Vibrato

[Jeff Stallard]

I never thought you could get vibrato on a concertina, but listening to Alan's "Connet Waltz," at the end sticks in some vibrato, so now I'm curious how one goes about generating vibrato on a concertina.

[CaryK]

I quite by accident found that if you are stabilizing the concertina on your left thigh, you can create a vibrato by making quick, but minute movements of the bellows with you right hand while you hold the particular note you are playing. Reminds me of harmonica vibratos and can give a melancholy tone to a slow piece, if not overdone. There may be other ways to do this, but this is what I've found.

[Paul Read]

Matt Heumann talked about vibrato at Goderich. He does it all in the bellows. We tried it and it isn't easy to avoid overdoing it. It needs to be very subtle and the concertina needs to be a responsive one.

[Jeff Stallard]

Vibrato is "periodic changes in the pitch of the tone" so how would bellows manipulation affect the pitch?

Edited August 12, 2005 by Jeff Stallard

[JimLucas]

Vibrato is "periodic changes in the pitch of the tone" so how would bellows manipulation affect the pitch?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Then what is "small, rapidly periodic changes in the volume"?

 

I know that string players get what's called vibrato by rolling the finger, thus minutely changing the pitch. But my public-school orchestra leaders used the same term for the similar effect in wind instruments, an oscillation in loudness produced by variation in the air pressure. Should that be called "tremolo", instead? Or do people fight over such terminology, just like they do over the meaning of "folk music"?

 

In any case, I'm pretty sure that any "vibrato" you hear from a standard concertina is oscillation in volume, not in pitch. And the way to do it is simply to "shiver" the bellows a bit as you play. Not too much on an anglo, or you'll get a trill, instead.

[Jeff Stallard]

Here are a few common definitions of tremolo I found on the Web:

 

1. Very rapid repitition of one or two notes

2. A tremulous effect produced by rapid repetition of a single tone or rapid alternation of two tones

 

Likewise for vibrato:

 

1. A smooth and repeated changing of the pitch up and down from the regular musical pitch, often done by singers.

2. A cyclic change in pitch, usually in the range of 7 to 14 Hz.

 

 

What I'm talking about it is definitely vibrato. But maybe, since it was Alan Day's performance where I noticed it, he can explain what he did... Maybe it is, in fact, tremolo, but it sure sounds like vibrato to me. I even looped that last note over and over again, and I can't see how it's anything but vibrato.

 

This is confusing because...how the heck would you make cyclic pitch changes with a concertina?!?!

[Jeff Stallard]

FYI, I did find this note while searching: "The terms vibrato and tremolo are sometimes used interchangeably." They don't seem that similar to me, but that might explain why we're having a hard time defining the two.

[JimLucas]

Here are a few common definitions of tremolo I found on the Web:

1. Very rapid repitition of one or two notes

2. A tremulous effect produced by rapid repetition of a single tone or rapid alternation of two tones

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Note that I didn't say that what I described was called "tremolo"; I asked whether it was. Apparently not. But so far neither of us has found the proper term for what I described, which is something *I* occasionally do on concertina.

[David Barnert]

I know that string players get what's called vibrato by rolling the finger, thus minutely changing the pitch.  But my public-school orchestra leaders used the same term for the similar effect in wind instruments, an oscillation in loudness produced by variation in the air pressure.

On the recorder, you can vary the pitch by changing the amount of breath (which also changes the volume). Therefore, it is appropriate to call the effect produced by quick periodic fluctuations in breath force "vibrato." I would not be suprised if this is true, to some extent, in other wind instruments, but I have never studied orchestral wind instruments.

 

But, of course, none of this applies to concertinas.

[Alan Day]

Jeff I think you are reffering to a discussion we had some time ago on this site ,which was named as " bellows shake".

When we finally get the Anglo International CDs out, (still a few weeks away) it is well demonstrated by Regardt de Bruin and is common in South African concertina playing and much more exaggerated than how I use it.

By shaking the concertina when playing it will completely change the sound of the instrument.I mainly use it on slow numbers where a note is sustained.By gently shaking the bellows on this note it creates a more rounded sound,almost approaching the sound of a harmonica.

Al

 

Sorry I have just read the other replies properly and your question has been answered.

Edited August 12, 2005 by Alan Day

[JimLucas]

Jeff I think you are reffering to a discussion we had some time ago on this site ,which was named as " bellows shake".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

While the effect may be produced by "shaking" the bellows, I've been told that it's quite different from the technique widely known among piano accordion players as a "bellows shake". That is a rapid repetition of the same note by rapidly reversing the bellows, not simply varying the pressure in one bellows direction. (If that were done on an anglo, it would rapidly alternate two notes rather than "stuttering" one.)

