Vibrato is an essential
expressive element of the saxophone sound, and is a concept that can
and should be taught to all intermediate and advanced high school students,
and perhaps even very advanced junior high school students. However,
teachers should ensure when instructing a student to use vibrato that
he or she has the basic mechanics of the horn well established, is
already producing a pleasing sound, and can play relatively well in
tune. In other words, it should not be used to mask deficiencies
in tone quality or intonation!
Vibrato on the saxophone is accomplished by very slight up-and-down motions
with the jaw, not with the diaphragm or the throat as on various other wind
instruments. This motion should not be visually perceptible, but when
first teaching vibrato, it is important to allow the student to overdo these
movements. He or she will likely not be accustomed to moving the jaw
and exaggerating it will more quickly teach the proper action for producing
vibrato. Below are several exercises that will introduce the mechanics
required.
Before attempting vibrato on the horn, we must discover how to produce it. Have
your student say the following syllables: “wa-wa-wa” and “ya-ya-ya,” overdoing
the jaw movements. Both of these syllables produce the correct jaw motion,
but beware that the latter also has a tongue motion that accompanies it. We
do NOT want the tongue to be used in the vibrato, only the jaw. Another
very good teaching tool is to gently chew on the lower lip, first without the
mouthpiece in the mouth, and then with it in playing position.
Once these preliminary exercises have been accomplished, it is time to attempt
them on the saxophone. Have your student pick a note in a comfortable
range (third space C works well), start the pitch with a straight tone, and
then begin moving the jaw using as a model one of the above examples. Do
not practice with any rhythm or meter in mind, and again, it is important to
overdo the motion at first.
When your student is somewhat comfortable moving the jaw while playing, then
he or she can begin to practice the vibrato in a rhythmic context. Set
a metronome at 60 beats per minute, and play a long tone with one undulation
per beat; increase this to two undulations per beat (eighth notes), then three
(triplets) and four (sixteenths). Gradually increase the tempo, ultimately
reaching a goal of producing sixteenth notes at a metronome marking of 80-90. Subsequent
practice should utilize scales, playing each scale degree as a whole note and
using vibrato on each pitch. Then change the note values to half notes, then
quarters, etc. This will allow one to work for a seamless transition
with the vibrato from one note to the next. Further practice could include
playing one note with vibrato and the next without; or, playing one note with
two undulations, the next with three, the next with one, and so on. These
exercises will increase flexibility with the vibrato, so it is not simply “on” or “off.”
You will find that introducing the element of vibrato adds a great deal of
personality and musicality to your saxophonists. Again, it is important
that one has the basics of the horn (a good embouchure, proper air support,
and good finger technique) well established before introducing the concept. By
the same token, an advanced student who does not use vibrato should certainly
be taught to use this expressive device. It is also important to realize
that a saxophonist who can play with vibrato does not have to use it all of
the time. It is certainly acceptable, and sometimes necessary, to play
passages non-vibrato. Finally, a truly musical vibrato is not metered
but should be very free and might be best characterized as a “spinning” sound;
using a metronome and purposefully measuring it is for practice only.