Vibrato
- Thread starter Ethan Keeling
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yeh i thought that, im just gonna do improv and get feel and emotion into it, work on everything that way!
Developing your personal approach to vibrato is one of the single most defining things you can do as a guitarist and a musician. Aside from note choice (mostly around preferential landing notes), it is one of the most fundamental unique characteristics of any guitar player. What would Zakk Wylde be without his unique and distinctive approach to vibrato?
Why did Steve Vai spend an hour each run-through of his 10 and 30 hour guitar workouts just exploring the self-expression of vibrato?
Why did Paul Gilbert name an ENTIRE ALBUM "Vibrato??"
When someone says their tone is all in their fingers, 90% of what they're talking about is their bending and their vibrato.
It is often best practiced by doing, and it will consistently evolve over time. Mine has generally grown a lot more subtle and nuanced in the last few years, and that was a conscious effort without conscious effort, which is hard to explain. What it mostly comes down to is discovering all the different approaches and speeds and widths of vibrato you can and determining which ones best fit your personality and feelings at a given time.
Why did Steve Vai spend an hour each run-through of his 10 and 30 hour guitar workouts just exploring the self-expression of vibrato?
Why did Paul Gilbert name an ENTIRE ALBUM "Vibrato??"
When someone says their tone is all in their fingers, 90% of what they're talking about is their bending and their vibrato.
It is often best practiced by doing, and it will consistently evolve over time. Mine has generally grown a lot more subtle and nuanced in the last few years, and that was a conscious effort without conscious effort, which is hard to explain. What it mostly comes down to is discovering all the different approaches and speeds and widths of vibrato you can and determining which ones best fit your personality and feelings at a given time.
This is such a great question. I’ve been working on vibrato myself and I seem to be an “all or nothing” kind of gal....which at times isn’t great.... it’s hard to figure out on your own how much is too much *sigh* And learn how to reign it in
I'm hijacking this old thread to drop these excellent videos that I was watching yesterday (while practicing my vibrato unplugged ^^). I think most guitarists agree on just how important it is to have good vibrato technique, but it is actually talked about a surprisingly little amount. Lots of guitarists seem to have just developed their own over time without really thinking about it, and never did specific eercises for it, including my own teacher
. Even on this school, PG only talks about it for about 1/3 of a lesson in the intermediate techniques.So, enjoy these videos, I feel like doing pure dry vibrato exercises, and then making a conscious effort to incorporate them into my playing, is definitely the right approach for me.
Haven't watched these Videos but not sure if you want to talk about / practice it? Unless you feel it's something you severely struggle with I believe letting it come naturally is something that makes you unique as a guitarist. How do you Guys see this?
I'm hijacking this old thread to drop these excellent videos that I was watching yesterday (while practicing my vibrato unplugged ^^). I think most guitarists agree on just how important it is to have good vibrato technique, but it is actually talked about a surprisingly little amount. Lots of guitarists seem to have just developed their own over time without really thinking about it, and never did specific eercises for it, including my own teacher
So, enjoy these videos, I feel like doing pure dry vibrato exercises, and then making a conscious effort to incorporate them into my playing, is definitely the right approach for me.
Personally I practiced without an amp and tried to make it sing but that was just by playing other people's songs not by doing exercises
I'd say that definitely still counts as an exercise.
In terms of "letting it come naturally": I was just watching a video of a somewhat popular youtube guitarist the other day about her guitar progress, and she mentions that she didn't actually develop solid vibrato in her first 6 or 7 years of playing, so I feel it is definitely something you can't just let come to you, you have to make some conscious effort for it.
Of course this can take many forms, be it playing unplugged and trying to make beautiful noises anyway like Ids, or being really rigorous in learning your favorite guitarists stuff, including copying their vibrato technique etc, or just doing dry exercises with every finger everywhere on the neck.
I guess, my point is just, I don't see a big difference in that regard to any other lead technique, like increasing alternate picking speed for example. Both important techniques, just one is talked about a lot more than the other. The above resources are just for other people who feel they need more information or inspiration about vibrato.
PS: And yeah, I did specifically look for those videos because I got called out on my vibrato on my two recent submissions (which I'm really grateful for) and went looking for specific resources to address it.
Ooh yeah, that's a good point. I personally value a good vibrato over a y shred technique you can have(shredding is useless if the vibrato isn't good when you land on a noteI'd say that definitely still counts as an exercise.
In terms of "letting it come naturally": I was just watching a video of a somewhat popular youtube guitarist the other day about her guitar progress, and she mentions that she didn't actually develop solid vibrato in her first 6 or 7 years of playing, so I feel it is definitely something you can't just let come to you, you have to make some conscious effort for it.
Of course this can take many forms, be it playing unplugged and trying to make beautiful noises anyway like Ids, or being really rigorous in learning your favorite guitarists stuff, including copying their vibrato technique etc, or just doing dry exercises with every finger everywhere on the neck.
I guess, my point is just, I don't see a big difference in that regard to any other lead technique, like increasing alternate picking speed for example. Both important techniques, just one is talked about a lot more than the other. The above resources are just for other people who feel they need more information or inspiration about vibrato.
PS: And yeah, I did specifically look for those videos because I got called out on my vibrato on my two recent submissions (which I'm really grateful for) and went looking for specific resources to address it.
) . For me personally I completely ignored vibrato in my formative years of playing and I'm hindsight that was a mistake
True, shredding doesn't impress me, Most shred stuff I don't even remember. But Play 5 notes with a distinct rhythm and good Vibrato and I am hooked.Ooh yeah, that's a good point. I personally value a good vibrato over a y shred technique you can have(shredding is useless if the vibrato isn't good when you land on a note
Also I feel my Vibrato is actually quite good and I naturally developed a certain amount of controll over it.
In terms of Vibrato, your own personal style of doing it will be a melding of all of the things that your ear wants to hear, based on the players you listen to & love. For me, working on my vibrato was never a conscious thing, it was more a process of me chasing the sounds of the styles I heard - like Syn's style of wide, flowing vibrato - and trying to impersonate them the best I could. So my advice would really be to try and impersonate the things you like, which you'll never be able to do exactly like the player, and somewhere along the way with that you'll settle into your own style.
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