The hampshire guitar orchestra

What is it?

Vibrato is the undulating pitch given to a note by the left hand. The finger stays in contact with the string and doesn't slide on the string at all.

In high positions, it's easy to rock the hand from side to side (take the thumb off the neck), especially once you learn the knack of pivoting the forearm so that the hand and elbow rotate about the centre of the forearm. In this situation, the left arm in its totality stays in balance and there's no feeling of hard work.

And the string responds well too - indeed in the centre of the string it's easy to change the pitch because the longitudinal forces on the string are pretty much in balance - it's as easy to tug the string a millimetre flat (to the right) as it is a millimetre sharp (to the left). The vibrato, as a result, takes the note alternately flat and sharp in a very controllable way.
In low positions, such as in the first fret, no amount of effort could ever tug the string a millimetre to the right, and so here we use a transverse vibrato - the string is pulled to one side and relaxed repeatedly. With over-enthusiasm, it's easy to turn vibrato into a blues bend, and the vibrato always makes the note sharp, so that used in ensemble, the note will sound out of tune.

So our first rule is to go high up the neck and play it there.

What's it for?

On our sustain sheet, we explain how vibrato can make a note seem longer and livelier. It breathes life into a melody.

When do I use it?

The rule we use in hago is that if it's a long note, we use vibrato. Simple as that. And indeed it becomes second nature and almost impossible not to do it!

How to be stylish

The nicest vibrato starts gently and builds slightly in intensity and frequency - just listen to a good flautist play a melody and that's how to do it.

Vibrato that's too fast and starts instantly makes the guitar sound like a French Chanteuse, and it really doesn't suit most music (or most audiences!)

A word of caution

If you're nervous and it's a hot day, watch out - the 4th string will require some intense "digging in" to make the vibrato sing, and if you're not careful, then the first note you attempt on the 3rd (monofilament) string will be greeted with a very slippery string. You might find your finger actually sliding and possibly missing the fret.