A method for monitoring vibrations of the winding overhang in a generator (2) comprises the following steps: —detection of vibrations of the winding overhang (15) during the operation of the generator; —transformation of signals of the vibrations into the frequency range; —transformation of multiple individual vibrations from the frequency signals into the modal range; and —determination of deviations of the modal forms and/or individual bar vibrations in relation to a reference response.