| The most difficult moment for beginners practicing bends is getting the note bent to proper pitch. Usually the bend changes note pitch exactly by 1 semitone or 1 whole tone (2 semitones), and most beginners fail to bend a string exactly to proper pitch, producing overbends and underbends. Most guitar teachers advise playing the target note on a higher fret, listening closely to its sound and trying to bend the string aiming to get exactly the same pitch. Especially in Blues playing, the target note can be slightly higher or lower than the fretted note one or two frets higher. It can be a quarter tone or not even exactly that, but a tone which is not present in the tempered scale, being a natural third or seventh instead (or close to it). These are the blue notes, one of which is e.g. between minor and major third. The exact location varies from performer to performer. This is microtonality and involves a lot of individual musical feeling, for the tone which conveys the intended emotion must be reached as exact as a tempered tone, otherwise it will sound just wrong. Bending (especially heavy bending, more than 1 semitone) usually involves touching more than 1 string with a left (fretting) hand. |
String bending - Justin Sandercoe How to bend notes and strings - Bob String Bending & Vibrato - Marc String Bending Techniques Used By Blues Guitar Greats String Bending - Phoenix String Bending - Paul Prev Top Next |
