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11 votes
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How can I bend better at the higher frets with high e string on guitar?

What guitar, which strings? It will make a big difference when the string tension - a combination of scale length, string gauge and tuning - is good for you. Consider using lighter strings, or, if you ...
Tim's user avatar
  • 197k
7 votes

Going to lighter string gauge and bending in tune

There's little difference, and always the possibility that the two guitars aren't the same scale length exactly anyway. You won't have to bend quite so much to get the same semitone/tone bend, and ...
Tim's user avatar
  • 197k
7 votes

How can I bend better at the higher frets with high e string on guitar?

I do a lot of 3, 4 and even 5 semitone bends, and although I've been playing for 35 years or so, I use 3 fingers for all of them, and I can only do a 5 semitone bend on my guitars that have .009 gauge ...
Doktor Mayhem's user avatar
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6 votes

How is a pitch between a C and a C# notated in sheet music for fretless instruments?

I googled "How to notate microtones" (I've been wondering too) and found this. It's on a flute website, but it should work for all musical purposes. http://www.flutecolors.com/techniques/microtones-...
General Nuisance's user avatar
6 votes

Can a 4-hole harmonica play more than the 8 diatonic notes?

For a guide to the 4 hole harmonica, I'd recommend you check out The Ultimate Miniature Harmonica Tunebook by Pat Missin. I haven't read it, but the author is very respected in the harmonica world. To ...
EdvinW's user avatar
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6 votes
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How do you bend notes on the bagpipes?

There's two main ways of sliding up a note on the bagpipes. [Disclaimer: I play Flemish bagpipes rather than Great Highland Bagpipes, but I see no reason the same techniques shouldn't apply to both ...
Steve Mansfield's user avatar
6 votes

Guitar bending problem

When you bend the G string, you are very slightly deforming the neck, and if you have a vibrato bridge or tailpiece you are most significantly pulling that out of its normal position. This is normal ...
Todd Wilcox's user avatar
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6 votes

How can I bend better at the higher frets with high e string on guitar?

My reading of the question is that you can't make it to the note you want, not that your bend goes over and sounds out of tune. Some thoughts: If you're playing a guitar with a vibrato system, it is ...
Dave Jacoby's user avatar
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5 votes
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Question about a guitar lick involving string bending and playing a higher note while the string's bent

The most straightforward way to play this would be to do a whole-tone bend on the B-string at the 16th fret, and then play the E-string at the same fret during the bend. You can use up to three ...
Your Uncle Bob's user avatar
5 votes

String bending pain doesn't go away

No idea which videos you've seen, but if you're using one finger for a bend, it's going to be hard work. Whenever possible, use as many as you can - obviously those behind the fretted note are the ...
Tim's user avatar
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4 votes

Can bending strings damage acoustic guitar? (nut, fretboard, etc.)

Bending strings is a technique that has been use for years and is pretty standard from a playing perspective. Will it put a bit of extra strain on the frets and the strings...yes. But the alternative ...
b3ko's user avatar
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3 votes

How do you even do a full bend?

A bend of a tone (two frets) shouldn't be enough to break a string. Unless it's old, or there's a problem with a fretwire or a saddle. .010s are pretty standard, and should bend quite easily up a ...
Tim's user avatar
  • 197k
3 votes

How do you even do a full bend?

For big bends you should be using as many fingers on that string as you can. When bending up a step, or even higher, I tend to put my ring finger on the target fret, middle and index onto the frets ...
tiniuclx's user avatar
  • 176
3 votes

Am I correctly approaching the relationship between string bending and action height?

Similar to Todd, for a large bend I'll use three fingers, and as they push the desired string, the natural rotation of them catches the next strings and moves them up away from frets. In this picture ...
Doktor Mayhem's user avatar
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3 votes
Accepted

Am I correctly approaching the relationship between string bending and action height?

If you bend a string (up towards the ceiling/sky) the lower (sounding, i.e., thicker) strings are supposed to move under your finger(s). If your finger moved under the lower (sounding) strings then ...
Matt L.'s user avatar
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3 votes
Accepted

Harmonica : what is a bend -4''?

That is explained in the tab guide (section 3), but a negative hole number typically stands for a draw note, and each single-quote next to it means a half-step bend, so -4" would be draw 4, bent two ...
Mathieu Guindon's user avatar
3 votes
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Guitar: How to mute bend release sound?

The usual tactic is to mute with either a handy spare finger on the left hand, or with one on your right hand if you have to. For this example, when you have played that first note and bent it up, ...
Doktor Mayhem's user avatar
  • 37k
3 votes
Accepted

Semitones in tremolo harmonica

It looks like this particular harmonica is a simply diatonic one, giving available notes in C major of C D E F G A and B, in various octaves. To be able to play the 'black keys' - # and b, you really ...
Tim's user avatar
  • 197k
3 votes

Two types of bends on the guitar

It sounds like you're asking about vibrato, not bends. Although vibrato does incorporate some bending. The first method you mention is the more common one for electric guitar use, where the string is ...
Tim's user avatar
  • 197k
3 votes

How can I bend better at the higher frets with high e string on guitar?

The usual technique is to use three fingers together: index, middle and ring. For a bend on the 15th fret, ring finger will be on 15, middle on 14, and index on 13. Depending upon your finger strength ...
luser droog's user avatar
  • 15.1k
2 votes

Two types of bends on the guitar

What you are describing sounds to me like the vibrato technique commonly used by classical guitarists. As your finger moves toward the higher fret while pressing down the string, it creates more ...
ScottM's user avatar
  • 271
2 votes

String bending pain doesn't go away

My personal experience is that when my hands stay in the water for some time, the fingertips are definitely affected when it comes to playing. And so I would definitely try a couple of things. For ...
MMazzon's user avatar
  • 6,361
2 votes

String bending pain doesn't go away

Try distributing the force of your bend onto the strings with all 3 fingers. If you just use the ring finger to push the strings up and the index and middle are left hanging below that might cause an ...
Max's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes

Bending techniques in 16-hole Chromatic harmonicas (like Hohner 64)

An experienced chromatic player can bend most notes down by 1, sometimes 2 semi-tones. Blow notes take a bit more practice than draw notes, and the lowest octave on your Hohner 64 will also be more ...
Kris Van Bael's user avatar

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