To play behind nut bends you put your fingers behind your fretboard/nut on one of your strings and just press it down. You can do this with either hand. Behind nut bends can be played with either hand, although the fretting hand is usually used.

This technique doesn't work with varying success on different types of guitars. Sometimes the tuning machines can get in the way. Make sure your strings are trimmed short and dull at the ends where they are wound on the tuning machines. I have stabbed myself more than once while performing a behind-nut bend.

Bending, whether by pushing or pulling the string, raises the tension in the vibrating portion of the string, and thus always raises the pitch of the note. To create the impression of bending down, the guitarist uses a technique called pre-bending, that is, bending before the string is struck, then releasing the bend (either gradually or quickly, depending on the intended effect).

Tablature Notation

There are two types of tablature. When you buy a book at the store - the tablature you see uses a certain style seen in the video. Tablature that your friend down the street has written is often in a simple text (ASCII) format, and illustrating techniques like prebends can be difficult.

In Prebends, the 'bend' occurs before the note is struck. In this case you bend the string at the second number while bent to the pitch in parenthesis that precedes it. This can be confusing. In the case of the first bend in the following tab, you would pre-bend at the 7th fret on the G string up to the pitch on the 9th fret (but you woudn't have any fingers on the 9th fret!). After bending to this pitch, you would strike the string in in a bent position while "unbending" or loosening tension down the the actual pitch on the 7th fret.

Bend and release (Ghost Bend)

Bending and a pull-off can be combined for a "bend and release". This technique involves striking a note, bending it up, then releasing it as you would with a pull-off. This will often be perceived as a "bounce" in pitch, especially if played quickly. The pitch will return to the fret you are bending on.

String Numbers

Video Tips

Bending

Bending occurs when the guitarist raises a pitch by stretching a string on the guitar. A string is pushed up (toward the ceiling) or down (toward the floor) with the fretting hand to stretch it after it is picked. The first three strings are often pushed toward the ceiling, while the others are often pulled toward the floor. This is particularly important on the first and sixth strings; you do not want the string or your fingers to fall off the fretboard.

Many aspiring guitarists cannot bend properly. There are three keys to bending properly: proper thumb positioning, bending with the proper muscles, and bending to pitch.

Positioning

Have a look at the video to the right to see how your hand should be positioned during bending.

Thumb Positioning

Do not keep your thumb behind the neck, where it usually is, but bring it up perpendicular to side of the neck. Press the inside of your hand (at the base of your index finger) against the side of the fretboard. Do not bend with your fingers, but rotate your hand with your forearm. Bending with your wrist and forearm allows you to get a better, sharper, cleaner bend.

Finger Positioning

Make sure to have more than one finger on the string. Many guitarists use their ring finger (and one or two below it) for bending. It is important when starting out to place your index and middle fingers on the string you will be bending along with your ring finger for additional support. While it is possible to bend with only one finger, you cannot bend as far or high as with the support of your index, middle, and ring all together. All this will feel a little awkward at first, but it will come naturally after practice.

Bending to Proper Pitch

When it comes to bending, notes are almost always bent up a half step, a whole step, or a step and a half. Tablature and music often specifies how much to bend. To figure out how much to bend you need to first hear the pitch you need to bend to. To do this move up 1 fret for a half step, 2 frets for a whole step, or 3 frets for a step and a half on the string your performing the bend on and play that note. Memorize the pitch, and then try to bend up to the pitch from where you started.

Thicker Strings

On thicker strings (4,5,6), particularly on acoustic, performing bends can be difficult due to tension. To practice these (and in some cases, to perform bends on these strings), these strings can be tuned down. Switching to Drop D tuning, for instance allows for easier bending.

Tablature Notation

Bending is shown on tablature as a lowercase b. The amount to bend will be shown in parenthises. Therefore, if you hit 12 and a (14) in parenthises is shown, you are bending up a whole step because 14-12 = 2, and each fret is a half step. Occasionally a tab will not show the amount to bend in which case you will need to listen to the song in order to hear how much to bend.

Another way to think of it is that you are bending up to the pitch you hear when you play at the 14th fret.

Practice

Exercise 1

In this Exercise we are using the 10th fret as a target pitch and then bending the 12th fret to make it sound like the 10th fret. Make sure that your bent note sounds just like the target pitch to ensure proper intonation. This is a full step bend.

Exercise 2

This is the same thing using the E and B strings. This is also a full step bend but the fret spacing is different due to how the G string is tuned.

Exercise 3

These are double bends ala Jimi or Santana. When playing double bends be careful to only bend one string and keep the other one steady, don't worry it takes some practice. Notice the vibrato on the G string, this is essential to making it sound right. Make sure you play both the B and G strings at the same time.

Exercise 4

Here are some more double bends on the B and E string.

Exercise 5

These bluesy/country double bends sound like an approaching train, cool!

Definitions

Legato

A style of music in which notes are played without breaks between them; smoothly.

Hammer On

Technique in which a finger is 'hammered' on or firmly presses a fret higher up on the fretboard, changing the pitch without having to re-pick the string.

Pull Off

Technique in which a finger is removed from the fretboard, changing the pitch without having to re-pick the string.

Guitar Finger Notation

Finger Notation Focus on the left hand for this article. The right hand (pimad) notation is used for learning classical guitar. Try writing the numbers on your fingers if your having trouble keeping things straight.

Other Tablature Notation

The Hammer On

How to play a hammer on

A hammer on is played by 'hammering' or striking a fretting hand finger onto a higher fret. On electrics this vibrates the string enough to produce a sound without needing to pick the string first (as seen in the video). On acoustics and in classical guitar, however, the string is generally plucked or picked first because this allows for a louder sound.

Hammer-On Tablature Notation

Hammer ons are signified with an h in tab.

How to Play Hammer Ons

To peform a hammer on fret the 5th fret, G-String with 1, your index finger (see Finger Notation to the right). Pick that note, then hammer (Push down) on the 7th fret with 3, without re-picking. What you should hear is a note that suddenly changes to a higher pitch.

Hammer ons are a little tougher on acoustics. You want to change the length of the vibrating portion of the string without dampening or muting your sound. So come down fast and strong on the string with your finger. Try hammer ons with and without plucking the string first to see why hammer ons are louder when you pluck first.

You can also hammer on twice in a row. Again, the string is only struck once, but this time we use two fingers to hammer on adjacent frets successively. The tab above indicates that you should hammer onto fret 6 and then fret 7.

This can be accomplished by using 1 on the 5th fret, and hammering using 2 on the 6th fret and finally using 3 on the 7th fret.

It's possible to do four hammer ons in a row* - giving you four note changes if you pluck the string first. Try it!

The Pull Off

The pull off is the opposite of a hammer-on. Unlike hammer ons, you must strike the string first and then remove one or more fretting hand fingers, lowering the pitch. Often times, a pull off is performed following a hammer on.

Pull-Off Tablature Notation

Pull offs are signified with a p in tablature

How to play a pull off

A typical pull off (as shown in tab) would require you to use 3 to fret the 7th string as well as using 1 to fret the 5th string (even though at this point it has no effect on the pitch). After picking the G string you remove 3 and leave 1 on the 5th fret, as shown in the above tablature.

This produces a change in the pitch to lower notes by lengthening the vibrating portion of the string.

It's also possible to pull off all your fingers and dropping to an open note. This is shown in the tab below. Give it a try.

You can perform four successive pull offs with one hand as show below. Give it a try.