Bending One String While Fretting Another - Technique?

Question

I'm trying to learn the lead guitar on this song:

The solo (skip to 1:15 in the video) repeatedly involves fretting the b string with the index finger while bending the g string upwards a step. I'm have a real hard time keeping my index fret on the b string static while bending upwards - resulting in me bending that note up 1/4-1/2 a step and it sounding awful.

Does anyone have any advice on how to keep my index finger steady on the fret/string while applying enough pressure to get the whole step bend on the g string?

Answer 1

I would focus primarily on maintaining pressure between my index finger and my thumb (clamping the neck) while trying not to let the note bending finger get too tense. There can be a tendency to tense up all fingers when exerting a lot of force with just one.

Then, secondarily, I'd work on the bending.

If the tension of the strings is making this tough, you can try loosening them at the beginning and seeing whether you can do it then.

This may be partly a brain learning thing (learning the feeling of using the muscles in this odd way) and partly a muscle strength thing, which improves as you develop strength. The latter requires exercise (using the muscles) interspersed with rest and getting ample protein for the muscles to regenerate, as with any workout.

Answer 2

If both strings are going the same direction it means you're taking the movement from somewhere it shouldn't come.

• Likely, from the thumb hooked around the neck. Now, while I'm generally critic of wrapping the thumb around the neck at all (classical technique completely eschews this, and IMO every guitarist should at least occasionally explore the advantages of such a more “open” position), it can't be denied that bends do work better if the thumb can be used as a fulcrum to lever the force against. But still, it should never be the driving force, never too rigid nor active.

• Another possibility is the opposite mistake: if you're taking all the force directly from the arm, you can't really direct it to individual strings. It's a bit like using an axe to perform surgery.

The correct technique uses both thumb and arm only as loose “anchors”, while the actual bend is performed by the fingers themselves and the wrist. In fact, for me bending is largely a wrist technique (possibly actually too much so). In particular ring finger or pinky bends come mostly from a twisting motion of the wrist. This naturally gives the correct inter-string relation for such a double-stop single-bend, but it's also better for single-note bends due do responsivity.

Answer 3

Practice. There really is no other answer. This kind of muscle memory can only be achieved by doing, not by shear force of will.

It is fortunate though because you have identified a well-defined problem with a well-defined solution. So you practice exactly this move over and over again.

After some practice, you expand the exercise so you start earlier in the sequence, and then move to the practiced position and do the bend.

Don't do the whole song over and over, work on this fragment.