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Well, I've known how to bend for a long time now, but this question came across me after I got my new guitar. Whenever I bend strings toward myself, are my fingers supposed to go under the above string? Otherwise, I'm basically bending both strings or at least pushing the string I'm bending pretty close to the one above it. Is there a correct way of doing it, or is it just mostly important to do what's comfortable?

2007-07-04 18:45:15 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities Performing Arts

The action on my new guitar is set pretty low. When I bend the strings now, I tend to be pushing the string above the one I'm bending along with it, rather than going under or over it. I wanna know if this is good, 'cuz I've been having just a BIT more trouble now doing unison bends.

2007-07-04 19:13:21 · update #1

3 answers

The primary criterion for a correct string bend is PITCH. What pitch are you trying to get? A half step up? Whole step? You have to get all the way there or it sounds out of tune. Right? So you have to push that string hard.
As far as "under" the string- if you mean that your finger winds up under the other string- ie the adjacent string is on TOP of the finger- then now you don't want to do that. The adjacent string WILL bend with the one you're pushing. But it should bend next to, or side by side with, the bent one. So bending both is fine. You've only sounded ONE of them.

2007-07-05 11:24:21 · answer #1 · answered by Thom Thumb 6 · 0 0

I would recommend not going over or under, because as you progress as a guitar player and begin playing songs where you do bigger and bigger bends, it will be hard to break the habit of going over or under, which, in either case, might cause the string to snap back. Instead, try to just push the other strings up that you run into with the part of your finger that begins to show as you bend (the part that would normally be pushing the string down). In other words, your finger should start to straighten like you were making a bar chord, so just push the strings up with the tip of your finger. If this is hard because your strings are too high up, you might have too much action, or distance from the strings to the fret, on your guitar. In that case, go to a local (not corporate) guitar store, who will give you a good price for a complete setup on your guitar. They'll adjust the bridge, the pickups, maybe add a few springs, and sand down the nut. It'll be about $50, so unless you spent $100 or less on your actual guitar, it's definitely worth your money; it helps the quality a ton and it's easier to keep in tune. If this is confusing, please let me know, because you have no idea how hard it is to break a habit like bad string bending later on. Good luck.

2007-07-04 19:06:12 · answer #2 · answered by jordanwj19 2 · 0 0

when i bend it goes under the nearest string but what ever sounds better should be the best choice. Hope this helped

2007-07-04 18:49:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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