Does anyone have tips on how to develop a good vibrato? I've been playing for 21 years and dont really have a problem bending the notes but for some reason I can get a good vibrato going. Mine sounds like more of a nervous twitch than a controlled vibrato. Should I practice vibrato real slow and wide? Will it help if I bend the note, hold it and then shake with my wrist? I see other peple do it effortlessly but for some reason I cant do it. I dont know whether its my technique, muscle strength or both. Sometimes if I slide into a bend with some momentum, I can get it going. Otherwise I can only do it real slow and I totally have to concentrate. Any advise or exercises would be appreciated.

For bending and vibrato, I always wrap my thumb over the top of the neck. And I pivot on the side of my hand, where the index finger meets my palm. It's a wrist and elbow motion. Not a finger motion. And I try to reinforce my bends/vibrato with as many fingers as possible. For vibrato, you may try bending the string down towards the ground first, then up. This is usually good to get you used to NOT using your fingers. It's kinda like shaking a locked doorknob.

For bending, it's the same motion. For accuracy, I often play a note, then try to match it with a lower, bent note. Try the Am Pentatonic scale, at the 5th. position. Play the G string, 8th. fret. Now bend the G string, 7th. fret to match it. (Use your ring finger, reinforced with your middle finger. Keep your thumb wrapped over the top of the neck, and your index finger on the B string, 5th. fret. This will help with your technique).

Next, play the G string 9th. fret. Bend the G string, 7th. fret to match it. Continue with higher frets on the G string. Each time, bending the G string 7th. fret to match it. I can usually get 2 1/2 to 3 whole steps (5 to 6 frets), higher. Then I run out of fretboard, as the G string will get pushed off of the top of the neck.

The whole thing is accuracy, and control. Let me know, if this helps.

I don't know if this is obvious or not but when I teach I notice that players, and not just guitarists, aren't always aware that good vibrato is also in tempo with the song - usually some type of subdivision of the beat - but in time none the less. So yeah, practice with CD's or a metronome.

Also, give the "side to side" vibrato a try. Bending the string only raises you in pitch. Side to side, while being gentler, also lowers your pitch slightly as your finger rolls closer to the ascending fret. This is more like horn, string, or vocal vibrato. As guitarists, we have the advantage of being able to do both - even at the same time in a circular motion.

Emulating different types of vocalists is a good exercise. Karen Carpenter, Aaron Neville, and opera singers in general have all exhibited excellent control over vibrato.

I bend and vibrato with all my fingers, but for the real slow, wide, sexy stuff, I gravitate toward the third finger, as supported by by the index and middle fingers. I like the approach of raking up through all the strings prior to the string that will be bent (as combined with a mute from the fretting hand), then bending to pitch and holding, and then going for the big sexy warble. The rake adds a breathy quality and a bit more of an aggressive attitude.

As for practicing vibrato, the slower that you can warble with accuracy, the better. Whenever you program motor skills into slow tempos, that cleanliness of execution will follow you to other tempos. Practice with half step, whole step, and step and a half warbles.

Accurate bending and vibrato is one of the most difficult things to teach; it's right up there with trying to teach "phrasing". I've been working with this one kid that otherwise has a pretty good handle on the instrument, but is just about ready to rip his eyeballs out trying to get this thing together. It came fairly naturally to me, but then, swimming didn't (I was more inclined to drown).

In addition to what Swain mentioned, also try "unison" bends between pairs of strings. The G and B are probably the most user-friendly pair, as there's an interval of a major third between the two, whereas other adjacent string sets are tuned in fourths. Anyway. Play an 'E' on the 5th fret of the B string, and hold it stationary. Simultaneously play a 'D' on the 7th fret of the G string and bend it up one whole step until there are no weird "beads" between the two unison notes. You can move this stuff up the neck, diatonically to the key sig (or otherwise); it's a tried-and-true rock 'n' roll staple device.

Also, bends feel different at various points the board. Depending on how "slinky" your guitar is set up, bends and subsequent accurate vibrato as closer to the nut can be a bit more challenging at first. As a comfort zone, I'd suggest first getting happy with stuff within the good ol' 12th fret Emin/Gmaj pentatonic "blues box" that we all know so well.

One thing you might like to try is remove your thumb from the back of the neck and any 'free' fingers from the fretboard once you've plucked the string, so that the only finger in contact with the neck is the one fretting the note. Just move it up and down. Because your hand isn't anchored you can't do anything other than slow vibrato so you don't sound like Shaggy from Scooby Doo...if he were to play guitar that is.

hang on, wasn't there an episode where he...nah...

sanjay3000,

How's the vibrato coming along? Did any of our tips help? Did you find anything (techniques, tips, etc.)you can share, that helped you?