So lets say I was trying to play a melody and for a little flavour I wanted to bend into the note. Now I was wondering how other people accomplish this. Do they:
1) Bend the note next up 1/2 step
2) Bend the next scale note up to the note you want
3) Do something else
Thanks
All of the above really, most of the time you'll see half or whole step bends, so in other words... if someone wants to bend a string to achieve a note, they'll start one or two frets below the fretted note that they want the bend to sound like. Of course, there are lots of exceptions to this rule, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eddie Van Halen come to mind, they were known for their huge bends.
Steve-0
Also worth mentioning is that you should thoughtfully choose both the note you're bending to, and the note you're bending from, and how they relate to the key you're playing in. If you bend from two notes strongly within the scale, your result will be pleasant in virtually any style. If you bend from one note not in the scale to one within the scale, you'll acheive a sort of "tension releasing" effect that's very useful in blues-rock.
Above all, experiment and find out what works for which situations.
Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life...
I think bend 1 whole step (2 frets) is most common. But I think bending up 1 1/2 or 2 steps to reach the same note sounds cooler
