Vibrato and Bends.

Bends and Vibrato are the mirrors of the soul.

That`s why some guitarists have this queer,quivering little vibrato
that makes you think to yourself,"This person is deeply troubled
and perhaps in need of counceling or hugs-not for me personally,
but perhaps from a medically trained professional."

Good vobrato on the other hand ,is why a guy with only a five-note
vocabulary can be an absolute demon on guitar.

One thing that always makes `ol Eric Clapton
such a savage beast is his vibrato.

That wail he had going is why people were callling him "God".
Of course ,Clapton still bends wirh great savagery,but needles
to say,he played witth a little bit more knife-to-the-throatedness
back in the Cream days.
He was really,pummeling the gristle with great vehemence.

If you want to achieve a similar vibrato yourself,
the first thing to do is bust out your trusty E minor
pentatonic scale and work on developing a solid 1st finger vibrato,
which can be a pain in the buttocks to get dialed right.

Clapton would really make this note sing,as his 1st finger
sat on the string,floating first up and then down
{i.e.,toward the ceiling and then toward the floor}
repeatedly to create vibrato.

Try bending notes 1/2 step then a whole step up
using your second and third fingers and apply
vibrato while the note is bend.

The key to developing a powerful vibrato is listening
to people that have one.

Slave over great recordings the way i did-with much haste
and eagerness-then record yourself and compare.
At first when you listen back to yourself,
you may find yourself saying,"That`s not quite right."
Eventually the more you practice with jam tracks
and albums you`ll start saying,
"Hey you know what?This is really coming along."

Good vibrato and bending takes a while to develop,
but it`s worth it.When it come to nuanced blues
and rock playing,these two things are what separate
the beasts from the boys.