What is a Tremolo, and How Do You Use It? A Complete Guide

Traditionally, a tremolo is a technique in music where an instrumentalist plays notes rapidly. A tremolo can also involve alternating between two different notes, be created with a pedal, and much more. In electronic music, a tremolo is a variation in the level of volume of a note.

While the exact definition is often debated (some consider a tremolo to only be a change in volume while others believe it can be a rhythmic effect on pitch like a wide trill…) this effect is something you’ll want to get schooled about. 

Ready to learn how to make your music sound wavering, tense, shimmering, or even underwater?!  

Then keep reading.

Defining the Tremolo

Traditionally, a tremolo is a technique in music where an instrumentalist plays notes rapidly. A tremolo can also involve alternating between two different notes, be created with a pedal, and much more. In electronic music, a tremolo is a variation in the level of volume of a note.

While the exact definition is often debated (some consider a tremolo to only be a change in volume while others believe it can be a rhythmic effect on pitch like a wide trill…) this effect is something you’ll want to get schooled about. 

As a whole, the tremolo creates a wavering or shuddering effect. The word comes from the Italian term for trembling. It may also be called tremolando. 

Ready to learn how to make your music sound wavering, tense, shimmering, or even underwater?!  

Then keep reading. 

How Tremolo is Used 

Use In Composition

Have you ever been sitting in a concert hall listening to a symphony orchestra when suddenly, you feel a feeling of tension rise up in your chest? The violins play quietly yet fervently, sawing away at their strings as a soloist begins a mournful melody…The technique the group of strings performed was a tremolo.

The tremolo can have a shimmering ethereal effect, or increase feelings of tension in a section of music. They can also add rhythm and textural interest. If you’re a classical composer, try using it one of these ways. If you’re an electronic composer or guitarist, hold your horses for just a moment, we’ll talk in a minute. 

For now, let’s go back in time to the 1600s so that we can look at the roots of the technique…

In Classical Music

The tremolo was first invented in the Baroque era, around the 1620s by a composer and musician called Monteverdi. It was originally called the “bowed tremolo” and created a dramatic effect in (fittingly, bowed) strings.  This is performed at the tip of the bow, where it is easiest to create a near-weightless and quick movement. 

Later on, woodwinds and brass players began quickly tonguing or even flutter tonguing to create the effect. 

Symbols 

In classical music diagonal dashes across a note denote a tremolo. One or two slashes split the notes evenly, creating a rhythmic effect. This makes it easier for composers who write many repeated notes since they can simply put slashes on the notes instead of writing them all out (over and over again).

By the time we see three slashes, this indicates that the musicians should play the note repeatedly as fast as they can. 

There are two types of tremolo in classical music, measured and unmeasured. Which type is played depends on the era of the piece and the sound the composer intended to achieve.

Measured Vs. Unmeasured Tremolo

In the Baroque era of classical music, it was common practice to have what we call measured tremolos. This is the type the above video focused on. A measured tremolo is a tremolo where all musicians play a subdivision of the beat. For example, the note may be played 8 or 16 times per beat. The number of subdivisions (times it is played) would ultimately be determined by the conductor.

The unmeasured tremolo (or undefined tremolo) came about nearly 200 years after the measured tremolo. When it comes to being unmeasured, this means the musicians play as fast as they can and don’t divide the notes evenly. (This is the one that is notated as three slashes). 

A composer may also show that a tremolo is not measured by removing the stem (the long vertical line) of the note, or even by adding the letter ‘Z’!

Measured tremolos have a more rhythmic feeling than unmeasured ones. The effect of each is entirely different. There’s also the fingered tremolo, which is like a wide trill (Is that one too many tremolos for you guys for today?! I digress…)

Take a listen to Swan Lake which has fast, measured tremolos:

Then listen to La Mer which has unmeasured tremolos: DW Classical Music: La Mer

Guitarists, are you still with us?

Good, because I’m talking about you now! 

Guitar: Tremolo Pedals, Whammy Bars and Vibrato

If you’re a guitarist, you probably have (or at least have heard of) a tremolo pedal. As you’ve probably noticed, tremolo pedals are quite different from what Monteverdi had in mind. While you can rearticulate a note and get a tremolo, when most guitarists think of the word, they think of a pedal that makes a wavering sound not dis-similar to a flanger or phaser. 

On the guitar, tremolo pedals tend to have a  unique rhythmic effect. Some popular pedals that come to mind include Boss’s TR-2, JHS’s Tidewater, and Sentimental Bob Tacana. 

Vibrato VS. Tremolo

A tremolo and vibrato are not the same thing: vibrato is a subtle ongoing change in pitch (which can add richness to a sound) whereas tremolo is either a repetition of notes, wide trill, or a wavering change in volume. Another key difference is that tremolos are always marked in music, and vibrato never (or very, very rarely) is. 

Sometimes, beginning guitarists confuse the two: however, the way the technique is achieved is vastly different. To get vibrato on the guitar, one moves their finger to alter the pitch up and down slightly. In order to get tremolo on a guitar, you’d have to use a pedal that would digitally alter the volume of the signal. (Or rearticulate a note in the classical style, of couse!) 

There’s also the whammy bar- which is sometimes referred to as the tremolo bar- even though this effects pitch, and not volume. 

Check out this video, where Seiji Igusa combines an (articulated) tremolo with a tremolo bar with a tremolo pedal- How rad is this?!

Tremolo FX inside DAWS

When you’re working inside a DAW like Soundtrap, a tremolo is FX that changes the volume of the waveform to achieve an effect. In this case, tremolo will act as a type of modulation, adding a little bit of “life and movement” into the mix. 

How to Use Tremolo in Soundtrap

Using the tremolo effect on a synthesizer is a great place to start. There are two dials you can manipulate when using this effect: width, and depth. A small tweak to either and you can have a completely different sound. From subtle trembling to deep rhythmic undercurrents, the effect it can have is vast. Here are some quick tips:

• Take your time and adjust in small increments

• Toggle the effect on and off so you can get a feel for the changes you’re making

• Experiment with rhythmic subdivision

If dialed in strategically, you can make a guitar have an even and rhythmic 16th or 8th note tremolo, which I find, can add a lot of texture to a tune. 

This forum from our Effect Series will help you better understand how to use it in the DAW. 

Tremolo: It’s All Around You

You might not realize it yet, but tremolos are all around you. From Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” to Pink Floyd’s “Money” a plethora of well-loved rock songs feature the tremolo pedal. In the classical guitar world, many Latin-feeling or Flamenco tunes use tremolo to add flavor and depth. 

And in electronic music, you know that alluring underwater feeling?

 Yep, it’s also tremolo. 

So what are you waiting for? 

Try out the tremolo effect today for free with Soundtrap! Also, be sure to check out our tape wobbler, and auto-panning while you’re at it. 

About the author

Aleah Fitzwater is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, music journalist, and blogger from Temperance, United States. Aleah holds a Pk-12 instrumental music education degree. Her main instruments are flute, piano, drums, bass, and guitar.