Finger Vibrato exercises.

[Rusco]

Does anybody do any specific exercises to improve finger vibrato speed? I'm left handed but play right handed which is fine most of the time. I play piano so my right hand is fairly nimble. However, when doing finger vibrato on slow airs, particularly with my weaker right hand, I don't yet have the dexterity. I am trying to dedicate a bit of my practice time to just this but I wondered if anyone used any particular exercises.

Thx a million.

[hpinson]

Maybe someone can clarify this. I was under the impression that vibrato on the flute came from pulsating controlled breath, not the fingers? If there is a technique of vibrato from the fingers, can anyone point to an example. Not talking about a trill.

[Peter Duggan]

Normally from the fingers in trad flute (like whistle). But no need for 'speed' exercises when speed can vary and there's no point cultivating a high-speed vibrato for its own sake. What you need is control more than speed as such.

[benhall.1]

Normally from the fingers in trad flute (like whistle). But no need for 'speed' exercises when speed can vary and there's no point cultivating a high-speed vibrato for its own sake. What you need is control more than speed as such.

Need a like button. Again.

Breath pulsing vibrato is used by Irish flute players, but, in my experience, is used sparingly and more as an ornament than the way it is used in classical flute playing, where it is used more or less constantly. Finger vibrato is a different sort of ornament, and I would say that's it's a fair bit more common than breath vibrato.

Here's a very young looking Conor Byrne playing plenty of finger vibrato. You can hear it in quite a few places in the air, but perhaps most clearly where you can also see it, around 1'30''

[hpinson]

Ok. I had always heard that called a fast trill. Understand now what is being asked here. Thanks.

[benhall.1]

Ok. I had always heard that called a fast trill. Understand now what is being asked here. Thanks.

It's not a trill. A trill would mean playing two, usually adjacent, notes in rapid alternation. Finger vibrato involves hitting a finger hole at least two away from the note being played (ie with at least a one hole 'gap').

[Peter Duggan]

Finger vibrato involves hitting a finger hole at least two away from the note being played (ie with at least a one hole 'gap').

Or shading/partially covering a closer one (i.e. the first open hole). Or two or three at whatever distance so long as the pitch difference created is still, let's say, microtonal...

And we could also be pedantic and argue that the note being played is coming from the first open hole and not from the finger covering the hole above!

[jim stone]

I offer this in the spirit of FWIW, as I'm still not entirely at home
with finger vibrato. I practice by deciding how many finger strikes
I will use, e.g. three is typical. Then I do them slowly, then faster.

Maybe worth noting that it's nowhere written that one must use
vibrato at all, so if you are just starting, it's OK to leave it for later.

[Rusco]

Thanks for the tips

[Rusco]

I offer this in the spirit of FWIW, as I'm still not entirely at home
with finger vibrato. I practice by deciding how many finger strikes
I will use, e.g. three is typical. Then I do them slowly, then faster.

Maybe worth noting that it's nowhere written that one must use
vibrato at all, so if you are just starting, it's OK to leave it for later.

Thanks Jim, I'll try that. Good idea. I'm fairly new to flute. Been playing for about a year and a half I guess. I'm just trying to work on all aspects from the start. I actually really like the sound when it's used well.

[JCortese]

Coming at this problem as a pianist, I tend to think Taubman technique, which relies a lot on using rotational movements in the forearm to accomplish things instead of doing quite so much by lifting the fingers individually up and down. It has its detractors (there are flat-earthers, for pete's sake -- everything has its detractors), but it does tend to work well and minimize tension.

When you work on finger vibrato, don't think of it so much as lifting the finger up and down and up and down quickly, especially individually apart from all the other fingers. The hand doesn't really like to work that way as well. Think of it instead of rotating the hand like you're opening a doorknob. Brace the fingers that you need to keep down, and think of making a subtle little rotating movement with your forearm to get that other finger to flutter on its hole. If you don't need to keep ANY fingers down on the hand that's doing the vibrato, then you can just do the rotation without having to worry about stabilizing the other fingers.

[Brus]

Here's a very young looking Conor Byrne playing plenty of finger vibrato. You can hear it in quite a few places in the air, but perhaps most clearly where you can also see it, around 1'30''

His left hand looks incredibly tense!

[Rusco]

That Conor Byrne video is great. Thanks for posting it. That's exactly the technique I mean. I guess it just takes time and a lot of finger wiggling practice. As for the rotation technique, that's interesting. I'll try to incorporate that. It may be difficult using the pinky finger as an anchor point. Looking at the Conor Byrne video makes me wish I'd started when I was a lad. Oh well, onwards and upwards. Thanks for taking the time to reply guys.

[benhall.1]

Coming at this problem as a pianist, I tend to think Taubman technique, which relies a lot on using rotational movements in the forearm to accomplish things instead of doing quite so much by lifting the fingers individually up and down. It has its detractors (there are flat-earthers, for pete's sake -- everything has its detractors), but it does tend to work well and minimize tension.

When you work on finger vibrato, don't think of it so much as lifting the finger up and down and up and down quickly, especially individually apart from all the other fingers. The hand doesn't really like to work that way as well. Think of it instead of rotating the hand like you're opening a doorknob. Brace the fingers that you need to keep down, and think of making a subtle little rotating movement with your forearm to get that other finger to flutter on its hole. If you don't need to keep ANY fingers down on the hand that's doing the vibrato, then you can just do the rotation without having to worry about stabilizing the other fingers.

I've never done it as a rotation of the hand or wrist. That seems odd. It's easy enough just to move your fingers up and down. More natural, too.

[Peter Duggan]

That seems odd.

Agreed.

More natural, too.

And again.