What is the secret to bending ropes?

If you see a great guitar player play, they make it look easy. But that’s only because they’ve put in the thousands of hours of practice it takes.

Here are some tips on how to bend ropes:

Always wrap your thumb around the neck when bending the strings. This is contrary to “classical technique”, but string bending is a modern electric guitar technique, so if you’re stuck following the rules, now is the time to bend them.

Your thumb will serve as an anchor and pivot point when you lean. Take a look at some videos of the great guitarists and see how they do it.

The most common mistake amateur guitarists make when trying to bend strings is to push with their fingers. That’s not the way to do it. Your fingers’ job is to keep the string pressed against the fret. The flexion movement comes entirely from the rotation of the wrist.

Here’s how to master it:

Find a door with a knob. Open the door with your restless hand. Guess what? The move you just made is exactly the right move for bending strings. Do it a few more times and pay attention to how it feels.

Now, go back to your guitar. Bring your hand up to the neck and remember to wrap your thumb around it. Relax your arm. Practice doing the doorknob motion using your thumb as a pivot point and anchor.

Once you’ve done the moves, start trying to bend the fretted notes. The easiest note to start with is the 12th fret on the B string. Don’t look for anything more than a half step to start with. Practice slowly and try to keep the notes bent as long as you can to increase resistance.

If you can learn to double, you will be able to add some of the most expressive sounds to your guitar vocabulary.