Slide Guitar 101: How to Develop Your Vibrato

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Video Chapters:
00:00 - Mixolydian Slidin’
00:41 - Intro
02:11 - Getting Started
04:38 - The 2 “Variables” of Vibrato
07:56 - The MOST Important Thing?
11:09 - Vibrato with PURPOSE
14:15 - Outro

[@SunyCartoons]

I find that I tend to use vibrato too much without meaning to, and it's something I gotta imrpove on. This was a great video!

[@scottcurry4116]

Nice video. I agree vibrato should be used only in the right places. The beauty of slide guitar IMO is the sliding into a note. That is what really separates the slide voice from non-slide guitar. Bending notes has one voice and sliding into them has another. You do a great job at showing techniques. I just need to practice more!!

[@drewdietz2115]

another wonderful lesson, thanks.

[@alejguitar]

Great video bro! Thanks

[@maxwhitten8376]

Thanks man!💙

[@skippytbk7891]

Enjoyed the video as always Dylan. As with many things there is not always a right or wrong answer. Great food for thought, thanks for sharing your wisdom!

[@GM-mv1ch]

Always good content.

[@robvallee]

great work, please keep producing

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Thanks, will do!

[@Dang...]

Thank you.

[@markg1051]

Thanks for another great video Dylan.
In regards to the vibrato, to me it makes more sense that you would slide roughly equal amount either side of the desired note, i.e. either side of the fret. If not the note would sound off or flat in the case of the commenter's suggestion to never 'vibrato' past or sharp of the target note.
Take care and keep these videos coming.

[@ButlerBluesJourney]

Great video Dylan! Been diligently working on the attachment form the last lesson. I’m close to having my work schedule set for the next 90 days and will check the calendar soon to book. Appreciate you.

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Thanks Luc! Glad to hear it, and I’m looking forward to our next lesson 🤘🏻

[@shader26]

For myself, slide vibrato is similar to string bending. Heard recordings of me playing and with bending, and I heard that I had settled into like a cliche of vibrato when bending strings. It’s hard to break the habit, I do vibrato at different rates depending on the note, but it’s too predictable. To me the goal there, as in slide vibrato, is to (as cliche as it sounds) be “in the moment” and at times don’t do any (slide or bending, or note holding) vibrato, other times do a little and stil, other times do more. It’s whatever is most effective, but trying hard to stop myself from doing it automatically.

[@patrickmccutcheon8860]

I have to watch while fretting, too. I think with slide the vibrato comes to me more “in the moment” like you mentioned because I’m still so new with using a slide. But I wonder if that will become more of an automatic thing as I get used to the slide.

[@Benjamin_C_17]

Hey Dylan, thanks for the video. Your videos on slide have been so helpful. When you are performing vibrato, are you still muting with your ring and middle finger? It looks like all of your fingers are lifting off the strings, but I can't tell exactly from the video

[@andycasile]

This is a great breakdown. Shortly before this came out, I was listening to AJ Ghent. I noticed that he sometimes places his vibrato below the note, sometimes he places it above, and sometimes he places it around the note. Do you consistently place your vibrato around the note, or do you change it based on how you want the note to feel?

[@jamesadams1064]

Thank You. Also any comments on the great Ry Cooder?

[@dylanadamsguitar]

Thank you! Gotta be honest, I haven’t dug into his playing nearly as much as I should. Thinking of doing a deep dive on him and documenting it in a video

[@mikemorris2159]

You move to Nashville yet? ... She is waiting on you

[@GinoMonachello]

Hello Dylan !!! What 's the tunning please ? Thanx you for all !

[@dylanadamsguitar]

D Standard (standard tuning but every string is down a whole step) for this video!

[@GinoMonachello]

@@dylanadamsguitar thanx !!!

[@slideguitarist]

Dylan, which string gauges are you using for D Standard? Did you need to enlarge the nut slots?@@dylanadamsguitar

[@dylanadamsguitar]

@@slideguitarist 13-56, and yes I had to widen the nut slots slightly as it was originally set up for 11s. I tried 12-52’s first but they felt too loose/slinky in D for me (even without slide), the 13s feel perfect and sound huge

[@nathanaeledwardcollins]

Seems odd to limit vibrato to only going down in pitch and then back up to the note when, if someone is playing without a slide, unless you’ve bent into a note, the only way to get vibrato is by bending the string so the pitch goes up a bit and then back down to the original note. You can’t go below the pitch at all unless you use a trem. Or at least I don’t know of any way to.

[@OneWomanMoreGuitars]

It actually doesn’t make sense what that guy said to Dylan. The average note is what has to be to be to pitch. So the middle of the vibrato has to be the intonated note unless you want that slightly flat sound. Easy way to test that is play an open note like the open A then play the vibrato on an A note on for example the 10th fret on the B string. If you try it both ways you can quickly tell that the vibrato “up to the note and down” sounds flat vs hitting the note then vibrato is up and down with the intonated note in the middle. Again there is a role for the slightly flat sound but that’s not “in tune” in my opinion.

[@morganst.pierre]

Saw a study on classic great vocal vibratos. They said they of their whole pitch deviation was 2/3rds down and 1/3rd up. Made sense to me, a little flat tends to sound better than a little sharp. BUT it depends note to note of scale for example on root note better aiming for more on flat side, minor 3rd sharp usually in blues, minor 7 sharp side, 4 either way. In general 2/3rds rule seems way to go but not a hard and fast rule. I use a tuner to practice consistency