15 Ultimate Violin Vibrato Tips (PART 1)

[@DanielKurganov]

Hello friends -- I'm excited to start my Ultimate Vibrato Tips videos! I hope it's helpful and I look forward to your comments/questions! 00:00 Intro 01:04 Tip #1 - Distal Interphalangeal Joint! 02:48 Tip #2 - Flatten; use the pads 05:28 Tip #3 - Play in 5ths 09:00 Tip #4 - Vertical Vibrato Impulse 10:57 Tip #5 - Recommended videos

[@daniel3231995]

So Handsome 😍 sometimes I don't know why you're so generous with this. Somehow feel you've become an amalgam of every great player on your channel! Wondrously technical anaylses maestro!

[@robysarno]

Dear Daniel, thank you for another nice treasure of violin pedagogy (I am the guy with the tips for the bow hold ;-) ). I love the first tip, it is something I do with my students. The second and the third are also depending on a couple of things. If vibrato is the small variation of the string's length, which results in the variation of the pitch of the note playing, one could say that they are the expression of the first tip. The only thing is that by doing that you might miss the overtones and the resonance from other strings, due to the finger touching other strings. The fourth is absolutely fantastic as it gives the finger a sense of relaxation and at the same time a consciousness on how little we need to press on the string. Good job! Keep up the good work!

[@DanielKurganov]

@@robysarno Thanks so much!

[@DanielKurganov]

@@daniel3231995 You are too kind :)

[@johnmoumouris7342]

For me tip 3 is the most important as it has an overall effect not just for vibrato but overall placement and articulation of the left hand fingers...though I know - and from my own experience - that, even on 3rd position, it can be quite frustrating because of average/small finger and pad size....

[@sdeng888]

There are so many violinists or teachers who try to make you understand how the vibrato works but none of them mentioned the pad vibrato which really makes the difference on the sound production. Put this way, the pad vibrato gets close to a human voice kind of sound. Daniel, you share a real valuable experience with the audience. Thank you so much!

[@mattsimcox4649]

Finger pads! Wow my vibrato has gone from terrible to average in one quick step. Fantastic!

[@DanielKurganov]

Awesome!

[@leif1075]

@@DanielKurganov Hello can you PLEASE share tips to make learning vibrato faster? Instesd of having to do monotonous infuriating exercises like any simple songs you can use to practice vibrato instead of exercises? Hope you can respond when you can.

[@ariella2658]

@@leif1075 yahh

[@brandonkohler6677]

I know, same story here!

[@susiliuswidiyono5573]

You are the best violin teacher Ever.....

[@JustFiddler]

setuju 🤗

[@DanielKurganov]

I will try to live up to that! Thanks :)

[@0099005500660077]

What are you playing at 00:10 ? It’s beautiful!

[@paridapurba2464]

I tried to do the vibrato for almost a year and i quit playing violin because i cant do the vibrato..but after see your video..i got my first vibrato only in 10 minutee..amazing

[@DanielKurganov]

That's great!

[@bahman1186]

Not only you are an excellent violinist, you are also a superb teacher. A rare quality! Thank you very much!

[@DanielKurganov]

Thank you!

[@RAFITAESTRADITA]

Your example of generosity is a present bigger than your teachings. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.

[@DanielKurganov]

Thank you for such a warm comment. I have been developing various ideas and methods over the years and have been taking this first step in sharing them.

[@MatthewInstrumentalMusic]

playing on the pad sounds way better and softer, thanks for the tips

[@enpsyclopedia5040]

Im so glad that I am not the only one on the planet that plays on the pad. Everyone scrutinized me for it, but as 23 year classical guitarist, I don't think I could get used to playing violin on the tips anyways hahaha. Great video!

[@ajsdfkajsdf3219]

You are the first violin teacher I have listened to online who refers to other teachers on line -- BRAVO. Julia Bushkova's vibrato tutorial was the first one I found, some time ago, and I thought it was brilliant. Still do. Yours are also wonderful, and I am deeply grateful to you and others for making your expertise available to us on the web. I'm an adult returning to the instrument that I abandoned 40 years ago, and vibrato is a huge challenge. But I have faith that it will come, with patience, and following guidance from brilliant teachers like you. Вялікі табе дзякуй or Большое спасибо

[@Nerest322]

Ну и как успехи?

