The Most Neglected Skill On Guitar
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- Опубліковано 9 кві 2023
- Bending/vibrato! The need to know skill if you want to stop sounding nervous or a beginner to the guitar. Remember to stay on top of your rhythm and keep improvising. Happy bending.
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#guitar #rock #music
The most neglected skill on guitar is rhytmn guitar
True, but in this video we're talking lead
@@CameronCooper yes you are right but i just wanted to say it since in rock/metal guitar rhytmn should be looked at as main priority
@@Icedsymphony7 I agree
Agreed rhythm is key
Agreed
I think bends really help a lot to fine tune your ears, too. It's definitely an underappreciated and super important skill.
Bends and vibrato are your true voice on the guitar. You HAVE to put the time in on this.
Jeff
100% agree. I've seen plenty of musicians out there who can shred the balls out of their guitars but their bends and vibratos make the guitar sound like they're an absolute beginner.
I've realized over the years that people used to compliment a lot on my playing and I noticed I never really sounded like many beginners out there. I realized that I used to really focus on doing well tuned bends and vibratos. That alone made my playing sound better than it was supposed to
Bending and Virbato is what separates the men from the boys 🎸! Great lesson cam!
That Charvel is magnificent
I absolutely agree Cameron! I've been a guitar teacher here in Sheffield for 25+ years and it's the subject which seems to crop up most frequently. I think players now are a little too obsessed with playing lots of notes as opposed to making them sound good!
Nothing feels better/sounds cooler than good bends/vibrato
Here’s a thought…been playing forty years and more of a melodic style than fast and always concentrated on my bends and vibrato at differing speeds. To my ear…bending and vibrato separate men from boys….and interestingly I had a mild stroke 5 weeks ago and having to relearn guitar. I sound like I’ve been playing only a few months but slowly coming back. The one area still a long way off is bending and controlled vibrato indicating this is a far more technically challenging than speed scales.
I spent months, close to a year, doing nothing but bending notes, vibrato, and sliding up the neck to a certain note, and sliding down to a note. This is all i did. No scales no exercises, no songs for almost a year! When i went back to actual playing, my technique was transformed. These techniques will add THEMSELVES to your playing once you make them habbit.
A players Vibrato and bend accuracy will immediately showcase their skill level.
Mile Davis said he could tell right away how good a player was before they even play a single note just by watching the way they pull the instrument out of the case and strap it on.
i think awesomly done bending is one of the best and most musical sounding soloing techniques
Absolutely
You quickly became one of my top guitarists. That means as UA-camr, instructor, teacher AND player. Thanks.
Nice tips Cam . Thanks
At 61 years old I am learning shred-style picking after 46 years of using a lot of bends and vibrato to create melody, but I don't want to sound like a shredder. I just want the chops for occasional flourishes. I can listen to a solo with no shred (Gilmour), and shred with great bends and vibrato (EVH), but I can't listen to shred without them. I'm surprised at how many players don't consider a decent vibrato to be essential.
I learned vibrato 46 yrs ago from watching B.B. King on TV. I sat there with my guitar through the entire show trying to mimic that one technique. It was reinforced a short time later when I discovered the Allman Bros Live at the Fillmore album. Vibrato teaches you more than just vibrato. It schools you on how to play with feel, no matter what you're playing on guitar.
Love the way you break things down buddy. Thank you!
thx for bending confidence. I just liked and subscribed
Such a great player, thanks for sharing the wisdom
Great player, great teacher.
Thanks Cameron
Man your tips are awesome but your friendly encouraging approach is incredible
Very encouraging lesson. Cheers 🍻
Cameron this is one of the best videos you’ve ever done. You hit upon my weakness without even knowing me. I can play reasonably fast enough. Nothing like you, but I can impress, but then I bend…and my ears bleed! It sounds like a dying calf in a hail storm at times. I’ve recently got back into guitar after a long layoff and this has always been my weakness and it’s time to get better. Thank you for the help.
You're welcome Sam! Thanks for you comment
"Dying calf in a hail storm (at times)" sounds like a great album title.
