Bending notes

[d18]

Please tell me about bending notes.

Watch this at 3:37 or so:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENIYtzVZMyE

[Mellow_D]

Is it normal on acoustic for it to be easier to bend the second string up a WHOLE tone than it is to bend the first and third string up a whole tone?

For some reason, I am able -- though with great difficulty -- to bend the second string up a whole tone but the first string (the high E) and the third string (the G) I can bend only a half tone up.

I know someone will probably say just "practice practice practice" but I was wondering if there's a reason why it's easier for me to bend the second string and reach a whole tone higher but can only get up a half tone when bending the first and third string on the guitar.

(Also, any videos that show ways to practice, to improve this technique.)

[stanron]

A lot depends on your strings gauge. Anything above extra light, (ten thou first string) bending whole tones accurately on first and second strings will be a struggle. To bend the third string a whole tone you'ld need to change to an unwound string.

On some guitars bending whole tones can leave other strings temporarily out of tune.

[Davis Webb]

Like said above, yes you can bend on an acoustic. But most players don't do alot of them and if they do, its done sparingly.

I play acoustic metal and rock and have one guitar dropped 1 step with a 9 gauge set. I bend all day with a grin on my face.


For regular bends, use more than one finger to support your fretting finger. Depends on how much you want to bend. For passing notes and easy bends, half steps, using more than one finger will help alot.

[Kerbie]

As others have said, bending is done much more often on electric than acoustic because of the thinner strings and the fact that their "G" string is not wound. Like Davis, what really helped me was learning to put a finger down one fret behind the fretting finger so that actually two fingers were bending the string. And you can even put two extra fingers down behind the fretting finger so that three are pushing the string. Since acoustic strings are more difficult to bend, that made a big difference to me.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by capo_critters

Please tell me about bending notes.

The first rule is as illustrated in the link willie gave: always bend up to a tuned note.
This is normally a half-step or whole step, depending on the scale and where you're bending from. (If you can't manage a whole step, from 2 frets below the target, bend up a half-step from 1 fret below.)

Target notes are usually chord tones, but don't have to be. Eg, in that video, he's demonstrating bending up to the b5 of blues scale from the 4th of the scale (assuming the first note in his lick is the root).

--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
------5--7--7b(8)----------------------------
---7-----------------------------------
--------------------------------------
   E  G  A  (Bb)

If E is root, then Bb is the blues b5. You'll notice he bends up and releases the note back to A (and continues the lick back to G and E).
This is a classic blues lick.

However, blues style is also characterized by bends which end up (sometimes) at pitches in between the frets. These notes are technically "out of tune" with our fixed pitches (known as "equal temperament"), but - to a trained ear - they "sound right", simply because it's a common thing blues players do.
The most important one of these is the "blue 3rd", which is in between the minor and major 3rd. You can try finding this in the old "Spoonful" lick:

---|---------------|----------------
---|---------------|----------------
---|---------------|----------------
---|---------------|----------------
---|---------------|----------------
-0-|3---0---3---0--|3-----0-------------
    1   2   3   4   1   2   3   4

Bend that 3rd fret G note (pulling down towards 5th string), but don't bend it a full half-step. (Check the sound of the G# at 4th fret - you don't want to bend as far as that note.)
You should find there's a juicy "blue note" that sounds just right, in between the G and G#. The plain G doesn't sound quite right, and the G# definitely doesn't. The note you want is just sharp of G. When you can find that - and hear that it's right - that's when you can play the blues!

Check out the master of blues bending:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZd6HRXufS4
He can bend a long way on that Strat, but the artistry is all those other notes he finds in between. The bend at 0:20 is five half-steps! (from 12th fret 3rd string (G) up to the C above) But he plays a whole lot more than 5 notes as he slowly releases the bend.
(He's playing in D blues, btw.)

[Mellow_D]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoXbp8oV17Y

I use three fingers as he says, when bending the second string up a whole tone. And I noticed by doing so, the third string naturally gets pushed up too. But when I bring my fingers back down (when I bring the bend down) the third string that got pushed up too (but not played) rings out. Somehow the third string gets caught under my three fingers that were used to raise the second string. The only way to deaden the ring is to rest my picking hand on the strings to mute it. Is there any other way to avoid that third string getting caught under the three fingers when bending up the second string and then ringing out out when the fingers come down, because it gets caught under those three fingers bending the second string?

Hope people can picture what I'm descrbing so take a look at this part of the video...

See what he's doing from minutes/seconds 3:02 to 3:10 ... notice the third string is being pushed up (or "pushed into") as he's bending the second string up with three fingers. But when he brings the bend back down, that string DOESN'T get caught under his finger(s), it doesn't accidentally ring out.

[stanron]

Originally Posted by Mellow_D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoXbp8oV17Y

Is there any other way to avoid that third string getting caught under the three fingers when bending up the second string out.

When you bend, try and get your fingers to go under the adjacent string or strings. The other string sits on your finger nail. This means it takes less effort to bend the string you want to bend and when you 'un bend' the end of your finger mutes the next string. Cheers.

[Mellow_D]

Originally Posted by stanron

When you bend, try and get your fingers to go under the adjacent string or strings. The other string sits on your finger nail. This means it takes less effort to bend the string you want to bend and when you 'un bend' the end of your finger mutes the next string. Cheers.

Thanks for the advice. I'm off to give it a try!

[Mellow_D]

Originally Posted by kerbie

Like Davis, what really helped me was learning to put a finger down one fret behind the fretting finger so that actually two fingers were bending the string. And you can even put two extra fingers down behind the fretting finger so that three are pushing the string. Since acoustic strings are more difficult to bend, that made a big difference to me.

And on an acoustic guitar with light (not extra light) strings, you're able to bend the first string (the high E) up and the third string (the G) up a WHOLE tone? (I mean individually, not together.)

[Kerbie]

Originally Posted by Mellow_D

And on an acoustic guitar with light (not extra light) strings, you're able to bend the first string (the high E) up and the third string (the G) up a WHOLE tone? (I mean individually, not together.)

MD, maybe I missed something here, but my previous post made no mention at all of a whole-note bend. A whole-note bend is next to impossible for me on an acoustic, even on the E-string. I'm sure there are guys here who can do it...

I wasn't making any reference to the amount of tonal change. I generally do quarter-tone or half-tone bends on acoustic. And my point was that all bends, even quarter-tone, are easier using multiple fingers rather than just one.

I hope that clears up any confusion...