String bending in and of itself is quite an accomplishment, as well as an art form, and this lesson will deal with one of the less-discussed aspects of this style.

The ability to bend in either direction is critical, especially since there are many licks that will require this action soley because of the lick’s physical properties. Many phrases have notes that are on the higher strings right after a bend occurs, which usually means that if the bend is on the G or D string, we must bend towards us. In the same way, we also have bend licks that either require lower open strings to be played in harmony, or even used as bass patterns; these almost always require the bends to be away from us, towards the high E string.

Most notably, I will demonstrate in this lesson the art of training one’s ear to know just how far to bend in either direction. After a short while of doing these exercises, you should really start to develop “pre-sets” of the fingers  that instinctively tell you just how far to bend the notes. This is going to be a great workout!—Arlen Roth