@@meadish feel free to use lol
Super awesome lesson! Loved it! I've been working on developing my vibrato so this lesson was very timely. One of your super (and IMO underrated) techniques is your muting. I only ever hear the notes you play. Your control over all of the strings is what makes everything you play sound amazing. Perhaps a future lesson on how you developed your incredible muting technique?
I would agree...and it is probably one of the most expressive skills to have in your bag
Hello Cameron, I am Jasper from the Philippines...I say this is really true among newbies. Thanks for the quality lessons you have.
Thank you man🙏
Dude I can't believe that little thing about the fulcrum point in your finger for vibrato solved my problems. By no means is it the cleanest, but that visualization helped me start practicing it correctly. Same with the bending vibrato tip. 10/10 video kept it straight to the point and added so much to this topic that many don't go over.
Glad you included the facts of string guage. Finger strength is highly important to these techniques.
beautiful guitar bro
Thanks for sharing this man. I'm totally agree with you. Also we should learn this before trying to play fast! I realise it now, and im playing since more then 10 years.. So i slowed a lot and i get more confortable with bend and feeling in my playing. For nothing i want to go back and play faster and faster again 😊
Absolutely 👍🏽
Thank you so much for mentioning this! It’s something I’ve seen and heard fade away over the years as “shredders” practice note to note speed and lose the old familiar “feel” I’m used to on guitar. The occasional bend became an afterthought when before, it was really the whole thing. Vibrato became so fast and just an accent as opposed to a peak of emotion.
My mentors on guitar were Carlos Santana and then Gary Moore. Nobody else in my world back then could combine speed and tempo changes at will like they did. At 60 years old now, I’m not a metal player. I’m not the blues player I was either. I’m something in between. And I still suck at both but people thought I was good.
I look at modern shredders and I’m impressed but feel nothing. I look at old blues players and maybe they need some speed runs in between to prevent the inevitable yawn.
Those huge bends and vibrato are great in the mix.
This is one of my favorite videos of yours for recognizing this simple and emotional escape from what has become a sprint these days.
Awesome video. I watch your videos to pick up new licks and this is more my style. BB King is the guy that turned me onto vibrato playing. I love his style and I can't help not doing vibrato and bends on almost every lick I do when I play lol. I like shredders but my heart is with the blues guys who do like one string solos, vibrato and bends.. less is more approach while making it sound amazing like BB, Albert King, SRV, David Gilmour, Gary Moore to name a few that ive always looked up too. Another cool bending technique that I picked up from watching joe walsh is starting with an upbend and bringing it down when you pick instead of bending up.. absolutely awesome sounding.
100% agree, before getting into all the fast and technical stuff, go practice clean bends and tasty vibrato's, it's really the core of good sounding guitar playing.
All the legends like EVH, Yngwie, they didn't skip this. In fact, they were so advanced at it, that you can recognize them by just hearing a few notes.
My weakness, but will definitely do more to fix that..
I do suck at guitar, and this lesson is beyond excellent.
Thank you.
When I got lessons I was able to play some rock solos (i thought) but I didn't have the vibrato down. My guitar teacher told me to listen to still in love with you by Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore, Adrian Smith and violinists to hear the way they introduce their vibrato gradually. It was so daunting but eventually it became second nature and it just works - fast , slow ,violent or gentle - whatever the song needs. It is a big element that really helps makes you sound more pro and expressive. Do put the time into it. Listen to Gary Moore blues alive, a song called story of the blues with your eyes closed and imagine the head movement and the face he must be pulling and then keep that feeling in your head when you practice. It's a really short simple solo but beautifully done. You will be able to get the notes easily so you only have to work on the bends and vibrato.
I used 9-42, 9-46 in standard for years before trying 8-42 hybrid slinky sets or Yngwie's 8-46 Fender strings. I also enjoy playing the David Gilmour 10-48 GHS strings on my Dad's strat. The G & B string in Dave's set is actually from a 9 set ;)
There's that tone!!!!!!
That charvel is beautiful
I’m glad I watched this video. I have a 7 string multiscaled. I also tune all 4ths so my top 2 strings are tuned up a half step. I just used Chat GPT to calculate my new string gauges based on the tension differences.
