I came across a vibrato lesson from Steve Vai, and what struck me was that the methods he was teaching were, in my opinion, partly just incorrect and partly not the best thing to teach. It feels mental to say that, because Steve Vai is Steve Vai, and I'm not going to try and outplay him.
But being able to play something very well and being able to explain how you do it are very different skills. So here's what he suggests, why I disagree, and a simpler framework for building a strong vibrato that you can make your own.
What Steve Vai suggests ▶ 1:09
He describes three types of vibrato:
- The conventional rock vibrato: up, down, up, down. His point is that people often bend the note away from its pitch, so they're vibrating a different note. His fix is to go down a little and up a little, either side of the string's resting position, to keep the intonation.
- A classical-style vibrato: moving the finger left to right along the string, which he says makes the note go flat.
- His own circular vibrato: a mixture of the two, going around the note so it goes a little flat, a little sharp.
Problem one: pushing and pulling are different movements ▶ 2:04
Pushing the string and pulling it are two very different motions. They use different muscles and a different kind of coordination. Pushing uses the finger or the wrist, or both. Pulling might be tucking the finger slightly or turning the wrist the other way. So getting both to happen at the same speed, the same rate and with the same energy is very difficult. The chances of you pushing the string up in exactly the same way you pull it down are quite low.
It's an extra hurdle you don't need. So my advice is: pick one. Push or pull the string, but don't do both. I most often pull. I hit the note, pull it sharp, then let it come back to pitch.
And there's a bigger issue. Bending the string either way doesn't make it go flat. Whichever direction you move it, you're tightening the string, so it goes sharp. Pulling down or pushing up makes no difference to the pitch. So going either side of the string doesn't even out anything. It just makes the vibrato harder to keep even.
Problem two: side-to-side vibrato doesn't go flat ▶ 3:34
He also says that moving left to right along the string flattens the note. Again, that's not what happens. You can check this yourself with a guitar tuner. Play a straight D and watch the tuner: it sits around D, maybe slightly sharp as you pick it. Add a normal vibrato and it goes a bit sharp, then comes back.
Now add the left to right movement. It does the same thing. It goes slightly sharp and wobbles around up there, it just stays sharp a bit longer.
I don't doubt there are countless examples of Steve adding vibrato in his songs and live playing where it sounds phenomenal. I just don't think the explanation matches what's happening. At worst it might harm your vibrato, and at best it's not super useful information.
Going slightly sharp is fine ▶ 4:30
A lot of people don't like the idea that vibrato only takes the note sharp. I'd argue listeners are used to that sound. As long as you return to the pitch of the note, and you don't start somewhere above it, it's okay. You don't need to sit slightly flat and slightly sharp so the average lands on the note. Just pulling it slightly sharp sounds good.
Pause before you add vibrato ▶ 5:24
Here's a simple one. If you add vibrato straight away, the first thing the listener hears might be the slightly sharp version of the note, and it sounds out of tune.
So hold the note for a split second first, then add the vibrato. Now the first thing they hear is the right pitch, and the vibrato on top sounds fine.
Width and speed go together ▶ 6:00
Steve is right that you should experiment with your style of vibrato. My general rule of thumb is: the wider your vibrato, the faster you have to go, and vice versa. A really wide vibrato done slowly sounds a bit silly. Do it faster and, okay, it sounds a bit crazy, but it works. That's the Zakk Wylde kind of thing.
There are exceptions. You can do a bluesy, quite shallow but jittery vibrato, which is a cool, slightly different sound. You just have to be confident in how you do it.
I also agree with him on using different types in different parts of your phrases. Go for a faster vibrato at one point, and something shallower somewhere else.
If you really want to go either side of the note ▶ 6:31
If you're desperate for that sound of going just under and just over the note, there are two ways to actually do it.
- Bend up to the note. Instead of fretting the D, fret a semitone below and bend up to D. Now you've got room to let the pitch drop below D and then go slightly above it.
- Use a whammy bar. You can push and pull with that, so it genuinely goes flat and sharp. It's a bit harder to control, and personally I like it every now and again rather than as my default sound.
So take a single note, hold it for a moment, then pull it slightly sharp and let it come back, over and over. Once that's even, play with how wide and how fast you go, and work out which combination sounds like you.
