Vibrato is perhaps one of the skills that gives the violin its quintessential gorgeous sound. Of course, when it’s done correctly. And there’s the rub for most beginner violinists.

If you’ve been playing violin for a few minutes, you might already be wondering, “when can I learn vibrato?”

Everyone wants to learn vibrato but most teachers want to wait until a student has reached more intermediate levels before introducing this skill. There are two reasons for this.

1. Vibrato is icing on the cake

It really isn’t what makes someone sound “good” on the violin. A violinist sounds “good” because they have an even, rich tone, consistent intonation, and good rhythm. If you don’t have these basics under control, adding vibrato isn’t going to help. In fact, it could make your playing sound…worse! Before you start adding icing, you want to make sure you have a cake to put it on.

2. When students learn vibrato, it’s ALL they want to do

I think beginner violinists should be introduced to the basics of vibrato, but often the problem lies in how students divide their practice time once they get a taste of the glorious vibrato. Instead of dedicating a few focused minutes to vibrato, they start trying to add vibrato to everything all at once. They are no longer focusing on bow control, tone, or intonation. All they’re thinking about is vibrato, which can hinder progress.

As long as students are aware of those first two warnings, I think the basic building blocks of vibrato should be taught to advanced beginners. Vibrato is all about being relaxed and if you don’t start practicing being relaxed as a beginner, then when you do get ready to learn vibrato, it will be much harder and take longer.

So if you are asking yourself, “can I be too early to learn vibrato?” The answer is…NO! Here’s my list of 10 things you can start working on NOW. Follow these practice tips and you’ll not only be learning vibrato sooner, you’ll master it in less time as well!

3 Rules of Violin Vibrato Practice

If you want to learn how to play vibrato on the violin, you need to be familiar with these 3 rules of vibrato practice. Follow these 3 rules and you will ensure that you learn violin vibrato the right way!

Practice Vibrato By Itself. Don't practice vibrato while you're also trying to perfect intonation, rhythm, or bow issues. Focus on just the vibrato when you're first learning.
Practice vibrato less than you practice scales and open strings. For how ever much you practice vibrato, practice three times as much on scales.
There are certain areas of your practice time where vibrato is never allowed--it will only hurt your progress. Don't practice vibrato during scales or when you are learning something new.

1. Get Your Violin Hold Stable

If you aren’t comfortable holding your violin, you’re probably dealing with tension which will inhibit learning violin vibrato. Make sure you aren’t trying to hold the violin up with your arm or hunching up your left shoulder to get comfortable. It might be worth changing shoulder rests or chin rests to get that tension-free hold. Check out my video on adjusting your shoulder rest for the most comfortable hold here.

2. Fix That Left Wrist!

Is your left wrist crooked? Is the palm touching the fingerboard? Pretty much every single beginner (and some intermediate students) I’ve had have dealt with this issue. Keep your wrist straight. Don’t let the violin neck rest on your palm or wrist. This incorrect hand position will make it impossible to do vibrato on the violin…so fix it now!

3. Be Aware of Tension

The first step to getting relaxed so you can learn violin vibrato is being of aware of tension. Most beginner violinists don’t realize how much tension they are holding and you can’t relax until you realize you are tense. Our bodies are symmetrical so if you are tensing up your bow hand, that tension could translate to your left hand. So be aware of ANY tension ANYWHERE in your body and try to relax it!

4. Do Your Stretches

Stretching will help your muscles relax and help you be aware of where your tension is lingering. Don’t skip this step. It’s very important when it comes to learning vibrato on the violin.

5. Don’t Grip or Squeeze with the Left Hand

If you have a death grip with your left hand, there’s no way you are going to be able to vibrate that thing. So relax!

6. Use the Least Amount of Pressure Possible to Press the String Down

This will not only help you do vibrato, it will help you play more in tune because you’ll be able to adjust your fingers to the right pitch faster.

7. Practice Slides

Warm-up everyday with slides. I’ll show you how here. Put one finger down on the string and slide it up and down the violin (bringing your thumb with you). Do this with all fingers on all strings. This is essentially the same motion vibrato, just slower and more drawn out. If you have trouble sliding up and down the fingerboard, learning violin vibrato will be very difficult.

8. Relax Your Left Hand Knuckles

The knuckle closest to the fingernail must be relaxed and have some “give” in it for vibrato. Without a violin, you can push on these knuckles with your opposite hand to get them to start moving the way you want to for vibrato.

9. Practice Your Rhythms

Use a metronome. Get comfortable with quarter notes, eight notes, sixteenth notes, and all variations of rhythm. Vibrato should be rhythmic and the best way to learn vibrato involves slowing the motion down and speeding it up gradually using…a metronome and rhythms! This rhythm exercise is essential to building a natural and relaxed vibrato on the violin.

10. Focus on Good Intonation

Intonation means putting your finger down in the correct place for the correct pitch (or being able to adjust it quickly to the right pitch). When students can play something in first position hitting the right pitch about 90% of the time, I know learning to play vibrato is around the corner. The sooner you perfect your intonation, the sooner you can really learn vibrato. If you aren’t playing in tune, vibrato isn’t going to help your sound…it will make it worse! So make intonation practice and relaxing your body your primary practice goal! My Everyday Exercises Course helps with getting notes in tune all the time!

FAQ’s About Vibrato

Here’s the most frequently asked questions I receive about vibrato.

Is vibrato difficult to learn?

Vibrato is an awkward skill. You just don’t use the motion in any other avenue of life. So yes, it can be difficult. One reason violin vibrato is difficult is because students try to rush the process. It takes time to teach your muscles what to do. Learning violin vibrato is a process that takes several months on average.

Vibrato can also be difficult to learn if violin students are tense while playing. It’s difficult to learn to relax and learn vibrato at the same time. Learning to identify tension and understanding how to relax will make vibrato much easier to learn.

Is vibrato natural or learned?

For 99.9% of violin students, vibrato is a learned skill. I’ve taught violin vibrato to hundreds of students. Only one student picked it up “naturally” without having to dedicate the practice time to learn vibrato like the rest of us. Learning how to ply vibrato can be an awkward motion for beginners and requires dedicated practice time to make it feel “natural.”

How long does it take to learn vibrato?

Learning vibrato on the violin can take a few weeks or months to learn the basic technique. However, mastering vibrato and being able to incorporate it effortlessly in your playing can take much longer. Depending on you much you practice, plan on spending 6 months to a year before your vibrato feels natural.

When should I learn vibrato?

Wait to learn vibrato until you can play in a variety of keys and be in tune the majority of the time. However, an introduction into the basics of learning violin vibrato can also help you ensure that you aren’t playing with tension or gripping the fingerboard. So I say it’s okay to learn the basics to play violin vibrato as a beginner.

Can I be too early to learn vibrato?

Yes and no. You’re never to early to start learning the necessary building blocks of vibrato, like relaxed left hand technique. However, if you start trying to learn vibrato before you have consistent bow control or good intonation, you may be slowing your progress and learning incorrect techniques that will take you more time to unlearn once you are ready for vibrato.

To sum it all up…relax! Focus on relaxing while you are playing, making a good tone with your bow, and having good intonation and you’ll be ready to learn vibrato in no time!

Learn How to Master Vibrato with My Vibrato Course!

Get all of my tips and tricks on vibrato. I’ll start from scratch and give you all the tools you need to build a beautiful, natural vibrato. Learn more!