Finger vibrato is vibrato produced on a string instrument by cyclic hand movements. Despite the name, normally the entire hand moves, and sometimes the entire upper arm. It can also refer to vibrato on some woodwind instruments, achieved by lowering one or more fingers over one of the uncovered holes in a trill-like manner. This flattens the note periodically creating the vibrato.
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There are three types of violin vibrato: finger, wrist, and full-arm. In finger vibrato, the performer only moves his/her fingers; in full-arm, the performer pulls his/her arm back and forth on the violin but only minimally changes his/her finger's position, creating a change of tone.
Throughout the 20th century, finger vibrato was normally used in playing all members of the violin family unless otherwise indicated. Toward the end of the century, playing without vibrato became a more accepted technique- but almost never professionally.
In its pure form, vibrato is usually achieved by twisting the wrist rapidly to bend the note slightly, moving to and from the root note. However, the same techniques are applied at a slower speed to get pitch alterations.
In contemporary music, finger vibrato is also routinely used by classical guitarists on longer notes, to create an impression of a longer sustain. The technique is also used by jazz bassists to add depth of tone.
Axial vibrato is produced by moving stopped (held down) string with the left hand in a direction parallel to its axis, which increases or reduces the tension on the string and thereby alters the pitch. This type of vibrato is typically used by classical guitarists (see Classical guitar technique), but can be performed on any kind of guitar, and is frequently used on steel string and electric guitar, as well. When a guitarist sees the term "vibrato" written in a score, this is generally the first effect which will come to mind.
Radial pitch-shifting (also referred to as "string bending" or "bending") is produced by moving the stopped (held down) string with the fretting hand in a direction perpendicular to its axis and parallel to the fingerboard. This type of pitch-shifting is associated with blues, rock, country and pop music.[1] The effect generally shifts the pitch over a wider range than axial pitch-shifting. It can be used to produce vibrato per se, that is a cyclic variation in pitch;or a single up-and-down swoop; or a shift from one pitch to another which is then held. If the stringing and action of the guitar are light enough, it is possible for the extremes of a string bend to be a semitone or more apart: thus, it is possible to use string bending as a way of making a legato transition between notes, and not just as a decoration on a note. String bends are one of few ways to achieve microtonality, especially blue notes, on the guitar.
To produce a bend the guitarist puts a finger on the string and then, while pressing the string down to the fingerboard, strikes a tone, and pushes or pulls the string to the side. This has the effect of stretching the string and thus makes its pitch higher. Generally a bend on the lower (6th-4th) strings will move them "down" vertically as seen from the guitarist's point of view and a bend on the higher (3rd-1st) strings will move them "up". The technique can also be used with pinch harmonics to make "squealies".
A backward, reverse or release bend, involves pressing the string to the fingerboard, pulling or pushing it up to stretch the string first, then striking the string and relaxing the string to normal position. This causes the note to go flat, the reverse direction of straight bend.
Sometimes the guitarist will bend a note on a certain string up, while playing the note the string is being bent to on another string, creating an effect called a "unison bend."[2]
Bends of one or two semitones are the most common, but skilled players may use bends from 3 semitones to as much as 5 or more) semitones[1] as can be heard in the solo played by David Gilmour on the song "Another Brick In the Wall Pt.2" from Pink Floyd's album "The Wall." In addition to the player's skill, the range of a pitch bend is also limited to some extent by the type of guitar, material and stiffness of the strings, and area of the neck in which the bends are played. (E.g., Steel strings can be bent further in pitch than nylon strings; thin strings further than thick strings; bends in the middle of the neck further than bends near the nut, etc.)
In Blues playing, the target note can be slightly higher or lower than the fretted note one or two frets higher. It can be a quarter tone or not even exactly that, but a tone which is not present in the tempered scale, being a natural third or seventh instead (or close to it). These are the blue notes, one of which is e.g. between minor and major third. The exact location varies from performer to performer.
Press the string between the nut and the machine head (tuning key), and the pitch will shift.
The particular advantage of this technique is that unstopped notes can be pitch shifted (bent).
When a string is bent, the sound it creates is much smoother than would be otherwise, even using other legato techniques such as hammer-ons, pull-offs, or finger slides. String bending on the guitar was first used in blues to mimic the smooth sound of a slide guitar. It has since become an integral part of playing lead guitar. Some masters of string bending on guitar include Tony Iommi, Brian May, T-Bone Walker, B. B. King, and Eric Clapton, as well as many other blues, country, and jazz influenced guitarists. In order to facilitate his extensive string bending, Clapton used to substitute an unwound banjo string for the third string on his guitar. At that time, there was not a set of light-gauge strings with an unwound third string available.
Finger vibrato is also a standard part of clavichord technique, known as Bebung.
Until the first half of the 20th century, the clavichord was the only keyboard instrument on which finger vibrato was possible. In 1928, Maurice Martenot invented the Ondes Martenot, featuring a keyboard which can be laterally rocked back and forth—inspired by his experience as a cellist. Other finger vibrato techniques may also be used on pressure sensitive electronic keyboards with appropriate sounds and patches. For example, the Rodgers digital church organs may be provided with an optional voice for the upper keyboard which provides a solo trumpet with velocity-sensitive volume and pressure-sensitive pitch, allowing a skilled player to play a very realistic trumpet solo.
Finger vibrato is used on several woodwind instruments, in both classical and traditional music. In Baroque music, it was called flattement in French and used, usually on long notes, on the Baroque flute and recorder, and noted in the writings of Jacques-Martin Hotteterre and Michel Corrette. In Irish music, it is used on the uillean pipes and pennywhistle. In contemporary terms this technique is more usually referred to as a "timbral trill".