TC-02 String Bending

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!