Man, I love your charvel guitars
Exactly. Well said. I thought I needed a bigger amp and a roadie.😅
I'm so glad that vibrato and string bending were some of the things that I focused on when first learning guitar, and it's still one of the things that I keep on perfecting. If I had to pick some of the players that "taught me" by listening to them I'd say George Lynch, Michael Schenker, Robin Trower, Jake E. Lee, Jeff Beck, Mick Ronson, Ace Fhreley.
They all have one thing in common and that's when they bend a string their sound commands full authority of the instrument and complete control. And most times it's never the same vibrato, it can have different articulation and speed depending the situation and the song vibe. That's very important too.
Great stuff Cam…using 9’s or 10’s and learning to hit your “target” notes with your bends, you will also start to “learn” how the tension feels under your fingers for each string you’re bending…locking in that feel with listening and Bob’s you’re uncle👍
That's it!
super helpful...I always bend sharp and bending flat is a revelation...duh on me
I know you’re not into metal core but KsE taught me how important vibrato and bends are as his solos sound so different if you don’t nail it. Quick little slides on multiple notes leading to vibrato is another probably Eddie van halen inspired.
what is KsE?
@@SergeiVlassov killswitch engage. They’ve got some good vibrato bends and harmonics in their songs, really tight guitar players
@@SergeiVlassov Killswitch Engage. Two banger guitar players in that band
David Gilmore's consistant tone, composition and execution is what makes him a legend and that's not even mentioning his voice and lyrics are I sane. Hes the perfect package.
Cam, great playing and thank you for all that you do. You have significantly improved my playing. I also wanted to ask you if you could give my son some ideas on starting a business similar to your yacht selling/video presentations? He is 18 years old and into drone videos and creating films/videos and I remember that you have a similar interest or business. Any ideas on how to get something like that started as a part time gig would be very interesting for us. Thanks again, you have a gift both in playing the guitar and teaching.
Hey Cam the other day you posted a "short" on UA-cam asking if you should teach a certain riff... it was awesome! Can you show us please?!!
Definitely the most underrated and neglected skill on guitar. Many guitarists on UA-cam have a strong sense of shredding, but when I hear their vibrato, I cannot help but think it's a major letdown and lack of skill overall.
Whats makes shredders pleasant to listen to is not only their technical abilities, but their sense of phrasing, vibrato and just cleverness that tie it up altogether. NeoGeoFanatic and Panos Arvanitis are up there.
Great vibrato can also be noticed in Zakk Wylde, John Sykes, Marty Freedman, obviously Van Halen and Reb Beach's styles.
Vibrato is what determines whether your playing sounds like midi or human
Perfect summary!
Watching this I realized I prefer bending up to pitch with vibrato and one of the things that I catch myself doing all the time is moving down a fret and then bending up a half step to the actual note during the vibrato. Not anything hard or technical, but as someone with limited moves I think that it adds some flair. If you actually just kind do a quick pull off it gives this Beck type of vibe.
Good advice as usual Cam. I find if I play over a static chord ( b minor in this instance) you can hear whether or not your notes are going all over place and compensate accordingly.
That's actually the first thing I wanted to learn how to do.
Hi Cameron, I agree 100% that the most neglected skills are vibrato, a bends, for lead guitar.
That looks like an ash body Guthrie Govan Charvel. It sounds beautiful. Can you please do a demo/run-down on that guitar, and discuss the tonal differences between the ash model vs the basswood with maple top?
Cheers! I've done videos on those guitars but not one comparing them
Ooh that Vivian Campbell skulls Charvel
Great lesson! I think one of other thing that is so overlooked is muting the unwanted voicing of the other strings.
Yeah true but usually that's a problem that a player should solve on their own because everyone's playing subtly different
Not if you start with Blues. I've always loved 80s Metal/Rock, but when I picked up a guitar, I did it to learn Blues. I wanted to learn SRV songs and Albert King songs. The very first thing I mastered was vibrato, all types and bends. By my second year, I still sucked, but I could fake that I could play just by those two techniques. Best advice I can give any young guitar player, start with the Blues. Many other reasons to besides vibrato and bends. Learning to target the triads will make you sound like pro without having to be fast. Of course the speed will come, but you'll be able to actually play.
