string bending with vibrato

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I can't seem to make much headway with it.

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you have to expound further.

Do you not have the finger strength? or can you not hear it out the amp?

whats going on?

Do you have a sustain pedal?

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Was wondering if any of you guys had any tips for adding vibrato to string bends.

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I'm not very good at this, either. I play a lot of acoustic and it's usually not called for there. However, where I've had some small success (this may sound simplistic) is getting the vibrato going on the unbent string and then just "bend" the vibrato. I find that if I start thinking about/trying the vibrato after the bend, it doesn't work - I fall back into bad habits most of us develop when we're bending strings.

But, there are tons of youtube videos and, as always, there is no substitute for practice.

I struggle with it too Ace but I'll try that and see if it helps.

Any bending in general is best when you can use the most amount of fingers possible. If I want to do a very big whole step bend with a ton of vibrato, let's say the opening of a lead in Em pentatonic, I would grab the 15th fret on the B string with my ring finger and support it with my middle and pointer finger as well. Bend it up into pitch and then for me the best way is to actually not have any contact with my inner palm and the back of the neck. This allows you to oscillate the neck in your hand. The key to it is that you want to imagine that you are trying to shake the neck up and down while holding that string in place at the pitch you've bent it to and not think of it as vibrato on the string itself. So bend up to pitch, loosen your palm grip while firmly grabbing the string and really pressing it into the frets and oscillate the neck itself using your wrist while keeping the string in place. That is basically the SRV technique. As far as vibrato on a non-bent string, let's say with your pointer finger only, that really comes down to a lot of wrist control and practice. Imagine sticking your hand out to shake someone elses hand and then rotate your hand up and down without breaking your wrist. Youre grabbing the string firmly and again oscillating the neck and not the string.

Here's an example of the master of vibrato - SRV - Voodoo Child
In the intro you can really see how he doesn't break his wrist but rather grabs that string firmly and works the neck into a revolving motion.

Another great example of perfect vibrato technique - Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Deja Voodoo

This is a perfect example of removing your palm completely away from the neck and letting it oscillate in your hand. When you get really aggressive with it you can even removed your supporting thumb like he does in this example. Go to about the 1:05 mark and you'll see exactly what Im getting at. Notice the palm is completely off the neck.
SRV - Texas Flood

Hope this helps. Also, the main thing, aside from practice, that will help your vibrato is playing with your heart. If you make that "Im about to cum" face, your vibrato will immediately get better.



Also, this is an extremely difficult thing to do and only comes with years of practice. You have to be patient with it as it can be frustrating. If you struggle with it then youre normal. Almost all guitar players pick this up last and start to fine tune it and make it their own after years of practice.

Sounds cliché but watch Clapton and Gilmour. Others have said but keep your wrist locked. I take my thumb completely off the neck during a bend vibrato so I'm not tempted to pull the note too far or too fast. Fast vibrato just sounds ridiculous unless it's a crazy fast solo.