Hi again Kris, Monica and everyone else who's watching this

Here's a first attempt after 2 weeks practise on the bending workout lesson from Darius suggested by Monica. I can say I have already scared away every cat in the neighbourhood for sure practising this lesson!!

As this is a totally new skill for me to learn, it's really challenging, very hard on the fingers but also very fun to do. Because my fingers (especially ring finger and pinky) need to get used to this kind of strength, it's not possible to practise this lesson for a long period. But after two weeks, I feel the progress in my fingers and I can practise this lesson a little bit longer and more in a day compared to two weeks ago.

Here's my post and underneath the video I have already made my own analysis.



My analysis:

45-48: need more practise here because this does not sound good. Caused by pinky and ring finger and unwanted rings from the B-string.
1.08: not in time to put my fingers here so B-string does not ring
1.11- 1.14: unwanted rings from G-string I think
1.16: That note on 18th fret on the G-string should be little higher
1.18: unwanted ring from strings
1.20-1.25: here's where it's clear I don't have enough strenght in my ring finger to let ring the B-string. I can make this sound very good and easy if I use my index finger. But it has to be the ring finger and that one needs to be trained...
1.32: missed the timing here
1.33-1.38: obvious how I struggle here to let the B-string ring. This part is in my opnion the worst part and needs much more attention and practise. What can I do to practise this part better?
1.44: missed the note towards the ending here.

Cheers,

Gert

Hi Gert!

Forgive me but I laughed to tears when I read your sentence "I can say I have already scared away every cat in the neighbourhood for sure practising this lesson!! "
We need to laugh even when we struggle with some techniques. If we choose lessons that we can already play, that would not help us to make progress.

I know it's a hard lesson, because it combines different types of bends.

I like the fact that you did your own analysis. The things that you pointed out are correct. I would like every time to hear your opinion about your own take. I was trained in the same way.
You know the saying "If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime."

Now about the take:

1. This time I will not point out many details because we need to fix your left hand position first. This is highly important. At this moment, because of your left hand, you can't play the bends and achieve a correct pitch.

Look, when you make bends, you need to take care to always have contact with the bottom of the neck. You need a solid point for your hand to be able to control this technique.
At this moment, you try to play the bends somewhere from the air.
You need a solid point to hook the guitar neck and not let the strings push your fingers away with all your hand.

Here is a comparison between your hand and Darius' hand (same spot from lesson). Do you see how huge is the difference?
Click to view attachment

2. Gert, let's change your method of practice a little. Split this lesson into more parts. Please, don't practice the entire lesson. Start practicing only the first 37 seconds from lesson because there you have simple bends. Let's teach you to control these ones and only then you can go further.

Keep me updated on how things work after you correct your left hand position. Look very close at Darius' left hand.

Don't worry, soon you will be able to manage the bends.

Keep up your awesome work!

Hi Monica,

Very obvious and clear I did not use the right technique. After watching a complementary youtube video on bending technique, I now understand the technique better and I think it shows in the next recording I made. As you suggested, I only did the first 44 seconds or something...



I find it already more comfortable although it still needs some fine tuning. But curious about your opninion!

Grtz,

Gert

Hi Gert!

It's definitely much better. I'm happy to hear that you already feel comfort in playing.
You are going in a good direction but your left hand still does not work perfectly. You still have moments when you tend to use your fingers to do the job and that's the moment when the bends fail. But...don't worry, soon this issue will disappear.

To be able to control this technique, you need to understand that we use the wrist to make the bending motion. The wrist gives us strength and control. The fingers are just levers.

Keep in mind that the entire technique is based on two things: a good ear and muscle memory.

Now let's analyze your take:

0:05 - that was a really nice bend. It achieves the correct pitch, and your hand acts in a good way. I like it!!!

0:12 - this bend it's almost OK. You search a little too long for the correct pitch but you reach it and this is good.

0:18 - this one doesn't achieve the correct pitch.

