30-day guitar challenge, day 12: Six signature vibratos to master

(Image credit: Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis)

Introduction

30-day guitar challenge: Nearly every guitarist uses this expressive technique, but have you ever really analysed your vibrato skills? Improve your feel as we look at six of the most iconic vibratos in history...

B.B. King

Blues legend BB King has a very fast, shallow vibrato.

To emulate it, try taking your thumb off the neck and shaking your hand rapidly, but don’t bend the string more than a quarter-tone.

Angus Young

Angus’ playing has a blues foundation, and with it comes the fast flutter associated with that style, but his rock attitude comes through with a more pronounced bend, which should be roughly a semitone.

David Gilmour

David Gilmour is the granddaddy of taste, and his vibrato is smooth, often ethereal and has a very subtle and slow rise and fall in pitch. Think BB King in super-slow motion.

Brian May

Dr May makes his guitar sing with a slow pulsing vibrato similar to David Gilmour’s, but a wider semitone curve adds an almost operatic vocal effect, which permeates Queen’s music.

Steve Vai

Vai’s tone-wide vibrato is almost comparable to a classical violinist.

You can emulate his style by drawing a circle with your finger as you bend and release the string.

Zakk Wylde

Wylde by name and wild by nature. Zakk’s vibrato is as extreme and ferocious as they come, and he bends the string on average a tone and a half. Grip firmly to lever the string up and down.