Posted by Richard on August 26, 2000 at 11:32:14:
In Reply to: Vibrato posted by John on August 25, 2000 at 01:11:39:
Very early on, when I was hardly more than an intermediate player, Arnold Jacobs suggested to me in a lesson, "Hey, c'mon - put some vibrato into it." "How do I do THAT?" I asked. "Well," he replied, "have you seen how trumpet players move their hands over their valves while they apply vibrato? Just do that." "Yes," I said, "but how will that kind of motion affect such a large instrument?" "I doesn't really," he answered, "it acts more as a timing device for the nervous system."
I tried it. It worked. To this day, just as Jake always preferred in his pedagogy, I don't know HOW I do vibrato, only that it's part of that "signal from the brain."
I've observed that brass vibrato in other players I've admired, Jacobs, Gene Pokorny, Herseth, John Fletcher, to name only a FEW, vibrato seems more a matter of color and warmth, rather than pitch or volume, wherever it comes from or how it is achieved.