Metal For Life: Mastering the Art of Vibrato

The following content is related to the January 13 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.

Vibrato technique is an essential aspect of guitar playing, and one that, unfortunately, many players often overlook or give insufficient attention to. Every great guitar player you can think of—Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Yngwie Malmsteen, to name but a few—has an array of powerful vibrato techniques that makes his playing spring to life with vitality, energy and emotion. Vibrato is the thing that makes our guitar playing sound the most like the human voice, and it is in every guitar player’s best interest to devote hours of practice time to the development of a strong, stable and reliable collection of vibrato techniques.

Great vibrato is not something that will happen magically on its own—one must practice it constantly to develop it and control it, and also to determine which vibrato techniques suits your playing the best.

Part 1

Part 2