w&ffiffiffituffiffi

fingerbecauseit's stronger.The otherfingerscansupportthe one

doing the bending.Most bendsin rock and bluesgo up one wholestep;get the correctnote in your headby playing the z4on the second
string, l0th fret. Practicebendingright up to the /. Ifyou hold the
notefor a while, useslightvibrato:

'=ra

Once you have these scale patterns memorized, it's time to learn
how to move them to other keys. For instance, the first pattern
becomesan .Escalewhen moved to the l2th fret. You can easilyfigure
this out by moving the root of the scaleup the fingerboard chromatically (.theroot is the note that has the same name as the scale).For
example, on the sixth string the note at the 5th fret is an /; at the 6th
fret it's an ,4 # (or a Bb-they're the same); at the 7th fret it's a B, and
so on until you get to the l2th fret. Here's the complete chromatic
scaleso you can move other patterns on your own (once you get to
the end ofthe scale,G#, continue ascendingby starting over at z4).As
long as you know the name of the scaleor chord youte starting with,
you can move up or down through the chromatic scale;each letter
representsone fret (beware of open strings).
A

A*(Bb) B

C*(Db) D

D*(Eb) E

F F*(Gb) G

Now let'slearnthebendin combinationwith someothernotes.

it.)
(A reversebendstarlswith a bent note,and then releases

G*(Ab)

But knowing note locations isjust the beginning. The next step is
to start learning the building blocks of licks: hammer-ons, pull-offs,
bends, and slides. Hammer-ons and pull-offs can give the notes you
play fluidity and speed. The following phrases are a few short
examples for the scaleposition at the 5th fret. From here it's your
responsibility to transfer the techniques to other phrases and
positions:

Lots of guysaskwhichnotesI like to bendthemost,andI always

saya// of them.And that'strue, dependingon the songI'm playing.
However,somenotesarebentmorethanothers'Theexamplewejust
lookedat usesoneof the mostcommonlybntnotes.Rememberits
positionin relationto the scalepatternat the 5th fret-it's on the
iecondstringandplayedwith thethird finger-so you canuseit in
other keys.Two othergood notesto bend,alsoplayedwith the 3rd
finger,arelocatedon the third string,7th fret (D; seeFig' 3) andfirst

z
I

{r

Bending is probably the technique most often associatedwith

blues and rock soloing, and for that reason it's the most important
one to learn. Ifyoute a beginner, there are a couple ofthings to watch
out for. First, dont overshoot the bend. By that I mean don't bend a
note beyond where you intend to go. And once a note is bent, be
careful not to use too much finger vibrato-a singing effect produced
by rapidly wiggling a string with a finger of your left hand right after
it's been played. If your vibrato wavers too much, you'll overshoot
the bend and itll sound weird.
Here's an exercisefor developing bending accuracy. If you can
bend with the left-hand pinky, fine; but most players usethe 3rd

string,8th fret, (Q. Herearesomelicksusingboth notes,combining

them with hammers,pulls,and slides.Practicethemuntil they
becomesecondnature:thenfind their location in the other scale
patterns.Oncethingsfeelcomfortable,work on playingleadin
differentkeysand with a varietyof rhythms.

Continued

5E

1984
currAR PLAYER/JULY