[carol m]

I've been trying to do vibratos, and watching how other guitarists do it. In Kirk's vibrato link he says its a wrist thing and I find that's getting better with practice, but often you see people use their fingers pushing and pulling across the fretboard. Is this the best/only way to do vibrato if its a chord involved?

Mostly I've seen it done when the fingers are above fret 8 or so, is this the reason why they do it in that way? I like the idea I read somewhere that the hand/wrist action is like opening a jar and that helps, but how can you do that if you are fretting more than one note - you can't really pivot then - well at least I can't. Any helpful tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Ian McAllister]

Thanks guys, and thanks to Kenny for the BT.
However, this was really not about me, but the vibrato I use. I saw 10cc once when I was young, and hated the way Eric Stuart, (Stewart - can't remember) did that very shaky 'along the string' vibrato. I then realised that that was how I was playing. A local blues guitarist, Len Frame, showed me the basis of his technique. I suppose it's a medium paced sideways movement emanating from the wrist, with the hand doing little else than anchoring the string.
To me it was a much more musical sound than I'd been getting and I practiced doing that with downward bends, I couldn't do it without a bent string because my fingers wouldn't make the same movement on a straight note for some reason, and I didn't have the finger strength for upward bends.
As regards chords, I usually do add a little 'salt' if it's a chord I'm fretting with only one or two fingers, and every now and then I'll do something fancy with a barre chord.
I hope that my post will be of some help, as it's rare that I feel that I can offer anything to the forum in the way of tips on playing etc.
Ian

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by Ian McAllister

I hope that my post will be of some help, as it's rare that I feel that I can offer anything to the forum in the way of tips on playing etc.
Ian

+1 to Kenny on the BT Ian, the video was really good, loved hearing you play but on top of that it was a good demonstration for Vibrato we could see clearly how you were playing so it's a great learning aid too, wouldn't mind seeing more of them Ian

Cheers

Chris

[scotty_b]

Originally Posted by Noodler

You'll usually see vibrato along the string in classical guitar and acoustically.

And that is used to lovely effect by Larry Carlton when he plays ballads,and for what it is worth, I think Eric Clapton has the most beautiful vibrato I have heard on a guitar.

[carol m]

I'm a bit embarrassed to see I started this thread and never replied - how rude! Sorry. I did read the answers and tips back then but must have been busy practising them instead of posting. Unfortunately I seem to have forgotten to practice or try to get it into my playing lately so thanks igorynka for reviving this thread.

Those videos are great Solidwalnut and Ian. It really helps to see practical examples.

Ian, your youtube plus Kenny's bt is a perfect way to learn and practice almost every aspect of playing electric guitar (one of my latest projects). I think it'll be a while until I get that fast solo work in the middle (I may not live long enough) but the slower part at the beginning will keep me busy trying to copy for - I don't know - maybe 3 years if I practice nothing else!

A great teaching tool - thanks Teach! Have an (imaginary) apple for that one!

[solidwalnut]

Originally Posted by thodwris

...Solidwalnut,great tips and video!I have a question for you.In my mind things stand like this.When you bend a note but do it rapidly(as you do it in the video)the tecknique is no longer called bending but vibrato.Am I right?

Well...yes. But it is all essentially 'bending' because what you're doing is altering the tone of the note. You're taking the note a little bit sharp each time the string is bent from it's fretted note.

That is the nature of vibrato. It's just that there are a few different ways of accomplishing that: a few different types of vibrato sound.

Just taking it a step further: if you were to bend the string a half-step up in tone and then back to no bend, and did that rapidly, you could call that vibrato. It's just that 'vibrato' usually refers to something that's less than a half step. Maybe a quarter step.

Originally Posted by thodwris

The same thing happens when you slide a note back and forth,it is no longer called sliding but vibrato,am I right?

I don't think so, but maybe I'm not following what you mean. If you mean sliding the fretted note a half step sharp and then back, then hmmmm....that would technically be called a trill. But explain a bit more what you mean.

Originally Posted by thodwris

So basically all teckniques have a tendancy to relate to one another like hammer-on's and pull-off's relate to tapping...Noodling around with the guitar,I tried to slide whole chords and now I can see that it is possible,this is great!!...Please answer to my question,I am very curious to see if I am on the right track.Being still a beginner,I don't want to make my own assumptions and understand things wrong...Be always well...

Thanks Theo. I'd really like to understand a bit more about what you mean.

Steve

[solidwalnut]

Originally Posted by Ian McAllister

Not to blow my own trumpet, because I play guitar, but I have a pretty good vibrato. I learned it from a blues player, and it definitely is a wrist thing.
Should you care to look, I do a lot of it on 'Kenny', a collab with X4StringDrive, which you can find here:
YouTube - Kenny
Playing electric guitar without a decent vibrato is like eating eggs without salt. Mr Gilmour knows where the salt is.
Ian

Nice, very nice. You do have a good command of vibrato. And bending as a whole. It's important to be confident in the bends as you are. Thanks for sharing this!!

