Vibrato is a regular wobble in pitch that makes a held note sound alive. Rock and blues players mostly use bending vibrato: push the string up a little, let it come back to the fretted pitch, and repeat. You'll work in A minor pentatonic, 5th position.
The motion comes from the wrist, not the finger. Anchor the base of your index finger lightly against the neck, keep the fretting finger firm, and rock the wrist as if turning a key. The pitch should only go up from the note and back, never below it.
Practice with every finger: index on the 5th fret of the high e, pinky on the 8th fret of the B string (with ring and middle supporting it), ring on the 7th fret of the G and D strings. Index vibrato feels the most awkward; that's normal.
A good vibrato sounds even, like a pulse. The most common mistake is a nervous, irregular shake that speeds up and slows down at random. The second is stopping the vibrato before the note ends.
The last exercise moves the same drill to E minor pentatonic at the 12th position, with the same finger on each string.
How to practice
- Count the wobbles: aim for two per beat at first, matching the click.
- Record yourself. Vibrato that feels wide often sounds tiny.
- In the phrase, start the vibrato as soon as the long note begins and keep it going until the rest.