Vibrato Techniques For Beginners

Vibratos are possibly the most used technique for stringed instruments all along the history of music. So, electric guitar couldn't be the exception. This technique consists of giving the string a little oscilation while the note is ringing. Depending on how we do the oscilation, we'll get different modulations of the sound, which will give us an enormous variety of possibilities in order to do a good performance. Despite there are several different ways of vibrating notes, they can be classified in two clearly differenced types, according to the movement of the left hand(or right for those left-handed):

01. Rock guitar vibrato. 
02. Classic  vibrato

The vibrato technique for rock guitar, is very similar to the bend technique. In fact the movement of the hand is the same, except that it is cyclic and "bends" less the string than a real bend. According to this, it is possible to say that rock guitar vibratos are a series of multiple slightly and rapidly played bends. Classic vibrato features a different movement. The finger is fixed at the fret where note that you're going to played is, and the hand is moved slightly in a cyclic way, taking care of keeping the finger motionless.

To be clearer, rock guitar vibratos feature an up-to-down movement; instead, classic guitar vibratos feature a forward-to-backward movement. The modulation you get from the use of any of these vibratos is a little different, but it's valid in the same way. So, it is advisable to practice both, try to dominate them and use them according to the interpretation you are performing. Another thing: In both vibratos, the movement needed to play may come from the arm(reccommended for beginners) or from the wrist (this one is more difficult, and only after very much practice you can get a good sound), like Carlos Santana's vibrato.

Vibratos are easy to be identified in a tablature. They're represented by a ~ line beside the note and there can be one or several of these lines, depending on the vibration needed. We can also mention another type of vibrato, although it's not performed by a fretting hand. The one I mean is those you can play with the vibrato stick (or tremelo)of the guitar. This is commonly used when the guitarist wants to vibrate the sound of a whole chord instead an only note, but can be also used to vibrate single notes. The curious thing of this type, which makes a difference with the other two, is that you can play lower pitch vibratos. I mean, the other two types feature an oscilation going from the original note pitch to a higher one. Using this third type you can do the opposite: oscilate notes from the original to a lower pitch. So, if you pull the stick you'll get the first ones; if you push it, you'll get this last one.

Well, just as we've seen it, vibratos don't mean too high technic difficulty but you can be sure playing a good vibrato requires hours and hours of practice. Most times the expressivity of a solo lies in the way you vibrate notes. A good vibrato will mark the feeling you want to transmit to the audience, that's why you must work it in a special way. A good exercise is to set the metronome at a relaxed tempo (120 bpm for instance) and vibrate a single note for about three minutes; then there comes the difficult: try to make it sound the less monotonous possible during that three minutes. Even using an only note, you can vary the rythm and the dinamic of the vibration. Try to transmit some "life" to that note and that's where the key of a good vibrato is. Final advice:

- Use your index or your middle fingers.
- Experiment with the rythmic and dinamic of vibratos.
- Try to transmit your feelings, your spirits and your mood to your way of playing.

With the adequate practice, you can make really interesting melodies and solos using this vibrato techniques without needing very rapid movements, terrific artistic technique or magic tricks. Practice until you dominate it; just with some discipline this technique will be yours. Good luck!

- JC Rea.

Comments

[JB2500]

1st. very useful thx

[Shoestick]

Good article for begginers. I would of explained the technique a little better, but oh well. (dont have to be a rocket scientist...)

[PaoCruz_iligan]

Helpful... I think.

[jelleman]

Yeah.. I mean I know what it is but cool - I think was well explain btw

[TimmyPagePatric]

i agree with Shoestick, its a good article for beginners, no errors, overall very good advice.

[rahulkulkarni]

its a waste,dude are you short of examples?

[rahulkulkarni]

i was rather harsh,ya actually what you have said is clear and concise proving to be very helpful,thank you

[troutBoy]

gd article

[abigape]

Quite good

[IntlManOfMisery]

nice.

[IntlManOfMisery]

classic vibrato is more suited to fretless instruments (eg violin) specially towards d top of d neck, cos if you do slide a bit you get that distinctive fret passing sound on a guitar

[bc2skaterpunk]

K i'm completely and utterly lost and confused by this so called article. RELIENT K RULES!!!

[m3tal_fr3ak]

that was good.definitely will help begginers.nice work

[JLD]

Great advice

[kcsk8r]

good explaination

[FullNoise]

hey, yeh im a bit of a newbie and this helped a lot, thanks man!

[mathew]

poop smells funny

[sephiroth5789]

great article 5 stars and mathew i must say you are an ass

[SoulGuitarist]

Thanks dude, i had trouble doin em but now it's a bit easier, thanks again.

[barret]

Wait, When you vibrate your hands back and forth on the fret board ( side ways) thats a tremolo. those are also done on fretless instruments. But its a vibrato when your bend the string because it raises the pitch, rather than a tremolo which shifts the volume. When Tremolo Bars ( whammys) were invented, they were able to do both tremolos and vibratos so they called them tremolo bars.

[sir_john]

Not bad

[rking10k]

Very good artical.

[6_string_razor]

I've had trouble with vibratos for a long time. I don't care what the other dip s***s think, this article helped me out alot. Way to go bro. Well done.

[DownDark]

?

[day2kill]

6_string_razor:
your a FUCKING DID SHIT ass hole

[nickvictory88]

victory is me

[cantthinkofone]

very helpful

[OnlytheLonely]

not too bad

[pikel_t]

Thanmsk alot hey, il pratice it tell its good.