Study BB King he really was the MASTER of the bendy blues. He could do more with 4 notes than any guitarist alive , or past.
🤠🎸🎶🤙
Great stuff and tone.
Can you talk about your guitar and the fuzz / overdrive your getting?
Thanks again
I absolutely agree!!!!! My playing sounds so meh BECAUSE I don’t get the bends right. I can play 3 simple notes and it sounds off just because there’s no “feel”. It’s the HARDEST part to get down.
The bass strings get pulled to the floor, the 3 higher strings get pushed up. That allows for maximum control.
Yep
I loooooove that tone. What are you using??
Bending and Vibrato are techniques are really common but are really difficult techniques to get efficent at and to make a natural part of your playing. As a sidenote to David Gilmour he may not be a shredder or really interest many shredders who watch cam's video's, but Gilmour is an absolute master of phrasing and playing melodically and literally plays solos like how a singer would sing vocals with some flash added in once in a while, he knows all pentatonic scales and also arpeggios for chords like the back of his hand. He is also brilliant at something many players also neglect these days which is space between phrases and dynamics (how hard or soft you play a note, bend,slide, vibrato etc) which itself is an incredibly hard skill to get good at too and is kinda boring so a lot of modern plays neglect it unfortunately.
Yes! I suck at Bending and Vibrato. I call myself a Straight line player.. No Flare..
Hi Cameron, what pick are you using? I mean the rose, what brand and model is it please. Thanks and greetings from Spain
🎸
I’m an old “bendy guy” , and always use a custom set of GHS burnished roller wound (semi-flat) 10/14/18/26/38/50 on all my guitars. Why? Because I can use less gain ,and get long sustain. Including double step bends. Which I do a lot .. although I’ve been playing 47 years so my hands are very conditioned . Great video for the younger players out there. For it is becoming a lost art. New sub. Like what your teaching …
🤠🎸🎶🤙
4:32 Haha how have I been playing for so long without realising this.
The forearm movement is pronation/supination if you want to get technical.
You'll probably feel your bicep contract as you bend up 👍
Thanks!
The heaviest I can do is 9-46 in standard on a 25.5 scale guitar which I use for toggling to Drop D. I do not like a full 10-46 set in standard on a 25.5 as the .10, .13, and .17 simply feel too hard to play on for my tastes. 9-42 in standard tuning/25.5 is my favorite feeling gauges tension wise. Then when tuned to Eb/25.5, I can do 10-46 for straight Eb standard, and then 10-48/25.5 for toggling to Drop C#. Maybe on something like a Fender Stratocaster I'd be able to do something like 9.5-44 and of course 10-46 when in Eb on the Strat. And for a guitar setup for slide I think only then would I want a 10-46 set in standard tuning.
I love bending vibrato and tapping.
My friend who I consider way better than me doesn’t bend or tap. Tho he sweeps and plays chords really well.
But you will always sounds better if you can do bending and vibrato well 🤘🏻
Good/great vibrato is not only heard but can be seen. Mute the audio on any Ritchie Blackmore, Zakk Wylde, Malmsteen video. You can see the how smooth and precise the vibrato/bends are. I used them as examples as I am an old school metalhead I know there are many others out there. Some players vibrato sounds like Eddie Vedder vocals lol. BTW muting your video also shows what I'm saying. Hand and finger positioning also play a role as many try bending from a weak position causing the note to fall short/flat. Mostly happens to players that wear their guitars down at their ankles cuz it makes them look cool :P
Another neglected skill is old school. Playing songs through chord Melodie’s. Most everything played is chords and extensions inversions. Every chord changes because it’s singing melodie.
Billy Gibbons .O8’s on a Pre. Pat. Pend. Prototype EVH Wolfgang … No. Patent #’s anywhere on
The Instrument… it does have a serial # PROTO
It’s tough to find strings for me. I tune the top 2 strings up a half step to be in all 4ths. Which means I have to get them in half sizes to compensate. It’s pretty difficult to even bend a whole step. But I also need the low end to have enough thickness so I have to custom order them.
cool guitar. what brand?
