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Bend technique?


wolfe

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Posted

I'm learning a piece of music with quite a lot of bends.

 

Firstly I'm having trouble bending some of the notes far enough up to the correct pitch, but I'm guessing that'll get better with time/practice.

 

My real question is, is there a right and wrong technique to avoid hitting the other strings? Sometimes bendinng for example fret 5 string 2 up to the pitch of fret 7, I can't help but catch string 3 and sometimes 4 with my left hand fingers which of course makes a bad twang sound.

 

Should I be muting the strings I'm not bending with my right hand?

 

Thanks for any info on this one.

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Posted

yes, use the right hand and experiment with your left hand grip so you figure out how to mute with that hand as well. playing cleanly with either hand is a skill worth having.

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Posted

the correct technique involves using more then one finger to bend the string - use three fingers on the string for strength and make sure you're using your wrist (rotating it) to move the string (your fingers should be stiff)

once you get a bit more strength in your fingers you can use two fingers on the string rather then three and lay your first finger across the strings to help mute them

it also helps to have your thumb over the top of the neck (not in the "classical" position behind the neck) and grip slightly to anchor your hand

sim

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Posted

Thanks guys, good to know I'm supposed to be muting them rather than trying not to catch them.

One more question on this, when it's a bigger bend, should you try to almost gather the other strings up while muted, or are you supposed to slide the string your picking (and your fingertips) below the other strings?

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Posted

no - just push them to the side as you bend. you shouldn't have enough room to get your finger under the strings if your guitar has a decent action!

sim

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Posted

A lot of players tend to like a slightly higher action when playing a lot of bends. This way the fretted string is under the finger pad, and the other strings are pushed out of the way by the finger tip instead of joining the fretted string under the pad, which will result in 'popping' when the bend is released. This, combined with proper muting should help a lot.

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