Six Strings
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Course

Intermediate · step 4 · Not started

The bend

Push the string and the note rises, like a voice. The bend is the signature sound of blues and rock solos—as long as it’s in tune. Goal: a whole-step bend that lands on the right note.

Time
15 minutes
Before you start
The 5 pentatonic positions
You’ll be able to
Bend a note in tune

The move

The Bend page covers the technique in detail. The three key points:

  1. Push with three fingers: your ring finger plays the note, your middle and index fingers push behind it on the same string.
  2. Your wrist does the turning, like turning a key, with your thumb hooked over the neck.
  3. Aim for a specific note: 7b9 means “bend the 7th fret until you hear the 9th.”
456789EADGBe321abc

The bend

  1. Your ring finger plays the note; your middle and index fingers push behind it, on the same string.
  2. The string moves up toward the ceiling (toward the low E) until it sounds like the 9th fret.
  3. Your thumb hooks over the neck: the bend comes from your wrist turning, like a key.

Drawn like tab: high E at the top, low E at the bottom.

e|--------------|
B|---------8b10-|
G|-7b9r7-5------|
D|--------------|
A|--------------|
E|--------------|

On acoustic guitar

On a steel-string acoustic, the strings are heavier and tighter: a whole-step bend (two frets) takes a lot of strength. Start with a half step: push the 7th fret until you hear the 8th. It’s already very expressive, and it’s what most acoustic players do. On a nylon-string classical guitar, bends stay subtle: settle for a quarter tone or some vibrato.

On electric guitar

On an electric guitar with light strings, go for the full whole step (two frets), then even try a step and a half on the B string: that’s the sound of the great rock solos.

Pitch exercise

An out-of-tune bend is obvious right away. To hit the pitch, always compare with the target note:

  1. On the G string, play the 9th fret (the 8th if you’re starting with the half-step bend) and listen carefully.
  2. Play the 7th fret and bend until you hit exactly the same note.
  3. Do it ten times, then do the same on the B string, from the 8th to the 10th fret.

Both bends land on notes from the A minor pentatonic: E on the G string, A on the B string.

A blues phrase

A bend on the B string, the high A, a release bend on the G string, and you finish on the A on the D string.

e|------5---------|
B|-8b10-----------|
G|--------7b9r7---|
D|--------------7-|
A|----------------|
E|----------------|

Play it over the loop, giving each bend room to breathe:

The pop strumAm · G · F · G

Learn the pop strum step by step →

You’ve got it when…