Guitar String Bending Technique

[enronbaldwin]

This is an excellent video. I had dabbled blindly with bending, but the "bending to the wrong note" statement made everything so clear. Thank you

[MrSuicideMan]

Im curentlly doing 3 tones bends but if the strings aren't new (2 weeks are enought) they break. IS it normal for them to break? EVEN 0.11?

[333blackmath]

How do you let go of the strings from the bend without your guitar making any noise? The strings always hit my fingers

[tothetop777]

that was a good thorough video!!

[julius9747]

i have an epiphone lp 100 but i cant bend it to even a full step... y is that ? wat string should i use ?

[xLinkinPark1994x]

@julius9747 Maybe some lighter strings

[julius9747]

@xLinkinPark1994x can u name some , brand name...

[Thompsongast]

@julius9747

try starting with Ernie Ball 09's then when used to it change to 010 (sound better but are heavier)

Don't forget to set up your guitar (or get it set up by a professional) because changing string brand and especially thickness can cause intonation issues and with some guitars tuning issues.

[Thompsongast]

@Thompsongast

Hope this helps ;)

[Oobervice]

Hey, what kind of pick-ups are they? And why are there two of those and one of the "stock" ones?

[dormont15]

your the man..

[XsnotxbubblesX]

hey i have a question and id like if anyone can answer it for me...the problem i have is that wen i bend a string, on my way back down the strings above it ring out, how can i bend the string without the other strings making any sound? please answer someone

[74alicecooper]

@XsnotxbubblesX you can mute those strings with the side of your right thumb (while holding the pick normally)

[XsnotxbubblesX]

@74alicecooper yea but the way my guitar teacher does it he doesnt mute the strings with anything, he just bends it and the other strings just dont ring out...he sais he just does it naturally

[mrguit4rmaster]

what gauge is best for bending

[FEEDER87]

but how do you mute the other strings while bending?

[skexee]

@FEEDER87 mute them with parts of the palm of your picking finger.  and the free fingers of your left.

[Borleys]

and like that, the lethal weapon music was created

[VinniePaah]

Guys please help me with this: When you get instruction on string bending in this video or other anywhere else you're always advised to put your thumb over top of the neck which is a good advice. Generally even for electric guitar you're adivsed to hold your thumb behind the neck for playing passages. So will you move your thumb up and down when bending and not bendind or will you stick with one thumb position? I find it clumsy to play passages with thumb over the neck.

[Surreallism007]

i cant bend it so high....is it because my guitar string is too thick or i did not place my thumb over the low e string? or what?

[oOoKhaledoOo]

I have a problem , MY B and high E strings , ARE IMPOSSIBLE to be bend , especially from 12 to 20 , they get MUTED , if you just started trying to bend them even if very a little bit !! . and if i pushed so hard , they might get broken .... if anyone knows what is the solution to fix this , i'll be glad to know

[MynZnusz]

@oOoKhaledoOo sounds like the guitar neck is bent too much forward, making the strings muted. also the strings could be quite old.

just what i'm guessing.

[howieboy62032914]

Could someone help me out please -

when a piece of music says, for example, 14b16, I know it's saying bend on the 14th fret so it makes the same sound as if played on the 16th fret, but would you physically bend the string up or down in that case?

Cheers

[BigOldToe]

@howieboy62032914 It depends which string you're bending. If you're playing higher notes (EBG) you'd generally bend up, if you're playing the lower strings (DAE) it's easier to bend them towards to bottom of the fretboard.

[howieboy62032914]

@BigOldToe

Thanks mate

[sedohrable]

when i try to string bend on the first string on the 22nd fret and make it sound like the 24th,the string breaks. what should i do about this?

[Tyme4Cryme]

"Fast Release" Tee hee...

[MrNutmegger1957]

I'm interested in learning about double note bends, and repeatable patterns in Lead guitar. Is there a video specifically about these?

