Mastering Vocal Vibrato: The Science of Production and Perception

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