Violin Matters - OPEN STRING VIBRATO in VIOLIN

Violin Matters

OPEN STRING VIBRATO

Open string vibrato is useful in some of the selected areas of violin playing.

The usual string vibrato where the finger is placed just below the note and moved to the correct note – back and forth is based on frequency modulation.

The open string vibrato is based not on the frequency change as there vibrato finger is not on the string involved. It works by amplitude modulation

There are mainly three techniques for doing vibrato on the open strings. They are:

1)      If you wish to do G open string vibrato, place your third finger on the D string (G note) and do the vibrato on the third finger, but play the open G string. This is with the note one octave note higher doing vibrato. You can also do this technique for G, D and A strings vibratos       

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8PXrnHIasQ

2)      You can also do the open string on D, A and E vibrato with the fourth finger on the lower string and do the vibrato in a similar manner. Here the note is the same but the vibrato is on the lower string.
                     www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_Yxg_qo7NA

3)      Last method is to do any of the  four strings – namely G,D,A or E by playing the open string, but vibrato with the wrist in the air ( without touching any note) 
                      www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA6o25OkJ-o

4)      There is a fourth vibrato – ‘ the bow vibrato‘ from the 16^th century. It is demonstrated by the shaking of the bow in the direction of the bowing (up or down) in the same direction. It was described in the 16^th century by Ganassi in 'Rigola Rubertina' when vibrato was introduced in Renaissance music as a musical ornament. It sounds like a stammer – not a tremolo where the bow alters direction. It is at present, an uncommon bowing technique.

In general the overtone sound effect is similar to the bowed vibrato, though the intensity is reduced due to the sympathetic vibrations. The character of the open string vibrato can be altered by the type of open string bowing and the type of the vibrato on the adjacent string - rapid or slow.