How to bend strings in tune

A bend is a note that slides up in pitch. When it hits the target note, it sounds amazing. When it falls short, it sounds sour. The fix is simple: always bend to a pitch you’ve heard first.

The reference trick

1. Play the target note first: for a whole-step bend from fret 8, play fret 10.
2. Now play fret 8 and bend until it sounds exactly the same.
3. Go back and forth until your hand knows how far to push.

e|----------------------------------------|
B|-10----8b10----10----8b10---------------|
G|-----------------------------9----7b9---|
D|----------------------------------------|
A|----------------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------|

Technique

• Use three fingers: the bending finger plus the two behind it.
• The power comes from rotating your wrist, like turning a door handle, not from pushing with the fingertip.
• On the G, B and high e strings, push up towards the ceiling. On the low strings, pull down.

Guitar and strings matter

Bends need steel strings. Light electric strings (9s or 10s) bend easily; acoustic strings need more strength. Nylon-string classical guitars don’t bend the same way at all, so save bends for steel.