Trill, Vibrato and Tremolo

All of these colorist techniques are available on the hammer dulcimer. 

Tremolo

A tremolo is a repeated alternation of two tones in rapid succession. The pace of the alternation is steady throughout the duration of the tremolo.

General practice is that a tremolo uses any interval on the scale except a 2nd.  Most often, and especially in music of the Caribbean, tremolos are created using thirds.   Think of the sound of a steel drum ensemble when tones are sustained and you’ll have the exact sound of tremolo in your mind.

When you play tremolo on the dulcimer, focus on a crisp attack with clean separation between the tones.  No forearm motion. Control the hammers with moderate wrist movement.  Fine control is in the index finger and thumb.   Changing the volume of the tremolo is often done.  Changing the pace of the tremolo is rare. 

The technique of tremolo dates back at least to early opera.  Monteverdi (1567-1643) made great use of the technique and even wrote that the tremolo was among the most expressive dynamic devices available to opera composers.    The technique reached its peak in 19th century opera and was abandoned in 20th century opera except for comedic effect.

Trill

A trill is a melodic technique in which a tone on the strong beat alternates rapidly with a tone immediately above or below it.  Trills can be on the major or minor 2nd.  In contemporary music the trill usually begins on the principle tone.  During the Baroque period the trill usually began on the tone above the principle tone. 

A trill is indicated in music by a wavy line written above the principle tone.  The line extends horizontally for as long as the trill is supposed to last.  Sometimes in contemporary music the wave line will be further described by a + or – sign.  These indicate whether the trill should be played above or below the principle tone.  The wave line was created during the Baroque period.  It’s part of a set of symbols drawn above the music to tell the player how to perform the notes in the score.  Trills, mordents, rolls, cuts, all sorts of embellishment techniques were communicated by these little symbols hanging just above the staff.  Because their position and decorative style, musicians began calling these musical effects “ornaments”.  The term remains in use even among folk musicians who will speak about pipe ornaments, flute ornaments, and fiddle ornaments.

Vibrato

Vibrato is produced in singing or on a wind instrument by changing the air flow out the lungs with a pulsing rhythm.  The rate of the pulse varies from slow to fast over the duration of a tone.  Some singers never master the technique and use a throat vibrato that alters the pitch of a tone.  This style is really a tremolo, not a vibrato. 

On a string instrument vibrato is produced by rocking the finger holding down a string.  This movement varies the pitch of a tone.  Violin players use vibrato extensively as they search for the correct intonation or disguise the lack of accurate pitch.  The "depth" of vibrato describes the amount of pitch change.  The rate at which the pitch is varied is called the "speed" of vibrato.  Generally vibrato begins at a slow speed and accelerates to a fast vibrato.  The slower the music, generally, the greater the depth of the vibrato.

Vibrato is very difficult on the hammer dulcimer.  It is accomplished only by striking a treble bridge string-course with one hammer and immediately following the strike with the other hand bending the string-course on the opposite side of the bridge.  It can’t be done on the bass bridge.  It can’t be done in the high range of the instrument. It doesn’t last very long.  Usually the strike is on the right side of the treble bridge and the vibrato is induced by bending the left side of the course on the treble bridge.  A showy technique that often knocks the instrument out of tune!