The bend is a simple concept. Strike a note and then use your finger to push the string up or down on the fretboard ‘bending’ the string to a higher note. Sounds easy right? Let’s check it out.
First off, it takes practice to build the finger strength to perform the bends. Plus, you’ll find that it’s a different area of the finger that takes the abuse when you bend than when you play chords. That’s why you should bend the crap out of them from the get-go. The sooner you build you finger strength, (and your calluses), the sooner you’ll be able to bend to a note consistently and that what it’s all about.
Consistency is king.
Nothing sounds worse than a bend that’s sour. Practice bending your note one half step up. One note. You’ll find it’s easier to bend notes on and around the double dots of the fretboard because that’s where you have the most slack. It’s the halfway point of your string. The closer you get to the nut, the harder it is to bend a note. But do it anyway! Practice until you can grab a note and bend it up a half step consistently. A good way to tell if you’re on the money is to pick the note, bend it and then pick it again. Now play the note that’s one fret higher. Is it the same exact note? If you bend a note almost a half step up or if you bend it to far, you need more practice! Once you’ve got the idea, start trying to bend a whole step. Two notes. When you’ve built the strength, someday you may find yourself creating a lead that begs for a one and a half step bend. (I hope you’ve got fresh strings on that ax).
All these fingers and so many notes…
Bend with different fingers. Use some fingers to help brace or push the finger that’s bending. Put all of your fingers on the string and then bend it. Bend the string up, bend the string down. If your bending the high E near the bottom of the fretboard, you’ll have lots more room to bend if you bend the string up. The opposite is true of the low E string near the top of the fretboard.
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