato will be briefly explored, alongside current theories of vibrato production and how it is perceived. We will consider how vibrato has been studied and ways it can be analysed, revealing how vibrato is utilised in different contexts and in different musical genres to achieve different goals. In particular, different performance environments can impact vibrato, it can become an acoustic necessity, but also utilised as a stylistic tool. All these factors also change how we perceive vibrato, which can even influence our perception of tuning. The extent to which vibrato characteristics are a defining feature of an individual’s voice or a learned and controllable artistic tool will be considered in the context of how parameters of ‘good’ vibrato, including its regularity and extent have been identified and might be challenged. Ongoing research into the potential adaptation of vibrato when multiple singers ‘blend’ together will be shown with a discussion of how this might shed more light on our understanding of vibrato as a fundamental and powerful feature of the singing voice.
🏷️ Price £30 (UK VAT inclusive)
🎥 Recording automatically sent to all who book (even if you cannot attend live)
▶️ Rewatch as many times as you like
📜 Certificate of attendance available
Professor Helena Daffern
Helena is currently a Professor in Music Technology in the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology. She completed her PhD in Music Technology in the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology at the University of York in 2008 and obtained a Masters degree in singing performance from the University of York before training as a postgraduate at Trinity College of Music.
Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.
Learn MoreSorry, this is an archived short course...
We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.
Wednesday 4th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 11th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 18th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 25th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 1st April 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 8th April 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
(London Time)
Learn to Coach RP and SSBE – a Certificate in Accent Coaching
Louisa Morgan
This six-week course is an opportunity to learn about both Received Pronunciation and Standard Southern British English. Rather than a course in learning how to speak RP/SSBE (there are many brilliant available courses for this already), this course is about learning how to coach it.
Tuesday 17th March 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
The Use of Vibrato in Belt and Legit Styles of Singing in Professional Female Musical Theatre Performers
Dr. Alyssa Becker
Shaped by the popular music of its time, musical theatre blends storytelling with an ever-evolving range of vocal styles—from classical legit singing to jazz, hip-hop, and powerhouse belting. Despite its importance, much of what we understand about vibrato comes from laboratory-based studies that strip singing of its musical, stylistic, and performance context. Join Dr Alyssa Becker as she connects current research with real-world pedagogy, revealing how elite musical theatre performers strategically use vibrato to shape style and storytelling, and showing how these insights can be applied in the voice studio to train stylistic flexibility and control!
Wednesday 18th March 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Facilitating Jaw Release Through Improved Habits of Stance and Alignment
Ruth Williams Hennessy
Are you a singer or speaker struggling with stubborn jaw tension that just won't quit? Even with elite training, the "stuck" jaw is often a symptom of a surprising culprit: your feet! Join Ruth Hennessy in this interactive workshop where she bridges the gap between podiatry and phonation, moving beyond "temporary fixes" to address the physical misalignments that bottleneck your performance.