If you read Guitar Player magazine back in the day—I did—many of the rock stars interviewed would say something similar to “your vibrato is your voice.” Guitarists would revere Clapton’s vibrato or Paul Kossoff’s vibrato, and debate for days about the sexy, aggressive, or evocative vibrato of their heroes. You may not see so much enthusiastic discussion about vibrato today—perhaps speed and/or quirky melodic figures took its place?—but vibrato is certainly worth studying, and it’s truly an essential technique to have in your guitarist’s armory.

Here’s a little lesson from Nili Brosh to drive the point home…