| 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. 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. Radial pitch-shifting (string bending) Radial pitch-shifting (also referred to as "string bending" or "bending") is produced by moving the stopped (held down) string with the left hand in a direction perpendicular to its axis and parallel to the fingerboard. This type of pitch-shifting is typically used in rock music. To produce a bend the guitarist puts a finger on the string and then, while pressing the string down on the fret, strikes a tone, and pushes the string either up or down. This has the effect of stretching the string and thus makes its pitch higher. Generally a bend on the 1st-3rd strings will go "up" vertically as seen from the guitarist's point of view and a bend on the 4th-6th will go "down". The technique can also be used with distortion to make "screams". 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." Bending is usually limited to 1-2 semitones, but 3 semitone bends are not uncommon and skilled players occasionally use bends of as much as 5 semitones (the interval of a perfect fourth) 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." Bending in general, but especially large bends of 3 or more semitones, puts stress on the strings which often causes them to go out of tune and increases the likelihood of string breakage. |
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