<p>Hi everyone. So I've been taking voice lessons for about a year now. I think that I have improved a lot since I've started and will continue to make big improvements. I was just wondering if not having a vibrato in your voice will hinder you in the musical theatre world. I'm not really worried about this since I could still develop vibrato as I continue to work on my voice. But I was just curious. BTW I am a male, if that makes any difference. Thanks</p>
<p>Now, I’m definitely not a voice coach (in fact, we’re the same age, Yoshi), and I have never studied the way voices work, but I think that vibrato is something individualized for every person and is definitely not a requirement to be successful in MT. I know that personally, my voice tends to be almost completely straight tone. But, looking around at some of my friends and the people I work with, all their voices and vibratos are different. I also find through observation that the people with most vibrato seem to be those whose voices are most mature. So (just making an educated guess here), I think it’s safe to say your time will come in a few years. I think that vibrato has a place in MT as a sort of ornamentation - just something fun to play with like a subtle crescendo/decrescendo to really make the audience go “ooh”. I wouldn’t worry too much if you lack it - I sure don’t ;)</p>
<p>Like all things, depends on who is listening. But it likely won’t hurt you at all.</p>
<p>Yoshi, I don’t think vibrato is strictly “necessary” for musical theatre, but having it is an indication that you are using your air correctly - it is passing by your vocal cords in a way that makes them oscillate together and produce vibrato. </p>
<p>Most musical theatre performers, if not all, do possess vibrato, but you may not hear it from every performer all the time because it is something that can be “flattened out” for stylistic or dramatic purposes. (However, repressing vibrato all the time is not healthy and should be avoided.)</p>
<p>You indicate that you’re relatively young, so don’t worry too much about this aspect of technique. Vibrato is something that should happen naturally - trying to make it happen will only harm your instrument and create bad habits. It’ll come on its own. Keep practicing and work to maintain a healthy vocal technique, with emphasis on proper breathing.</p>