Vibrato is the small, even wave you hear in a long note sung by a free, easy voice. The pitch rises and falls a little, several times a second, and the note sounds warm and alive instead of fixed. It isn't a trick you add on top. In most singers it grows by itself once the note underneath is easy, the breath is steady and nothing in the throat is holding on.
That's why this guide spends more time on the easy note than on the wave. You can steer a wave on purpose to learn what it feels like, but the vibrato you want in the end is the one you stop steering.
What vibrato is, and what it isn't
A vibrato is a regular wave in pitch. In trained voices it usually goes round about five to seven times a second, and it stays fairly small: in classical singers about half a semitone to a semitone either side, less in lighter styles, and the ear hears one clear pitch in the middle of it.
Two sounds get confused with it:
- A wobble is slower and wider. The pitch swings so far and so slowly that you hear the note going up and down, rather than one note with life in it. Teachers often link it to pushing more air or weight than the note needs, or to a tired voice.
- A bleat, sometimes called a tremolo, is very fast and narrow, almost a flutter. Teachers usually link it to tension around the throat or jaw.
And the opposite of vibrato is a straight tone: one calm, steady line with no wave at all. It's not a lesser sound. Many choirs, early-music singers and folk singers use it on purpose, because straight notes let a chord ring clearly.
Train your ear before your voice. Listen to singers you like and notice: on the long notes, is there a wave? Is it quick and small, or slow and wide? Does it start straight away, or a moment into the note?
Start with the easy note
Vibrato grows from a note that's easy. Before any wave, find that note.
- Sigh into it. Let out a relieved sigh on "ah", and let it turn into a held note at the end. That's the feeling: open, unforced, no squeeze.
- Medium volume. Not quiet and breathy, never loud. A note that's too quiet has no steady air under it; one that's too loud is usually pushed.
- Keep your jaw still. Rest a fingertip on your chin as you hold the note. It shouldn't move. A wave made with the jaw or the tongue isn't a vibrato, and it tires you.
- In the middle of your voice. Not your highest notes, not your lowest. Vibrato is easiest where your voice is most comfortable.
Hold that easy note for a few seconds, a few times. If your throat feels tight or tickly, stop and rest.
Exercise 1: swing your voice
Now feel a wave on purpose, very gently. On a soft hum or "oo", make tiny slurs a little above and below your note: up, down, up, down. Start slow, about two a second, and keep each swing the same size.
- Keep your jaw and your belly still. The movement is small and inside the voice.
- Then speed up a little, to three a second and four, and make the swings smaller as they get quicker. Quicker, never harder.
- Then stop steering and simply hold one easy note. Notice what the voice does on its own.
This is a practice tool, not the goal. It teaches your voice what moving freely around a note feels like.
Exercise 2: smaller, then let it go
A natural vibrato is small. Keep the swing at about four a second and shrink it until it's barely a wave. Think smaller, not tighter: if your throat starts to work, go back to the easy note.
Then, while the small wave is going, stop steering it. Keep the note going and let it settle by itself. Some voices keep a gentle wave; some settle into a calm straight tone. Both are fine. Don't chase the wave: if it isn't there yet, the easy note is still doing its work, and a vibrato can take weeks to come, once the breath and the throat are relaxed enough to let it.
Exercise 3: straight, then bloom
Many singers start a long note straight and let the vibrato in a moment later. It's called a delayed vibrato, and it's a lovely way to shape a phrase. It also shows you can choose.
Hold "ah" straight for two calm seconds, then let go and allow a wave in. Don't push it in: just stop holding the note still. Then try it on "oo".
Once that feels natural, choose note by note: one straight, the next with a wave, then straight again.
When to sing straight
Being able to sing straight is as useful as being able to sing with vibrato.
- In a choir or a harmony group, straight notes help chords ring and voices blend, especially in quiet music, early music and barbershop's tuned chords.
- On the starts of notes, a straight beginning makes the pitch clear before any wave comes in.
- In some styles, like a lot of folk and pop, a mostly straight voice with the odd bloom on a long note is the sound.
Try one line both ways: straight like a choir, then free like a folk singer, letting the long notes move.
Singing it safely
- Short sessions: five to ten minutes is plenty.
- Medium volume, in the middle of your voice.
- Stop if anything tightens, tickles or hurts, and don't practise when you're hoarse or ill.
- Never force a wave or shake it from your jaw or throat: vibrato grows by itself from an easy note.
No app can replace a real voice teacher. If you've been singing with a wide wobble for years, or your voice feels strained, a teacher can hear what's going on.
Practise it in Stackapella
The free Vibrato course takes you through this step by step, with a ribbon that shows your wave as you sing and a guide to follow:
- Swing your voice: tiny slurs on a soft hum, then one easy note.
- The easy long note: the steady, free note vibrato grows from.
- Slow to quicker: a steered wave at two, three and four a second.
- Straight, then bloom: the delayed vibrato.
- Your vibrato: three long notes, and what your voice does by itself.
The free voice tuner draws your pitch over time, so you can see the wave in a long note.