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Topic: Vibrato Techniques/Exercises |
Norm Pratt
From:
Cave Creek, AZ 85331
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Posted 7 Jul 2009 7:19 pm |
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I was hoping that some of you would share your vibrato techniques and any exercises that you have used to work on it. I'm just not happy with the way mine is sounding so maybe some of you can shed some light on how you approach it.
Thanks in advance for sharing. |
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Larry Bressington
From:
Nebraska
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Posted 7 Jul 2009 7:35 pm
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I beleive a vibrato is a personal touch, slow wobble of the bar is somewhat standard, but dont shimmy it, as in moving it back and forth applying variable pitch.
It cant be taught, just give her a small shake, it took me years to develop the B.B king vibrato on guitar, i mean years Man... But i'm a slow learner!  You'll be alright!!
_________________
A.K.A Chappy. |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 7 Jul 2009 9:49 pm No magic button here..........................
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Don't let the instant gratification factor mess up YOUR LIFE like it has so many wanna-be musicians.
Find a steel song and player you simply adore. Determine if THAT is the type of vibrato that trips YOUR trigger. If not, move one to another player.
Then put your EAR in the speaker and play that song over and over and over until you've got every quiver rivetted into your mind's eye. THEN and only then,
go practice it until you get THAT SOUND. It ain't easy but it's not impossible.
I"ve ALWAYS found JERRY BYRD's vibrato to be second to none. He started out before stomp boxes were even tho't of and studios did NOT have echo chambers, etc.
His vibrato on that early day Rickenbacher 6-string is what propelled him into his 'master of touch and tone' title. His later years with the Sho-Bud were no less a near-equal to the Ricky sound.
Watch some of his YouTube videos and master his concept for using his bar hand. He does a lot more with his bar hand than just shake the bar. |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 8 Jul 2009 1:58 am
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What I do to get my vibrato to where I am happy with it is practice without vibrato at all. On one string only I slide the bar very, very, very slowly up and down a half step.(take about 3 seconds for every half step of every slide) Then up and down a whole step and on and on until I slide an octave. Then I reverse the procedure. I make sure my hand is absolutely relaxed every step of the way with no glitches. I make sure that every note I land on is dead accurate without fishing around any. Once my hands are relaxed and accurate enough I can add vibrato in a personal singing sorta way without effort or thought. The whole thing takes about 1/2 hour or so to do. Joe Wright showed me how to practice like that and Buddy Charleton showed me something similar.
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Bob |
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Ricky Davis
From:
Bertram, Texas USA
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Posted 8 Jul 2009 4:28 am
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I have a series of Q&A on my Pro talk sectio at www.mightyfinemusic.com and this is my idea of vibrato and how to practice to get a good one:
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I can't seem to get a natural sounding vibrato and after awhile of trying, my hand and arm really hurt. Any suggestions?
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A good vibrato is something that is smooth and pleasing to the ear. If the vibrato is tense or shaky sounding then that is most likely what is causing the suffering in your hand and arm. A good practice for vibrato is to position your bar over a fret and play a note or chord. Then, after the note(s) start sounding, slowly roll the bar just in front of the fret and just behind the fret. What you are creating is a smooth roll of the bar on the strings.
The bar should not slide on the strings. And however much you roll the bar in front of the fret, that's how much you should roll the bar behind the fret for perfect intonation. The hand, wrist, and arm move together to roll the bar. So just like a singer, sing the note first, then slowly bring the vibrato in for the effect and texture of the note. This should always sound like smooth waves and never shaky or jittery.
-- Ricky Davis
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_________________
Ricky Davis
Email Ricky: sshawaiian2362@gmail.com |
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Norm Pratt
From:
Cave Creek, AZ 85331
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Posted 8 Jul 2009 8:49 am
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| Thanks for the replies. Being new to the steel I guess one of my problems is I'm still not comfortable with how to hold the bar and at the same time mute the strings with my ring or little finger. It seems everytime I add vibrato I end up lifting the mute with the other fingers. Any suggestions with that? |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 8 Jul 2009 9:51 am
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Spread the little and ring finger a little from the three fingers holding the bar and from each others. Then use the light touch of your little and ring finger on the strings to hold position steady on the right fret while rolling the bar.
Practice, practice and practice, and the "move while muting" will come naturally. You probably won't notice when your hand starts doing it automatically |
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Brett Day
From:
Pickens, SC
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Posted 8 Jul 2009 4:38 pm
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Vibrato is easier for me with a grooved bar. To do vibrato, I just let my hand move the bar a little quickly on one or two frets or kinda let my hand move the bar over two frets or stay at one fret. My left index finger is kinda corled on top of the bar becauese of cerebral palsy.
Brett |
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