[@rons-topic1067]

One of the best and generous teacher on KZbin.. hid teachings are effective for many students. God bless you sir

[@SchnuppenSchnappe]

As a beginner I recognized that with the pad it is easier and quite like it has to sound, but that I was afraid to learn something wrong (because I started to learn this new "position" ) and I stopped it...today the question about this tip and pad thing comes to my mind again and thankfully I have found the right video. Thank you very much, I was right with my intuition and for now on I can just let go without the feeling it could be "destroy" something.

[@ubecheesepandesal]

This masterclass about vibrato r one of the best vids about vibrato in youtube! Thank you so much!!!

[@lumilumi9395]

This is literally the best violin channel. All the tips are brilliant.

[@DanielKurganov]

Thank you!

[@estook]

Ive said it before, but your tone is just so weepingly good.and your organic ability to play and then explain your thinking is such fantastic tutelage.

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks so much!

[@Dn_119-w7w]

so true

[@reese9585]

This youtube channel should be more popular after watching this video I improved my vibrato thank you very much!

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks! I hope to reach as many people as possible. Please feel free to share the videos!

[@essentiallyjoy3912]

I'm grateful I find your channel. Joy

[@iaf4454]

Great videos!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us... i am playing brahms sonatas and the vibrato is the problem... i will try what you say

[@KioKio98765]

Tip N°2 has already change my life ! Thank you very much !

[@DanielKurganov]

Great to hear!

[@KioKio98765]

After one week of practice my teacher told me : "Oh nice your vibrato has improve!" 😊🙏

[@retrops4261]

Crazy, your 5ths tip I just independently started practicing with this method this morning. And yeah, playing double stops really helps make single finger passages some much easier by contrast.!!

[@DanielKurganov]

great!

[@road2acoustic99]

For sure, you are the BEST teacher of youtube!

[@joshclapton1606]

I just wanna say, THANK YOU!! My vibrato get much better.

[@DanielKurganov]

I'm so glad!

[@essentiallyjoy3912]

I have never heard vibrato explained like this. You are brilliant. Thank you so much

[@SonnyCambiado-o5w]

As usual ,,easy to teach to us ,easy to show,easy to demo,,but as usual ,as usual,,,very hard to which make us sometimes want to break the violin !

[@DanielKurganov]

do you have a teacher? There are a lot of good vibrato fundamentals tips on youtube. For beginners I recommend Mimi Zweig’s website, which has her entire violin course for free. The biggest problem when first learning vibrato is excessive tension and forcing the motion

[@agiehcorpuz2392]

This maybe the best vibrato tutorial in KZbin 😍. New subscriber.

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks for the sub!

[@leoschifrin]

Great tips. Because my mom studied at music school, she has told me the tip about flat finger and how it helps with intonation, sound and vibrato. I don't know if you have used this tip, but another tip I was told to help with intonation was to keep all of your fingers over the string you are playing on and place them down. What I mean by that is to not angle your hand so that you could place your finger where you think it should be. Just place it down in the position your hand should be.

[@johnalexander301]

Amazing video. Your technical understanding of violin playing and ability to communicate ideas are the best I’ve seen. Keep up the great work. Thank you!

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks John!

[@MissChubbington]

The Blackwing did not go unnoticed, dude. Thanks!

[@DanielKurganov]

yes!!

[@acside5313]

Thanks a lot! Such kind of straightforward and "on a spot" tips are very hard to get from teachers, it helped me to improve my vibrato greatly, and using these tips I helped several people to improve their vibrato too. Nice that you have Patreon, I really wanted to give back

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks so much!

[@sarabande6670]

I can't thank you enough for these masterclasses. It is so generous of you to share your wisdom! I have been improving so much after watching your masterclasses and playing better has made me so happy. Thank you!

[@pianoladyforreal1026]

Thank you soo much Daniel Kurganov. Right after watching your video, I applied your exercise, and this is the first time seeing myself attempting to vibrato. I believe i will see huge improvements in some few months. You're the best teacher

[@Axolotl42101]

Thank you so much for this video! I've always struggled with my vibrato, but after following some of the tips that you mentioned, my vibrato already sounds much better than it did before

[@Kristina-yb4dt]

I'm just getting back into playing my violin after being away from it for the last 15 years. Growing up, my orchestra teachers always made me feel like I was playing incorrectly because I played on the pads of my fingers, but it felt more natural to me that way. Thank you for sharing this!!

[@DanielKurganov]

Welcome back! It's nice here!

[@adityaprakash3518]

Thank you for your detailed videos. A lot of people give information that is too vague or general to be any useful as a solution to specific problems.

