Originally Posted by: Kasperow
Yeah, the bends are one of the areas where I need to improve a bit. My ears probably aren't trained quite enough to tell the difference between spot-on and a bit flat/sharp... I'll have to work on my bends. I usually don't use a lot of vibrato, though. It's not that it's not my style, I'm just not very good at using it properly (I'll have to check out Anders' lessons on Bends and Vibrato in the Rock and Blues courses...).

The thing to focus on with bends is to know the note you are bending to. In practicing, play the note you are bending to on the adjacent string, then perform the bend on the string you plan on bending. With the sound of the note fresh in your head, you'll hear where you are either going too sharp or too flat. It's been a while, but I'm pretty sure Anders covers it in this way. When you get your bends under control, your playing will sound more crisp and purposeful.

The good thing is it's better to bend flat than sharp. When you over bend, it's really noticeable. :-)