vibrato

[vi-brah-toh, vahy-]

noun

Music.

plural

vibratos 

1. a pulsating effect, produced in singing by the rapid reiteration of emphasis on a tone, and on bowed instruments by a rapid change of pitch corresponding to the vocal tremolo.

vibrato

/ vɪˈbrɑːtəʊ /

noun

1. a slight, rapid, and regular fluctuation in the pitch of a note produced on a stringed instrument by a shaking movement of the hand stopping the strings

2. an oscillatory effect produced in singing by fluctuation in breath pressure or pitch

Word History and Origins

Origin of vibrato¹

1860–65; < Italian < Latin vibrātus (past participle); vibrate

Word History and Origins

Origin of vibrato¹

C19: from Italian, from Latin vibrāre to _vibrate

Example Sentences

She has a vibrato that is out of place.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

After months of painful practice, he learned a new style of playing – using his two good fingers to lay down chords, and adding vibrato to thicken the sound.

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And while it does not have the electronic vibrato of an auto-tuned microphone, it does sing.

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The lord of vibrato’s melismatic flourishes flickered like comet trails across an anthemic “Jeremy,” one of the darkest hits in modern rock history, which blew up in a joyful supernova on Thursday.

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The pair cherrypicked from the two models, and made alterations to things like vibrato speed, or slowing and relaxing phrases.

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