[brandons3]

hi people can someone tell me how to mute the string above the one im bending cause when i release the bended string the other one above sounds too and is kind of annoying

[AsmileyFish]

Hi you seem realy knowledgable ive seen a technique where people mute the other strings and bend with 2 fingers in a strum i cant seem to get that that position down as i have smaller hands. please help . and also can you still do realy effective bends playing from classical hand position ? thanks

[angle0774]

First I'm a total Noob trying to learn how to play, when I bend the a string I almost always end up playing the other strings. so if im trying to bend the 2nd string the third and fourth string end up playing. I was hoping someone on here could tell me what I'm doing wrong? Thanks.

[FreshShout]

@angle0774 Thats because your fingers catches the other strings or you maybe just dont hit "clean" :)

And allways bend with 2 fingers! xD

[Wurchin]

@angle0774, I think the string is catching on your finger nail and you're plucking it when you release. That's all I can think of.

[p3t3rVL12]

Is there any risk of breaking the strings doing this? I don't have a guitar yet but I'm getting one soon so I kind of want to know.

[ShrEadHunterN]

@p3t3rVL12 No.

[TTmaniax]

@p3t3rVL12 I snap strings into submission all the time. Keep a fresh set on and the problem is minimized. Once you have good finger strength you can snap old strings at will usually.

[knockoutinfect]

@p3t3rVL12 Depends on the string tension. If it's too high, then yeah, it can. It can put the string out of tune too, but that's only if your guitar is weird. lol

[twisterellafell]

try guitarmanual.typepad.com/blog/ for beginner lessons or google guitar manual blog and see first result

[totalLedZep]

what should you do with the pinky finger if you were only bending with the index, middle and ring?

[erickim77]

You've covered all there is to know about bending. Excellent lesson ! Thank you. I think you are helping tons of guitar learners around the world with the guitar bendings that they should know.

[arkee71]

i dont bend up that much at all...unless im on b string or high e...ead and g i mostly bend downwards...i can get much more control and power that way...does anyone else play that way..or know some players with that style?

[SyahTRemc2]

please just show, dont talk too much.

[contact1araya]

So what good is a prebend if there is no release?

[geespar1]

@contact1araya Exactly what I was thinking - you may as well just fret the right note in the first place!

[sinfuldavy0]

at 8:43 you pulled down. was that an option or another technique

[bsbravati]

great tips! =D

[Xx0Mystic0xX]

How do you ben the strong so one does not land under the other. I keep doing that somehow

[sebastian9001]

Thanks!

[ttttrigg3r]

Please help us with the hitting the string above problem. When I bend 50% of the time I'd hit the string above and make the sound. How do I avoid that ?

[Mahdcat]

Andrew- This was an excellent instructional. I have been looking for someone to explain this to me for a long time. Great job. I've always had a problem hitting that right pitch for the last 5 years.

[actionsauce5]

Thanks Andrew! You rock!

[Lutsenn]

Nobody is really teaching "how to bend" only what it is, what kind of bends there are and how to get better on it. Are there anyone here that can show me a link to a good instructional video?

[wearblackclothes]

i just began playing and everytime i try 2 bend a string the string above i also accedently make them sound....i need help

[ScarfaceLH]

me to man thats why i thought this guy would give tips on muting them better if u accidently get the string above it and how to move your fingers to actually avoid it

[MegaAvenger2010]

@ScarfaceLH i think its do do with how you land your finger prior to do the bending.the string has to be underneath the half or lower half of your finger tip.

if you fail that and you do a strong bending the string above gets caught underneath your finger tip also and it will kill the sound.train yourself how to land your finger in the right way and it should do the trick

[ChillingInAFire]

Damn, I was kind of hoping to get some advice on double bends and country bends.

[mritech75]

Great video! I sometimes accidentally pluck the string closer to the ceiling when releasing a bend(after pushing up)Not an issue when I "pull down"to bend.Any trick?The lower 2 strings E and A you probably pull down, and the 2 higher string B and e you push up. How do I decide whether to push or pull the middle 2 strings? Thanks for everyones input.

[Gothxha]

It's all about training. It will hurt and it you will have to use alot of force to get some strings up.

