[PaulRSmith]

I told you I would be asking questions:

Now I have been playing seriously for only 5 months now and am progressing.

One thing I need to nail is vibrato. I have looked at some online lessons and they say "just move your hand like this"

Well my hand doesn't move like that. Turnings a door knob? Nope not happening.

Bend and vibrato? Nope my hand is all spent with the bend.

I have really been trying to get this but haven't had the aha! moment yet.

So anyone have any tips or techniques they could share to help this old down and out blues player?

 

[Mark Brown]

It becomes like second nature eventually but I can't remember how to learn it lol

I would think, and this is just me thinking, that with only 5 months under your belt that your brain is just using too much of its bandwidth to keep up as it is and adding the pressure of trying to get a nice sounding vibrato is just overloading your ability? I could be wrong, but I find I get the nicest sounds when I am thinking less and doing more.

Precise finger pressure is the key though, it really is just a warble.

 

[diyfabtone]

Everybody's different. Experiment with moving your hand the way it can rather than how it should. I find the bend type vibrato almost impossible to control but the back-n-forth violin style works - problem is its pretty subtle and not that Rock n- Rollly or Bluesy.

 

[polyslax]

Everybody's different. Experiment with moving your hand the way it can rather than how it should. I find the bend type vibrato almost impossible to control but the back-n-forth violin style works - problem is its pretty subtle and not that Rock n- Rollly or Bluesy.

Violin style is what I naturally did as a kid learning guitar. It's actually a really nice effect and I've had people over the years ask about doing it and saying it sounds great. So, about 40 years into playing guitar I thought, hey, I better figure out the vibrato that most players are using. It came very naturally and I use both techniques now.

I say baby steps with guitar works best at the beginning. It's an instrument that involves building a lot of strength, flexibility, coordination and muscle memory in your hands. Take it slow. It may sound not so great for the first year, but it will come with repetition.

 

[jdto]

Your hand doesn’t move that way yet. Go very slowly. Bending into vibrato takes a lot of control and strength so you need patience. Do the movements slowly to build up a feel for it. Practice for five minutes a day. I have different hand movements for doing vibrato with different fingers and my technique probably sucks, but I do my best. Remember that the end goal is the get the sound. There are many different vibrato styles out there, so don’t think you have to use a specific one, but find one that feels good for you and develop it.

 

[Mikev7305]

Vibrato is one of the toughest things to nail. And everybody has their own way. When you think of a players style, you typically notice the notes they choose, and how they vibrato a note. Index finger vibrato is probably the first one to learn, but I know players that have played for years who can't get a good bent string vibrato. It'll come though. Don't stress it. Keep working on your playing. 5 months isn't a long time, your muscles have a long way to go still

 

[1SweetRide]

I told you I would be asking questions:

Now I have been playing seriously for only 5 months now and am progressing.

One thing I need to nail is vibrato. I have looked at some online lessons and they say "just move your hand like this"

Well my hand doesn't move like that. Turnings a door knob? Nope not happening.

Bend and vibrato? Nope my hand is all spent with the bend.

I have really been trying to get this but haven't had the aha! moment yet.

So anyone have any tips or techniques they could share to help this old down and out blues player?

Lol. I'm in the same boat. That wrist twisting motion never worked for me. I've kinda got a reasonable facsimile by slightly vibrating my wrist but it only works on the index finger lol. Do what others do, just move your finger up and down, skip the doorknob motion.

 

[1SweetRide]

Vibrato is one of the toughest things to nail. And everybody has their own way. When you think of a players style, you typically notice the notes they choose, and how they vibrato a note. Index finger vibrato is probably the first one to learn, but I know players that have played for years who can't get a good bent string vibrato. It'll come though. Don't stress it. Keep working on your playing. 5 months isn't a long time, your muscles have a long way to go still

Right but then I look at BB King and think man, that's what I'd like to be able to do. Lofty goals that.

 

[laristotle]

 

[PaulRSmith]

It becomes like second nature eventually but I can't remember how to learn it lol

I would think, and this is just me thinking, that with only 5 months under your belt that your brain is just using too much of its bandwidth to keep up as it is and adding the pressure of trying to get a nice sounding vibrato is just overloading your ability? I could be wrong, but I find I get the nicest sounds when I am thinking less and doing more.

Precise finger pressure is the key though, it really is just a warble.

Good points Mark. Maybe just practice more and not overthink it.

Everybody's different. Experiment with moving your hand the way it can rather than how it should. I find the bend type vibrato almost impossible to control but the back-n-forth violin style works - problem is its pretty subtle and not that Rock n- Rollly or Bluesy.

I can do the violin type but the sound is not what I want.

Violin style is what I naturally did as a kid learning guitar. It's actually a really nice effect and I've had people over the years ask about doing it and saying it sounds great. So, about 40 years into playing guitar I thought, hey, I better figure out the vibrato that most players are using. It came very naturally and I use both techniques now.

