My Vibrato Routine 13 Years Into Starting Cello as an Adult

Jan 7

Vibrato.

I believe it’s the hardest aspect of cello playing to acquire as an adult learner and yet it’s something we all yearn for right off the bat.

It’s the magical dust that can take a beautiful melodic line and animate it into a living, breathing organism.

At one point in my cello journey I considered vibrato to be the bane of my artistic existence.

I would practice carving out a beautiful, meaningful line with my bow and I would hone my intonation to the best of my ability, but then when I tried to add vibrato it would either sound too narrow and nervous or it would start and stop in fits depending on my left hand position.

These days I have a cordial working relationship with vibrato, albeit not a love affair.

Looking back, I realize that for us adult learners, our vibrato often can also function as an indicator of how balanced we are physically, and of how much tension we have when we play.

Over squeezing in the left hand, stiffness in the left elbow, tightness in either shoulder, disconnect between the right and left hands…

All of these physical habits (and many more!) can cause our vibrato to become too narrow and to speed up so that even if it is actually audible, it sounds like a hummingbird’s heartbeat.

I have worked on my vibrato for hundreds of hours with various routines involving dozens of exercises.

Each exercise addressed an element of vibrato, and to me the key to developing a good routine is identifying the most apt exercises to address exactly where you are in your journey.

Today, I want to try something a little different.

I thought it might be interesting for you to know the vibrato routine I am currently doing with a small explanation of what I am looking for in each exercise.

Maybe it’s due to my having started cello as an adult and having struggled for so long with vibrato in the past, but I have this (irrational?) fear that if I don’t practice vibrato regularly on its own, I will wake up one day only to find that the ability has left me in my sleep and that my old habits have returned.

I should also mention that these are not the exercises I used to learn how to produce vibrate, but they are what I am using now to try to get to the next level.

My Routine

See the video above for examples of the exercises

1. I start off by doing a 1 finger, 2-octave scale up the A string without vibrato, focusing on creating a nice even tone with good physical balance in both arms.

I don’t want my arms to feel heavy or clenched in any way. This is mainly for my bow arm.

2.Then I usually turn the metronome on somewhere between 50 and 60 and start with 2nd finger practicing oscillating in rhythm to the metronome.

Counting each rocking motion separately, I do 2 per click, then 3,4,6,8, and finally 12.

I often find that depending on the metronome count, either the 8 or 12 per click feels hard to control (as if I’m on a treadmill that’s too fast for walking, but too slow for jogging).

I do this with fingers 1, 2 and 3.

3. On the A string I do a 2-octave C Major scale with vibrato using only second finger.

I keep the metronome on and vibrate in rhythm to it, focusing on a smooth vibrato between each little shift of a half step or whole step.

I also try to make sure my arm opens naturally and comfortably as I go higher in pitch.

All the way up and down.

Then I repeat with 3rd finger (C# Major scale on A string).

Then 1st finger (B major scale up and down).

For the 4th finger I do an abridged version starting on D natural (1st position) and going until G natural (4th position).

4. If my left arm feels tight at all or my vibrato in the upper positions is inconsistent, I grab a tennis ball and practice a 1-octave scale on any string using the ball as my contact point.

I create vibrato by rolling the ball in a controlled way under my palm. The soft grip on the tennis ball allows me to isolate the motion of my forearm, making sure that the motion feels good.

Note: My dog stole my usual tennis ball and for the video I had to use another one that was much stiffer because it was designed for dogs. It was harder to control and I ended up sounding like an old soprano with a wide, unstable vibrato. Be sure to use a regular tennis ball!

5. After the tennis ball I will then do the one finger, 2-octave scales on another string.

I like to practice on all four strings because each string has a different thickness and responsiveness and I have to make small adjustments to get a consistent vibrato (not to mention the adjustments I make with my left arm angle).

6. Finally, I like to do a shifting exercise where I play every finger combination in two note slurs shifting between first and fourth positions.

I start in first position on the A string with my first finger on B and then I shift into fourth position with the following fingerings, 1-1 1-2 1-3 1-4.

Then I start with second finger on C natural in first position and shift into fourth position 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4.

Etc.

If this sounds at all confusing, you can check out my video and go the 6:46 mark. There I demonstrate the exercise.

The goal is to connect both notes with the bow despite the shift, and to have a continuous balanced vibrato throughout.

And that’s it! I don’t do this routine every day, but I try to do every other day or so.

I confess that daily routines on cello are a little dangerous for me because I have a habit of becoming a little obsessive and regimented about the routine and I’ve found that at this point in my journey, it actually slows my progress.

Perversely, in my head the goal can shift from becoming a better cellist to simply accomplishing a long routine and checking it off of my to do list.

If I’m not careful, I end up focusing on how many hours I practiced, how many reps I did, and not on listening and problem solving in a more creative, mindful way.

For this reason I try to mix up the order my routine often, and the exercises that comprise my routine as well.