Another common guitar technique is known as a string bend. A string bend is when you physically push the strings up and towards you in order to "bend" the pitch of the note being played. String bends are used to add more flavor and vocal quality to your playing. It is a technique most often employed by lead guitarists, though rhythm guitarists occasionally use bends to shift the pitch of whatever chords they are playing.

String Bending Technique

In order to execute a proper bend, use three fingers to exert force instead of just one on the string you are bending:

1. Place your third finger on the note that you are bending
2. Put your second finger goes on the fret directly behind the first
3. Your first finger goes on the fret behind the second

For example, if you wanted to play this bend:

You would put your third finger on the 3rd string, 7th fret. Your second finger on the 3rd string, 6th fret. And your first finger on the 3rd string, 5th fret. These first and second fingers aren't actually playing any notes, they just help you get more leverage and exert more force on the strings so you can bend them easier. It's much easier to bend when you are using the combined force of three fingers than it is with just one!

To execute the bend, you are physically pushing the strings upwards towards the 6th string. This causes the note to raise in pitch. So in the example above, the note on the 3rd string, 7th fret is being bended up one semi-tone, also called a half-step. That means we want to shift the pitch just enough to sound like we are playing the note that's on the 3rd string, 8th fret. 

If we were to play this bend:

That would be bending up one tone, or a full-step. So the note on the 3rd string, 7th fret would shift until it sounded like the note on the 3th string, 9th fret. Notice we aren't actually physically playing the note on the 9th fret! We are shifting the lower note until it reaches an identical pitch.

When you have reached your target note, return the strings to their original position to restore the original tone. Don't just pull off at the height of the bend (unless the song requires it too, of course).

Bending For Beginners

Beginners are likely to have some trouble when attempting their first bends. Most of it is the normal learning curve associated with picking up any new technique on guitar, but a lot of it is because proper bends require finger and hand strength. Especially on acoustic guitar! The heavy steel strings of an acoustic guitar are going to be a nightmare for any beginner student to bend.

But don't worry too much about it. Play bends for two or three minutes a day and before long you'll find that your hand and fingers have grown much stronger and your bends sound clearer. Your ear will also develop, so you'll be able to tell exactly when you've reached the correct target pitch for each bend.

Practice Assignment

You can practice string bends using this simple guitar bending exercise: Pick a note, let's say the A on the 2nd string, 10th fret. What we want to do is practice bending this A to an A# (half-step). First, to get the sound of the A# in your head, pluck the note on the 2nd string, 11th fret. If you are having trouble locating notes, look at the fretboard note chart.

Now, try bending the A on the 2nd string, 10th fret until it sounds like the A# you just played. You might have to cycle back and forth between plucking the A# and bending the A before you really hear what you're doing. Once you can successfully bend the natural A to a point where it sounds identical to the A#, try the same thing with a full tone bend.

Play the B on the 2nd string, 12th fret to get familiar with the sound. Now try bending the A until you shift the tone a full-step and get it to transform into B. Congratulations! You can try this all over the fretboard for a few minutes each day. This exercise will help not only your physical technique, but it will improve your ear and ability to hear the different between half-steps, full-steps, sharps and flats!

It's also good to practice a new technique by slowing incorporating them into the things you've already been playing. If you know a few licks with some sections that could be played with a simple bend instead of individually plucking two adjacent notes, try it out! This is the type of stuff that will help you develop your own unique playing style.