Many guitarists would agree:
Having great vibrato guitar technique is what separates the average guitarist from the great guitarist.
What makes this so?
Notes without vibrato quickly become dull and lifeless.
I discovered this many years ago, when I began learning how to shred on guitar.
I knew how to play guitar with good speed, but I didn’t know how to translate my technical skills into my playing to make it sound expressive and emotional.
How did I solve the problem? I did these two things:
I started taking lessons with a guitar teacher who had great experience and used the sound of my favorite singers’ voices to inspire my vibrato style.
I determined ten steps anyone can take to master vibrato technique.
Watch this video to learn them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohOBetjb4jY
Now you know the basics, so let’s take your vibrato technique to a new level. Use these tips to do it:
Advanced Guitar Vibrato Tip #1: Use More Than One Vibrato Style
What is the fastest way to make any guitar solo sound better?
Use vibrato differently within it.
Use vibrato instantly after the string is picked. Delay your vibrato. Delay vibrato then re-articulate the string. Use wide vibrato (1 step or more). Slow vibrato. Vibrato together with rubato. And combinations of everything mentioned here.
It’s not difficult.
Check out this video to see how this tip improved the sound of one of my students’ guitar playing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vldw7EFT12s&feature=emb_title
Advanced Guitar Vibrato Tip #2: Practice Bent-Note Vibrato
Playing vibrato on bent strings is more difficult than playing it on unbent ones.
But when you perform it correctly…
…it makes your guitar sing like an angel!
What is the hardest part about playing bent-note vibrato?
Maintaining the bent note as the target pitch.
Additionally there are three options for bent note vibrato:
1. raising the pitch
2. lowering the pitch
3. move the vibrato above AND below the bent note.
The 3rd type of vibrato is by far the most difficult and most impressive to listen to.
Watch this video to see what I’m talking about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SZKNsuEOVY&feature=emb_title
Want to get more bent-note vibrato advice? Check out this guitar playing vibrato technique video by Mike Philippov.
Advanced Guitar Vibrato Tip #3: Study Expressive Singers
This has been instrumental for developing my vibrato technique to what it is today.
Here is what you do:
Play your favorite singers’ vocal melodies on guitar and use bends/vibrato to emulate their sound.
Don’t worry too much about your technique or hand positioning for now. Focus on the making your vibrato sound amazing.
(Your ears will tell your hands what movements to make.)
Want to see what this looks like in video form?
My favorite vocalist is Fabio Lione.
See this video where Fabio and I create melodic ideas together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS-odcHleqM&feature=emb_title
Advanced Guitar Vibrato Tip #4: Use Vibrato On Chords
A lot of guitar players prefer to play lead guitar parts over rhythm guitar parts.
But why is this exactly?
Answer: Many people have a hard time making chords sound musically expressive.
This is a big reason why playing lead guitar is often thought of as cooler than rhythm guitar.
But what if you could use vibrato to enhance the chords you play? Is that even something you can do?
Yes.
Check out this cool guitar technique demonstration to learn how to do vibrato on chords and sound great when you do it.
Bonus advice: Use a floating bridge (if your guitar has one) to apply vibrato evenly to the notes of your double stops.
Watch this video to see cool examples of double stops with vibrato:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBkYMlZX3HA&feature=emb_title
Now that you understand what to do to master vibrato, it’s time to overcome your hardest guitar playing challenges.
How do you do this?
Download this free guitar technique cheat sheet and take all guesswork out of your guitar practice.
About The Author:
Tom Hess is a professional touring musician and guitar player. He also teaches and trains guitarists from all over the world in his online guitar lessons. Learn more by reading the Tom Hess wiki page and following him on Twitter for free guitar tips.
