Vibrato

A deliberate, periodic fluctuation in pitch, used to sustain and animate a note, and one of the most individual characteristics of any player.

It is different from tremolo, which varies volume. On the guitar it can be made by rocking the fretting hand, by bending the string slightly and repeatedly, or by using the tremolo bridge, and each method produces a different width and shape. The rate is as important as the depth: a vibrato that speeds up as a note decays or that is applied only after the note has settled sounds planned rather than mechanical.

Example: a whole step bend held at the top of its travel with a steady hand vibrato carries a phrase in a way no held straight note can.

Vibrato

See also