0:27 - the double bends. Be careful because both bends need to reach the same note (D note). Are full bends, this means that you need to go twice from C to D. But....on the first bend don't make the C note audible. When you pick the string at the same time, start to make the bend and reach the D note.
The C note is audible only when you release the bend and start the second one.
Take a close look (and listen very carefully) to how Darius executes these bends.

0:32, 0:33, 0:38, 0:40 - you are very close to the pitch (0:38 reach the correct pitch and sound beautiful ), but be careful because in these spots you start again to add more force from the fingers instead of the wrist.

For the next time, play the same part from the lesson (the first 44 seconds). Let's make you master this part in a good way before going further.
Gert, I hope you don't mind because I don't advise you to learn more from the lesson, but it's better to make tiny steps and learn things correctly. The quality is much more important than the quantity.

As a conclusion, your today's recording shows a huge improvement. It's obvious that you worked hard and I want to congrats you on this.

Keep up your awesome work!

Hi Monica,

I'm back... and hopefully better

Have been practising a lot on the technique. And I was able to record (after many takes) one with 'almost' no unwanted string noises. I think I hit all the notes correct on this one as well. But let your trained ear be the judge of that

Also curious what you think about the bending technique. IS this the correct one? Or does it need some corrections?



Cheers,
Gert

Hi Gert!

Yes...this is going in a very good direction.

Playing without string noises is huge progress/success and you should be very proud of yourself.

From the technique point of view, you fixed the left hand issues (for this type of bends you don't need additional left hand adjustments). Your hand has a solid contact with the bottom of the neck. Now you need a little more time to get used to this wrist movement to feel it naturally It's a normal thing.
But the fact that your hand already has much more control is a huge step further.

Now about the pitch of the bends. Sounds better than last time but you still have some problems in this area.
Please, keep in mind that now we are talking about a few cents difference. That's why you tend to hear the bends correctly. Soon you will be able to notice this kind of difference.

As example, compare your first bend (0:04) with the bend from 0:17(which has the correct pitch). Both of them should sound identical (same notes). Listen very carefully and you will notice that the first bend sounds a little higher than it should be.

0:26 - these two bends sound wrong. From the technical point of view, this time you played correctly. You understood the movement. The issue is in pitch. Both of them should reach the same note (D).
In your take, only the second one reaches the correct pitch. The first one is played wrong.
Imagine that if you play these notes without bending, all you need to hear is D-C-D. Now the same order of notes we need to hear when you make the bends. Bend in D, release in C and then bend in D.

One more thing. When you practice bends, you can also check the pitch with a tuner. This is just an additional help until you get used to all the pitches.

You did a really great job and I'm very happy with how things work.

BTW, you can also start learning a new part from the lesson (just a few more bars).

Keep up your awesome work!

Hello again

The past days I have worked many hours on this lesson and it was my plan to put a take into the practise room today. Yesterday and today I have done maybe 120 takes but it just wasn't good enough. A few times I played it good but then I noticed I did not use the right technique.

And today my middle finger started to hurt from the intensive workout and that means it's better to stop and retake it in a few days. The next 3 days, I have to go to work anyway (I work 12 hours a day) so I will only have 45 minutes after work to practise some things. But next week I will again try to make a new take so you can see how it goes.

Have a nice weekend!

Gert

Hi again Gert!

Don't worry, it's not a problem. We all have bad days when things don't work well.
This is a hard lesson and it's normal to take you a lot of time.

The bending technique is painful at the beginning. With time you will get used. But...even when you develop strong calluses, the fingers can hurt.
Take a break for a few days to not hurt your fingers more.

I am preparing a blues composition that has in it over 100 bends (I am not kidding). Maybe how my fingers look will make you feel better.
Click to view attachment

Hope you will have some easy days at work.

Have a great evening!

Oooh my God Monica!! Indeed, I already feel much better now Lucky for you you already found your husband because these fingers will scare men away, hahahaha!