Hello @CameronCooper Thanks for this video! I am a beginner and have been playing guitar for two years now. I wounder what you think is the most important to learn and master (apart from bending and vibrato)
There isn't a 'most important' I don't think. Just devote the time to play what you love and all of the skills that it involves
some people have a hard time with bending. you have to be able to do it and hear what you are doing pitch wise. bending is a whole world to itself an it makes all the difference. My advice would be to start with playing a half step then bend to the half step. Do the same with a whole step and do this until you begin to really hear it. Then move on to micro tones and different types of vibrato. Some choose one type of vibrato for all their wiggling but you can use fast or slow or whatever suits the mood your going for. Just sayin. Bye for now. Oh Yeah and listen to Jeff Beck
What model Charvel? Thanks
Sounds like the slash tone from goth father😮
6:30 perfect. Vibrato should never go above the actual pitch of the note.
On orchestra instruments there are no string bendings and because of this, the vibrato is done by going below pitch.
If it went up, it would sound grossly out of tune.
When did you get the Govan and how do you like it? There was one in town and I kinda regret not grabbing it.
I like it very much. Got it last year
Nice tips. Thanks. Is there any real advantage in moving to 10 gauge strings, or is it really a matter of preference?
Matter of preference. You can hit 10s harder for rhythms and even that's a subjective thing. Do what you like :)
Couldn't agree more my vibrato stinks on ice ugh.
Out of topic, but I have a question. HSS or HSH guitar is better if I want to play like Cigarettes After Sex genre/tone? I’m planning to get a Squier Affinity Stratocaster HSS. Thanks in advance!
When you shred do you only use the notes of the scale or do you also use patterns that go outside of the scale
Depends
In my house, the most neglected skill is tuning the damn thing before I play 😂
Bending is actually one of my strong points. Film our often makes bends one and a half steps and the satisfaction of nailing them has kept me going when I felt like giving up. I am a little too heavy handed and the fret wear on my guitar is horrendous. Does anyone know what new frets would cost?
Not to much if you do it yourself. But good luck finding someone to do it. I’m the same way. And just destroy nickel frets. So if you do get it done be sure to get Stainless steel frets , they don’t wear nearly as fast under us heavy handed players.
@@theofficialdiamondlou2418 thank you. I remember the first gig I played I had a death grip on my guitar. I have tried to relax more over the years but my 1-3 frets looks like it was hit by a rock grinder . Thanks for the help.
Cameron, I got a question for you, is that a Guthrie Charvel? It doesn’t have the middle pick up? What is it ? I need one 😎🎸
It's a GG prototype that used to belong to the man himself
@@CameronCooper bruh... 😎
Tuned to d standard is how I learned. Miuuch easier to bend
What guitar is that?
forget the 8s, 9s and 10s.. how many guitars do you have😮
10-52
I had a hunch…
My understanding is Stevie Ray Vaughn ended up switching from very heavy gauge strings to much lighter ones.
What is the John Sykes reference? I didn’t get it.
Referencing a guy with insanely wide vibrato all the time
@@CameronCooper Ah. Got it. It was praise (now thinking of Jelly Roll I can see what you mean). I thought there was a humorous reference I missed.
I met John Sykes Guitar Center Hollywood parking lot(1989) I'm in my car ,another one pulls up, we are the only cars in the parking lot ,as they get out , I say to my cousin hey that looks like John Sykes and Tony Franklin, as I get out of the car "I say to myself if it's him he will have an accent, he comes up to me accent and all it says ,who is that I was listening to
5:07 "Depending on how _Wylde_ you're going..."
Intentional? Lol
Nope but still appropriate
I can’t really think of any shred masters that use anything higher than 10s .
I'm sure there are a fair few out there. Bonamassa and Guthrie use 11s as of 2023 aha
Even if there are some professional shredder guitarists using string gauges higher than 10s it's very unlikely that's what they started on. 9s work just fine for beginners and intermediates, or even 8s if you're not into shredding (and have a light touch).
@@CameronCooper really?! That's even more scary tbh 😂
@@CameronCooper In standard tuning that's crazy thick, my fingers are way too weak to bend those strings!
Josh Middleton