I have been working on bending strings for a while now, and man it can be frustrating. I can hear when the pitch is right, but if I try to bend quickly I am usually a little off. I really want to have complete control and confidence when I go to bend, and know that it will be right on pitch. Any help, ideas, or exercises? Does this just take years?
Thanks,
-Dustin
I've been imitated so well I've heard people copy my mistakes.
- Jimi Hendrix
Bending is one of those playing aspects that marks a player's individual style. Over time, you will develop not only a better feel and ear for bends, but probably a set of preferred bending techniques and associated flourishes to go with. So once again the answer is practice, and actively listen to your own playing while you practice. Different situations call for different bends, including (but not limited to) bending to different intervals, semi-tone bends, bending with vibrato, overbending, back-and-forth bending, quick vs. slow blending and more. If hitting pitch is troubling you, I suggest working on blends ending in some vibrato. This will allow you to do a bit of pitch seeking, yet sound very nice.
-G
-=tension & release=-
