Vibrato Sustain — Hold It for the Whole Bar
Two notes (B on string 2, D on string 3) played as sustained whole notes with vibrato, then repeated with a deliberate quarter-note rest on beat 2. The rest is the point — you must start vibrato, pause completely, then re-enter clean vibrato without resetting your technique. Slow, wide, controlled. No rushing, no wobble.
Tablature
First few measures of the exercise.
How to Practice
- 1Measure 1 (reference — B, full bar): Strike B (string 2, fret 7). Start vibrato immediately and sustain it evenly for all 4 beats. Width and speed must stay constant from beat 1 to beat 4.
- 2Measure 2 (B with rest on beat 2): Strike B on beat 1 — quarter note, no vibrato yet. Rest on beat 2 — lift cleanly, silence. Beat 3: re-strike B and hold vibrato for a full half note (beats 3 and 4).
- 3Measure 3 (reference — D, full bar): Move to D (string 3, fret 7). Same idea — whole note, vibrato from the first moment, hold for 4 full beats.
- 4Measure 4 (D with rest on beat 2): Strike D on beat 1. Rest on beat 2. Re-strike D on beat 3 and sustain vibrato for the full half note.
- 5Measure 5 (resolve — B, full bar): Return to B, whole note vibrato. After all the interruptions, this should feel like a long, satisfying release.
Tips & Techniques
- •Vibrato comes from the wrist rotating, not from the finger bending up and down. If your wrist stays locked, you're doing finger vibrato — slower to develop and harder to control.
- •The rest on beat 2 is a trap: most players rush back in on beat 3 too early. Count out loud — '1, rest, 3-4'. The silence must last exactly one beat.
- •Width first, speed second. Start with slow, wide vibrato (1–2 oscillations per beat at 60 BPM) before trying to speed it up.
- •When you re-enter after the rest (beat 3), the vibrato should start immediately — not half a beat later once the note 'warms up'. Strike and vibrate in the same moment.
- •Record yourself. Listen back without watching your hands. Is the vibrato even from start to finish? Does the rest sound like silence or like a dead buzz?
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Ćwicz teraz →Related Exercises
Vibrato — Low Position (Frets 1–5)
Vibrato practice in the low position (frets 1–5) where fret spacing is widest and string tension is highest. Each measure is a single sustained note with continuous vibrato. Low position is the hardest place to do vibrato — the string fights back more, the frets are far apart, and most players produce an uneven, stiff result here. Four notes across measures, each on a different string.
Vibrato — High Position (Frets 12–17)
Vibrato practice in the high position (frets 12–17) where fret spacing is narrowest and string tension is lowest. The string moves easily here — which means control becomes the challenge, not force. Four sustained whole notes across different strings. High position is where most players first develop a good-sounding vibrato, but it is easy to overdo it and produce a wide, uncontrolled wobble.
Vibrato — One Finger at a Time
Four measures, one finger per measure: index (1), middle (2), ring (3), pinky (4). Each finger frets the same string (string 2, B) at its natural comfortable position and sustains vibrato for a full whole note. Most players have a strong ring finger vibrato and a nearly dead index or pinky — this exercise forces you to confront and train each finger individually.
Chromatic Accent Dynamics
Exercise developing dynamic control through playing chromatic sequences with shifting accents.