The BIGGEST Mistakes 99% Of Guitarists Make When Bending Strings (& How To Fix Them!)

The guitar. We all gravitate toward it for similar reasons. It looks awesome, people look cool when they play it, and it just sounds killer in any style of music. I believe much of why we picked up the guitar in the first place has to do with its ability to sing like the human voice. No other instrument does the same thing. You may have even realized before you started playing that bending the strings is what is responsible for this human-like quality. When you “sing” guitar parts, this tends to occur during bends. While nearly all guitarists attempt this technique, few pull it off authentically. But fret not! In this lesson, I'm gonna show you the dos and don'ts of bending your guitar strings.

Mistake #1: Shaky, Rapid Vibrato

The first mistake guitarists make has to do with vibrato which is rapid and shaky. This results in something that generally sounds nervous and not well harnessed. I've even seen really talented and technically proficient guitarists make this mistake. The only one who can tastefully get away with this is B.B. King. Somehow, it just works for him. Otherwise, the only way you anthropomorphize the guitar is by having it mimic anxiety. You might be doing that intentionally as a desired effect, but I think it’s more tasteful to have the notes sing with grace. There's a time and place for fast vibrato, but it generally tends to sound like the vibrato is controlling you as opposed to you controlling it.

This mistake is often due to relying too heavily on curling and extending the fingers of your fretting hand. Instead of relying on vertically curling your fingers to add a springy vibrato, massage the note by slowly rocking it back and forth. Do this by pivoting your hand and wrist by anchoring your finger to the fretted note(s).

Mistake #2: Bending Unintentionally

Guitarists often make the mistake of being unintentional when attempting to sustain a note during a bend. What these players don't realize is that when a note is bent with no sense of direction, this can sound amateur. In these instances, it seems they don't realize that they “should” be bending up to specific notes instead of just going all willy-nilly.

The goal is to aim for even intervals such as half-step and whole-step bends. This means that you want to bend up to a specific note that's higher than where your fretting finger is. When you intentionally bend up to a target note, you're more likely to stay in key and sound like a pro. To prepare yourself for success with this, practice by playing the note you want to bend up to before bending to it. Keep the pitch of the target note in mind when you bend up to it from a lower fretting position. Your ear and muscle memory will adapt to target intervals over time.

Mistake #3: (Out Of) Unison Bends

One of the more rock n’ roll bending techniques is the unison bend. This is where you play two different notes across two different strings. When you do this, you bend the pitch of one note up to the same pitch as the other note on the higher string. The mistake that players make when they attempt this technique is that they bend both strings. Bending both strings makes it harder to achieve the dissonant to consonant sound since it just sounds dissonant the whole time.

To prevent this error, hold the target note on the higher-pitched string with your index finger still while focusing your bend to the middle or ring finger of your fretting hand. As you bend up with your middle or ring finger, you'll hear the note bend until it sounds like one note as opposed to two.

Keep the tip in the previous mistake in mind about bending up to the correct pitch. With unison bends it’s almost easier to bend up to the correct note because you’ll hear the dissonance resolve into two notes that sound exactly the same.

If you have a tremolo bridge, like a Floyd Rose, this technique can be more difficult. When I'm in a pinch and I want to use a unison bend with my Floyd Rose guitar, I push the heel of the palm of my picking hand into the bridge to prevent it from folding as the string bends.

Conclusion

Don't make the mistakes that most guitarists, even the talented ones, are guilty of when bending notes. Shaky vibrato sounds too springy, so make sure you harness the notes by controlling them instead of having them control you. When bending up to a note, make sure you are bending up to the intended pitch of a higher target note. If you don’t, you sacrifice sounding professional for sounding more amateur. When you go for a unison bend, make sure you isolate each note correctly, so they sound the same. Otherwise, it'll sound like you need to practice more. Stick in and stay consistent with practicing your bending techniques so that way you can call upon them at a moment's notice.

Watch the full lesson here: The BIGGEST Mistakes 99% Of Guitarists Make When Bending Strings (& How To Fix Them!)