[@DanielKurganov]

Aditya Prakash thank you Aditya. It’s always a challenge for me to decide how detailed a video should be. They can each easily go for an hour if I’m not careful :)

[@ratheeshbabu9163]

Very helpful...... Thank you..... From India ...

[@ivanpena4900]

Gracias maestro Daniel por su clara y creativa pedagogia,aunque soy contrabajista disfruto y aprendo con sus videos,mil gracias!

[@odilecouet6752]

Very good violon teacher

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks!

[@kenkenpuzzle667]

Thank you so much for these. I feel like it is finally coming in together

[@EmmBaldiniOficial]

Great video! Thank you!

[@DanielKurganov]

Glad you liked it!

[@prodigyr3born274]

I actually know Julia Bushkova she is a violin professor at the University of North Texas where I go to school for violin performance. Small world. Also, love the videos keep them coming!

[@deperonnet]

1. First joint MOBILe (pencil) 2. Play « flat » with Pad of finger 3. Train in fifth (Julia?) 4. Vertical finger impulse quicker and quicker ( P. Szering) 5. Julia Bushkova tutorial ( I agree) But yours is beautiful too ;-) Thanks a lot Professor !!!

[@DanielKurganov]

Thank you for summarizing! Training in fifths goes all the way back to the Russian school (Auer) and probably beyon!

[@deperonnet]

@@DanielKurganov I am from the french school and I need to learn Auer too. Do you know Hoppenot book „ the inside violin“?

[@petrnehyba1894]

The whole series is awesome. Thanks very much for this!

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks Petr!

[@Observer-w6k]

I do enjoy all your performances, thank you so much.

[@SatyrosJayIronHorse]

Thanks for putting this out there for us violinists! I lift a bunch of weights and your video is very helpful!

[@skhemborlangnongbsap2673]

Very helpful! Thank you Daniel

[@eyadha1]

Thank you very much .. it is great help for me

[@brianmerk8953]

Really good information.

[@santiagomaldonado1153]

OMG thanks, you are amazing man

[@jesusduenas6200]

Excelente video, enseñas muy claro, me está ayudando bastante en mi práctica, saludos desde México

[@johnbosco8209]

Very nice method bro.

[@Violinna]

This is amazing! And very different approach from how I've ever been taught! Thank you and looking forward for more

[@DanielKurganov]

Glad you liked it!

[@EudoraPrice]

Thank you very much!!😍🌹🌹🌹using the pads helped me

[@kiana___h.i8674]

Thank you! This is really helpful because I'm working on my vibrato currently.

[@DanielKurganov]

Wonderful!

[@robinac72]

Lovely & explained nicely. Thank you very much

[@TeddyOn]

Please, make a video about playing arpeggio in tune, how to hit the right notes, etc. For example: G minor arpeggio from Sibelius's cadenza, how to play it constantly in tune

[@mnewell]

So, so helpful, thank you!

[@chellechelle9991]

I believe you just helped me tremendously!

[@navaneethswaminathan6731]

Very very useful tips and unheard of practice methods to strengthen vibrato!!!❤️ Thanks a lot for the effort and beautiful teaching method!!

[@DanielKurganov]

Glad you liked it!

[@EudoraPrice]

Thank you soo much!!Mr.Daniel fircyour great Videos 🎻🎵🌺💖 Especially in rhis terrible Covid Times

[@NefalinDem]

Tip#2 is indeed a life saver❤ Anw, thank you for this amazing video!

[@Angela-ev3jn]

Bellissimo vibrato, congratulations👏👏🎻😘

[@DanielKurganov]

Thank you!

[@herbertkronzucker8367]

Hi Daniel - another great episode! My first teacher, the great Yoshiko Nakura (Tokyo String Quartet) also strongly recommended the pencil exercises. All my high school peers looked at me strangely when constantly doing this in math and English class (also for the right hand!), but it is very effective in loosening the finger joints while maintaining a firm-enough (never too firm!) hold. I would also underscore the importance of Szeryng's "vibrato is vertical" insight, in particular as one moves further up the fingerboard and needs to produce more focused vibrato to maintain intonational integrity at very small spatial increments - it can help produce a very well-centred and well-articulated "finger vibrato", and it is useful practice to mix this in with broader "wrist vibrato" (or blended version, like Hadelich does so well) further down the fingerboard. Looking forward to your other instalments - this is excellent violin teaching, from a superb player :).

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks a lot! I agree with your observations.

