Blues Techniques

Fundamental techniques
of rock - blues phrasing

In this section we want to clarify some points regarding the use of some fundamental techniques for the correct interpretation of blues and rock-blues phrasing (lick). These techniques are used in various musical types, and are therefore of great interest and very useful in all situations.

Bending

This technique is usually attributed to the guitar or a string instrument. Bending is literally bending a string, increasing the tension in order to raise the note by one, two or three half-steps (in some cases even four). Lets see how bending is done.
The fingers that are usually used to "bend" the string are the ring (surely the most common) and middle fingers. Lets use the ring finger, which is on the third string and the 7th fret, to raise the intonation of the string from a D to an E note (one tone above). Start by pressing the the 7th fret with the ring finger and rest the middle finger on the preceding fret. In fact, we can help flex the string with the preceding finger which is about to perform the bending: besides the middle finger, the ring finger can also help the index finger, in order to get a more accurate intonation and precise draw. If you now try to slowly push the string, you will hear that the intonation of the note raises. You will see (mostly you will hear) that the ring finger will fight with the tension of the string and it is actually this detail which makes bending difficult for beginners. Don't worry, with some practice you will have good control of the intonation.

Lets look at a very important detail. Even though we say "bend with the finger... ", this movement is actually done by the wrist, which is much more powerful in pushing than the finger. For convenience people usually say "throw" (or "push" with the finger... )
To practice, try to raise a note by a tone. The main difficulty, especially for beginners, is to know when to stop pushing on the string. For this reason, the most important job is to listen to the initial bending note.

In the example, first play the D note on the third string at the 7th fret, then the E on the second at the 5th, and then repeat it a few more times to memorize the sound. Now press the third finger hard on the D note and rest the second finger on the preceding fret on that same string. This finger needs to help the ring finger during the upwards push given to the string to raise its tone.

I suggest listening of this and all the other examples in mp3 format in order to develop the technique which the ear is also able to interpret.
Always remember to help the finger that performs the bending, in order to have more power and precision to push the string. Maintaining the same characteristics of execution, play the exercise seen above at different points on the fretboard. Usually, bending is done by pushing the finger upward when playing the first, second and third strings. Rarely, the fourth, fifth and sixth strings are pushed: in these cases, the push is towards the higher strings.

Once the finger has performed the bending, the note has been changed intonation. But what happens when we get to the pushed note? There are some possible options:

Let the note play. This is perhaps the most common choice, where the note plays for a given period of time: a quarter note rather than a half or an eighth notes rather than a whole... Obviously it is at the discretion of the performer.

To vibrate the note. Maintaining the sound of the note according to the directives just seen, so that the same note is manipulated with a series of alternating microvariations (fast or slow depending on the case) between a very light release and a push of the taut string. Surely this technique is more complicated and requires good control of the bending.

Stop the note. In this case, once you have obtained the intonation, the sound of the note is blocked. This system may be useful when you want to emphasize the rhythmics.

Release of the note. Deals with releasing the tension of the string so that the intonation of the string returns to its original position. We will talk more in depth on this subject in the following page.

A typical case using bending is found below. It deals simply with bending a string, however being careful to which finger performs the bending. In fact, the illustrated position would be typical of box 2 of the pentatonic scale and effectively the note should be played with the 4th finger. This however is usually the weakest finger but the most opportune. For a better bending intonation, bend the string with the 3rd finger.

This was only an example of a bending that should be performed on a note played with the 4th finger. There are other types of bending, as in the following case, where a note is placed on another string alongside a taut string.

The 3rd finger performs the bending on the 7th fret of the third string, maintaining the intonation when the 4th finger presses the eighth fret of the second string. In the second bending be careful not to remove the 3rd finger before the note of the first string is played, in order to leave the notes connected to themselves as long as possible.