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By Bill McRea
Playing a guitar without vibrato is like eating Mexican food
without salsa. Vibrato is one of the most definitive
techniques
in defining your musical style, your own personal unique
sound.
No two players have the same vibrato sound. Some play slow and
wide while others play narrow and fast, and that’s the beauty
behind spending a lot of time learning different vibrato
techniques. It’s like eating different salsa’s every time you
go to your favorite taco stand. Enough talk about food, lets
talk technique.
Vibrato is sometimes confused with tremolo. Basically it is
just a technique of vibrating the string sharp and flat around
a root note. For example if you are playing the 7th fret on
the
3rd string with your 3rd finger on your fret hand you can just
push the note up slightly and them pull it down slightly. Do
this in quick succession so the over riding effect is a
“wobbly” tone around the root note you are playing. Use your
hand, wrist, and arm to make the movements. Never just wiggle
a
finger. Some people use a technique of pulling the string down
towards the floor and then releasing back up.
Try this in a variety of speeds and levels of bending during
your vibrato. The trick is to be consistent and smooth with
your motion. If you are playing a slow blues riff then you may
want to slow down and make a wide circular motion with the
string, or if you are playing a fast rock lick you may just ad
a fast narrow vibrato to accent the final note in a run.
It is possible to add vibrato using any finger you play with,
but it is most commonly done with the first and third finger
on
the fret hand. Using your first finger is a bit trickier. I
usually use my first finger for fast vibratos similar to BB
Kings style. I will literally lift my other finger far off the
fret board, press down and just “vibrate” the string as fast
and as open as possible. That’s funny the work vibrato is a
lot
like vibrate, because that’s actually what you are doing
vibrating the string.
When you combine vibrato with string bending, harmonics and
legato techniques you begin to discover the musician inside of
you. Playing guitar is about discovering your inner flow of
creativity and having the techniques to be able to express
them. Vibrato is one of the more personal and effective
techniques. As with all aspect of playing guitar you need to
experiment with these techniques, and most of all have fun!
About The Author: Bill McRea is the publisher of
www.guitarwarehouse.com and www.kansasfans.com.
Bill has been an owner of a successful guitar retailer and a
guitar teacher.
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