Enjoy your weekend with some more bending?? Or you will allow your fingers some rest?

Oooh, something else I think of now. I just want to share a few lessons here on GMC that caught my attention when I signed up some months ago. I have listed them in my bookmarks for future reference. So maybe you can keep them in mind if you think I'm ready for these lessons (or something similar to these lessons).

AC/DC Malcolm Young lesson
Easy AC/DC lesson

The first one (Malcolm Young) is level 4 and I'm not ready for this one yet. The second one is level 2. I would love to be able to play Thunderstruck

Next March, I plan a holiday and I of course I will take my acoustic travel guitar with me
I want to practise this lesson during my holiday: Fingerstyle Blues lesson
I want to learn fingerstyle. Maybe not a technique used much on electric guitar? But I love the sound on acoustic. Sometimes a song sounds better played with fingerstyle then with strumming.

So now you're informed about my travel and additional guitar plans


Have a great weekend!

Gert

Hahaha...see I knew that you would feel much better. I'm lucky because Dan (my husband) got used to it. Also, after 23 years, nothing can scare him anymore.

No, I don't let my fingers rest. Believe me, they are still in good shape.

You chose very cool lessons (I already noted them).
Of course, the first one (Malcolm Young) needs to wait a little, but we can make the second one immediately after you finish the Chord Strumming lesson. It would be awesome mostly because it has those bends at the end and you already work on this technique.

It's always a great idea to learn fingerstyle (BTW, very cool lesson). Actually, it's a technique also used on electric guitar. We have at GMC some electric fingerstyle lessons.
Also, this technique will help you when you start learning the hybrid picking technique, which is a combination between pick and fingers. It's one of my favorite techniques.

You have great plans for the next period. Awesome to hear that you take your acoustic travel guitar in holiday. In this way, you will keep your fingers in a good shape.

Have a great weekend!

Hello,

After some rest for my fingers, here I am with a new take! Took me many hours to have a decent one. In my opninion, this take is not perfect but 'going in the right direction' if I may quote you



I pay a lot of attention to my technique when I play but when I look at the recording, to me it does not look totally right. True or not?

Cheers,

Gert

Hi Gert!

Yes....it definitely sounds better. Not all of the bends have a perfect pitch, but I can hear a really huge improvement. Most of them sound really nice. What can I say...you can't scare the cats anymore.
Even that double bend is much cooler now (except the first bend which has a little lower pitch). I like the fact that you caught the flavor of that bend.

Have you tuned the guitar perfectly before recording? I have the feeling that there is a tiny tune issue. I even compared this take with your previous video and I hear a tune difference when you play a straight note.

The new part 0:44 - 0:50, doesn't sound good yet, but it's a normal thing. Once you get used to it, it will sound better.

Be careful when you release the bends to let the string comeback to point zero.

About your question,...the technique doesn't look perfect but it doesn't look wrong. If there was something wrong, you would not be able to achieve a correct pitch for the bends.
Of course, there are moments when you start again to put your fingers to do the job instead of using your wrist to make the bend motion. Probably this is what you see weird. You need a little longer time to get used to this technique and then your hand will look good.
Also, if you compare your hand with Darius' hand, there will be a slightly difference because of a different hold guitar position (casual vs classical position).
Keep in mind that as long as your hand is always in contact with the bottom of the neck, nothing can go wrong because this creates a solid point for your hand. That's the key to this technique.

I really like how things go. The old part of the lesson already sounds nice. You can add for next time a little more bars.

I know this lesson is a huge challenge and requires a lot of work and time. That's why, if someday you stop enjoying to practice this lesson, please tell me and I will give you a much easier bending lesson.

Have a great evening!

Hahahaha, no, I start to see some cats again in my neigbourhood

I always tune at the beginning and also in between when I do bending because sometimes it gets out of tune fast. But I have the feeling my strings ring a little bit different then before. Maybe it's in my head or maybe I need to bring it to a store to let it check out.