[Kinslaya]

That was really good. I use bendings a lot, and never really thought about pitches (U know, going after "feeling" ;-))

Awesome to see the theory of that

[RockHailand]

i got 2 problems with bending :(

1st: My fingers go most of the time UNDER the other strings while playing instead of pushing them away

2nd: The strings are gliding under my fingers away, so i cant bend it high enough of hold the bend :(

if you want an example of my bad technique you can go to my videos and watch my 2nd try of the smoke on the water solo

[MariosGuy]

you need more finger strength to hold those strings as u bend. if your holdin em down they wont slip

[mritech75]

I only started guitar a couple years ago...but I think it helps to angle your fingers more so that your fingertips don't go under the strings. This allows the side of your finger tip to push and mute adjacent strings rather than your fingernails letting the strings hop over your fingertips...

[ChillingInAFire]

@RockHailand You want to push the tips of your fingers slightly into the guitar as you bend. If you push the strings straight up, the above strings will go under your fingers which is bad. If you have long nails and you push too much into the fretboard, they will go over.You want your fingers perpendicular to the fretboard but as they push up exerting some force into the fretboard and the above strings should stay nicely in the middle, rather than above or below your fingers.

[PflegerFlav]

Wahnsinn, echt ein klasse video zu bends. das gibt einem viele interessante und kreative ansätze für's eigene spiel!

[farkoffyo]

How do you bend the strings so far? I can barely get a full tone bend on the high e-string (feels like it will break if I go any further), and can get no more than 1.5tone on g-string. Also, I am using super light gauge strings and do bend with 3 fingers

[kristreyes]

Made me think of a good song to practice bends, could be scar tissue by red hot chili peppers, specially the solo part.

[kineasx]

the solo uses a slide

[kineasx]

I know you've removed your comment, but all i was saying was that the song has no bends, and that if you want to practise them, play a song that actually has bends

[kristreyes]

indeed i removed it, you even made me doubt for a minute about the way I've always played the solo but no way, it's mostly composed of bends, i just didn't want to start an argument trough here, cool mate

[8vian]

Just out of curiosity, I just checked and it is indeed entirely slide guitar on this song - at least on the studio version.

There's a live version on youtube where he plays it with bends, but it's definitely bend-free on the album version. I remember it was covered in a slide guitar issue of Total Guitar magazine once actually. Not that you couldn't still practice either way though

[deathmetalterrorist]

I have a little "injury" on my left middle finger from excessive bending. The skin under the nail has become really weak and keeps opening and re-opening almost every time I play a solo with bends in it. I try to avoid two finger bends as much as possible but it gets pretty annoying having to keep that in mind every time I bend. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[1254abed]

try a band aid with a rough surface

[kotekotekitty]

just a thaught but could it be avoided by angling the fingers differently or using 3 or 4 fingers to bend? if not then i recommend changing gague but any lower than 10 gague gets a litle loose...

[Chainsawmaniacguitar]

You really shouldn't be using your fingers to bend, your fingers are just there to hold the string- using two or three fingers to grip the string, the bending force comes from your arm.

[Draugoth]

Great lesson Andrew! Don't forget to try out some of these bends with volume swells, you'll really get in the ballpark of those lap steel type sounds.

[Cazaq]

You forgot to talk about double stop bends (as an example: 12th fret B string 14th fret G string , by bending the A (14th) on the G string 2 semitones you get another B)

[psychopathtoine]

do you have any tips to add vibrato when bending,?i can do it when i bend down, but when i bend up i can't seem to find a good technique to add a good vibrato

[njtwkr]

Great video. Your so awesome .

[Einfrein]

Sweet! Useful stuff to know.

[jippie11261]

Thank God you are only kidding MetalRedemption...! I hate that first viewer crap. But seriously,

Wicked video. It seems like if I need to know all about a Guitar topic, all I have to do is watch a Creative video.

Will always be a subscriber...

THANK YOU

[MetalRedemption]

First viewer, commentor and rater! Lol kidding, cool video.