Yes, Mr. Gilmour knows exactly where the salt is and when to add the spice

Steve

[solidwalnut]

I wish I had this in video form, but here's a bt I did several years ago to a 12 bar blues riff that has some good vibrato moves in it. Alot of the same type of technique as Ian showed.

[Ian McAllister]

Carol, that's very flattering, thanks.
Steve, thank you too. The vibrato on your track is all good, nice playing.
Theo, remember that if you bend a note, you can also add vibrato at the top, or bottom, of the bend. In that case you're sharpening and flattening the (target) note alternately.
Ian

[carol m]

Very nice Steve

[solidwalnut]

Originally Posted by carol m

Very nice Steve

Thanks Carol.

[solidwalnut]

Originally Posted by Ian McAllister

...The vibrato on your track is all good, nice playing.

Thanks Ian.

[thodwris]

Originally Posted by solidwalnut

I don't think so, but maybe I'm not following what you mean. If you mean sliding the fretted note a half step sharp and then back, then hmmmm....that would technically be called a trill. But explain a bit more what you mean.

Thanks Theo. I'd really like to understand a bit more about what you mean.

Steve

Hello Steve...Nice to meet you by the way ...
That is exactly what I meant,sliding the fretted note a half step sharp or flat.So that would be a trill,interesting!Is it called the same if I slide a whole tone or maybe two notes?...
When I said about sliding a whole chord I was refering to this.Hold down a chord,strum it once and then slide my fingers on the fretboard as the chord continues ringing.It doesn't work with all chords but with some the tone is very interesting.I would please like to know if something like this really exists or if I am only kidding myself...
For hammer-on's and pull-off 's I just see them as the tapping tecknique broken down to it's two basic steps.These two combined together give us the tapping tecknique....
Please excuse my poor language and the really bad way of explaining things...
Thank you very much for replying and for the useful lessons.Be always well...
All the best,
Theo

[Noodler]

Hope it's OK I take a crack at those q's.

A trill is rapidly alternating between two notes. Usually those notes are a semitone or a tone apart, and it is usually done by hammering/ pull-offs. I don't think anyone would be able to slide back and forth for four frets quickly enough for it to be called a trill.

As for sliding chords, this can and must be done. The easiest I suppose is a 9th chord. People slide it a lot in funk and blues. You virtually have to slide power chords in metal for speed. It sounds nice on acoustic stuff, so you're not imagining it, it's a real technique. But basically Theo, if you can do it, it's real.

FWIW, I think it sounds heaps cool if you hit the target note when bending, hold for just a jiffy, then vibrato. If you do it just right, it sounds like you're using a wah pedal even if you're not. Waaaaaaah!

[thodwris]

Originally Posted by Noodler

Hope it's OK I take a crack at those q's.

A trill is rapidly alternating between two notes. Usually those notes are a semitone or a tone apart, and it is usually done by hammering/ pull-offs. I don't think anyone would be able to slide back and forth for four frets quickly enough for it to be called a trill.

As for sliding chords, this can and must be done. The easiest I suppose is a 9th chord. People slide it a lot in funk and blues. You virtually have to slide power chords in metal for speed. It sounds nice on acoustic stuff, so you're not imagining it, it's a real technique. But basically Theo, if you can do it, it's real.

FWIW, I think it sounds heaps cool if you hit the target note when bending, hold for just a jiffy, then vibrato. If you do it just right, it sounds like you're using a wah pedal even if you're not. Waaaaaaah!

Hello Dave and thank you for that lesson!!
So besides tapping there are also trills,that is interesting!!So the difference between the trill and the tapping tecknique is that with trill you only do that for only one or two semitones?(am I a pain in the neck or not with so many questions? )
I wanted to know about sliding chords because I want to know if something is there for sure.I must have order in my learning otherwise I am not doing things right...
To be honest I can't say I fully understood what you explained above about hitting a note while bending.I will make sure to give it a shot though and see what happens...
Thank you very much for your time and for replying.I appreciate it...Be always well...
All the best,
Theo

[Noodler]

In a nutshell, tapping is doing hammer-ons and pull offs using your right hand. So you can do a pull-off from the 15th to the 5th fret if you want. Obvously you can't pull off such a large diatnce with your left hand only, so you use your right hand to hit the note at the 15th fret. You tap it hard enough with a right hand finger to make the 15th fret note ring, and you pull it off with enough force that the string still rings when you hold down the 5th fret.

To be honest I can't say I fully understood what you explained above about hitting a note while bending.I will make sure to give it a shot though and see what happens...

For the first 5 years I played guitar I thought a bend was just a bend. You know, you bend the string. Period. It was only later that I found out that you actually bend a sting up to a specific frequency, whether that be a half or a whole tone, or more. So when I say hitting a note when bending I mean if you are playing in E, and you bend up the 15th fret of the B string, you want to hit the E note. Not that you hit the string again, but that the string is still vibrating and that you make the bent string sound an E. So I just mean bending up to a specific pitch precisely.