Guitar vibrato: how to do it, examples and licks

What it’s for

A note held without vibrato sounds straight, a bit flat and lifeless. With vibrato, its pitch wavers very slightly around the note, several times a second. It’s what a singer does on a long note. In the example at the top of the page, listen to the same note twice: first straight, then with vibrato.

Vibrato is a guitarist’s signature: B.B. King’s fast, tight vibrato is recognizable from a single note. You use it mostly on long notes, at the end of a phrase, and at the top of a bend. In blues and rock it’s wide and heavy; in jazz or classical guitar, more subtle. But there’s hardly a style where a solo does without it.

How to do it

There are two kinds of vibrato: bend vibrato, where your finger pushes the string sideways (rock, blues, electric guitar), and classical vibrato, where your finger rocks along the length of the string (classical guitar, folk; see the variations). Here’s bend vibrato, the one in the example, on the G string at the 7th fret.

Play the note with your ring finger, backed up by your middle and index fingers behind it on the same string, just like a bend.
Hook your thumb over the top of the neck, or keep the base of your index finger against the edge of the neck: that’s the pivot point for the motion.
Let the note ring straight first, for a split second.
Rotate your wrist like you’re turning a doorknob, just a tiny bit: the string goes up slightly. Your fingers stay locked; your wrist does the moving.
Release back to the starting note, then do it again, in a steady rhythm. Each push and release is one wave.

In tab, a ~ after the fret number means: play this note and add vibrato. 7~ reads: 7th fret, with vibrato. You’ll also see a longer wavy line, ~~~, above the note or after it: the longer it is, the longer the vibrato lasts. A wider wave sometimes means a wider vibrato. Vibrato combines with other techniques: 7b9~ means bend from the 7th to the 9th fret, then add vibrato to the bent note by releasing slightly and pushing back up to the target note.

Examples

The example at the top of the page plays the 7th fret of the G string twice, straight and then with vibrato, then the 8th fret of the B string, also with vibrato. Listen above all to the difference between the first two notes.

Here, a phrase from the A minor pentatonic where every long note gets its vibrato, each time with a different finger: ring finger or pinky on the B string, index on the high E, ring finger on the D string. Your index is weaker, but it has to turn the wrist just as much as the others.

e|----------8-5~-------------|
B|-----5-8~------8-5---------|
G|-5-7---------------7~-5----|
D|------------------------7~-|
A|---------------------------|
E|---------------------------|

The E minor pentatonic in 12th position, from the high E all the way down to the low E, with vibrato on almost every string. On the low strings, you do the vibrato by pulling toward the floor. The notes are shorter: the vibrato has to kick in fast, without skipping the moment where the note rings straight.

e|-12-15~-----------------------------------|
B|--------15-12~----------------------------|
G|---------------14-12----------------------|
D|---------------------14~-12---------------|
A|----------------------------14~-12--------|
E|-----------------------------------15-12~-|

Licks

A blues lick in A, with a shuffle feel, in the “box” between the 8th and 10th frets: the A on the B string (10th fret) comes back twice, with a fast, tight vibrato from your ring finger.

Loop it in the Studio →

e|-8------------8-10-8-----|
B|---10~-8---8~--------10~-|
G|---------9---------------|
D|-------------------------|
A|-------------------------|
E|-------------------------|

A rock lick in E minor, between the 14th and 17th frets: a wide, heavy vibrato on the A on the high E, then on the E on the B string to finish. The more distortion you use, the more even the vibrato has to be.

Loop it in the Studio →

e|----15-17~-15-----------------|
B|-15-----------17-15-------17~-|
G|--------------------14-16-----|
D|------------------------------|
A|------------------------------|
E|------------------------------|

A soul lick in C major, at ballad tempo: a slow, gentle vibrato that comes in late on the note, like a singer who lets the voice settle first.

Loop it in the Studio →

e|---------------------|
B|-----5~-8-5----------|
G|-5-7--------7-5---5~-|
D|----------------7----|
A|---------------------|
E|---------------------|

Practice routine

Set your metronome to 60 bpm, one click per second. On the G string at the 7th fret:

2 waves per beat for four beats: push, release, push, release on each click;
then 3 waves per beat;
then 4 waves per beat, without letting the waves get smaller.

Once it’s even, raise the metronome 5 bpm at a time. Goal: 4 waves per beat at 80 bpm, a little over five per second, the speed of a blues vibrato.

Do it again on the B string at the 8th fret, then with your index and middle fingers, which are weaker, then on the low E, pulling toward the floor. Once it’s even everywhere, play a phrase from the A minor pentatonic and add vibrato to the last note.

Common mistakes

Your vibrato sounds nervous? You’re going too fast. Vibrato that’s too quick makes the note shake instead of sing. Slow down and aim for even waves, all the same size.

The note sounds out of tune? You’re going up without coming back. Bend vibrato has to drop back to the starting note every time, or all you hear is a note that’s slightly sharp. Think “push, then let go all the way.”

Your hand tires quickly and the sound is weak? You’re doing the vibrato with your fingers alone. Lock your fingers and let your wrist rotation do the work, with your thumb hooked over the neck.

The start of the note sounds blurry? You’re starting the vibrato at the same moment you pick the note. Let the note ring straight first, for a split second, then add the vibrato. That’s also what makes it expressive.

Variations

Classical vibrato. Keep your finger planted straight on the fret and move your hand back and forth along the neck, toward the bridge and then toward the headstock, without letting the finger slide: the pressure changes, not the fret. The effect is softer and more subtle. It works best on nylon strings and on notes high up the neck.

Vibrato: the motion and the sound

Rock, folk and electric vibrato: the finger pushes the string up, then lets it back down, over and over. The wrist does the turning, like turning a doorknob; the finger stays firm.
Slow, wide vibrato: the note rises clearly above its pitch (dotted line), then comes back. Expressive, typical of the blues.
Fast, narrow vibrato: small, quick wobbles. Subtler, it brings a held note to life without bending it out of shape.
Classical vibrato: the finger rocks back and forth along the string, without pushing it sideways. The pitch moves very little: it’s the classical guitar vibrato.

Wide and slow, or narrow and fast. A wide vibrato goes up almost a half step, slowly: it’s dramatic, typical of rock and slow blues. A narrow, fast vibrato brings the note to life without bending it out of shape. Try both on the same note and pick one to suit the phrase.

Delayed vibrato. The note rings straight for a whole beat, then the vibrato comes in and gradually widens. It’s the vibrato of ballads and soul singers.

On a bent note. At the top of a bend, let it down a little and push back up, several times, without ever dropping back to the starting note (written 7b9~). It’s the hardest one to keep in tune.

With a slide or a bar. In slide guitar, the tube rocks back and forth on either side of the fret wire. With a whammy bar, your picking hand makes the note waver by pressing lightly on the bar.

Acoustic or electric

On an electric guitar, the note sustains for a long time: you have time to let it ring straight, then start a wide vibrato. Light strings make bend vibrato easy, and distortion brings it out, flaws included.

On an acoustic, the note dies out faster: start the vibrato a little earlier and keep it smaller, since the strings are stiffer. On a classical guitar, use classical vibrato, along the string: bend vibrato on nylon quickly sounds out of tune.

Going further

The lesson where vibrato first comes in, with five licks that all end on a note with vibrato: Your first licks.
The bend vibrato motion comes from the bend: practice the two together.
Other ways to make a note waver: slide guitar and the whammy bar.
The scale in the examples: the A minor pentatonic, then the E minor pentatonic for the advanced example.