Bend Bending

Bend Bending

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Toy Circuit Bending Part I -- Pitch Bend

Rick Washbrook - String Bending - Oakville Studio

The first way to practice and achieve an accurate bend is to bend the electric guitar string two semi tone. Each fret represents a fret or half step, so two half steps or two frets make up one tone.

Put your 3rd finger on the 3rd string 9th fret.
This is the note E. Play this note on the 9th fret 3rd sting first to get your ear hearing the exact pitch.
Then move your 3rd finger to the 3rd string 7th fret, and bend the string up one full tone (2 half step, or two frets) to reach the E note.

The E note is the note you just played on the 9th fret. Play the note you want to go to first and then bend to match it.
It is as easy as that. It only took a few sentences to explain string bending.

It is harder to perfect. You have to make sure you bend the 3rd string to the 9th fret correctly to sound a perfect E note in pitch. This is done with great practise.

Soon you will bend any pitch you want at a moments notice, and accurately.

The next step is to learn is to bend half tones. This is when you bend a string one fret up. It is called a semi tone.

The steps are exactly the same except your bending up a semi tone, one fret, and not two semi tones.

You play the 8th fret 3rd string, 3rd finger which is D# or Eb (They call that enharmonic equivalence).
Sound it well for your ear to remember. Now play the 7th fret, 3rd string, 3rd finger up one fret. You will be bending it up to the sound of as I said before D# or Eb (one fret higher). Now recognize it may be sharp or a little flat. The more you do it , you right away will be able to identify the correct or incorrect pitch of the bend. Practice, practice

This is a good exercise a lot of pro players you will hear do in their solos' . Choose the second string this time because it is thinner and easier to bend on your electric.
Now play the 2nd sting, 10th fret, 3rd finger. First get use to being up there on the fret board and bend the 2nd string to match the 12th fret tone. Make sure you sound the note on the 12th fret first before you try bending the 2nd string, 10th fret up to the pitch of the 12th fret, second string.

The next thing to improve would be your vibrato and tremolo on the bends of the fretted notes. Get in touch with me I have a whole lesson on this. Larry Carlton has a great lesson on this as well. I took some of his ideas and added them to mine. I will enjoy sharing them with you
This is the real stuff, that separates the men from the boys.

Ok, this is awesome. Play a major scale with the technique you know now about bending strings. Sing only a 3 note scale. Do, Ra, Me.
If our starting on the 2nd string, 3rd finger, 10th fret, your starting note on the 10th fret is A note. The next note of a A scale is B, and the next note is C#, which is
Sung as Do, Ra, Me. Cool, now play the notes fretted A, B, C#. They will be found on the 10th fret, 12th fret, 14th fret. Now try the bends. I will warn bending the
10th fret up to the 14th fret is hard. The better you get you will be able to do it.

Example.
So 3rd finger stays on the 2nd string, 10th fret and bend up sounding in the A Key, Do, Ra, Me, which is like I said A, B, C#.
Its a very cool stretch. Then practise up and back down. These are the notes A,B,C#,B,A. or Do, Ra.Me,Re,Do .
This is an awesome exercise. Really pay attention to your pitch and keep it perfect. Make sure your "arrival pitch destination" of a bend is perfect.

I encourage you guitar players to practice string bending in as many different areas on the fretboard as possible. To go even further, practice doing bends that are larger than a full bend. Try a full and a half bend for instance. Bend strings and, see how quickly you can play the "arrival pitch destination" of a bend, and how quickly you are able to bend to that pitch.

This is just the beginning. I encourage you to get these basics down first before trying something harder.

Listen to players like Johnny Winter. He is a wild man with bends. He does bends in between notes and then resolves perfectly, and really high bends.

I have explained basics for whole tone bends and half tone bends.

Rick Washbrook - String Bending - Oakville Studio

By: Rick Washbrook

http://www.washbrookmusic.com

About the Author

I encourage you to really first learn the basic string bending mechanics. Be really aware of your ear training and accuratcy of pitch to the note you are bending. I can show you many other ways of muting the strings from buzz, and swangs when bending later on.

http://www.washbrookmusic.com

When bending a laminated wooden bow, would you bend the wood with a steam box, or a heated wood oven?

The core wood of the bow is hickory, and the outer laminated woods will be white ash. I am stumped on if the woods should be pre-formed with steaming, glued together, and then cured in a wood oven. Any advice would be helpful.

You would steam first to get the bend you want, then heat it in the oven to make it set.
Steam makes it easier to bend. It take several times of steaming to get it perfect, best to take your time and get it exactly what your striving for. The oven would remove the moisture, and harden it into what you set it as.