There is one thing you can use to make your guitar licks sound emotional and expressive:
String bends.
When you learn some of the more subtle ways to perform this technique, your guitar playing creativity quickly goes to a new level.
Result:
Your guitar licks and solos begin sounding totally pro.
Here’s something else:
These subtle bending techniques are pretty easy to learn and use right away to improve your playing.
Learn how to master different bending techniques by watching this video:
The most effective way to develop these string bending ideas is to improve other aspects of guitar soloing that make all your lead guitar ideas sound cool.
What are these other components? They are:
String Bending Mastery Element # 1. Singing Vibrato Technique
String bent notes won’t hold for long if you aren’t using vibrato. More notably, guitar playing without (good) vibrato sounds as stimulating as a trip to the dentist office.
Here are some of the most important points to know about learning vibrato:
Effective vibrato technique
Wrap your fretting hand thumb around the fretboard of the guitar. Push the web between your thumb and first finger against the back of the neck.
Change the position of the string by turning your forearm. Do not apply vibrato with your fingers only.
When you make the habit of using your fingers to do vibrato, it becomes challenging to keep your vibrato perfectly tuned.
The correct movement for vibrato should be almost exactly like you are going to turn a knob.
See this video to watch a tutorial of this concept:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpGXjNTe0EU&feature=emb_title
Stabilize the rate & distance of your vibrato
The speedier your vibrato is, the broader it needs to be to sound excellent. Playing it at a slower rate? — the less wide it can (and ought to) be to be really good.
Make sure you don’t make your vibrato fast & narrow simultaneously.
When this happens, your overall guitar playing seems to sound very anxious.
With this in mind …
Don’t make a slow vibrato too wide either. If you do, your vibrato will sound like slow bending technique. (This doesn’t sound very good at all.).
Sync your vibrato in tempo with the backing track or song.
What does it mean to “sync” your vibrato together to the tempo of a song?
It means to apply vibrato with consistent note values that are in time to the beats of the music. To do that, play vibrato in 8th notes, 16th notes and triplets.
Check out this video clip to see and hear many examples of how to do this:.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAdXDZXLREw&feature=emb_title.
String Bending Mastery Element # 2. Long-Lasting Sustain
Just as I mentioned in the video at the start of the article …
… you can not be hesitant of letting the notes ring out for a very long time.
( Rather, visualize that you get a few bucks for each and every second you get your string to ring out.).
Your lengthy notes won’t sound dull to your listeners, as long as you do what we’ve been discussing in this write-up.
Question: “But Tom Hess, is it actually feasible to boost your guitar’s sustain without purchasing a sustaining app, a new amplifier, another pedal to stomp on or perhaps a brand-new instrument?”.
Reply: Definitely.
These are my general suggestions for getting limitless sustain on your guitar:.
Play the note by fretting it right next to the fret itself. If you are consistent with fretting very close to the fret wire, the better your sustain will be.
Pick right down through the string. Don’t permit the pick bounces away from the string. This stops the string from slapping on the frets (which destroys your notes’ sustain).
Use a lot more of the pick to strike the string. This offers you a louder opening note (which aids sustain). As a bonus advantage, this also strengthens your 2-hand synchronization.
Master fast and wide vibrato. This is the solitary essential part of fantastic sustain.
Think of getting more sustain from the notes of your slower licks as you solo. This way of thinking helps your hands recall what to do to increase sustain.
Watch this video to view these tips at work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5aZRSYNuFQ
String Bending Mastery Element # 3. String Noise Management
You know any person who likes the sound of unclean string noise?
Didn’t think so.
If your playing contains noise, don’t worry about how terrific your string bending and vibrato is …
… You will sound mediocre!
How do you avoid and/or control string noise?
This is what to do:.
To begin with, use thumb muting.
This refers to the following: rest your picking hand’s thumb on the lower (in pitch ) strings to prevent them silent.
As you switch strings, the thumb should move along and always cover the strings below the one you are sounding currently.
Watch this video to view thumb muting at work:.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qlo8V21E9Y&feature=emb_title.
Question: Tom Hess, why do I hear pinch harmonics as I try to use thumb muting?
Response: This occurs because you are allowing your thumb to hang over the edge of the pick and it strikes the string right after your pick does.
To fix this, move the thumb further back, so it does not sit over the edge of the pick.
Roll the thumb nearer to the edge of the pick the moment you do want to create pinch harmonics.
Question: Tom Hess, is thumb muting only great for bending strings?
Response: No. Use it for everything lead guitar playing (including fast sweep picking and single string licks).
In addition to keeping your playing clean, thumb muting also holds your hands closer to the strings.
What this does for you: your hand movement is completely efficient — this gives you the power to play super fast and cleaner.
Thumb muting will be enough to get rid of most unwanted string sloppiness in your playing.
Now you know cool new ways to bend strings during your lead guitar solos and licks. The action to take at this point is to develop the other parts of your guitar playing (everything from your overall speed, fretboard memory, musical phrasing and music integration), so you are able to …
… At last put it all together and transform into a kickass guitarist!
I can help you with this in my Online Electric Guitar Lessons.
About The Author:
Tom Hess is a highly successful guitar teacher, touring musician and composer. He teaches guitar online lessons to guitarists around the world. Follow Tom Hess on Facebook for daily guitar playing tips and links to free guitar resources.
