Posted by Rick Denney on August 25, 2000 at 09:46:07:
In Reply to: Re: Vibrato posted by Jay Bertolet on August 25, 2000 at 06:33:53:
I'm glad to hear Jay confirm my own views--I've always wondered at my inability to do a vibrato by breath control. I was always awe-struck my Michael Sanders's ability to get a beautiful vibrato without moving his jaw. He said, very plausibly, that flute players do it that way, so why not tubists? But I can't pull it off. I also worried that my vibrato was a bit too slow, but Jay's description is comforting there, too.
But I've just had a revelation about the jaw vibrato. It always worked nicely on my F tuba, but I always had difficulty with it on my Miraphone. When the York came to me last month, the jaw vibrato was so easy it happened almost by itself. I've tried to figure out the reason, and I think that it's because the York's mouthpipe aims down slightly compared to the Miraphone, which provides a better fit to my natural overbite and more freedom to my jaw. It's also solved the problem I'd have on the Miraphone after playing a bunch of low stuff: cramps and fatigue in my jaw muscles.
So, if jaw vibrato seems to be really difficult, see if a change in the alignment of the horn doesn't help.
Rick "good vibes" Denney