learning to use a whammy bar

DavidRees

it has occurred to me that after very many years of playing and studying the guitar I have never owned one with a whammy bar/vibrato arm and have therefore never applied myself to the technique behind its use - whilst being a fan of many of the players known for using one from Hank Marvin through Jimi Hendrix and in particular Jeff Beck and Dave Gilmour [although not necessarily aware of the extended use applied from Eddie Van Halen and others with the whole Floyd Rose thing] it is just something I have never tried. If I was to look towards expanding my technique and musical vocabulary in this direction where do you reckon I should start? all comments /observations welcome - in particular, anyone else like me who has never used one [and yes that does mean I have only ever played a Stratocaster in jam type situations] - thanks ....

timmypix

A lot of players use it to wobble single notes or single chords, or get a Floyd Rose and do ridiculous sounding divebombs, but it is capable of being a much more musical tool.

I really love this lesson from Plini about using it as a tool for phrasing.

DavidRees

thanks timmypix ...

bluechargeboy

timmypix said:

A lot of players use it to wobble single notes or single chords, or get a Floyd Rose and do ridiculous sounding divebombs, but it is capable of being a much more musical tool.

You take that back!

No but seriously, I have been on a similar journey. I think figure 3 in that video is a great example of what can be done tastefully. Steve Lukather is another one who knows this game. More recent Joe Satriani stuff makes good use of tasteful whammy moves (as well as ridiculous ones of course). And Guthrie Govan in The Aristocrats.

I think less is more to begin with. Try to emulate a gentle Bigsby wobble consistently, and bending specific intervals like a semitone, to learn control.

Henrytwang

I suppose that old Hank is as easy an introduction to the Stratocaster tremolo as any as he doesn’t do anything too rash. Just get a couple of early Shadows instrumentals under your belt, (not particularly difficult), then you can start to move on to where you want to go.

Winny_Pooh

Jeff Beck, end thread...

stratman3142

Obvious choices are
David Gilmour
Alan Murphy
Jeff Beck

A couple of others to check on Youtube are:

Jan Cyrka: a true master, who uses it as an effective alternative to finger vibrato.

Michael Lee Firkins: You'd think he was playing slide guitar

merlin

Excuse my cynicism. Plini gives examples of things that you wouldn't even consider playing on a guitar without a trem and how much easier it is to use the trem. Certain sounds and playing styles have evolved BECAUSE of the trem.

Would you try to chop garlic with a screwdriver?  

Right tools for the job etc.