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Re: Vibrato on the clarinet?

Author: SueSmith
Date: 2005-06-27 23:07

Personally, I find some clarinetist know how to use vibrato and some don't - just like some vocalists/string players have great vibrato and some don't. Harold Wright and Artie Shaw are two examples of Clarinetist who - for my taste - knew how to use vibrato. Although the two are from different genre's, both are clarinetists' whose tone and technique are close equivalents to the human voice. In laymans terms - they both "sing" to my ear.

As I've exposed myself to different styles of music and musicians (not just clarinetists) I've begun to appreciate vibrato on clarinet more and more. When its done poorly, its horrible...and, for my taste, if the clarinetist has a heavier tone, vibrato can seem too much to my ear - it almost gets too wide maybe? But again, this is just a personal preference, and you may find Wright's tone too thin and that the vibrato only accentuates this.

Whatever style you prefer is an individual preference. I'd suggest listening to several artists who usually use vibrato and see for yourself what you like or don't like...and the "why's?" of it all.

A short list of classical artists who use vibrato liberally:
Wright
Cohler
Stoltzman
Meyer
(This is just a short list, so I'm sure others on this thread can contribute names)

Also, compare the use of vibrato on Goodman and Shaw recordings...I did this recently and really was surprised how Shaw just blew me away overall. As you can see I've become a recent Artie Shaw convert, but I think with excellent reason!

But, if you don't like vibrato on clarinet at this point in time - don't use it when you play. There are no hard set rules for or against vibrato - just a lot of opinion.

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Vibrato on the clarinet? new

clarinetmaniac101

2005-06-27 08:19