bending

[rikki]

hi everyone just want to ask this noobish question lol.
is it a must to bend with 3 fingers?
cause sometimes in solo i need to get to the next note fast so i need my ring finger,then i use only my index and middle finger to bend.however i still get to the desired pitch of the bend.
just wanna clear some doubts.

 

[subversion]

regardless of how many fingers in use, a bend is a bend. the reason why >1 finger is used: reinforcement. sometimes your bend can't quite go as far as you want to so other fingers are in use.

 

[Whitestrat]

There is no right or wrong in guitar playing, as long as you get your desired result. Playing the electric guitar is something that's existed only for the past 50+ years. It's not like a violin or piano where there's centuries of history, and a fixed methodology now. We're still discovering new stuff everyday on the guitar. 8O

So, as long as you get the right pitch, then there's nothing wrong with bending with one hand. I used to be able to bend with my pinkie... I'm very rusty now, so I can't do that anymore... heh...

 

[ngjingming]

hmm i bend with one finger... but of course not my pinkie....

 

[rikki]

oh cause when i started out i watched a video on bending and that guy said nobody ever bends with 1 finger only.

 

[Whitestrat]

hmm i bend with one finger... but of course not my pinkie....

Heh... that was back when I was playing with 8s... heheh...

 

[Whitestrat]

oh cause when i started out i watched a video on bending and that guy said nobody ever bends with 1 finger only.

Exactly... WHEN you started out... I think when you start out, everyone assumes you need more strength to bend a string because you haven't got it down yet. So, I think that's why the guys said so...

 

[letterhead]

i do!!! but i'm trying to change that lol... and i bend upwards, not downwards.. trying to change that too

 

[ngjingming]

i bend downwards with one finger only.

erm and ive been doing this all along. is this wrong? :?

 

[PinkSpider]

ok bending is generally better when you use more than one finger
Reason is because firstly , you have more control over the bend.
Secondly the "proper" way of bending is to use your wrist like turning a door knob and bending with 3 fingers.

Of course , there will always be exceptions for example needing to use 1 finger to bend for a particularly hard solo.

Also , even though the method stated on how to bend properly isnt accepted or used by everyone , its safe to say that its the optimal method to be used. Examples would be vids of famous guitarists, lets say john petrucci. yes there are times when he uses one finger bends. However, when hes playing something simpler and requires more feel , he uses 3 fingers.

like i said. Its to give better control over the bend

 

[frodonet]

i used to bend with one finger when i started playing, my bending wasn't that good. then i practice with three fingers bending and i find it more stable and the sound is more crisp and sounds like more bend of course. haha.

it's better to use 3 fingers cause your second and third finger can also use to mute the strings below the bended string to give a clean sound. And 3 fingers means more strength and more sustain and you can strengthen you fingers 3 way all round.

So, in my humble opinion, use 3 fingers. Hard to practice at first, but it doesn't take much :wink:

 

[frodonet]

vheissu,

bending downwards is generally use for top 3 strings and bending upwards best used for bottom 3 strings.
:wink:

 

[markedymark]

vheissu, how do you bend the low e string? 8)

but that aside, on a personal note, bending with more than one finger does add to the control of a bend, makes it smooth and controlled. also you can bend further and harder. thats my take.