Any of you folk spend much time practicing bends and vibrato (plus other forms of expression such as dynamics, muting, slides, whammy bar, pinched harmonics)?

Increasingly I'm finding that the kind of solo guitar I enjoy listening to is more about expression than speed. For instance, the opening to Santana's Black Magic Woman is not particularly technically challenging, yet it sounds awesome.

So I'm wondering how people practice this sort of stuff, if they do, and how much time they devote to it. The only practice technique I know for bends is to play each note in a scale, then move down an interval and bend up to the previous interval. Similarly for the whammy bar. Personally, I don't feel like I devote anything like enough time to this aspect of playing.

I take it from the fact that noone has responded to this thread yet as a sign that no-one here really knows much about bending and vibrato tech...I am hoping that Pebber or any of the otriad would make a video for the rest of us mortals on these very things. I guess this constitutes a formal request.

I have yet to come across any sort of complete framework for practicing these things (complete in the same way that module 1 is to picking) there has to have been someone smart out there who has figured this stuff out...It would certainly plug a gargantuan leak in my playing.

So for bends and vibrato you need strength. so Pebbers Isometrics are good for this especially the vibrato exercise.
Use each finger practice all speeds along to metronome. vibrato has a lot to do with feeling. so sad, happy vibrato may sound different. Vibrato and bends are such a big part of yourself. through the guitar, but so overlooked.
could you spend an hour on vibrato thats what it takes. years of practice.
This is something i also need lots of work on and do not proclaim to know what i'm on about, As usual

I practice my phrasing more than anything; bends, vibrato, slides, etc. Usually this is one of the biggest things that separate subpar players from great ones.

Here is a Berklee grad giving back what Guthrie Govan taught at a clinic

This video is old...but hilarious. I don't know why this guy didn't make more videos. I can only find 2 or 3 on YouTube. I remember shooting some messages back and forth with this guy back in the MySpace days. That gives you an idea of how old this video is. Real nice guy. From Australia.

He's mocking Fred Durst the singer from the band Limp Bizkit. If anyone doesn't know what an idiot Fred Durst is, just look up some of his interviews on YouTube.

Anyway, this is some excellent vibrato advice for beginners. And it's outrageously funny.

The video above that "student" posted featuring the Berklee grad guy is exactly what I teach everyone that needs help with bending and I believe Pebber made a video on it as well.

Vibrato needs to be SLOWED down. One of the tell tale signs of beginning guitar players is really fast and shaky vibrato. It needs to be slower and more wide.

For reference of what wide vibrato is listen to Yngwie or BB King

At least everyone on the PB forum can take solace in the fact that you play guitar better than Fred Durst! Ack! Just wretched...

Great video uderoche! Shred Durst was making me LMFAO!! He explained vibrato very well and the people a person can emulate and also who not to.
@Nich: I saw the Fred Durst solo while looking for a vid of Zakk Wylde dissing Durst. I was thinking to myself, WTF!? Is that for real???
I didn't realize this thread could be so entertaining.

Yes, dszady we must taste the buiszcuits...only then can we do wide non-shredder vibrato

You also have a few different kinds of vibrato:
1. Rock/Blues vibrato
2. Classical vibrato
3. Sliding vibrato (Kotzen, Greg Howe, Warren DeMartini, George Lynch)
4. Circular Vibrato (Steve Vai)

Here is Steve Vai going over vibrato.

Anyone here try practicing vibrato with a tuner?

I've used a tuner to check my bends on occasion.

Berklee guy was saying something similar to what I mentioned in the last paragraph of my original post. I like the idea of his (or Govan's) of playing the two notes very quickly one after the other, though.

Shred Durst made me laugh out loud, but I'm not sure I can forgive him for his Santana comment :).

Hope it's okay to post this here. This is a quick vibrato tuition vid my old friend Joff made for me a few months ago:

How about practicing your vibrato with a metronome. That sounds like something I would look into.

Now that's a cool idea. Any suggestions on what would be a good speed to try - number of vibes per sec?

Now why did no one say the metronome was a good idea when i mentioned it lol!

Ha ha - sorry :) I mustn't have read your post carefully enough first time round.

I don't know. I'd say start slow. Maybe 60bpm? And do quarter, eighth, sixteenth and then move the speed up.

Ive noticed wuite often when getting ready to sarod that if I bend the string up and left the pick try and get under neath the string it must piss the string off cause the string starts trying to rip the pick outa my grip but the tables immediatly start turning...the pick hits not the string...the string hits the pick...

Listen to Shakti....Sarod players. They go all over the place with slides...bends...ect.
Jeff Beck is who I would recommend to listen to......esp. Guitar Shop.
Where Were You is one of my all time favs.

Regarding string bending--- now it makes sense to me why fast dudes like gilbert and bucketfoot always seem to have some string bend in close proximity to the times when they start to pick really fast.

What bridge is that on your strat?