vibrato

[nuke_diver]

Mines kind of weak and is more of the violin style (back and forth instead of up and down). I've seen videos and other cats do it with slight rocking motion of their forearm and it looks simple but I'm struggling to learn it, particularly when actually playing as opposed to practicing. When I play I tend to fall back into my old mode (old dog syndrome )

 

Any suggestions for how to break out and develop a more consistent electric guitar type vibrato?

[straycat113]

The only way to get better at any technique is to practice and work on it. First off you you have to put in the practice time,bend and vibrato is a players DNA and here is where a lot of guys who shred find out later on they are seriously lacking. A good bend and vibrato needs to be worked on just as much as sweeping or tapping. Take the pentatonic scale and work on all five box positions and also work linear one string at a time as you have to build up the finger strength and also get callouses on your finger tips, which you probably do not have now. Start off high up in the E 1st box position at the 12th fret as it is easier to bend on the neck their than say lower in open position. Make sure you bend till you have the note you are bending to down perfectly and in pitch without even thinking. Take some basic two string licks and do them over and over repeatedly. I bet you are a decent player and can probably sweep or tap good and now see that you overlooked something you thought was not very impressive, I can remember an interview where Paul Gilbert of all people said he had to go back and work on his blues playing as he was shredding so much his blues playing was not up to par.

[kayd_mon]

I learned vibrato early on by copying a guitar teacher. He had a great up/down technique, and I learned it well. Try to find someone's vibrato you really like, and copy the technique. Keep at it until it's second nature.

[LesPaulFetish]

http://vanderbilly.com/Guitar-Lesson-vanderbilly-vibrato-exercises-1-of-2,6747,1.html

 

http://vanderbilly.com/Guitar-Lesson-sixstring63-bends-and-vibrato,8075,1,Fender_Stratocaster.html

 

There's a few other vibrato lessons there as well. Just take it slow and try to get it nice and even and not super fast or sloppy.

[nuke_diver]

The only way to get better at any technique is to practice and work on it.

Yeah I know I have a technique it's just different than others because I somehow learn it that way a long time ago

Take the pentatonic scale and work on all five box positions and also work linear one string at a time as you have to build up the finger strength and also get callouses on your finger tips, which you probably do not have now.

Actually my callouses are quite good..enough to play electric all day and acoustic most of the day

I bet you are a decent player and can probably sweep or tap good and now see that you overlooked something you thought was not very impressive,

Actually I'm relatively (50's) old and don't sweep or tap at all and have little use for it. Mostly a classic rock guy. The exercise above seems to be more about bending which isn't the problem, it's classic electric guitar vibrato vs violin (back and forth along the length of the string) vibrato

And no I suck...I just like to play a lot

Where my style of vibrato suffers is when I bend. I can do the up/down style on the E and A string but on the other strings I always fall back the violin style. I'm trying to break out of that habit but it's not easy changing something you've done the same way for years..and at my age I don't have much time

[soundcreation]

Also use your ears. I know that sounds stupidly obvious but I think it's important to recognize the sound a nice vibrato makes. Bending up and down only enough to give you that sweet sound. I think my vibrato is pretty good and I think I just developed it by bending slowly to what I thought it SHOULD sound like from hearing guys do it on records. Nearly everything with the left hand is muscle memory and so is vibrato. Training your muscles slowly at first to make the up/down motion then you can get it faster.

[BeanoBoy]

Yeah I know I have a technique it's just different than others because I somehow learn it that way a long time ago Actually my callouses are quite good..enough to play electric all day and acoustic most of the day Actually I'm relatively (50's) old and don't sweep or tap at all and have little use for it. Mostly a classic rock guy. The exercise above seems to be more about bending which isn't the problem, it's classic electric guitar vibrato vs violin (back and forth along the length of the string) vibrato And no I suck...I just like to play a lot Where my style of vibrato suffers is when I bend. I can do the up/down style on the E and A string but on the other strings I always fall back the violin style. I'm trying to break out of that habit but it's not easy changing something you've done the same way for years..and at my age I don't have much time

 

There's nothing wrong with having what you call violin vibrato, BB King probably used his violin vibrato more than the bending vibrato. You're correct though, having a good bend and shake vibrato is VERY expressive and takes a LOT of work. I work on my bend and shake more than anything else. Sounds like you know the mechanics ( don't bend with one finger use at least two ,sometimes three fingers to reinforce the bend.), just DO it over and over and over and over............ do it while watching TV. Try bending on your low E and A strings. Terrific growl!

