Vibrato vs. Nonvibrato: The Solo Singer in the Collegiate Choral Ensemble

Abstract

IN TODAY'S UNIVERSITY OR COLLEGIATE SETTING, the undergraduate voice major will find herself singing regularly in more than one environment and balancing ensemble participation with solo study and performance demands. The typical choral ensemble will meet several times per week. There are many benefits for the voice major who participates in choral ensembles. The voice major is exposed to choral compositions of major composers and gains historical context and greater understanding of musical styles. This exposure to choral literature can provide the voice major with increased knowledge of future solo opportunities. The voice major learns how to work with a conductor and can use this knowledge in relation to opera, oratorio, or further choral singing. The voice major learns skills of ensemble work and prepares for possible work opportunities in the choral environment. The voice major can benefit from participating in a group activity with the feelings of camaraderie and friendship which that situation may yield. addition to all these benefits, there also can be distinct challenges that make unique demands on the young voice, including specialized use of RATE OF VIBRATO AS IT RELATES TO CHOIR The individual rate or speed of vibrato, as it relates to the choral ensemble, is an issue for a developing solo singer in the choral setting.1 While participating in the choral ensemble, the singer will have to adjust vibrato rate to suit musical style, the other singers, and the intent of the conductor. Adjusting vibrato rate may not be a simple matter for a young singer. A universal trait of classical solo singing is a vibrant, free sound in which pitch is centered. This vibrancy is accomplished by a combination of released laryngeal musculature and free flowing air. William Vennard explains the essence of vibrato: a tone is well produced it will have the fluctuation . . . five to seven times per second, with a variation in pitch, intensity and timbre.2 Vennard goes on to explain how vibrato proves difficult for choir conductors. Choir directors began listening to the two pitches of the vibrato, neither of which is the desired one. Furthermore, in an ensemble, one singer's vibrato was going up while another's was going down, and there are different rates of So the theory developed that perfect intonation was impossible except with a straight tone.3 Since a stable vibrato rate often indicates a healthy technique in a trained voice, it is desirable for a singer to cultivate it in the formative years of college. If the singer is participating in a choir where the conductor insists on no vibrato the majority of the time, the singer may find herself challenged. Ingo Titze explains how vibrancy indicates health in the voice: the vibrato has not been established, it is a sign that the muscles aren't freed up and they are still fighting each other a bit. They are not playing against each other and undulating.4 The Director of Choral Activities at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Hugh Ferguson Floyd, is empathetic to the young singer in choir: In voice studios with freshmen and sophomore students, the teacher is trying to get a consistent vibrato rate and want to do everything can to assist them in the studio ... use straight tone as seldom as possible.5 Floyd advocates open communication with the voice faculty about individual students and teaching concepts from the studios. For example, using similar vocabulary as voice teachers at Oberlin: I use language that matches what they are hearing in the studio.6 Changing attitudes and open lines of communication are what is needed in order for the choral conductor and voice teacher to assist vocal development. an attempt to move away from a nonvibrato sound, Olaf Christensen called his preferred vibrato stabilized vibrato. Today they are moving gradually away from the ideal of no …

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