I'm having trouble of using vibrato while playing pieces. I heard that we can practice vibrato while playing long notes, but when I play a piece, I can't get the feel of how fast should I vibrate. I heard it's depends on how fast is the piece, lets say vibrato in Aria by Eugene Bossa would be much diff than Dance Villagious by Sugawa. But somehow, I still can't get it while playing pieces. And I'm not sure when should I vibrate. Many ppl gv me diff advices tat confused me. Some said saxophone should play vibrato all the way whenever ur playing pieces. Some didnt agree but asked me to use it on long notes in the pieces. While some of them said it depends on the style and the feelings of the piece. OMG!! I'm totally screwed up!!
Btw, should we play different vibratos in diff genres? Such as jazz differs with bossa nova, n both differs with classical pieces? I would be appreciate if someone could help me out. Thx

Aria, just recently played that piece.....but as far as where, technically i say any note longer than one beat.....using vibrato all the way through a piece, not so much. On a slower song (say something around quarter note=60-82) use a wide vibrato. Anything 100-presto, use a faster vibrato...cant really explain it, its more of feeling the music

Good Luck!

Peter

Oh thx... But I have one more question, which is:
When I play a slow piece, lets say Aria, it ends a phrase while a long note such as dotted minim. Should I vibrate through whole 3 beats or start vibrate later like...on 2nd beat of the dotted minim?

With a piece like Aria, you want to come in to the note using vibrato instead of midway. It makes it sound more musical.

Ah, I don't know. It's hard to tell without hearing or seeing the music.

God, "Aria" by Bozza is one of my favorite sax pieces!! Ok, I just played this a little while ago so let me see what I can do:

So, let's say you're taking it at a flat-out 60 bpm. For that first measure (that the sax plays), try using 2 vibrations per beat. Same thing for the other measures with the dotted quarter note. I think that your vibrato speed should depend on the loudness of the piece. The quieter the piece, like "Aria," the less vibrations. If you have a louder song, like the first movement of Bernhard Heiden's "Sonata for Alto Sax and Piano," the more vibrations. It's kinda weird to explain...

A lot of it has to do also with what you want it to sound like. "Aria" is a beautifully sweet piece, so maybe you want 2 vibrations per beat of the dotted quarter note. Maybe you want 3 per beat. It's up to you.

Hope this helps a bit!!