I say baby steps with guitar works best at the beginning. It's an instrument that involves building a lot of strength, flexibility, coordination and muscle memory in your hands. Take it slow. It may sound not so great for the first year, but it will come with repetition.

Thanks. I am in no hurry (well yes I am) but I will keep practicing it.

Your hand doesn’t move that way yet. Go very slowly. Bending into vibrato takes a lot of control and strength so you need patience. Do the movements slowly to build up a feel for it. Practice for five minutes a day. I have different hand movements for doing vibrato with different fingers and my technique probably sucks, but I do my best. Remember that the end goal is the get the sound. There are many different vibrato styles out there, so don’t think you have to use a specific one, but find one that feels good for you and develop it.

Good points. Thanks

Vibrato is one of the toughest things to nail. And everybody has their own way. When you think of a players style, you typically notice the notes they choose, and how they vibrato a note. Index finger vibrato is probably the first one to learn, but I know players that have played for years who can't get a good bent string vibrato. It'll come though. Don't stress it. Keep working on your playing. 5 months isn't a long time, your muscles have a long way to go still

I will get this eventually. Just going to bear down more and see if I can train my hand to do it right.

 

[PaulRSmith]

Fantastic! I notice he is using his whole arm a lot and then sometimes just his hand muscles.

 

[diyfabtone]

The Vibrato arm is also a great tool as well.

 

[Budda]

Find a vibrato sound you like and try to mimic it. This wont come quickly.

Great vibrato is often overlooked, so its absolutely fantastic that you want to start this journey now. Have fun!

 

[laristotle]

Kinda like shaking water off of your hand.

 

[diyfabtone]

4 Icons of Vibrato | Angus | B.B. | Blackmore | Beck | Tim Pierce | Guitar Lesson | Learn To Play - YouTube

 

[Griff]

You're playing an electric guitar right? Much more difficult to learn this on an acoustic.

 

[mrmatt1972]

I learned by copying bb king. I do other styles too. It’s all in the wrist.

 

[JBFairthorne]

Regarding different styles of vibrato…

Clapton’s free floating hand style is pretty unusual and hasn’t been mentioned yet. Check it out. It requires more finger strength but less dexterity I think. There’s no twisting motion at all. It’s almost like only the finger tip is touching the neck, going straight up and down but it’s not the finger bending creating the movement. The finger is relatively stable while the whole hand is moving, using the bigger muscles in the hand and forearm. I could never do it though. For fast vibrato I use violin style, the first I learned. For slower vibrato it’s pretty much just a repeated bend and release.

 

[Mikev7305]

I've always thought you could get 10 great players to play one bent note and vibrato it, and each one would sound different. It's such a personal thing, like the timbre of a voice and all the nuances within it. Speed of wiggle, how high or low you go with it, when you start or end the vibrato while holding the note, so many variables within a second or two of playing one note. Without vibrato, guitar would be extremely boring.

If I don't like a players vibrato, doesn't matter what notes they choose, I can't get into them. Kinda like Kirk Hammett, he can play some cool licks, but his vibrato just doesn't sound interesting to me. Like a beginner I guess

 

[PaulRSmith]

The Vibrato arm is also a great tool as well.

I don't even have the arm attached.

Find a vibrato sound you like and try to mimic it. This wont come quickly.

Great vibrato is often overlooked, so its absolutely fantastic that you want to start this journey now. Have fun!

Thanks!

Kinda like shaking water off of your hand.

Interesting...

4 Icons of Vibrato | Angus | B.B. | Blackmore | Beck | Tim Pierce | Guitar Lesson | Learn To Play - YouTube

You're playing an electric guitar right? Much more difficult to learn this on an acoustic.

Yes I am with light strings.

I learned by copying bb king. I do other styles too. It’s all in the wrist.

No way I can make my hand move like that

Regarding different styles of vibrato…

Clapton’s free floating hand style is pretty unusual and hasn’t been mentioned yet. Check it out. It requires more finger strength but less dexterity I think. There’s no twisting motion at all. It’s almost like only the finger tip is touching the neck, going straight up and down but it’s not the finger bending creating the movement. The finger is relatively stable while the whole hand is moving, using the bigger muscles in the hand and forearm. I could never do it though. For fast vibrato I use violin style, the first I learned. For slower vibrato it’s pretty much just a repeated bend and release.

I will look at that one.

I've always thought you could get 10 great players to play one bent note and vibrato it, and each one would sound different. It's such a personal thing, like the timbre of a voice and all the nuances within it. Speed of wiggle, how high or low you go with it, when you start or end the vibrato while holding the note, so many variables within a second or two of playing one note. Without vibrato, guitar would be extremely boring.

If I don't like a players vibrato, doesn't matter what notes they choose, I can't get into them. Kinda like Kirk Hammett, he can play some cool licks, but his vibrato just doesn't sound interesting to me. Like a beginner I guess

Yes exactly. Was watching a Tedeshi/Trucks video and she is a good player but her vibrato is the violin type and you really couldn't hear it.