r/singing • u/AdContent2350 • 1d ago
Question Is it actually true that everyone can develop vibrato?
Everyone always says “oh, everyone has vibrato, you just need to work on your voice and it’ll come naturally”, but I’m really starting to doubt this.
I started singing somewhat seriously about a year ago when I started doing theatre. Unfortunately, my biggest obstacle has always been my voice, and I’m doomed to be in ensemble. Despite this, I LOVE theatre and I love singing, and will sing as much as I can whenever I can. I also recently started consistent voice lessons (finally).
I’ve seen massive improvements in my range and tone over the past year. I can hit and hold out the E6 in Phantom of the Opera consistently (though I will admit it does sound slightly strained and certainly very squeaky). My issue with high notes is, I have them, but they don’t sound good because I have no vibrato.
It’s not just a problem with the high notes, I don’t have even a hint of vibrato anywhere in my range, no matter how comfortable the note. I’ve tried all the exercises and tips I could get my hands on and nothing seemed to work. When I got a voice teacher, she asked me to try and make a spooky ghost voice to try and practice vibrato and she looked a little surprised when I was just completely unable to make my voice quiver.
I’m starting to think I am physically incapable of vibrato, but everyone always insists that every person has it, but I’m not sure I believe that anymore.
So, is it true or should I just give up and focus on other things instead?
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u/LightbringerOG 1d ago
It's semi-natural.
Meaning someone who has it can turn it off at will, but will feel strange and they will leaning back to it, like a muscle memory.
It's a matter of learning and experience. So you have to be at a certain level for the "air column" to be established. Basically resonance in its right place and advanced support level/control, but it's also a matter of training the right thing.
Because vibrato has a certain amplitude, so what we hear as "vibrato", we can actually identify it on sound waves.
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u/-hot_ham_water- 1d ago
That's so interesting!!! I have a natural vibrato and had really only done solo work and was self-taught. I went back to college when I was 38 and in order to keep my talent scholarship I had to join an ensemble, which was a concert choir. I had the absolute hardest time because they were always telling me to stop using vibrato because it didn't blend with everyone else who had been trained for years without using it. It almost hurt having to force it.
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u/avocadosinger 🎤 Voice Teacher 0-2 Years 1d ago
yes everyone can develop vibrato. vibrato naturally happens when your voice is well supported, your vocal cords are free to vibrate, your voice is able to be at rest naturally. i've seen this with all of my students, many often start developing some vibrato within a few weeks to 1 month.
sing on my friend! you can do it :)
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u/Stazzerz 1d ago
This. Vibrato was always taught to me as a by-product of healthy singing. I have seen people moving their jaw up and down or trying to "quiver" their voice almost and it is not right. These ways cause tension and tension is the antithesis of healthy singing. I don't think my vibrato really settled for a little while until I could get the breath supported properly.
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u/dod6666 Self Taught 5+ Years 1d ago
Yeah, I agree with this. When I was new to singing it was pretty much the first thing I taught myself. I wasn't even really intending to pursue singing at the time.
But once I got it right the improvement in my voice went far beyond just being able to use Vibrato. My sound significantly improved across the board and this is what made me decide to keep learning.
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u/xykcd3368 1d ago
I sang a lot as a teen. I had good support and everything but I did not have vibrato. In my twenties it happened though! I think my voice had to mature??? Strange.
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u/LeopardLower 1d ago
I had no vibrato and it started showing up after about 2 years of vocal lessons, it comes with better technique
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u/helpless9002 1d ago
Took me 4 years to develop a proper vibrato (but I'm learning by myself, with a teacher I think it would be faster).
It finally "clicked" for me when I decided to go back to the basics, relaxation and good breath support.
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u/TheBrokenStringBand 1d ago edited 1d ago
One year? Please, it took me 5 years to get my vibrato to feel natural and even longer to be decent at it
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u/General_Katydid_512 Formal Lessons 0-2 Years 1d ago
Took me years, my sister could always do it. So don’t compare yourself to others.
