In this post, I'll share 10 violin vibrato exercises, aimed at helping you with the vibrato movement, consistency, speed, and relaxation.

Exercises for the vibrato movement

Exercise 1: Vibrato movement without the violin
There are two types of vibrato, arm vibrato and wrist vibrato. For this exercise, you will practice a knocking motion. For wrist vibrato, initiate the knocking movement with your wrist, and for arm vibrato, open and close the elbow, allowing the wrist and fingers to be soft and flexible.

Exercise 2: Vibrato movement with the violin
This is the same exercise as #1, the only difference is you add your violin! The thumb remains loose and mobile.

Exercise 3: Vibrato Movement with the thumb in place
This is the same as exercise #2, the only difference is you keep your thumb in one place, instead of allowing it to be free. The range of motion will be smaller.

Exercises for vibrato consistency

Exercise 4: Pizza exercise.
This exercise requires the use of a metronome and has 3 different parts: pizza, pepperoni, and I would like a slice of pizza. "Pizza" refers to playing quarter notes with the metronome; move your hand with every click. Pepperoni refers to playing eighth notes with the metronome; move your hand twice with every click. I would like a slice of pizza refers to playing sixteenth notes with the metronome; move your hand 4 times with every click. I suggest starting with 60 BPM but feel free to go slower if that feels better for you.

Exercise 5: Gradually increasing vibrato speed with the metronome
Once you reach the "I would like a slice of pizza" or 16th notes with the metronome at 60, it's time to bump the speed up! I always tell my students keep climbing as high as you can go, but a good end goal is 120 BPM. This will help you increase your speed but also maintain evenness.

Exercises for increasing vibrato speed

Exercise 6: Dotted rhythms
Think of this as interval training for musicians. In interval training, athletes go all out for short bursts of time, which helps them increase their speed and stamina overall. For this exercise, practice dotted eighth sixteenth rhythms with your vibrato with the metronome.

Exercise 7: Speed ladder
Start with just one oscillation (back and forth vibrato movement) within a note. Then move to 2, 3, 4, and so on, being sure to vibrate as fast as you possibly can. When you notice the vibrato slowing down, stop the exercise and return to it another day.

Exercise 8: Lightning bolt
This exercise is particularly useful for vibrating on shorter note values. Pretend your vibrato is a lightning bolt. Give one strong impulse of vibrato at the beginning of the note, and then allow it to ricochet passively and eventually stop.

Exercises for releasing tension while using vibrato

Exercise 9: Wiggling the thumb
In regular intervals, stop playing and wiggle your thumb. It is impossible for the thumb to hold tension while remaining mobile. This could be after every note, after every measure, or after every few measures.

Exercise 10: Practice with harmonic pressure
This will help release tension in all parts of your hand. Play a scale or a passage with harmonic pressure-ie do not press the fingers down all the way into the fingerboard. This will produce a wispy or ghost like sound.

What do you find hardest about violin vibrato?