Bending is a technique where you push or pull a guitar or bass string to change the pitch of a ringing note. It creates a singing expression and the tension of moving toward a target note.
The basic idea
Aiming with your ear for how far you raise the note, a semitone or a whole tone, is what matters. If the pitch stalls partway it sounds unstable, so confirm the target pitch.
Playing and programming with it
Practice semitone and whole-tone bends while comparing against a tuner or a reference note on a keyboard. In a DAW you can program a similar expression with pitch bend.
How it differs from related terms
A bend changes pitch by bending the string, while a slide changes pitch continuously by moving the finger along the string.
Before bending far, make sure you can reach the intended pitch accurately.
