vibrato

Vibrato is an effect that repeatedly nudges a sound's pitch slightly up and down over a very short cycle, giving the note a wavering, trembling quality. Think of a singer's voice subtly shaking as they hold a long note, or a violinist's finger rocking slightly back and forth on the string. Instead of sounding flat and fixed, the note feels like it's gently moving and alive.

In today's browser-based instruments and music generation tools, this effect can be switched on and off with a single button, without anyone actually having to shake their hand. The program automatically wobbles the pitch by a set amount at a set cycle, so even beginners can click once and get a sound that mimics a real instrument being played with a trembling touch.

In the article, it appears in a passage like: "From the waveform menu at the top of the screen, choose a tone among SINE, TRI, WARM, and REED, and toggle reverb, note snap, vibrato, tremolo, and echo effects on or off." Vibrato and tremolo are easy to mix up here, but the difference is that vibrato wavers the pitch of a note, while tremolo wavers its volume.

Open a webcam- or gyroscope-based instrument page in your browser, turn on GYRO mode, and tilt your phone slightly and repeatedly from side to side. Toggle vibrato on and off from the effects menu at the top while holding the same note, and compare the difference in sound—you'll feel the effect right away.