How to Read a Wide Vibrato on Guitar Tabs

Guitar tablature or "tab" is great for learning how guitar players use a variety of techniques to get great sounds. One technique that tabs show often is vibrato. The vibrato technique is versatile and players use it in many genres from flamenco and classical guitar to heavy metal. Wide vibrato, as opposed to normal vibrato, is a little more extreme sound, Here's how to read and follow through on wide vibrato as it's presented on guitar tabs.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Know the symbols for vibrato in tabs. In printed tabs, writers will use a curvy slash mark (~) either below the note or at the top of the staff. In online tabs where only computer characters show techniques, writers use a lowercase "v."

2. Recognize a command for wide vibrato. In printed tabs, wide vibrato is different from regular vibrato when the slash mark is wider and thicker. In computer tabs, the writers might use "wv" or "wide vib."

3. Practice with a light vibrato. To prepare for a wide vibrato, try a lighter method, wiggling your finger on the fret while you play the note. You'll hear the slight wavering sound of classic vibrato.

4. Widen your vibrato. For wide vibrato, you'll want to actually bend the string a little more. The tone of a note in wide vibrato actually ends up varying about a half step, so that the sound wavers between two adjacent notes. To do this, press firmly on the string and wiggle your finger enough to bend the string nearly a half step.

5. Keep up your vibrato until you go on to the next note. With tabs, it's hard to tell exactly how long notes last. You'll have to read the vibrato in the context of the composition to see how long you should hold the wavering note.