[@tay_hay]

Dang, I have always been taught to play on the tips of my fingers and then I wondered why my vibrato never really sounded good. I've been so frustrated for years and just figured there was something wrong with me. I can't wait to get into the practice room and work on this.

[@SamanthaHallam]

Thank you for the very detailed and generous amount of information in this tutorial. I’m working on my vibrato exercises regularly to try and achieve that glorious sound and I have been getting frustrated but I know I must relax more and I’m also trying to train myself that it’s okay if the sound isn’t perfect straight away. With your lessons and recommendations I feel confident that I’ll improve. Thank you, you’re a great teacher.

[@DanielKurganov]

Awesome!!

[@ClaraCampese]

Grazie per i preziosi consigli!

[@DanielKurganov]

Grazie mille !

[@darlenerivest148]

Another brilliant video Daniel!! Thank you so much for sharing your vibrato tips! They are extremely helpful!!

[@DanielKurganov]

My pleasure!

[@arunadityaviolin]

Thank you, sir. What an explanation.

[@DanielKurganov]

Glad it was helpful!

[@THEVIRTUALVIOLINTUTOR]

Por muchos años tuve un vibrato que se veia perfecto pero no sonaba y luego descubri que los dedos deben abrazar la cuerda de ambos lados por igual y funciono! Practicar quintas ayuda mucho si la melodía esta en cuerda derecha. Gracias Daniel!

[@DanielKurganov]

Gracias, amigo!

[@yacoubgirgis6400]

Thank you very much, kind regards

[@philiptruitt]

Thanks Daniel!

[@narguellon]

Beautiful, thanks !

[@DanielKurganov]

Many thanks!

[@sm9846]

Thank you so much for precious videos about vibrato ! Would you please make a video about trills , because I think that is very difficult specially high speed trills ! Greetings from Iran

[@aaron.piedra]

Great video maestro! Thank you for the great tips! 🎉

[@Thomas-wx7jz]

What are you playing at 4:04 ? It's beautiful

[@DanielKurganov]

Thank you! That's a theme from Paganini's Violin Concerto No.1

[@Thomas-wx7jz]

@@DanielKurganov thanks :)

[@leopardtiger1022]

Thank you very much very good tips to practice vibrato.... I like your lessons and have subscribed....

[@DanielKurganov]

leopard tiger thanks!

[@shimmer410-o2i]

Thanks for the video. I'll try to understand it. I think I know vibrato it just doesn't sound like what the professional violinists play.

[@celticviolaandfiddle]

Thanks so much Daniel. Very inspiring and instructive, as always.

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks!

[@dsthorp]

Extremely pleasant.

[@omegasatu]

Thank you. Excellent tips. I have a question, do we must keep our finger flat all the time when pressing the string?

[@francispayad1452]

the best vibrato tips ever..🥰🥰🥰

[@yrtang3538]

Your video is amazing and so practical. I follow your method to practice, the result is so incredible. But the pinky vibrato is still stiff. Can you give so advice about pinky vibrato? Thx

[@DanielKurganov]

Check out my video dedicated to pinky vibrato!

[@lolamas3042]

Muchas gracias por sus vídeos y por los subtítulos en español!👏👏👏👏👏👏💜🎶💜🎻

[@DanielKurganov]

Gracias! Algún día, no necesitaremos lenguaje. Sólo la música...

[@lolamas3042]

@@DanielKurganov Sería un mundo maravilloso...un auténtico paraíso! Mil gracias! 💜🎶💜🎻

[@arfanhanba6161]

Bravo!

[@healthylyfestyles]

Hi I like the tone of your violin. Can you suggest a violin for beginners. thanks

[@JustFiddler]

thank you sir, it's helpful🤗

[@DanielKurganov]

All the best!

[@christopherherrmann921]

GREAT Tips!!!!!

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks Christopher!

[@elinorviola]

Thank you for this useful video!

[@DanielKurganov]

You are welcome!

[@brucedukovcom]

Very impressive, and so well explained. I'm a fan!

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks so much Bruce - huge fan of yours!

[@angelicacantu3382]

Awesome! I wish you had an instagram where you posted as well because your content is great!

[@DanielKurganov]

Thanks a lot! I just started an instagram but still trying to figure out if it’s worth the work to make

[@angelicacantu3382]

@@DanielKurganov That's true! The only thing I can think of is maybe posting short recaps or examples of the exercises but even then it does seem restricted. IG TV can help though!

[@DanielKurganov]

Definitely looking into it. Thanks for your advice Angelica.

