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how to bend double stops?


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Posted

The barred g,b string bend is a common blues, rock, country - any country - lick. You just do it. The intonation tends to sort itself out so just push to taste.

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Posted

The barred g,b string bend is a common blues, rock, country - any country - lick. You just do it. The intonation tends to sort itself out so just push to taste.

 

 

"The intonation tends to sort itself out" - Which is to say it's never really in tune but it's still the common sound and somehow accepted to be out of tune.

 

 

 

Amos Garrett (Midnight At The Oasis) has a book on the subject:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000J10GV8/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000JC84LQ&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=01SD52PWAE4HZN79XQYB

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Posted

Depends. I use 1 finger sometimes or if I need to bend to exact pitches I'll use my 3&4 fngrs.

I suggest u2b. Most all of your questions would be better answered with pics.

Or spring for some lessons.

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Posted

 

how do you bend two strings with one finger?

 

 

This may sound like a jerky answer, but barre your ring finger over both strings and pull. For me, that bend is always pulled toward the high E string. You'll get it.

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Posted

It depends on where you are in the moment. Sometimes there are repetitive licks were you'll either do it with two fingers or even one finger but need to change the finger you play it with. And at times the moment can have you involuntarily playing them with two fingers, and switching between different single fingers. Just go with the flow.

 

You really need to let your "finger's do the walkin'" so to speak. That's what all the great blues and RnR cats did. There were no formalities, the "moment" is what made the most sense at the time.

 

A good album to get a grasp on RnR double stops is Get Your Ya Ya's Out by The Rolling Stone's. If you're looking for country double stops check Dwight Youkum's(sp?) Guitars and Cadillacs.

 

For instance you might play this

 

B--14b---12---

G--14b---12---

 

with two fingers (middle and ring) on the 14th fret double stop but one finger (index) on the 12th fret. Or you might play it with the ring finger only at 14th fret and the index finger at the 12th fret. Or you might get real primitive and delta and use only the middle finger on the 14th fret with the index at the 12th fret.

 

Try it for yourself, play it over and over and while always playing the 12th fret with your index finger alternate the 14th fret between playing it with the ring finger and then next time with the middle and ring, then with the middle, then with the middle and ring, etc...

 

You'll notice at a faster pace that using your middle and ring fingers together at the 14th fret create a nice 'chopped sound'. IOW you need to get two fingers out of the way simultaneously before landing the index finger on the 12th fret. This cuts off the notes at the 14th fret.

 

But if you play the 14th fret with ONLY the ring finger, you get a nice continuously lazy sound, or attack, with the lick. Only having to move the one finger almost gives you time to bend and release on the 14th fret with plenty of time to get to the 12th fret...

 

With only using the ring finger at the 14th fret, at a faster pace you can turn the lick into...

 

B--14b15br14---12--

G--14b15br14---12--

 

(note, you probably don't even want to make that bend a half step, land it in between the 14th and 15th fret, it'll bring out the "blues notes")

 

In the end, at a faster pace the nice full on blues licks that bend up and back down at accomplished easily with the middle finger on the 14th fret (think Keith Richards). And the cool choppy, cut off, type sounds are accomplished easily with the two fingers at the 14th fret (think Jeff Beck).

 

Also, notice with the ring finger only you'll tend to pull the strings down and back, but with the middle and ring finger you'll push the strings up.

 

Now, it's your job to make one sound like the other and vice verse. ;) Seriously get the two common ways down and then flip them and make them both sound either smooth or choppy. That is when the moment can take you.

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Posted

Generally, its easier to bend strings if-
1.they are fretted closer to or on the 12th fret
2. thinner strings/gauges bend easier
3. Use your strongest finger(s) or put more fingers into it
4. you bend towards the middle of the neck
So using 4 fingers to grab the hi-E string at 12 fret and bending up is the easiest bend.
Bending in tune is an art and being a little flat is better than bending sharp. This is because the motion of the rising pitch tricks our brains to expect the next scalar pitch.
So for your example on the b-g 14th fret- index on G string 14 +middle finger b 14 and bend upward is the easiest bend.
Try that same doublestop with e string 9th fret and b string 10th and notice it requires more strength!

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