How To Improve Your Vibrato
Vibrato and string bends are critically important elements of lead guitar playing. Unfortunately, many players do not know how to practice them correctly. I have two very powerful tips to offer you that will help you
1. Practice vibrato to a metronome:
It is important to think of vibrato as a series of rhythmic bends (or pulses) applied to a note. When they are done evenly and with a consistent rhythm (pulse), the vibrato sounds REALLY GOOD!
Unfortunately, many players disregard the rhythmic aspect of vibrato and make it either too fast or too slow (compared to the rhythm of the other instruments in the song, or the other notes in the phrase). This is why practicing with a metronome is so beneficial.
If you develop the ability to alter your vibrato/bends from quarter notes to eighth notes to triplets, your vibrato phrasing will improve tenfold!
So get out your metronome right now and practice your vibrato at various tempos – matching your vibrato’s pulse to the metronome as quarter notes, eighth notes and either note triplets.
Note: playing vibrato “always” in time is not necessary in each case, BUT having the “ability” to make it even and consistent is the goal.
Most players don’t have this ability, and can only play their bends and vibrato with “one” rhythm/speed all the time. This greatly limits their musical expression. I don’t want you to be one of these players!
2. Learn to eliminate string noise from the strings that aren’t supposed to be sounding.
When applying vibrato to a note, you should ONLY be hearing that one note.
You shouldn’t be hearing any noise from the other strings.
Use both your picking and fretting hand simultaneously to mute the other strings so that you can make sure that you consistently produce a clean sounding note every time.
For example, mute with your picking hand’s thumb (for the lower strings) and use the base of your index finger (on the fretting hand) to mute the higher strings in order to prevent the higher strings from making any sound (leaving only the note you want to hear ringing).