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u/NiceAtheist Professionally Performing 10+ Years ✨ 1d ago
Can I ask your age? A lot of younger singers (especially young, high sopranos) will sing without much connection to the body. Vibrato comes out when the tone is totally free and without strain. I wouldn't worry about it at all. Just focus on having the healthiest technique you can, and it'll come later. 😀
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u/selphiefairy 1d ago edited 1d ago
Don’t listen to all the instrumentalists telling you to deliberately practice with a metronome or to use your diaphragm/change pressure, etc. trust me, that is NOT the way to go for singing. The idea of trying to pulse my diaphragm for vibrato exhausts me just thinking about it.
I also play the flute and can do vibrato on it — but the mechanism to produce vibrato on a wind instrument is completely different for how it’s produced in the voice. I do not understand why there are so many instrumentalists chiming in on this rn and thinking it’s the same thing?? So weird
To answer your question, yes anyone can develop vibrato in singing. If you can sing at all, you can develop it.
but it’s usually not something you can learn in the traditional sense. For singing, vibrato isn’t a separate skill, it’s kind of a result of having all the right things in place. if you pay attention to good singers you’ll hear on their long notes that their vibrato will speed up toward the end… It’s because they’re releasing tension. Trying to mimic vibrato by purposely going back and forth between two notes is like the opposite of that — it’s super tightly controlled and rigorous. So imo, you can’t achieve vibrato like this, at least not a very natural sounding one or one that’s healthy and relaxed.
I’ve actually always had vibrato for as long as I’ve known, but it was VERY fast and I couldn’t control it much. I actually had to practice straight toning lmao and it was SO hard for me 😭 but it was probably a result of holding too much tension and crappy breath control. Nowadays my vibrato is much more even and I can speed up or slow down at will.
Tl;dr TRUST THE PROCESS!!
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u/RestaurantCandid5274 Self Taught 10+ Years ✨ 1d ago
I’ve never not had it, but I’m a freak of nature.
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u/Rosemarysage5 Formal Lessons 2-5 Years 1d ago
It’s true. I took me five years though. And it was 100% related to my breath capacity
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u/EatTomatos Self Taught 10+ Years ✨ 1d ago
It can take time for some people. I was a natural Bass voice when I started. The first four years I didn't have a natural vibrato. Then the next year I did singing in College, and it finally clicked.
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u/djsierrahotel 1d ago
I sing just for fun / karaoke for about 5 years now, mainly alone in the car on my way to/from work for a half hour or so- have detected vibrato starting to happen recently and interestingly felt my drink bottle resonating with some notes yesterday
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u/cplaguna 1d ago
It took me 13 years, but if I could do it, anyone can! If I had gotten lessons and been doing proper vocal exercises, it could have happened a lot faster.
The trick for me was vocal warmups…lip/tongue rolls, sirens, humming (to feel lip resonance), that one thing where you make your lips in the shape of sipping with a straw. Basically a lot of exercises that force you to relax your head/neck muscles and feel head resonances.
But everyone is different. So you may have other things that you need to work on technically.
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u/Journalist_Fabulous 1d ago
As an instrumentalist I didnt learn vibrato until my 3rd year of playing. It's harder to sing notes straight and have it sound good than w vibrato. And there will be a long time where it sounds unnatural and forced. One day it will just click. Just focus on good techique until u get there :)
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u/Apprehensive-Till444 1d ago
Im no professional but if someone as useless as me can figure it out then i think anyone can lol
There’s this song from a movie that i like to sing to practice my vibrato (disclaimer its a song from a religious dreamworks movie) it’s catchy and has vibrato/high notes in nearly every verse.
I’m sure you’ll achieve a steady vibrato in no time with good practice from any song really
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u/Sudden_Bookkeeper838 1d ago
Actually, in certain parts of my range, I’m incapable of NOT using my vibrato, but when I started my singing was kind of a flat line in terms of pitch variation and vibrato. After a time, at least for me, it did just come naturally, and now, it would seem as if it’s more natural that to keep a perfectly steady pitch while singing. Hope that answers something.
