Bend Me, Shape Me
THE G UITAR IS a very expressive instrument. In the hands of a master player, it can sing, cry, laugh, scream, hoot and holler, and generally display just about any emotion known to man or beast. And when it comes to nuances inherent to the instrument, few techniques are as emotive as string bending. From vibrato to half- and whole-step bends, extra-wide bends and pedal steel-style licks, they’re all covered in this ambitious lesson. And to top it off, there’s an extended solo at the end that’s bursting at the seams with a variety of cool-sounding bends. So grab your ax with the lightest string gauges and let’s get going.
BASICS
Just to make sure we’re on common ground, this lesson will start with some bending basics. But have patience, things will start moving in no time.
Examples 1a–d show some of the most common bending moves. These are the platform maneuvers used to launch a lot of awesome bending licks. All feature the strongest bending finger—the 3rd, or ring—on the string that most often gets the lion’s share of shoves and tugs—the G. With most bends, it’s a good idea to wrap your thumb over the neck and squeeze it like a vice. When bending with the ring finger, also enlist the middle, or 2nd, finger to help push the string to pitch, while employing the index finger to nestle against the underside of the D string so as to preemptively mute any unwanted string noise.
Bending direction is a matter of personal preference. Many guitarists will usually bend the G string, or one of the other strings, up and away from the palm, using a pushing technique, while some like to pull the string down and in toward the palm. The choice is typically made on a case by case basis, considering the musical context, and sometimes there is no choice in which
