Slides and Vibrato
Slides and vibrato add “expression” to your notes — the key details that make playing sound good.
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Slide (/ , \)
Press a fret and pluck, then keep the fretting pressure as your finger slides along the string to the target fret. Use / to slide toward higher notes and \ toward lower ones. Through the slide, the pitch changes continuously.
Two details that steady a slide: ① at the moment of the slide, don't let your thumb clamp the neck — keep the web of your hand loose and unstrained, so the finger can glide through smoothly under its own pressure; ② let the wrist lead the whole hand into the slide, like a tennis stroke where “the wrist moves first and the hand follows” — much steadier than one finger crawling on its own.
Vibrato (~)
After fretting a note, the finger makes small, regular pushes-and-pulls or shakes, so the pitch wavers slightly and “shimmers.” Adding vibrato to long notes and notes at the end of a phrase sounds especially good.
Tap any column in the tab to start playing from there (stuck on a bar? practice from that bar — the loop returns there too). The playhead moves through the tab; adjust speed, loop, and toggle follow. This tab has note durations and sounds in its real rhythm.
On the 3rd string: pluck the 5th fret → keep the fretting pressure and slide to the 7th fret (5/7) → slide back to the 5th fret (7\5) → finally pluck the 7th fret and add vibrato (~), letting the long note “shimmer.” (The play-along sounds each note as written; the continuous pitch change of the slide / vibrato is something your left hand makes happen.)
- 💡 Vibrato comes from the wrist and forearm working together, not just the finger digging in — small and even sounds better.
Practice this with famous songs
We don't host sheets for these songs (copyright); only the “what to practice” direction — find the sheets yourself:
- Intro to “Anhe Bridge” — the signature slide phrase; practice smoothly sliding between positions.
Companion practice licks
Play-along licks for this lesson's technique — tap to hear them in the Riff library and practice slowly:
Practice checklist
- On the 3rd string, practice sliding from the 5th fret to the 7th (5/7), back and forth a few times.
- Fret any long note and add vibrato, finding the feel of “shimmer, not a jittery wobble.”