The Bends

How to work on guitar bends?

With a methodical and progressive approach, you will assimilate one of the techniques the most coveted by any guitarist who wants to try Solo. And therefore, progress in terms of guitar phrasing, because it is a game effect unavoidable. There are several ways to play them. You can raise it by 1 tone, by a half tone, by a tone and a half, by 2 tones, etc. The length can also differ. You can increase the bend immediately, but also gradually increase it over 1 beat, 2 beats, etc. You also have Bends/releases, it's a bend that goes up and down. There are others, but you will see that in the courses.

Guitar bends consist of “twisting” a guitar string by making it vibrate (or not) to obtain a variation in the pitch of the note played. This technique is often used to add expression and emotion to a melody or guitar solo. The guitarist uses the fingers of the left hand to bend the string, and the tension created by bending the string changes the pitch of the note produced.

The famous guitarists who bend to death!

The masters of “guitar lead” use bends in many solos. Whether it be David Gilmour, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Vai, Brian May, Van Halen and many more…
Of course they use many others game effects to “tell” their melodies. This is why we have to work on the different techniques one by one. For example the ghost notes, the Hammer on, the Pull off, the slides,…etc

Tips for Playing Guitar Bends

Don't work on them all at once, it's better to master one, then start integrating it into improvisations. Then, add another, work it well, then also integrate it into your improvisations by mixing it with the other techniques you know.
If you have started working on the positions of the pentatonic scale, adds the Bends guitar in your solos. This will bring punctuation and relief to your playing and your sentence.