People talk about vibrato being a thing that happens naturally but I have always gone out of my way to sing notes straight. Vibrato doesn't come naturally to me unless I choose to use it. Am I forcing vibrato too soon or is it something I should work at achieving?
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"Am I forcing vibrato too soon or is it something I should work at achieving?" As a violin teacher (perhaps predictably, as a baroque specialist), I often teach my students vibrato much later than many other teachers. Yes, it's an important skill to have. No, in my opinion, there's no hurry, unless you have an urgent need for it. It's definitely easier to work on precise intonation without it.– Andy BonnerOct 2, 2021 at 21:44
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2 Answers
If you can turn your vibrato on and off at will, then that's great. Not everybody can do that, so you have the best of both worlds.
Just make sure your vibrato doesn't sound forced or unnatural (get an expert opinion). You might need to work on controlling your vibrato.
Then all you need to do is decide where vibrato is musically appropriate.
Be in control of your vibrato. It's something you probably should be ABLE to do, when appropriate.
Some singers have a wide, seemingly uncontrollable vibrato. Maybe that is what you were trying to avoid? Others add a little vibrato during the course of a long note. That's a good trick to have available.
Take control. Not much 'just happens' in a performance art.
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1"People talk about vibrato being a thing that happens naturally" -> Esp as an instrumentalist, I think this is just how people talk who haven't really thought through the mechanics of vibrato in detail, or are bad at explaining it :). There's always been a certain (misguided) mystique about vibrato, as if it's something that can't be learned or taught, but you just have to go on some sort of vision quest and hope the muses bop you on the head and endow you with ineffable new powers. Oct 2, 2021 at 21:37