Finger vibrato is
vibrato produced on a
string instrument by cyclic hand movements. Despite the name, normally the entire hand moves, and sometimes the entire upper arm. It can also refer to vibrato on some
woodwind instruments, achieved by lowering one or more fingers over one of the uncovered holes in a
trill-like manner. This flattens the note periodically creating the vibrato.
There are three types of violin vibrato finger, wrist, and full-arm. In finger vibrato, the performer only moves his/her fingers; in full-arm, the performer pulls his/her arm back and forth on the violin but only minimally changes his/her finger's position, creating a change of tone.
Throughout the 20th century, finger vibrato was normally used in playing all members of the violin family unless otherwise indicated. Toward the end of the century, playing without vibrato became a more accepted technique- but almost never professionally.
In its pure form, vibrato is usually achieved by twisting the wrist rapidly to bend the note slightly, moving to and from the root note. However, the same techniques are applied at a slower speed to get pitch alterations.
