tuners and bending

Hi

I would like to take my guitar playing to the next level with bending and vibrato . I usually use a snark tuner to tune my guitar . I tried to use fender tune app on automatic but it seems to tune differently, compared to the snark Snark will say E fender will say between D and D #. I am aware when you are bending you should use your ear, however my ear is not at that level yet I want to use a tuner to make sure I am bending in tune but with the difference in tuners I am not sure how to proceed Also the snark will display a strong green signal when i hit the note . The fender flutters back and forth Any suggestions

Thanks in advance

Originally Posted by: gregmchir

I would like to take my guitar playing to the next level with bending and vibrato

I think a more effective way to work on your bending is to play the target note as a fretted note. Then bend to that target note in order to develop your ear.

I explain the process in this lesson.

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=17399

Hope that helps!

Another good lesson can be found here

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=24936&s_id=2063

I can use a tuner to check string bends, using a Polytune 3, but it's awkward and, to be honest, I can't really see the point.

Develope your hearing at the same time as the technique itself; I honestly think that would be a better way to practice instead of trying to rely on a tuner to guage accuracy.

Thanks Christopher .If someone demonstrates I can tell when they hit the right pitch . If I do it myself I cant Perha[s it is just a matter of practice and like you said training my ear .

Thanks for the help

You're welcome.

Originally Posted by: gregmchir

If someone demonstrates I can tell when they hit the right pitch . If I do it myself I cant Perha[s it is just a matter of practice and like you said training my ear .

I think it is just a matter of repetitious practice until you can bend the string without worry about the physical aspect of it & just focus on hitting the right pitch.

You might need to take a step back here & assess your physical technique. Make sure that you aren't having any trouble bending the string. Use index & middle finger to help push or pull, then anchor your thumb on the bass side of the neck. Twist your wrist to make clean solid, deliberate bends. You need to make sure all of those physical motions are solid & consistent so you can count on that part to work every time without thinking about every little motion. Once all of that is second nature you can focus on hitting the right pitch with the bend.

I demonstrate some of that techique in the context of this lesson.

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=20406&s_id=1614

Keep working on it!

Thanks Christopher I was going to try the bread and butter blues licks later I am currently working on the 12 bar blues course of yours This will be a great practice lick to work on in my practice sessions

Chris explain quite nicely what you want to do and the lesson is a great way to practice. Taking off from what Chris was saying with regarding to being able to 'ehar' the note you're bending to. The below excersize utilizes the A minor pentatonic. Do the following:

1) One the high E (using A minor pentatonic)

2) The high E notes for the blues scaled pentatonic for this would be A (5th fret), B (7th fret) and C (8th fret).

3) A common bend is to bend the 7th fret note (the B note). Often times this is done with the ring finger holding down the note on the 7th fret.

4) The most common bend is a half step bend. This means that you are going to bend the B note up to the C note.

5) Before executing the bend, just simply fret the note of the 8th fret (C note) first to hear where your bend you will execute from the 7th fret should stop. I'd suggest with that 8th fret note three time to get the sound in your head.

6) Now it's time to execute your bend. Having heard that 8th fret note with three strikes, bend the 7th fret note until it sounds like the same note as the 8th fret. I'd suggest mirroring the 'three strike' thing as well when bending the 7th fret bend.

Repeat and repeat. To Chris' point, it's ok to use the tuner to help you see the bend is right but eventually you have to hear it. Using the tuner handicaps you because you aren't hearing yourself bend the proper interval as the bend you make such as like to the next note in the scale interval might be a full step.

This also avoids the tuner differences as you can apply this skill to other tunings (way down the road).

Originally Posted by: gregmchir

Thanks Christopher I was going to try the bread and butter blues licks later I am currently working on the 12 bar blues course of yours This will be a great practice lick to work on in my practice sessions

Good deal!

Thanks for the detailed reply Jeff!

Thank You Jeff That is a great idea Thanks for giving such a detailed description I am also going to rely on my tuner less and start tuning by ear more