[Wyzsard]

The only way to get better at any technique is to practice and work on it.

 

 

first sentence of first reply = epic win

 

it's the only answer

[jtr654]

Nuke-Diver there is nothing wrong with your style of vibrato. If it works for you don't worry about it.

[Task]

Also if your frets are worn or too low, your finger tips will hit the fretboard and foil your vibrato. If you are having trouble with vibrato, perhaps that might be a factor.

[Pope on a Rope]

Are you bending the string both directions, push-upward then pull-downward? If that's what you are doing try bending the string the same direction each time. Vibrato is just a series of bends and releases. You work twice as hard bending up and down if that is how you are trying to do it.

[Fenezz]

Mines kind of weak and is more of the violin style (back and forth instead of up and down). I've seen videos and other cats do it with slight rocking motion of their forearm and it looks simple but I'm struggling to learn it, particularly when actually playing as opposed to practicing. When I play I tend to fall back into my old mode (old dog syndrome ) Any suggestions for how to break out and develop a more consistent electric guitar type vibrato?

I used to have a big problem with that, but over time it's become a smaller problem. I could do it fast or slow, but I thought my tempo was too fast sometimes. I also had a problem keeping it going without wavering in speed.

Like others have said, there's nothing wrong with the "violin" vibrato. I use when I'm playing clean enough to where it's audible. Also, everyone has their own style, so don't get too caught up in trying to sound like Stevie Ray or whatever. Shoot for that if you like, but embrace whatever your own style ends up like.

One thing I did was practiced to a metronome. I'd practice just bending to the 1/4 notes, then to the 1/8 notes. Now that might not be what you'd do typically do in a song, but it helped me develop more control and be more conscious of what I'm doing without thinking about it too much.

Also, it had been suggested to me to try playing along with singers that use heavy vibrato and mimic their tempo, which also helped a lot.

Once you have the basics, string gauge can also be something to experiment with. You might find that strings that aren't too thin or too heavy will help.

[stratocaster202]

I didn't read the other posts so I'm sorry if this has been posted.

1) 'Violin' vibrato is the classical method and is very useful to add 'colour' to notes. The faster you go the more audible it is.

 

2) When it comes to rock vibrato, the most important thing is to have an anchor that you start and return to. Push the string with your wrist and then release the force with your wrist and voila. When adding vibrato to a bend do the same thing, but only release to the pitch of the bend. This stops your vibrato from sending your bends out of tune. It does however take practice.

 

The other thing to do, is just practice bending to pitches, as this will make your wrist more precise which makes vibrato easier.

[scuzzo]

this is one thing i have really worked on in playing,
smooth clean even vibrato.. its a real task to get it right.. and really easy to get by and not examine, and think just cause you shake the string a bit its a good vib... but i think its one of those thing that gives a persons playing character.. so i know where your coming from by trying to get all the factors right... a lot of it is feel and a lot of it is control... but i think the most important thing is a strong pivot. cradle the neck with the thumb and pivot on the index. try to get a even pressure always go back to center.. ,, keep at it... and then add bends and ghost bends and all that other cool stuff. its one of those thing that really are important mho... and not examined very much..

[straycat113]

Well again the best advice I can give is to listen to what you are trying to incorparate into your style and just keep practicing it and you will get it down. I am 49 and due to some serious hand issues my playing has been cut to almost nothing the last three years, so while waiting for surgery I practiced something I never thought I would able to break, the habit of which was picking with my hand fanned out. I have picked this wat since I first picked up a guitar and made playing a lot of guitars that had there controls right next to the bridge just mentally uncomfortable. But in three months I finally changed my whole picking style and do not even think about it anymore and pick 100% with a closed hand.