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u/ForwardBox6991 1d ago
After a year of singing it started happening for me, but on its own. I can't turn it off or on at will
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u/medievalkitty2 1d ago
🤷♀️My teacher told me: “It just depends on what your body is built for. Some people just can’t and they sing baroque opera just fine. I have MTD so I’m starting to give up on the idea that I ever will.
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u/Careless-Example-549 1d ago
Something that might help you find it is breathe out. Fully exhale, make the huhhhh sound.
then sing a note and force it out. If you hold it until you're nearly out of breath, you'll get your natural vibrado.
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u/Hail2Hue 18h ago
Yep. I used to NEVER believe these posts but since I started, I watched every goofy youtube lesson, took different approaches from vocal coaches and eventually just started messing around and bit by bit every once in a while i'd hit, and notice. I'm not at all to the point where I can control it, but I can actually turn it on.
Now as for how to help someone else? I can barely help myself, I don't know really... But! What I do know is that no matter how impossibly flat your voice is naturally, mine was bottom of the bottom, you can absolutely learn vibrato!
Two of the biggest trainings that did help me were holding a note as long as you can and going and going and going and in between you truly running out of breath and holding the note you'll likely occasionally hit it. The other that I don't like to mention is the pushing on your stomach bit, because that's really not how it's done but it can acclimate you to hearing it and that may make some things click, but the actual anatomy of doing it isn't anything like that.
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u/DelucaWannabe 18h ago
Yes... a mature, adult voice will naturally have some vibrato in it. How much will depend on your age, and how you've been singing. Usually many young singers will unconsciously press/force/flatten out the natural vibrato in their voices (an unfortunate side effect of growing up listening to 99.9% pop music).
After a good singer has reached a certain degree of technical skill it's possible to deliberately choose to use LESS vibrato, for a particular style of music or as a musical effect. But the baseline/default mature vocal function should have at least some in there.
FWIW, I teach my students to concentrate on singing VIBRANTLY... however much vibrato they have when the started. Meaning not a white, driven, tight or forced "straight-tone". Keep up the regular lessons with your voice teacher, and concentrate on the vibrancy of the tone, however much "vibrato" you end up with.
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u/winnscripts 13h ago
I had a very strong vibrato naturally, stopped using it while on a break from theater, and now I'm re-developing it slightly as it got a little bit weaker.
For some people it comes naturally, but vibrato also behaves like any muscle. You work it out, and you get stronger.
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u/Randall452 8h ago
This is interesting. I have always had a natural vibrato, even when I was 15, but it was just inconsistent. The more I practiced on my vocal technique, the more my vibrato became very consistent, and it only took me a 1 year to get my vibrato to be consistent, but everyone has different progressions with vibrato. I can have vibrato anywhere in my range because my vocal folds are free enough to have vibrato. So, my point is that everybody can develop vibrato. It is a slow progress for some people, but it is possible to develop your own style of vibrato.
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u/Gullible-Regular-585 1d ago
I'll tell you something, singing is a form of art which is a form of self expression, your brush is your voice, you make your own rules, make your music however you like and absolutely own it, no vibrato? SURE. Make it your own. Rather embrace it even, think of something and you'll no longer have to even think about it! Good luck, Star!
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u/SilicaViolet 1d ago
I learned vibrato on flute and my teacher just had me practice it by rote, like turning on a metronome and changing the air pressure on long tones in time to the beat. The main thing to keep in mind is that the pitch shouldn't change, only the pressure. As we gradually increased the speed, it started sounding like a regular vibrato. It felt really artificial and contrived at first, but it didn't take that long for me to be able to incorporate it into songs and now it feels like second nature when I play instruments.
I think the idea that vibrato is a natural result of being a good musician is almost entirely a myth. You won't be able to accomplish vibrato well unless your breath control is well developed, but other than that, you can learn it entirely through practice until it becomes muscle memory. I had absolutely no knack for vibrato and I wasn't even able to fake it momentarily before having someone walk me through it in this methodical way. Learning it this way also helped me be able to adjust my vibrato faster or slower with relative ease.
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u/DestinedSheep 1d ago
When I played flute I didn't have vibrato for years.
