How to get that bend right in your solo

There's a part of the solo you love. The notes are there, the rhythm feels good, but the bend sounds different from the recording. You try pushing the string farther, then a little less, and it's hard to tell what needs to change.

Let's work on just that movement. You'll play a note normally, then try to make the same sound with a bend. That gives you something to compare without playing the whole solo again each time.

The sound you want is at fret 8

Start with your guitar in standard tuning. Use the Dorica tuner if you need to tune up. Find the B string: it's the second thinnest, right beside the high E.

Play fret 7 on that string, then fret 8. Notice that the second note sounds a little higher. For this bend, you'll make that same change by pushing the string sideways while staying at fret 7.

Put your ring finger at fret 7, middle finger at 6, and index finger at 5, all on the B string. The two fingers behind your ring finger help with the push. The note you hear starts at fret 7, where your ring finger is.

Play the reference, bend, and compare

e|-------------|B|-8---7b8-----|G|-------------|D|-------------|A|-------------|E|-------------|

If the bend sounds lower than fret 8, try moving the string a little farther next time. If it sounds higher, try a smaller movement. Compare again after each attempt rather than just pushing farther every time.

Still finding the difference hard to hear? Fret 8 on the B string should show G on a tuner. Bend at fret 7 and check whether you reach the same G with the tuning indicator centered. Hold the note briefly so you have time to read the display.

For now, keep the string still when you reach the note: don't push and release repeatedly to add vibrato. After a few attempts, take your fingers off the strings and rest your hand for a few seconds.

Try a bend that goes a little higher

The exercise above raises the note by one fret's worth: a half step. If you can do it without too much effort, try playing fret 9 on the B string as your reference. Then return to fret 7 and bend until it sounds like fret 9. That's a whole step, written 7b9 in tab.

Compare the same way: play fret 9, bend at 7, mute before returning the string, and play 9 again. If reaching it means gripping the neck hard or twisting your wrist awkwardly, stop that attempt. Stay with the half step and ask a teacher to check your position and guitar setup.

Find out where the noise comes from

If you hear another note alongside the bend, try it once and lightly touch one neighboring string at a time with a free picking-hand finger. When the noise stops, you've found a string that was ringing too. Next time, keep that string quiet with a light touch that doesn't block the B string.

If the sound is the bent note itself dropping, try this: bend, touch the B string with your picking-hand finger until the sound stops, and only then return the string to rest. If the descent disappears, that's what you were hearing. Letting it ring can be part of the music too; here you're learning to choose when it happens.

Put two more notes around the bend

To move beyond the exercise, play this on the B string: fret 5, bend at 7 up to the sound of 8, then fret 5 again. Mute before bringing the bend back down, just as you practiced. Play slowly enough to finish the sequence without stopping halfway through.

Then try studying a passage from your song in the same way. If the tab says 7b9, for example, play fret 9 on that string to hear the reference before bending at 7. Add just the note before and the note after, instead of repeating the entire solo.

If you record on your phone, include the reference note and the bend in the same take. Compare those two sounds when you listen back. A note like “the bend sounded lower than the reference” tells you what to try next: a slightly bigger movement, as long as you can do it without forcing it.