Hi Guys, I'd just like to talk about something you can do that will help with your vibrato. Let's break vibrato down and see what it really is:
It's basically a series of bends played one after the other continuously which gives that oscillating, vibrating effect. So, all we're really doing is bending a string out of pitch to gain a desired effect.
Everbody may perform vibrato slightly differently and there are different ways of playing it but I'm taking mainly about the 'up, down' motion which is the most common.
If you slow things down and treat vibrato the same way as bending a string, then you can practice bending to different intervals. Pick a note on the D or G string, say the 5th or 7th fret. Bend it up 1 semitone, then release it back to the original pitch. This is where many people have difficult with vibrato because they forget to release the string back to it's original pitch and so the vibrato can sound out of tune.
So, practice bending up to the desired interval, releasing back tp pitch, then doing it again. Do it a few times in a row without stopping and see if you can keep hitting the intervals accuractely, paying special attention to the original pitch of the note that you are fretting.
Try it with a whole tone as well.. eventually, try it with a whole tone and a half. If you bend to the these intervals with control, then you will be able to perform wide vibrato because that's all vibrato is.. a series of bends.
Another thing I recommend is to perform all vibrato on strings from the low E to the G string in a downward motion, towards the floor, instead of pushing upwards. You get more control this way. For the B and high E, if you want a wide, purposeful vibrato you'll have to push upwards because if you try to push downwards you'll fall off the neck
Just like the way we bend strings !
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Ben Higgins How To Control Your Vibrato Dec 17 2011, 11:27 AM