For the moment I still enjoy playing this lesson and don't need to change.

The next bars are coming up now and they pose a even more challenging part. Especially the end part I will have to look very close at how Darius performs it because as you could see in my first take, I really struggled there. Of course I did not use the right technique but now that I know the technique a little bit, I still don't know how I have to excecute it.

But I will first tackle the slightly more easy part that comes before...

Stay tuned for more... but it will certainly be something for next week as I still need a lot of practise before I will put in a next take.

BTW, lubing the nut helps with fast detuning after bending (as it helps the string returning to the correct tension, not blocking on a nut).

Hi,

Thanks for the intervention!

But I have no idea what you are talking about here

Can you explain me what you are trying to say?

Thanks!

Check part 5 here:
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/20-Beg...er-Tips/?part=5

Darius uses graphite to 'lube' the string slots.

Hi Monica,

I'm back with another take on this lesson. Still need a lot of practise. But I just wanted to let you see how far (or not far ) I'm on this one...



My analysis:

6: pitch maybe little to high?
14: I do not go the the right note fast enough and also too high.
28: I think double bend is smooth enough
31-44: No problems here I think
45-53: I have done better ones than in this take. First bend not good, second ok and third bend a little too soon.
55-1.00: I think this is correct pitch
1.00-1.08: I'm happy that these notes sounds good without unwanted strings
1.11: B-string refuses to ring
1.15: This bend did not go fast enough to the desired note
1.20: I thought this note was too high but when I listen to Darius I think it's the same.

Overall quite happy at where I am with this lesson but still much space for improvement. I'm moving on, slowly but sure...

About my technique... when I practise from my point of view, I think I use the right bending technique. But when I look at my recording I does not always look good.

Hi Gert!

First of all let's fix your detuning problem because I'm pretty sure that the issue comes from the process of tuning.
When you watch the video mentioned by Kris, be careful how Darius tune his guitar.

Look, when you have these kinds of lessons with a lot of bends, the guitar requires a different kind of tuning. So, keep in mind a few things.

1. Your final move of the guitar tuning pegs should always be an up move.
2. The steps for tuning each string are:
- stretch the string, move up the tuning peg, check the tuning, if it's ok, make 1-2 huge bends, check the tuning again. If isn't ok, start again to stretch the string, check the tuning, make a few bends, check the tuning again.
Sometimes you need to do 7-8 turns of stretching, tuning, stretching, tuning to make the strings get stable. The good news is that once you do this process, retuning the strings will not need as much effort as the first time.
Do these steps until the string will stay in tune no matter how many bends you will make. Do the same thing on each string and your problems will disappear.

The process will take longer than you are probably used to, but in this way, the guitar will stay in tune.

If you need a more detailed explanation, tell me and I will send you a video.



Now let's analyze your recording.

You definitely make some progress, but you still have troubles in getting the correct pitch.

Some of your observations are correct.

0:06 - no is not too high. You reach the right pitch at some point. Try not to stay too much between the notes, because this is what will give a wrong pitch kind of feeling.

0:58 - these bends don't sound good (not a perfect pitch). Also, be careful because the release of the first bend should not be audible. Don't put pressure on your fingers when you release the bend because you don't want to make the release audible. Also, this kind of "muted" release should be played very fast.
Let the first bend ring a little longer and avoid that slow release. Be very careful how Darius makes these bends. Before focusing on reaching the correct pitch, pay attention to the type of bends. How they are played, how fast the release is on each bend, etc.

1:06 - this part sounds almost good. After you make the bend, take away your ring finger from the string before playing the next note with the pinky finger. That's the key to playing that part perfectly. If you look closer at Darius' left hand, you will spot this detail.

1:11 - Yes, that note refuses to ring because you blocked her. On these bends you need to apply the same strategy as at the bends from 0:58 (no audible release).

1:20- you thought that this note was too high (which isn't because that note is correct in pitch) because you played the previous bends lower than it should be.