[@enamariaaldecoa3860]

Wonderful tips Daniel. As you can see from the "Like-Ratio" 1k:7 your video is almost impossiböe to beat. Congratulations!

[@DanielKurganov]

thank you so much!

[@davidgreco8699]

Really very interesting tips !!! thanks 1000! Maestro, what violin do you play?

[@DanielKurganov]

I play a violin made by Andrew Ryan. Thanks!

[@luisgregoriojr762]

Where is part 2 of this wonderful video?? Ty.

[@DanielKurganov]

There are 4 parts now! You can find them on my channel:)

[@ellen9268]

Thank you, this is extremely helpful! Do you have any suggestions on how to train third and fourth fingers for independence and strength? For example I can‘t hold the pencil with my pinky raised as in 2:46 .

[@DanielKurganov]

Look at my Double Stops video, practice Schradieck, Dounis Daily Dozen, Ondricek. Those are a great resource!

[@jl1848]

Thank you for these videos. So when the finger, hand, and arm move back and forth, is it only the distal interphalangeal joint that is flexing, and the middle joint and knuckle joint (whatever those are called!) should remain static, as in the pencil exercise. It sort of looks that way when you are doing it. Thank you.

[@DanielKurganov]

I wouldn't say anything is static; it's more about "what is primary"? So, the strength of the finger should come more from the base of the finger, so the outer joints aren't as tense and can move freely in REACTION to the impulse of the wrist or hand.

[@janewoodside8044]

I am having difficulty reconciling your description of the what is happening with the distil joint in tip#1 with Julia Bushkova’s comment at 12:00 in her wrist vibrato video that there is no need to work on distil joint flexibility and that the shape of the finger doesn’t change in vibrato. I cannot hold a pencil (using blackwing as well) in any of my second knuckles without tightening the distil joint into inflexibility but if I just hold that joint at a 90 degree angle and relax it the distil joint is perfectly loose--I am thinking it is a function of smaller fingers or differently proportioned ones. My teacher (whose vibrato is pro level of course and has similar hands) cannot do the pencil trick either-have you seen this before or do you think it is still important to be able to do this?

[@DanielKurganov]

I’m not sure exactly the point she was trying to make, but I think looking at 95% of great violinists will show that obviously the DIP joint is loose and is allowed to move freely. Sometimes, some fingers will roll side to side instead of the DIP joint bending. For example, my third finger vibrato is more of a rolling (I see this actually as a flaw in my technique that I have worked around, rather than something I would suggest) but my first second and usually fourth are very much reliant on the free bending of the DIP joint. Regarding the pencil trick, yes, it’s important to have a stable and strong finger yet not press hard into the fingerboard such that the DIP joint is stiff. The pencil trick sort of works at that, and I think it’s definitely worth doing.

[@waili9702]

This was very insightful! I had been playing for almost a decade but I still don't have a strong pinky vibrato. I tried to apply the tips in this video, but still have a lot of trouble keeping my pinky loose and achieving the same fullness of vibrato that can be achieved from my other 3 fingers. Do you have any tips on that? Or maybe you can add a segment on that for the next part as I find many of my peers having a similar issue with the pinky vibrato :)

[@DanielKurganov]

Thank you! I will definitely be addressing pinky vibrato in part 3, part 4.

[@ivyssauro123]

Yeah same, the flat and vertical vibrato tip are golden, they'll literally give a professional vibrato to a begginer, but still doesnt solve the pinky conundrum I feel my second finger and pinky vibrate the same "way" while first and third vibrate the same between them So I try to apply what I do in the second to the fourth but it's not much progress haha

[@scotthaupert2295]

You have chops! Would love to hear you play the Britten.

[@DanielKurganov]

Scott Haupert love that piece!

[@reichhen]

This is not a question about vibrato, but about violin playing in general - do you care/worry about protecting your hearing? If so, how? I notice you have a pad on your chin rest, is that for comfort or reducing vibrations through your jaw? Thanks! (ps the Ysaÿe exercises improved my fluidity very quickly!)

[@DanielKurganov]

What?

[@DanielKurganov]

Joking ;) I honestly don’t do much in that regard. I probably have some mild hearing loss from those long nights with my E string. Sometimes I practice with a mute and/or ear plugs, but it’s primarily a practice method with the added benefit of temporary ear-relief... The pad is to enhance friction and stability of the instrument.

[@KennethCraig]

This is an underated channel. I’m a self-taught beginner, this helps me a lot to improve my vibrato.