Guitar Vibrato Technique - How to Play Vibrato on Guitar Like BB King
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You don't need faster fingers to play more expressive solos — you need better vibrato. In this lesson Adam breaks down how the kings of the blues make every note resonate, and the small habits that separate expressive players from everyone else.
What you'll learn
- Establish the note first, then add vibrato as an afterthought
- Match your vibrato speed to the feel — fast B.B. King or slow, subtle Clapton
- Leave space between notes — it pulls the listener in
- Three ways to add vibrato, including putting it on two notes at once
The most common vibrato mistake
Adam's pet peeve is hearing good players reach for the exact same vibrato at the end of every riff. You don't always want it to sound identical. The fix is to establish your note first — let the listener actually hear the pitch — and only then decide what kind of "grease" you want to put on it. That way the vibrato comes in almost as an afterthought rather than something you fall into automatically.
Two ways to get vibrato
The first way is to fret a note and wiggle the finger left and right to make it shimmer. The second is to bend a note up, hold it long enough to establish the pitch, and then add the vibrato on top of the bend.
Either way, think about how fast you want it. A fast vibrato gives you that B.B. King sound; a slow, subtle one is more like Eric Clapton's "slowhand" feel. Adam suggests listening closely to B.B. King, Freddie King, and especially Albert King for how they use it.
The B.B. King approach
Over an A minor chord, instead of landing straight on the root, B.B. leads into it from the fifth of the key, then hits the A a second time and adds that fast, wiggling vibrato. A second classic move: hold the A, reach up and grab the C above it with the pinky, then pull off back down to the A and add vibrato — two clean licks from one idea.
What makes it work is space. B.B. leaves a lot of room between phrases, and that space is what sucks the listener in — they're waiting to hear what you'll do next.
Ready to take this further? Best Minor Pentatonic Course
Turn scales into solos that actually sing.
Vibrato on bends and on two notes at once
Bend the G up to an A on the B string, hold it to establish the pitch, then add the vibrato — again, letting the space do the work.
Adam's favorite is two-note vibrato: take the E (the fifth) on the G string and the flat-7 (G) on the B string, and wiggle both strings up and down at the same time. It gives an organ-like sound that goes right to the heart — you're not shredding or showing off, you're getting into the groove and handing those notes to the listener.
Be conscious of your vibrato
It all comes down to awareness. So many players aren't conscious of what they're doing when they get to the vibrato, so they repeat the same thing over and over. Pay attention to it, vary it, and use space — the listener is always waiting for what comes next.
