How to Read Vibrato on Guitar Tab

Many guitar techniques show up on guitar tablature as little symbols you can use to decipher the technique or style of play. Tablature or "tabs" is a straightforward way of diagramming guitar play on a fretboard. You can see what frets musicians are playing and what methods they're using to get the sounds you hear on a recording. One such technique is vibrato, where you gently wiggle your finger while pressing the string down onto the fretboard. It makes a slight wavering sound used in flamenco and other guitar styles.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Look for a ^ or series of ^ symbols above a note. This kind of symbol often signifies a vibrato technique.

2. Locate a "vib." In some tabs, especially ones that are printed in ASCII (computer text) instead of printed page fonts, you may see vibrato represented by a "vib." or even just "v." Keep an eye out for this alternative marking.

3. Find the note marked for vibrato. The note should be the one directly under the mark, or with the v, directly linked to it: if you see something like 12v on a particular string, it means that note on the 12th fret should have vibrato applied to it.

4. Pinpoint ongoing vibrato markings for a particular set of notes. Often, these notes will all be on the same string (but not always) go through a section of a tab sheet and look for either an ongoing series of ^ markings or vibrato markings that show up more than once. Look where they're marked and earmark a whole set of notes to apply vibrato effects to.

5. Try to sustain vibrato while playing other notes. Many times in tab, it's assumed that you will "hold" notes while playing others. To do this, you need to adjust your fingering so you can be plucking out lower notes with your same finger on the selected vibrato note, so that the sound of the vibrato technique echoes along with the other note sounds. Vibrato is generally a technique that musicians want to sustain for a while, so get good at using good fingering to play different notes at the same time.