Learn How to Use the Whammy Bar (Tremelo Arm)

One of the most effective, and often overused tools in guitar playing, awesome whammy skills have inspired many kids to pick up a guitar. You'll quickly find out that there is a lot more to using the whammy bar than just hitting a note and pressing down! Here's how to use your whammy bar to create the sounds you want.

How to Use the Tremelo Arm

Whammy bars can be used to create a range of sounds in music

• Vibrato, when they are pulled up and down  
• Pitch bend, when pulled and held in one direction  
• Portamento, where your whammy bar is used to slide between pitches  

To do a downward pitch bend with your whammy bar:

• Bend a note down on the fret board  
• Point your whammy bar directly towards the headstock  
• Play the note and then gently push the bar down towards the body of the guitar.  

To do an upward pitch bend with your whammy bar:

• Bend a note on the fret board up.  
• If you have a Fender or Bigsby bridge, point the whammy bar towards the bottom of your guitar (away from the headstock). Then play the note and gently push down on the whammy bar  
• If you have a floating bridge, leave your whammy bar pointing at a comfortable angle, and pull up on the bar.  

To play a vibrato note with your whammy bar, you need to have an electric guitar with a floating bridge. Some types of guitars (with Fender style or Bigsby style bridges) will be ruined by pulling up on the whammy bar.

• Play a note  
• Move the whammy bar backwards and forwards quickly, to create a shuddering effect 

Video Lesson On How to Use the Guitar Whammy Bar

Guitar Whammy Bar Exercises

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Common Problems In Using The Whammy Bar

You will find that using your whammy bar often causes the strings to go out of tune. Using a guitar with a Floyd Rose locking tremolo arm will fix this problem, but you can also help prevent the problem by lubricating the area where the strings rest in the nut. You can lubricate the nut with one of two methods:

• Buy a tube of 'Nut Sauce' from a guitar supplies shop, and apply a tiny bit to each string rest of the nut, as directed on the tube.  
• Remove the strings from the nut, and use a soft greylead pencil to 'color' in the string rests. The lead will lubricate the nut.  

Good songs for practising using your whammy bar:

• Rebel Rouser, Duane Eddy 
• Star Spangled Banner, Jimi Hendrix 
• Most songs, Pantera 
• Twang Bar King, Adrian Belew 
• Where Were You, Jeff Beck