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Guitar String Bending Techniques

String bending is a guitar technique that is often used by lead We Recommend…
guitarists to change the pitch of a note. In rock and blues styled
music, string bending can be used to create di erent sound
textures and expressive dimensions when used appropriately.

String bending can be achieved by fretting a string and bending it

upwards (for 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings) or pulling it downwards (for
4th, 5th and 6th strings).

Do note that the direction of bending described above is JUST a guideline. If you only need to bend the 1st
string a little, you can always pull the string in downward motion as long as the string doesn’t go o the
fretboard.

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6 Tips to Mastering String Bending How to Sweep Pick Fluently

On Your Guitar
Tip #1 – There is strength in numbers and you should utilize more ngers when bending strings instead of
relying on a single nger. For example, you can get more support and control by placing the second and/or
third nger behind the fourth nger and using them all together when performing a bend. Our Exclusive Newsletter!

Tip #2 – Grip the neck of the guitar with your thumb. This posture will simplify string bending to a simple
contraction of hand muscles. Sign up to get
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Proper posture Improper posture

Tip #3 – Use a chromatic tuner to check if you have bent the note to the correct pitch.

Tip #4 – Di erent gauges of strings can a ect the string bending. Light gauges are easier to bend and give
a “wilder” tone (heavy rock music). On the other hand, thicker gauge strings are harder to bend but they can
give a richer and warmer tone.

Tip #5 – Make sure there is no unwanted noise generated from other strings when you release a bend. A Name:

common issue I see in my students is that their ngers accidentally touch adjacent strings and create
unwanted noise. You can avoid this problem by muting strings with your picking hand. Email:

Tip #6 – Experiment with di erent bends and listen to how slight changes to your bending technique can
give rise to di erent sound e ects.

How to Play the Standard Bend

The standard bend is the most common bend which involves changing the pitch of a note by a semi tone or
a whole tone. Now, anybody can learn to bend strings in a matter of minutes but getting it right is a totally
di erent matter.

I know most beginners will have problems with getting the accurate pitch of a bent note. The easiest way to
practice is to make use of a digital tuner for verify the note’s pitch. Over time, your ears and ngers will get
accustomed to bending the note to the correct pitch.

Download .mp3 le ( Right-click Save Target as… )

How to Do a Pre Bend

Pre-bending simply means that you fret and fully bend the note before picking the string. After the string is
picked, you will release the string in a controlled manner back to its original position.

The idea here is that you begin with a note that has a higher pitch and end up with a lower pitched note.

Download .mp3 le ( Right-click Save Target as… )

Smear Bends
A smear bend (aka small bend) is produced when the string is bent very slightly (approximately a quarter
note). This particular bend is very important in blues music as it creates a slightly “o ” sounding note
and gives it an authentic blues avor.

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Unison Bend ala Santana

A unison bend is performed by playing 2 di erent notes at the same time. While maintaining the pitch of
a note, a bend is performed on the other note so that both their pitches match.

Unison bends add lots of avor to a passage of music and you can typically hear them being played in
Santana’s or Jimi Hendrix’s solos.

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Can You Hit the Correct Note?

Download .gtp5 or .mp3 le ( Right-click Save Target as… )

This exercise will help you train your ears in picking out the correct pitch when a note is bent. pay
attention to the pitch of the target note before you try bending the note to match it.

Jam Track for Practicing Your Bending Technique

Nothing beats an exercise with a jam track for you to play along. You can start-o by learning this short
solo before you inject your own ri s and creativity to change things up.

Download .gtp5 or .mp3 le ( Right-click Save Target as… )

With that, we had come to the end of the lesson and I want you to give yourself a pat on the back for
completing this tutorial. Feel free to leave any feedback or questions in the comment section below…

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