string bending

Fretboard pitch shift

String bending is a guitar technique where a fretted string is pushed sideways across the fingerboard, raising the pitch smoothly rather than in discrete steps.

The technique allows guitarists to slide into notes, add vibrato, or mimic vocal inflections.

Essential to blues, rock, and country playing, bending gives the guitar its expressive, crying quality: He bent the note up a whole step before releasing it.

Related
  • vibratoOscillating pitch effect
  • guitarFretted stringed instrument
  • lead guitarMelody-playing rock role
  • fretAgitation or fingerboard guide
  • bluesMournful American music genre

blues licks · B.B. King · pitch · half step · whole step · slide · whammy · tone · crying tone · fingertip · finger strength · sustain · expression · solo · neck · note · curl · tension

Opposites
pitch modification technique

string bendingopen strings

Notes without finger pressure

note transition method

string bendinghammer-on

Fret note without picking

pull-off · staccato · tapping

physical string manipulation

string bendingmuting

Suppressing sound output

palm muting

Family

string, bending, strings, stringed, stringing, stringy, bend, bends, bent

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Rated G