[williamyb]

realli cool article...helped me loads...thx dude..rock oN!!

[allenm]

hey that was a great article, by the way, is it possible to do vibrato on an accoustic or do i have to get an electric?

[torturekiller]

your right it is only for beginners..... it sucks men!!

[vantage4]

i figured out vibratos myself by bending but i didn't know about the classical vibratos until i read this. not bad! also it's great to listen to guys like hendrix and srv, the really great players, and listen to how much they can do with one vibrato.

[mmm]

torturekiller, i'd say you suck men if the truth was known, but no one is saying anything. as far as thge article goes, it was helpful to those of you new to guitar i am sure, as it was a great explanation of the vibrato process. i think a few practice tabs for the road would've been a nice touch, but there's not really much to practice with a vibrato so heh good article bro thanks

[askurmoran]

u forgot one kind of vibrato u forgot t he squeling vibrato wich is used alot in in deth metal and thrash one good example is the song dead skin mask from slayer the intro has them and they stickout alot so you cant miss'em

[14GreenDay]

good typing askurmoran

[aieou24]

very helpful thanks

[metalboy0392]

Ya just another tip if your doing a rock vibrato on the 5th and 6th strings, bend toward the 1st strings and vice versa. But I think everyone should know that by now

[inzaneguitarist]

lol good tip ethan

[noster2001]

I'm a beginner and it is an overall helpful lesson. Thanks

[aenigma]

askurmoran: That is not a vibrato technique that is a pinch harmonic(and in some cases natural/tapped etc.) with vibrato added to it.That has nothing to do with the article.

barret: No that is wrong.Tremolo like you said has to do wtih volume, whammy bars and vibrato has absolutely nothing to do with volume, it has to do with pitch.

day2kill and torturekiller:**** off you idiots.

Oh and why the hell would a vibrato lesson need examples?What are you going to do, put up some tablature with some vibrato lines?Yeah uh that helps.In fact lessons on basic vibrato is pointless, its an extremely obvious technique to people who arent troglodytes.

[aenigma]

askurmoran: That is not a vibrato technique that is a pinch harmonic(and in some cases natural/tapped etc.) with vibrato added to it.That has nothing to do with the article.

barret: No that is wrong.Tremolo like you said has to do wtih volume, whammy bars and vibrato has absolutely nothing to do with volume, it has to do with pitch.

day2kill and torturekiller:**** off you idiots.

Oh and why the hell would a vibrato lesson need examples?What are you going to do, put up some tablature with some vibrato lines?Yeah uh that helps.In fact lessons on basic vibrato is pointless, its an extremely obvious technique to people who arent troglodytes.

[jamstation]

i had more fun reading the comments than the article lol

[Wolf1915]

I've been doing the classic vibrato usually. Now I will practice the rock vibrato more. Thanks

[Jammie1]

This is very helpful. I just took up the bass a few months ago, and it's easier than I thought, although the fact that I'm a grade 6 cellist helps a bit. I had real trouble getting vibrato I was using the 'classical' method and wasn't getting the results I can on my cello, but the 'rock' method is far better.

[PLUCK]

i agree with jamstation

[ace_lester]

hehe..yah comments are fun to read..
vibrato is a nyc technique..tnx.. im sounding lyk a pro already..haha j/k..=)

[SuperRitsu]

hey congrats on this article
really helped me understand wat a vibrato was

[l_ampao_l]

Thank you. My question is now answered.

[21491]

I definately agree with jamstation and PLUCK, but it was also a pretty good explanation for begginers to the technique.

[the_dale]

ok lng

[c0ld_3mphasis05]

Ok.

[highway1]

im not a bgginer but my guitar teacher says im vibratoing wrong ( i used my finger and just bend back and forth rapidly), its a good thread describing what vibrato is but it doesnt realy explain 2 me how to acctually do it(like with my wrist)

[Andy_Laroque]

Great explanation and for those of u wonderin how to play a vibrato and saying that he doesnt explain how to do it.... u must not have read it... Just like anything u do or any instrument or any type of picking or guitar playing u have to FEEL what ur playing and if u dont get it u know the basics of a vibrato just try it out n mess around n get into it and ull feel it eventually and it might help u learn how to play other stuff too

[WWWOOOWWW]

He says use only index and middle finger, but i find alot of guitarist using all 4 fingers???

[vogi77]

on the classic vibrato you pull the string a little bit, so it works on fretted instruments as well

[vai&satch767]

good article but i still cant get my vibrato right...you need some more practising examples next time...but overall a good article.

[Gumke]

Helpful article!

[Kmos]

id say its pretty good... overall its a begginers lesson

[-metalhead-]

good article i guess...

[Dr.Pest]

thanks for the article !

[Kevin Dias]

it'd b nice if u could put out a video showing how the vibrato is played.still it's a good lesson

[Quoteman]

ok, there are many different kinds of said "rock" vibrato though. Clapton-style, B.B. King-style (butterfly), Vai style, it goes on. Maybe some videos breaking them down would help begginers more. Anyone can create a vibrato. But a truly solid vibrato is enough to put you ahead of 90% of guitarists. With a good vibrato you can make one note say more than 100.

[abhorsen12]

Ermm i'm still a little confused, can someone explain to me how exactly to perform a vibrato, is it just a bend but moving the bend up and down a bit?

[colinwicks@hotm]

brilliant, thanks for all your help UG. I THINK ITS AN AMAZING SITE,AND ANY HELP I CAN GET IS APPICIATED. keep it up .

[Kynyster_K]

The "Vibrato Stick"?
WTF?