string bending

[BrandonBass]

any tips on bending? i bend pretty damn slow even tho ive been practising it for awhile...

i see that many rock guitarists put their thumb over the neck when
they go through passages with many bending parts, should put my thumb over the neck too?

i usually use 2fingers to bend, is it ideal?

[TeeMartin]

Not sure about putting thumb over neck.

I'm not sure why you need 2 fingers to bend. It's just like fretting, but then dragging the string down if that makes sense.

[cowsgomoo]

one finger should be enough with strength through practice...

don't bother putting your thumb over the neck... it won't help you bend

for the G string, where you have to push to bend it... try bending the string with your fingers at about a 45° angle to the string rather than them being perpendicular to the strings... you'll get more leverage and get a bit better control over your vibrato

lighter strings will make bending easier, and worth trying if you're prepared to put up with the difference it'll make to your tone

[BrandonBass]

i can bend guitar strings w one finger, i can bend it with 1 finger on the bass too except that i can only bend half step with 1.

ill try the 45 degrees thingy, btw if the thumb over neck thing is useless why do so many rock guitarists do it?

[cowsgomoo]

Originally Posted by BrandonBass

i can bend guitar strings w one finger, i can bend it with 1 finger on the bass too except that i can only bend half step with 1.

ill try the 45 degrees thingy, btw if the thumb over neck thing is useless why do so many rock guitarists do it?

same reason some bass players do it... they get into the habit of doing it and it doesn't hinder them enough for them to decide to avoid doing it if you think having your thumb over the neck might help then by all means give it a try, but you'll probably find it doesn't really serve any purpose

some guitarists play certain chords by using the thumb to barre notes on the bass string side of the neck, but this isn't anything you can really transfer across to bass except in a few limited situations (i.e. plucking double stops where you play a root on the E string and a major 3rd on the G string)

[markjazzbassist]

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

one finger should be enough with strength through practice...

don't bother putting your thumb over the neck... it won't help you bend

+1

with time bending becomes second nature.

[BrandonBass]

i tried bending with 1 finger and i cant do it with my pinky. do u guys bend whole steps with ur pinky?

[cowsgomoo]

Originally Posted by BrandonBass

i tried bending with 1 finger and i cant do it with my pinky. do u guys bend whole steps with ur pinky?

gawd no... use your index or middle finger unless there's a darn good reason

[CoDBassPlayer]

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

gawd no... use your index or middle finger unless there's a darn good reason

How about POSITION. I'm a position freak, I stay in one position for just about everything. The pinkie bend isn't hard, you just need mroe bass experience then. I find the ring bend much harder, more because of control rather than strength.

[Poop-Loops]

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

same reason some bass players do it... they get into the habit of doing it and it doesn't hinder them enough for them to decide to avoid doing it if you think having your thumb over the neck might help then by all means give it a try, but you'll probably find it doesn't really serve any purpose

Or maybe... you know... because that's how you do it?

http://www.guitarprinciples.com/Guit...ue/Bending.htm
http://www.guitarprinciples.com/Guit...nd%20shots.htm
http://www.guitarprinciples.com/Guit...t_hand_pos.htm

[cowsgomoo]

ok, just to clarify... you don't wrap your thumb over the neck and onto the fingerboard but you DO anchor your thumb on the top edge of the neck to help you squeeze... pic 1 is with the thumb on the back of the neck... making it hard to bend... pic 2 is what I was saying not to do... pic 3 is more like where your thumb should be

[BrandonBass]

oh yea yea, number 3 is what im referring to, cause i find it hard to bend with the '1' position. thanks for clearing it up