[Alan Day]

I remember this discussion well Jim and I think it was Goran who finally called it "Bellows Shake".

I just said it was shaking the bellows whilst playing and at the time I could not understand why it had to be called anything specific.

I just accepted it,whatever makes people happy.

Al

[Tom Lawrence]

Use of cyclically increasing/decreasing pressure on the bellows will modulate the loudness of the note, causing a tremolo effect. This is probably what most people think of as "vibrato".

 

On many concertinas the pitch changes slightly due to pressure change, so when the sound gets louder it will become subtlely flat as well, so you'll often percieve pitch change in this "vibrato" as well. For an extreme example of pitch change under changing pressure, listen to the Ab/Eb concertina playing by Tim Collins on his recording "Dancing on Silver".

 

On an English concertina or PA you can shake the bellows in-and-out to create a rapid series of staccato notes. For example, could be used effectively in Irish music to do staccato triplets.

 

On an Anglo when shaking the bellows in-and-out, the note will alternate between the push and pull pitch. Noel Hill uses this on the high F#/G button to emulate a quick F#/G/F# trill that certain pipers, such as Seamus Ennis, would frequently do.

[Alan Day]

What Tom mentions about Noel Hills playing is demonstrated by him on the A Int Cd,I have only heard this track over the phone but it sounded pretty amazing.

Also on the second CD is a couple of Zulu Squashbox tunes and listening very carefully the shaking of the bellows must be at very high speed,they can get the concertina to almost growl the note.

There may be confusion created by various descriptions of shaking the bellows which Jim was trying to explain.My vibrato or tremelo is caused by shaking the whole instrument gently ,which moves the bellows by doing this creating the small change in sound.I do not move the bellows in and out or change the bellows pressure whilst playing the note which is a completely different style of playing.

Try "Summertime" it is great for this style with the shake on "time" "easy" etc.

Al

[Rex]

With a harmonica there are actually three types of vibrato....diaphram, throat, and tongue. Diaphram vibrato is accomplished by making your diaphram tremble while drawing or blowing. Throat vibrato is accomplished by opening and closing your throat (but not all the way), like when we were kids and made the sound of a machine gun by going "eh eh eh eh eh", but to a lesser degree. This can be done on blow or draw also. Tongue vibrato is done by saying "yoy yoy yoy yoy yoy" while breathing through the instrument. These all sound nice as long as you don't overdo it. A little goes a long way. All of these methods will result in a variation of pitch and/or volume. The pitch of a harmonica reed can be varied quite a bit. There is also what is sometimes called a hand vibrato, the typical harmonica wah wah, but it is really a tremolo or variation of loudness, not pitch. The term tremolo is often used with mandolins and other plucked string instruments such as classical guitar when a note is rapidly played so it will sound like a steady note. Such instruments have no sustain, like a concertina, so this is a way around that problem. There are also tremolo harmonicas, which have a pair of reeds for each note, tuned just a little bit apart, and the note pulses as the waves go in and out of sync with each other. I'm told these are popular with some Irish players. They sound a bit more like an accordian. Here in the states most play a single reed per note and that is what I do. I've been playing all my old concertina tunes on harmonicas the last year and a half, but I like dropping by here just to read what everyone has to say about the music. Some Irish players retune one or two of the lower reeds, which come tuned to chords, in order to allow more melody notes. At the speeds of many fiddle tunes you are not going to be able to do much chording and still play the melody, but the extra range for melody really helps on some tunes. I retune my three blow note to get a "missing" note, but I give up a low chord.

Peace,

Rex

[AlexCJones]

I remember this discussion well  Jim and I think it was Goran who finally called it "Bellows Shake".

I just said it was shaking the bellows whilst playing and at the time I could not understand why it had to be called anything specific.

I just accepted it,whatever makes people happy.

Al

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's what accordionists call it.

[AlexCJones]

I found that I can get a vibrato while stepping under my ceiling fan while holding a note.

[allan atlas]

FOLKS: boris matusewitch used to get the effect you're talking about by doing a kind of "shake" with his right hand. . . . . .it is anything BUT a real vibrato. . . .the kind that string player or singer uses to ENRICH the tone. . . . .make it FAT. . . . .make it LUSH. . . . . . .

 

back in the 18th-century, vibrato was looked upon as an ORNAMENT. . . . . because it did alter the pitch back and forth very rapidly. . . .think of it as a kind of "miniature trill", if you will. . . . . .

 

speaking for absolutely no one other than myself. . . . i can only say that when used in the concertina it's ABSOLUTELY ANNOYING.............unless one is going to use it very occasionally as a purposeful way to change the sound..........so that it becomes, in effect, an ORNAMENT............allan