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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000089.txt from 2004/06
From: David Lurie <david.lurie@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Vibrato, Sindbad et Thousand Night &
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 15:23:44 -0400
Hi Sameer
Let me give a slightly different interpretation of what's going on here,
which will no doubt introduce a lot of controversy in the discussion, but
which I think should be said, and which of course will take the whole
discussion out of politics, which some object to. There is a very complex
set of issues here having to do not only with physiology and techniques of
playing, but also a different philosophical approach to playing the oboe.
My perspective is a bit different from what you and Rhondda have been saying.
First, I'll state where I"m coming from is based on what I learned from my
teacher Robert Sprenkle, which seems to be very different from what you are
saying about vibrato coming in almost naturally. I don't think it does just
appear in the tone, without a conscious effort to induce it and make it
part of the tone. Furthermore, vibrato is independent of "airspeed" and
embouchure.
You can - or I can anyway - play in any register with or without vibrato -
which I do as Rhondda said so expressively by wiggling part of my anatomy.
I can wiggle it and produce a vibrato, or else not wiggle it and not
produce a vibrato. Totally a matter of choice. But the vibrato does not
come naturally. It has to be induced. My guess is that if you feel it just
coming on all by itself - you are actually doing something to the airstream
- like wiggling your throat for example, or making the throat somehow
influence the tone. That is the most likely thing. The problem I have with
throat vibrato is that it usually is of the nanny goat variety - too fast
and too shallow. as well as uncontrollable for frequency and amplitude.-
meaning you can't vary its speed or wideness very well. But to make the
diaphragm wiggle requires a deliberate conscious effort that is not
anything that comes "naturally" but has to be practiced.
Now you say "I think it IS the balance between airspeed and emboucher that
effects vibrato,.but the question is, how can one maintaine such balance as
we go up higher in notes which requires stronger air flow and tighter
emboucher as opposed to a relaxed emboucher and weaker air flow on lower
notes?"
First, yes you may have to blow harder when playing in the upper register,
in order to make it feel supported. But I don't believe you have to make
the embouchure tighter. Maybe take in a little more reed, if the pitch is
low up there, IOW have an embouchure flexible enough to draw the reed
inside the mouth just a tiny bit - enough to bring the pitch up if it is
slightly low. But to make the embouchure "tighter" sounds to me more like
biting - which is a definite no no, AFAIC. But this has nothing whatsoever
to do with putting a vibrato into the tone. The vibrato could either be
there or not be there, depending on how you produce it, and whether or not
you want to put it there.
Then you also say: "Last question, did you think about it as you learned
the oboe and it just happened all by itself?". My reply is that I don't
think vibrato ever happens all by itself, at least not a vibrato produced
by wiggling the diaphragm. That kind of vibrato has to be learned and
consciously and deliberately induced into the tone if it is wanted. A
throat vibrato on the other hand, can and does appear by itself, and
easily. But IMO, that kind of vibrato has a number of unacceptable
characteristics. So my personal opinion is to shun it.
David Lurie
At 03:18 AM 6/13/2004, you wrote:
>Rhonda,
>
>Yes I do get my best vibrato on the D (4th line). IN fact it was the
>first note i ever got vibrato on. 2nd F however is still not a great success.
>
>I noticed that if I play a specific note quite alot I develope a good
>vibrato on it. I have this Arabic warm up exercise that consists of long
>notes mostly D. I noticed time after time the note (D) was resonating
>better and better everytime.
>Recently I started this other Arabic style Thousand Night and a Night
>melody which focuses on the note A. The same thing happened here as well.
>
>I think it IS the balance between airspeed and emboucher that effects
>vibrato, but the question is, how can one maintaine such balance as we go
>up higher in notes which requires stronger air flow and tighter emboucher
>as opposed to a relaxed emboucher and weaker air flow on lower notes?
>
>Last question, did you think about it as you learned the oboe and it just
>happened all by itself?
>
>
>
>Sameer Al-Abdullah
>
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>
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