About your bending technique. There are just tiny moments when you tend to use your fingers more instead of using your wrist, but somehow you correct this when you play the next notes. You just need more time to get used to it.

The bottom line is that you succeeded in playing half of the bends from this take quite ok (the rest of them need more work). I can see a progress and that's a good thing.
This lesson will be a long term task, but it will make your life easier when you will play the bends from the AC/DC lesson.

For the next time, try to fix all the things that we both pointed out. Don't add more bars.

Have a great evening!

This might be worth watching for some advice on the bending. This is something completely different, but just something I video commented on for someone else. I talk about bending a bit and how I think about it. It's a bit off-the-cuff though, so I ramble a bit.



The "pressure" I mention is not like literal forceful pressure, it's more like counter balancing the upwards pressure of the bend on the neck.

MONICA: I think you should become an instructor at GMC. You clearly have the skills and mindset. Your feedback is amazing. Well done

Hi,

Watched your video with great interest! Thank you for giving me this useful information. The most important aspect I learned from your video is giving counter pressure with my thumb.

I will certainly try it out as I'm sure it will make the bends more easy.

Just wanted to point out that my tips in these videos are not related to the lesson you are working on. I actually haven't seen the lesson. Some bends require more delicacy of course.

It's not something where you should use great force of course in general to the point of injury, but it's just something to think about as "stabilizing" the hand/neck pressure to me. Sort of balancing it out. I wanted the guy that I taught to just kinda try it out to feel how the neck is not gonna give away when held that way to do bends and it give some more control in a way.

I don't know what Monica's and Kris' thoughts are on it of course, but it's how I like to think about it. That the thumb sort of gribs the neck to use as counter balance for control.

I'd say the exercise would more so be to feel that downwards pressure of the thumb placement at first and the upwards bend with the strings (done with the wrist) and then start to let go with the pressure down and find the balance point where any pressure put on the fretboard is ideal.

Did a further explanation of my thoughts here:







I agree with Todd!

Hello Monica,

I've been busy for some hours now with your feedback

I have looked at the awesome lesson from Darius about his 20 tips. And I already applied one of them, namely the tuning of my guitar. I have done it as Darius describes and shows it. Now I'm ready for a spin and see how it goes. I will probably have to do some more tuning the next days but if my guitar stays tuned like that... it's worth the effort

I will pay more attention to the technique and will apply the tip I got from Storm regarding the thumb. That looks very promissing and helpful.

I also noticed the detail on the bend (1.06) and then release ring finger before the next note with the pinky. So I can start working on that.

Just one thing I can not get my mind on... you say the B string in the bend refused to ring because I block it. I already spend some time to analyse and trying to find the issue why this string sometimes does not want to ring. But I don't see where I block it. Is it because of my left middle finger? Or my right hand? Or something else? What's the cause of the block?

I noticed when I put to much force on that bend, the strings don't ring somtimes. But with a more gentle approach, I have beter chance the B string will ring. But I'm sure I'm doing someting wrong here because that should not be the case... And I need to fix this before starting on the last two bends bzcause they are more difficult to execute.

Ok, back to practise now and I will come back with a new recording. And maybe soon with a first recording of the easy AC/DC lesson with whom I already having lots of fun And also a great lesson to start practising playing open chords with muting unwanted strings with the tip of my index or with my thumb


Greetz!

Gert

Todd, thank you so much for your awesome words, the trust given and your huge support.
Over the years, I learned from all of you and also Darius (besides our work together which is now focused on composition), he constantly developed my teaching skills. Replacing him in REC (I can't even imagine that it has already passed over 1 year since I have been doing this) made me try give the best of myself and make him proud of me. Also, the fact that Kris had trust and gave me the opportunity to show what I know, helped me to choose the path that I want to follow.


Ben, you are very kind. Thank you for your kind words and support!


