Vibrato
A vibrato is a note pulsating in pitch. It is done by rapidly bending the note in short repetitions, this can be a difficult technique to master, but, like all things on guitar it just requires practice.
It is essentially the act of ‘wiggling’ your finger on the note to create the effect. It is transcribed as a bunch of “~” after the note. – Obviously the more there are, the longer the vibrato is played for.
e|--------------------------------------------
B|--------------------------------------------
G|-----7~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~----------------------
D|--------------------------------------------
A|--------------------------------------------
E|--------------------------------------------
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1. Place a finger on the 7th fret. Experiment with your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd finger to find out your most comfortable position.
2. Play the note while wiggling the string in a fast, repetitive motion.
There are a few different methods to creating a vibrato and it is often considered a guitarists defining technique. Some people wiggle the notes long and wide, others short and fast.
One method of playing the vibrato is the classical method. This is done by playing the note, for example 7th fret of the 5th string, then wiggling the fretted finger up and down like the bend technique but very short and quick.
The next method, most common for electric guitar players is the electric guitar style vibrato. This is very similar to the classical technique but instead of bending up and down, you bend left and right along the direction of the string. This is usually done within just the one fret, the sound is created as the string stretches left and right.
The third method is done with a whammy bar. When a whammy bar is fitted on the guitar you can just play a note and shake the whammy bar to create the effect. Using a whammy bar for vibratos is usually easier and can create more of an extreme sound. But its all about what sound you are after.
To see if your guitar is compatible with a whammy bar, just look at your bridge (left). See the little screw-hole at the bottom-right? this is where a whammy bar is fitted. Depending on your guitar, it may be in a slightly different position.
Whammy bars are a one-size-fits-all device, they are a short metal stick that easily screws into this hole allowing you to create some cool bending effects. It does this by allowing you to dramatically bend the bridge up or down, stretching the strings to bend a note.