Vibrato exercises - need some tips.

Dodge · July 2022

Ok - I've been playing for something like 25 years or so (self taught), and I'm fairly happy with my vibrato feel so I've never really thought much about it until a pal (maybe an ex-pal now!) pointed out that my finger vibrato is fine, if I bend and vibrato towards the top string, it's fine but if I bend towards the bass strings, I always reach for the trem (yes I know) bar, or don't apply any vibrato at all. I'd never noticed.

So I'm making a concerted effort to push to bend towards the bass side and apply my vibrato technique, and I've discovered I've basically got zero control. I hit the pitch accurately, but my vibrato frequency is wayward (generally way faster than normal), I can't control the return to pitch and I now hate myself.

Has anyone got any decent exercises to try before I sell up and take up knitting? It' reallyu feels like I need to unlearn... Maybe an hour or so with a teacher might be beneficial.

Cheers all.

viz · July 2022

The thing most people point to is that you should swivel your hand round the pivot at the point where the bass of your 1st finger touches the fretboard.

In other words, don't try and bend the string upwards towards the ceiling by moving your hand perpendicularly to the fretboard in an upwards direction. Instead, swivel your hand so that the tip(s) of the relevant finger(s) move upwards, in an angular motion. Then by unswivelling and swivelling, you get the vibrato.

Lewy · July 2022

No technical advice to offer really, save to say that just because someone has pointed out something that appears to them as a quirk in your playing, that doesn't mean you have to automatically set about "correcting" it. The techniques of all the greatest players are peppered with idiosyncrasies and the world of music is all the richer for it.

Think to a time in the future, when they inevitably get round to releasing a tutorial video on your playing style

and the presenter goes "an interesting feature of Dodge's playing is that when he bends downwards he uses vibrato but when he bends up he uses the bar...it lends some interesting contrast to this passage he played on blah blah blah" It's exactly the kind of thing that detailed analysis reveals about the greatest players of all time.

If it's genuinely limiting you, then by all means work on it, but if you're just anxious about it because you think it "ought" to be different, ignore and focus on stuff you really like.

Dodge · July 2022

Lewy said:

No technical advice to offer really, save to say that just because someone has pointed out something that appears to them as a quirk in your playing, that doesn't mean you have to automatically set about "correcting" it. The techniques of all the greatest players are peppered with idiosyncrasies and the world of music is all the richer for it.

But now I hate myself. :-) No in all seriousness it's something I wan to correct. I've clearly stuggled with it over the years and compensated. I'm quite proud of my vibrato, so it's definetely something I want to work on.

digitalkettle · July 2022

Just be sexy with it...sorted.

AK99 · July 2022

Not an exercise in technique as such. more about feel - but I found recently that playing simple melodies and trying to make them more 'melodic' (if you get me) and pleasing to the ear makes you a lot more aware of what works, what doesn't, or even what's missing.

Even playing a simple thing like the melody line from Amazing Grace testing out all of the different parameters you can vary in your vibrato will pretty quickly let you hear what's good and what's not so good.

digitalkettle · July 2022

Actually, I’m with @Lewy : your current approach is a ‘thing’ so don’t train out of it…I almost never reach for the bar on a bend. It’s a subtly different flavour too: whammy vibrato probably goes sharp and flat…typical finger vibrato goes sharp only…typical finger vibrato on a bend probably goes flat only. Generally, I think a lot players’ problems come from a combination of not getting the return to pitch correct (usually overshooting), too shallow a vibrato, and too rapid/unthoughtful a speed…sounds like teenage vinegar strokes

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Vibrato exercises - need some tips.

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