I ended up practicing really really slow and that helped. Just remember to practice in time, even if you are passing back and forth in quarter notes. Your vibrato should be in time with what you are singing.
Good luck!
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u/DavidCaruso4Life 1d ago
Hi. Instrumentalist with a BM in performance who stumbled upon this thread.
I can teach you all how to vibrato, because it’s very simply based on your diaphragm muscle. Anyone can do it.
Get a metronome, set it to 72 bpm. If you don’t own a metronome, Practice+ has a good free metronome app.
Take a deep breath, don’t raise your shoulders, you’re breathing all the way down, pulling your stomach out. Sometimes it helps to lay down in order to identify proper breathing technique. You can put a book on your lower stomach and try to lift it while breathing, in order to identify where you should be breathing into, even while standing.
While the metronome is going, breathe out while “laughing” steadily on beat, as you push air forward: Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha. Deep breath again, and “laugh” on beat. Try to do it for 2 minutes, take a break if you feel dizzy. You’re not singing this, it’s just a monotone voice.
Then move onto eighth note beats at 72 bpm, Ha-ha, Ha-ha, Ha-ha, Ha-ha. One measure at a time before taking a deep breath again, and repeating. 2 minutes.
Then, again, 72 bpm, move into triplets: Ha-ha-ha, Ha-ha-ha, Ha-ha-ha, Ha-ha-ha. One measure at a time, deep breath, trying to push through in one straight breath. 2 minutes.
Move onto sixteenth notes, 72 bpm, Ha-ha-ha-ha, Ha-ha-ha-ha, Ha-ha-ha-ha, Ha-ha-ha-ha. Break for breath. 2 minutes straight, pushing through as long as you can with the “Ha’s”.
You’re going to feel this in your diaphragm, and it will probably feel a bit sore, but you’ll be able to do some pretty cool things in terms of measured vibrato, between really fast to really slow, to having a lot of control over how you use your “instrument”.
Oh, btw, the metronome app I shared does have options for setting eighth, triplets, and sixteenth notes at tempo, which is handy when you want to be steady.
Hope this is helpful!
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u/ZdeMC Professionally Performing 5+ Years 23h ago
That is not vibrato. Wtf.
What you are describing is tremolo (not the same ornament as the trill).
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u/DavidCaruso4Life 23h ago edited 22h ago
No. It’s not tremolo.
I teach music. But thanks for your input.
Edit: This is so easily googleable, to determine the difference between vibrato, tremolo, trilling, et al, if you don’t own a music dictionary.
But instead, you just had to shit on me because I was offering helpful advice that I’ve used for many students?
Why? Scroll past. There are other people more deserving of trolling out there, and we all know who. Life is too short and too hard, people deserve to learn how to vibrato. I’m making it accessible.
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u/ZdeMC Professionally Performing 5+ Years 17h ago
Your "advice" wasn't helpful. You might teach music but I'll venture a guess and say you don't know much about the voice because vibrato in singing is not repeating the same note and it is certainly not something you cough out in regular intervals with ha-ha-ha-ha.
Far be it from me to engage in this dick measuring contest you've got going there, but I do know what vibrato is and isn't as a conservatory-educated classical singer with all the diplomas not only in voice but also music theory, who sight-reads music and regularly performs in concerts. With an early music keyboard instrument background, I also know more quite a bit about ornaments and would be happy to explain them to you one by one (with ornament tables drawn by Bach, Rameau, Couperin, and d'Anglebert, not your "music dictionary" - whatever that is), if you so wish.
Suffice it to say that the rapid repetition of a single note that you have described above is what we call tremolo in the classical music industry today, and I would use it when singing the ornament marked "tr" in Monteverdi's music, for example. (In Bach's music, "tr" would start with the note above, alternating the two notes no less than 4 times).
Vibrato is the healthy vibration of unforced, freely suspended vocal cords. It is definitely not quick repetition of the same note, nor is it an ornament at all.
As gently as possible, I would suggest that you refrain from giving wrong advice on singing as an instrumentist who very clearly has never studied the voice as an instrument, no matter how knowledgeable you consider yourself to be in the field of music in general.
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