How to Learn to Bend Notes Using Sheet Music
- 1). Play through the melody line of a piece of sheet music as it is written.
- 2). Decide which notes you think would sound good if bent and circle them with a pencil on your page of music. Try to stick with notes that are from the G above middle C and higher, as bending works best on the three highest strings of the guitar.
- 3). Bend one of the notes you circled by choosing the note one fret below your target note. Pick the string and then push the string upward with your fretting finger until you reach the note that's written on the sheet. You also can try fretting the neck two frets below the written note and bending further for a more dramatic sound.
- 4). Practice bending quickly for shorter notes and bending more gradually for notes that are supposed to be held longer.
- 5). Make any revisions to your sheet of music. You might decide to refrain from bending some of the notes you originally chose and bend others that you didn't choose earlier. Erase and re-circle as needed.
- 6). Practice the piece until your bending sounds correct in pitch and rhythm.
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