I agree with everything you say. I also firmly grab the neck with my thumb and I add pressure on it to have very good control when I play the bends. Of course, the force that I apply it changes and it's related to the bend type, the place where I play the bend, etc. But, yes, the thumb should be used as a counter balance for control.

Hi Storm,

Thanks again for getting back with more information! You definately have great skills and a lot of knowledge. Thanks for sharing that with me.

Today I have absorbed a lot of information from you and Monica (of wich I'm greatful) and nnow it's time to go and practise all these...

Hope you follow my progress here as I will be back with more recordings

And I agree with Todd and Monica... you should become an instructor here man!


Cheers,
Gert

Hi Gert!

The B string (1:06) is blocked by your right hand. If you look close at your right hand you will see that on the first bend, everything sounds OK, but when you make the second bend, at the moment when your pick touches the strings, you change the position of your hand a little to the right side and add too much pressure on the string. From this comes the issue.


Too much force you say....no....it's not that. Grab the neck with your thumb finger, as Ben explained to you. Keep the index and middle finger a little curved when you play that type of bend. Also (only for this particular bend), you can try to change the angle of the hand a little. Darius has his hand a little angle to the left, I play this bend keeping my hand a little more straight.


Have a great practice time!

I'm glad you found the information and videos useful!

I have already followed your awesome journey and progress for a while here at GMC, so I will of course continue to do so.

Hi everybody and good afternoon from Belgium

I'm already back with a new recording as I think this one is an improvement of the previous one

But of course I let you be the judge of that



I think I was able to fix some problems thanks to the many great feedback I got yesterday.

I spend some time tuning my guitar the way Darius explained. Hope it makes a difference now.

One thing I like to mention is the subject of the thumb. And I adress this to Storm (or is your name Ben? )

I have tried to put my thumb more on the top of the fretboard but I couldn't do it due to anatomic restrictions. I don't have large fingers (without calling them really short ). I was afraid this would give problems in my guitar playing ability when I decided to leanr playing guitar. But So far I'm surprised everything goes well and I don't have issues yet. Until now. My thumb is just too short to get it above the fretboard and put strength on it. But I found a way to put it as much as possible on top of the fretboard and still give that counter balance. Anyway, that's my opninion. Maybe you have another one?

Here's my analysis of this take:

- 1-16: Pitches seems to be correct
24: Monica... is this note the right one now? Because in one of the previous recordings you said it did not have the right pitch.
28: double bend sounds good although not sure if I apply the right bending technnique. Look like I still use my fingers to do the bend too much.
31-42: no problems spotted
43-51: the first bend needs a little bit faster to the desired note? next 2 bends seems ok
55: 2 bends here are the correct pitch now I think. G-string rings good on both bends
1.00: I let go ring finger but must be little bit smoother
1.08-1.12: both bends ok I think
1.14: note not high enough
1.15: I think I got the 2 last bends good now with the right pitch
1.21: my face expression says: good enough???

Hi Gert!

That's a very improved take. Congrats, you made huge progress and your guitar is now tuned very, very well. I love how it sounds. The strings now have good stability. I knew it was just an issue from the tuning process because your guitar sounded good in the previous lessons.

First of all, let me clarify something. I know you asked Ben (aka Storm) but I also want to answer to this because I was afraid that there would be some misunderstandings.
Look, you don't need to keep the thumb finger so much above the guitar (more on the top of the fretboard) as Ben does. I also don't keep my finger in the same way as Ben. He didn't said "keep the finger in the same way as me", he talked about the technique itself. The whole idea is to understand the mechanism of this technique and apply it in the correct way.
So...all you need to do is to add pressure on your thumb finger when you do the bends. In this way, you will have a counter balance.
How you keep the thumb finger now is ok, but when you press on it, his movement should be in a down direction. Imagine that your purpose would be to touch the first string with your thumb tip (of course, don't literally touch the first string ). When the bend goes up, the thumb should press in a down direction.


