# Guitar/Bending and Vibrato

**Bending** and **vibrato** are two related effects which help give
extra \"life\" to notes, especially sustained notes, by changing their
pitch. The techniques are not commonly used on the acoustic guitar or
general rhythm playing. However, they are *extremely* important to many
styles involving distorted guitar, e.g., rock or metal, even when
playing rhythm (though, in that case, bends and vibratos are usually
embellishments). Bending or an equivalent effect is not possible on all
instruments; the piano, for example, cannot have notes that change in
pitch. This is one reason why it is important to know how to bend:
because you can!

This section deals with bending and vibrato using your fingers, not the
different technique of using the vibrato bar. The two techniques do the
same basic thing, but using the vibrato bar as a substitute for
fretting-hand bending is not good practice; it is best used for very
heavy bends or heavy vibratos, not slight embellishments like finger
bending. It is more difficult to be subtle with a vibrato bar, and it is
usually a bit out of the way for the picking hand to reach, making it
harder to use. In short, while in some cases which style of bending or
vibrato is used is a matter of taste, the two techniques are not
interchangeable and are used for different effects.

## Bending

!A string as it looks during a two fret bend. Notice how the player is
using three fingers to help bend the
string.
Bending is exactly as it sounds: bending the string to the side by
pushing it (towards the sixth string) or pulling it (towards the first
string), often while a fretted note is ringing. The first three strings
are normally pushed, and the others are normally pulled. This is
particularly important on the first and sixth strings, as you do not
want the string to fall off the fretboard. Whether the string is pushed
or pulled, the note will be raised in pitch.

Many aspiring guitarists cannot bend properly. The *sound* of a bend is
more important than how it is actually executed or how it looks, but a
bad bending technique usually leads to a bad sound. Your favorite
guitarist might bend using just his or her fingertips and you might be
inclined to copy this --- don\'t! Your hands can sound every bit as good
as your hero\'s without copying his or her technique. There are two keys
to bending properly: proper thumb positioning, and bending with the
proper muscles. Do not keep your thumb behind the neck, where it usually
is, but bring it up perpendicular to the neck (a position that is
*normally* incorrect, but not in the case of bending). Keep the fingers
firm. Do not bend your fingers, but push or pull with your forearm. You
will hardly see your forearm move, possibly just see a couple of muscles
flex. It will feel awkward at first, but if you can bend with the thumb
in the proper position and without bending the fingers, you are probably
doing it correctly.

Many guitarists will have trouble bending more than 1/4 step (half a
semitone) or perhaps 1/2 step (one semitone) with only one finger,
especially on frets close to the nut and on the thinner strings. It is
much easier to bend with more than one finger, for instance, with the
index finger on the first or second fret and the ring finger on the
third, and pushing or pulling with both fingers in order to bend at the
third fret. More fingers may be used if this is not enough. It should be
possible to bend at least a full step (the pitch difference of two
frets) this way.

## Pre-bending

Bending, whether by pushing or pulling the string, raises the tension in
the vibrating portion of the string, and thus always *raises* the pitch
of the note. This means it is easier to slide up rather than down in
pitch. To create the impression of bending down, the guitarist uses a
technique called *pre-bending*, that is, bending *before* the string is
struck, then strike and release the bend (either gradually or quickly,
depending on the intended effect).

## Bend and Release

The ideas of bending and pre-bending can be combined for a \"bend and
release\", that is, striking a note, bending it up, then releasing it as
you would with a pre-bend. This will often be perceived as a \"bounce\"
in pitch, especially if played quickly. The reverse is also possible:
pre-bend, release, and bend. Repeatedly and steadily bending and
releasing is called *vibrato*.

## Vibrato

Players of many instruments, including the human voice, use vibrato to
help add expression to sustained notes. Vibrato is performed in two
major ways, the first by rapidly bending the string back and forth,
causing a modulation in pitch; therefore, all of the information above
about bending applies here, except it is performed faster or more
prolonged. Or it can be performed in a \'classical\' style where one
applies pressure parallel to the string towards the neck then towards
the bridge repeatedly, which allows one to achieve vibrato upward and
downward in pitch, albeit with a smaller change. A small, subtle vibrato
might not require the assistance of other fingers; the fretting finger
should be sufficient. However, for sustained vibrato or vibrato on the
first or second frets, using multiple fingers for bending is a good
idea.

it:Chitarra/Bending e
Release
