Bending

Bending is exactly as it sounds: bending the string to the side by pushing it (towards the sixth string) or pulling it (towards the first string), often while a fretted note is ringing. The first three strings are normally pushed, and the others are


normally pulled. This is particularly important on the first and sixth strings, as you do not want the string to fall off the fretboard. Whether the string is pushed or pulled, the note will be raised in pitch.


Many aspiring guitarists cannot bend properly. The sound of a bend is more important than how it is actually executed or how it looks, but a bad bending technique usually leads to a bad sound. Your favorite guitarist might bend using just


his or her fingertips and you might be inclined to copy this — don't! Your hands can sound every bit as good as your hero's without copying his or her technique. There are two keys to bending properly: proper thumb positioning, and


bending with the proper muscles. Do not keep your thumb behind the neck, where it usually is, but bring it up perpendicular to the neck (a position that is normally incorrect, but not in the case of bending). Keep the fingers firm. Do not bend


your fingers, but push or pull with your forearm. You will hardly see your forearm move, possibly just see a couple of muscles flex. It will feel awkward at first, but if you can bend with the thumb in the proper position and without bending


the fingers, you are probably doing it correctly.


Many guitarists will have trouble bending more than 1/4 step (half a semitone) or perhaps 1/2 step (one semitone) with only one finger, especially on frets close to the nut and on the thinner strings. It is much easier to bend with more than


one finger, for instance, with the index finger on the first or second fret and the ring finger on the third, and pushing or pulling with both fingers in order to bend at the third fret. More fingers may be used if this is not enough. It should be


possible to bend at least a full step (the pitch difference of two frets) this way.