Howlin' Throat Vibrato & Howlin' Wolf

Technique
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I was texting with my friend Justin tonight (whose also a professional musician and a good harp player) and we were joking around about how the throat vibrato technique has been ever elusive for both of us.

We also discussed how some people seem to have a deep rich throat vibrato so naturally, and how much we hate those kind of people. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Do you know what Iā€™m talking about when I say throat vibrato? Vibrato is a subtle variation in PITCH.
Tremolo by contrast is a subtle variation in VOLUME.

This is the best video Iā€™ve seen on the subject.

Iā€™ve played along with this video, and a couple times I heard myself actually playing a nice full rich vibrato. But thenā€¦ itā€™s gone again! Argh!

I remember this is how it was when I first learned how to isolate notes, or when I first learned how to bend. Any time we are learning a new technique, thereā€™s usually some points along the way where our faith fails. Like right now Iā€™m feeling like, ā€œWill I ever be able to do this? Or am I doomed to live a life of playing harmonica without a good vibrato?ā€ LOL.

Sometimes country music harmonica with super-wide vibrato annoys me anyway, so Iā€™m like ā€œI donā€™t need you anyway, throat vibrato!ā€ But a tasty vibrato add so much emotion like Howlinā€™ Wolf conveys in this video (I like his explanation of the blues at the beginning as well!)

What do you think about throat vibrato? Can you do it? Do you think it sounds good? Have you seen a better tutorial than Iā€™ve posted in this thread?

Rock on my harmonica brother and sisters, and letā€™s remember the whole point is to enjoy the journey, the growth, the adventure.

Aloha,
Luke

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Hereā€™s another great video @Natalyns just shared that highlights some more of Howlinā€™ Wolfā€™s amazing vibrato!

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For the longest time, I wanted Terry McMillanā€™s vibrato. It was a very sweet sounding, but strong vibrato. Think of when he does the intro to his version of ā€œAmazing Graceā€ or the lonesome harmonica outro to Blake Sheltonā€™s take on ā€œOle Redā€. When I tried learning this by myself, I felt like I couldnā€™t get it at all. So for the longest time, I used my tongue to ā€œemulateā€ the sound of that vibrato. It wasnā€™t until Todd told me that Terry used his throat to create his signature vibrato that I started taking it a lot more seriously and trust me when I say that when it comes to getting throat vibrato down, Todd is the guy to turn to. It was his encouragement and positive words that got me into learning it again. Now Iā€™m at the point where I have a very noticeable and quivering vibrato but when Iā€™m playing very intensely, I get a heavy vibrato.

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@Luke, not only is the throat vibrato great, Howlin Wolf also ā€œdancesā€ beautifully on his stool while playing. As you can see, you can also play wonderfully while sitting. :slightly_smiling_face:

Iā€™ve been using tongue and throat vibrato since I started playing the harp. It came all by itself, although I didnā€™t know it yet. But this way I can easily compensate for my limited hand wah-wah and if I want to, I can only play with one hand.

Greetings and Aloha back from Astrid :woman_in_lotus_position:

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I can do it but not as good as the wolf :joy::joy::joy: I think it would very difficult to get it that way. I like Cary bells version with the high pitched growl/howl at the end. Been trying to get that for years always end up coughing my entrails up! :joy::joy::joy:

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