Klarinet Archive - Posting 000226.txt from 1994/02

From: "Jay Heiser, Product Manager, Govt Systems" <jayh@-----.COM>
Subj: Michael Favreau's diaphragm vibrato
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 1994 10:16:59 -0500

-->From sco.sco.com!vtbit.cc.vt.edu!vccscent.bitnet!klarinet Thu Feb 17 07:52:27
1994
-->Date: Thu, 17 Feb 1994 04:41:27 -0800
-->Reply-To: leeson@-----.edu
-->Sender: Klarinet - Clarinettist's Network
<KLARINET%VCCSCENT.BITNET@-----.EDU>
-->From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
-->Subject: Michael Favreau's diaphragm vibrato
-->Comments: To: klarinet%vccscent@-----.edu
-->To: Multiple recipients of list KLARINET
<KLARINET%VCCSCENT.BITNET@-----.EDU>
-->Message-ID: <9402170500.aa22489@-----.COM>
-->
-->Michael says that he uses lip vibrato on saxophone but finds this
-->impractical on certain other instruments so he switches to
-->diaphragm vibrato for those.
-->
-->Michael, enlighten me: lip (or more precisely, jaw) vibrato causes
-->slight but subtle changes of pitch on a saxophone or clarinet.
-->
-->How does diaphragm vibrato achieve this same end on other instruments;
-->i.e., what in the mechanics of diaphragm vibrato causes pitch
-->alteration of any kind?

You'd have to put a scope on it to really analyze what happens
to the sound, but let me take a stab at what happens with flute
vibrato:

First, its not practical to use anything in your face (lips,jaws,
etc). Lip & jaw position relative to the tone hole is used to
adjust intonation, but not for vibrato. Vibrato is created by
something below your face. Its commonly referred to as 'diaphragm',
but I'm prepared to accept that other muscles come into play.
It feels like something is happening around the area of the solar
plexus. Its possible that throat muscles contribute, but I
believe that any movement in the throat is probably a passive
response to something lower in the respiratory tract.

The speed of the air blowing over the tonehole does effect
intonation. Creating pulses in the air flow then would cause
minor pulses in pitch. I'd never really thought about it before,
but I think that flute vibrato includes both pitch and volume change.

Doesn't vocal vibrato also involve a pulsation in both volume
and pitch?
======================================
Garden Status:
Started pruning the grapes.
Getting the courage up to prune my
fruit trees (I'm a virgin)