Vibrato
	by Lucas Fagundes

Vibrato is one of the most important forms of musical expression. There are lots of ways of using it on the guitar. I’ll show you some of them this month.

The most common kind is obtained by bending the strings back and forth on the fretboard. By doing so, you’re causing the note to go a little higher in tune and then natural again.

In that case, is very important to return to the original note, in tune, and for the “bends” you perform to have the same duration and amplitude. Other details are the fret and fretboard noise, that must be muted. Some guitarists prefer to bend the strings down, as other prefer to bend them up. Notes on the high-E string must be bended up and notes on the low-E string must be bended down, though.

Personaly, I use this kind of vibrato when I’m looking for a natural or even a more aggressive vibrato sound. This type is the favorite of most blues and rock guitarists.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xCuKi_l2pvA

Jazz or classical guitar players will more likely prefer another kind of vibrato. In their case, mostly because of the high-tension strings used in their musical style and tradition, they will probably bend the strings towards the bridge or headstock. When they bend it towards the bridge, the string tension lowers and the note goes flat. When it’s towards the headstock, sharp. On the other hand, this kind of vibrato will sound too delicate for the average guitarist and for the ones that use light to medium-gauge strings.

There is a vibrato type that is somehow a combination of these two modes, used by Steve Vai. He pushes the string towards the bridge, making the note go flat, and bends the string up or down, making the note go sharp. The way he plays it, in combination to his slides and interpretation is very characteristic.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=b1LmsCBCPJc

The last kind I’m going to show is a vibrato produced by sliding up and down from the desired note. Now we’re literally changing frets, back and forth, and with the same amplitude – as before.

For example, if you wish to add vibrato to the G note, 10th fret on the B string, you should slide through frets 8 and 12. If you want it less exaggerated, make it through frets 9 and 11. And keep in mind that the note that must be heard is the one in between! Greg Howe and Richie Kotzen use this one a lot and it is very hard to learn.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hBQt6OkGTvQ

These kinds of vibrato are not the only ones possible on the guitar. If you like you can study many others. It’s essential for a good guitarist to have a good vibrato.