Advanced Oboe Students, Step Three – Vibrato

Playing with vibrato is a major part of advanced oboe performance. Historically, oboists have always taken pride in the vibrato technique. The vibrato on the oboe like the violin gives the tone a much sweeter and passionate sound that is very appealing to the listener. Observing string player vibrato is very helpful because you can see the vibrato in motion. The fingers on the left hand are rolling back and forth at a specific rate of speed to produce the desired result. Many oboists try to refine their vibrato by listening to various singers and selecting the vibrato they like best. The width and speed of the vibrato are two aspects of this skill that needs to be controlled at will depending on the style of music you are performing.

Playing on just the reed with faster and slower air speed to vibrate the reed causes the pitch to slide up or sharper and down or flatter. You can control the rate of the vibrato (sliding the sound up and down) in groups of three, four, or six beats per measure. In the beginning three slides or undulations per beat works best. As you practice your vibrato, you will notice that there is a slide whistle-type effect. You can experiment by making the sound go extremely low and extremely high by the speed of the air you are blowing into the reed.

As you become more comfortable undulating the sound (sliding the pitch up and down) try the same on the oboe. Playing the Bb scale slowly with all vibrato notes is a good place to start. Keep the beat slow and the vibrato wide and in a rhythm of three undulations per beat. Next play the Bb scale in whole notes. Now you are undulating the pitch three times per beat with each not receiving four beats.

Be sure not to use your jaw to create the vibrato. Also, do not slide your lips up and down on the reed to create the vibrato.
Have others listen to your vibrato. Listen to other talented students in you school perform with vibrato. Advanced flutists, strings, saxophones, brass players and singers all develop a good vibrato during their high school years

Be patient in developing your vibrato. When you are passionate about developing a good vibrato on the oboe you will be surprised how well you can develop this skill with lots of practice and good coaching from your teacher. For professional oboists a good vibrato is a lifetime pursuit and always a work in progress.
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