Half Step Bends

For this exercise you will need an electric guitar, these bends will be harder to do on an acoustic guitar. This exercise will start on the high E string at the target note on the 8^th fret. This target note is a C. Pay close attention to what that C sounds like. Now go to the 7^th fret, which is a B. Bend the B up one half step to a C. Try and make sure your bend is in tune and sounds exactly like the target note C that you played on the 8^th fret. Don’t move on to the next step until you can hit the C perfectly.

Let’s do this same exercise on the B string. Play the target note G on the 8^th fret, pay attention to it. Bend up from the 7^th fret one half step to the G.

Now go to the G string and do this again. Target note is D# on the 8^th. Bend up one half step from the 7^th fret to the D# target note.

Now go to the D string and do this again. Target note is A# on the 8^th. Bend up one half step from the 7^th fret to the A# target note.

Now go to the A string and do this again. Target note is F on the 8^th. Bend down one half step from the 7^th fret to the F target note. We are bending down so we don’t bend off the fretboard for this string.

Now go to the low E string and do this again. Target note is C on the 8^th. Bend down one half step from the 7^th fret to the C target note. We are bending down so we don’t bend off the fretboard for this string.

Repeat the above exercises moving up two frets, so bend up from 9^th to the 10^th, 12^th to the 13^th, 15^th to the 16^th, 17^th to the 18^th, etc. until you run out of frets. Making sure to land perfectly in tune to the target note each time.

Repeat the above exercises moving down two frets, so bend up from 5^th to the 6^th, 3^rd to the 4^th, 1^st to the 2^nd. Making sure to land perfectly in tune to the target note each time.

You’ll notice that larger bends are much easier higher up the neck.

Full Step Bends

This exercise will start on the high E string at the target note on the 9^th fret. This target note is a C#. Pay close attention to what that C# sounds like. Now go to the 7^th fret, which is a B. Bend the B up one whole step to a C#. Try and make sure your bend is in tune and sounds exactly like the target note C# that you played on the 9^th fret.

Let’s do this same exercise on the B string. Play the target note G# on the 9^th fret, pay attention to it. Bend up from the 7^th fret one whole step to the G#.

Now go to the G string and do this again. Target note is E on the 9^th. Bend up one whole step from the 7^th fret to the E target note.

Now go to the D string and do this again. Target note is B on the 9^th. Bend up one half step from the 7^th fret to the B target note.

Now go to the A string and do this again. Target note is F# on the 9^th. Bend down one whole step from the 7^th fret to the F# target note. We are bending down so we don’t bend off the fretboard for this string.

Now go to the low E string and do this again. Target note is C# on the 9^th. Bend down one whole step from the 7^th fret to the C# target note. We are bending down so we don’t bend off the fretboard for this string.

Repeat the above exercises moving up two frets, so bend up from 9^th to the 11^th, 12^th to the 14^th, 15^th to the 17^th, 18^th to the 19^th, etc. until you run out of frets. Making sure to land perfectly in tune to the target note each time.

Repeat the above exercises moving down two frets, so bend up from 5^th to the 7^th, 3^rd to the 5^th, 1^st to the 3^rd. Making sure to land perfectly in tune to the target note each time.

Step and a Half Bends

Now do the above exercises but you will bend up one and a half steps. The farther the bend, the more you must pay close attention to the speed at which you reach the target note. Going too slow, will not sound great. Find the sweet spot.

2 Full Step Bends

Now do the above exercises but you will bend up two full steps.  

Bending 2 Strings

It is common to bend 2 strings at a time, during solo or rhythm playing. Usually, the strings will be bent in an upward motion. Often it is the higher strings that will be bent, either using a bar or separate fingers.

Playing 2 Notes but Bending 1 String

It is also common to play two strings and bend one. For instance, play the high E string on the 5^th fret, play the B string on the 8^th fret. Keep the high E string unbent and bend the A string up until it matches the tone of the high E string. You can also do this on the G and B strings, 5^th fret on the B string and 7^th on the G string.

You can also play the high E string on the 5^th fret, play the B string on the 5^th fret. Keep the high E string unbent and bend the A string up. Creates a very interesting sound.

Another technique is to play the high B string on the 5^th fret, play the G string on the 4^th fret. Keep the high B string unbent and bend the G string up.

Once you have mastered these techniques you can play them anywhere on the neck.