Fingers too short.....hahaha...when I said the same thing to Darius he destroyed my theory in a few minutes. He even used a caliper to show me that it's all in my mind and I don't have any excuse to skip doing something. One week later, I was able to play a tapping lick having 6 frets distance between my index and pinky finger. It was the last time when I said to him that my fingers are shorter.


Now let's analyze your take:

0:18 - not a perfect pitch, it's a little lower
0:27 - yes, yes, yes....this double bend is perfect now. I think this is the note that you pointed out as being at 0:24.
0:33- 0:36 - beautiful, very delicate bends and with a correct pitch
0:39 - good
0:41 - not a perfect pitch
0:46 - 0:49 - wrong pitch
0:55 - 0:59 - not a correct pitch. The B string is lower than should be. But we can hear now the strings ringing correctly. Also, the release of the first bend is still too slow and audible.
1:05 - 1:16 - all these bends don't reach the correct pitch
1:18 - the last bend is correct
1:21 - hahaha...yes your expression face predicted a good result for the take. My face expressed something like "yes, that's quite good, but I know you can do it better."

Gert, maybe you don't realize but this take shows huge progress. You work hard and this is visible. I'm very, very, very proud of you.

For next time, try to fix the problem that I pointed out.

Have a great day!

Thanks for helping answer, Monica! I agree with everything you said!

And to Gert regarding thumb: I'll get back to you later with some more thoughts, but I noticed when I watched your video that your thumb is in a good position right before the bends that you do, but as soon as you bend the string your thumb actually lifts off the top of the fretboard and goes in the same direction as the bend you do with your other fingers. It's just something to think about, because I think maybe this can cause some instability and lack of control, but we're all built different - and different things work, so I try to advice to try some different things but also notice small possible "mistakes" like this.

And I agree with Monica! You are making fantastic improvement, that you can be very proud of! Guitar can sometimes be a cruel instrument where we feel we don't make fast improvements or we can't see it ourselves, but then all of a sudden we look back and we have taken big steps. You can be proud of your journey and your determination!

Side: I am actually surprised how much I naturally move my thumb around when playing. That can be good or bad of course - because there are limits to where and when you ideally should use different thumb positions. It was interesting to see the angle in my video above even for myself. I got a bit surprised at times

Hi Monica and Storm,

Back with another take in which (I think) I made some improvements.

I feel to start having more control with the bends if I use the thumb technique. But I notice when I'm recording, after many many takes it starts to slip on me. But with more practise, I'm sure it will grow more on me.



Here's my analysis:

40: not a correct pitch
43: release not smooth enough
46: pitch too high
58: I think correct pitch if I compare with Darius and the release now is not audible anymore.
1.10: little pause between two strums is not good
1.14: note not high enough
Good finish I think

Hi Gert!


You definitely seem to have much more control, but you still have a lot of moments when you make the bend and your thumb finger goes in an up direction instead of a down direction.
The good news is that you learned to add pressure on the thumb and this brings you a counter balance.

Your analysis is correct.

Now I will point out a few things that need more work.

0:13 - lower pitch

0:29 - the double bend. After you play the second bend, don't make that release. Stop the strings immediately after the second bend because you don't have an audible release here. Use your right hand to completely mute the strings.

0:34 - wrong pitch

0:58 - yes, that's exactly the type of bend that you need. The first release is not audible, which is perfect. Just when you finish the second bend, let this ring a little longer and make the release very faster. Congrats on these bends. I'm proud of you.

1:00 - you have not fixed this detail. Don't stand with your ring finger in the bend after you finish it. Take your finger away and let the string return to point zero.
Also keep your pinky finger longer on the G note (15 fret/E string) and don't do such a long pause between this note and the next G note (12 fret/G string). Stretch your fingers a little to avoid making a kind of jump.

1:06 - similar issue as on 1:00. Take away your ring finger and let the string return to point zero.

1:09; 1:13 - wrong pitch

These are the most important details that need to be fixed. I will leave the tiny details for the moment and I will come back to them after you will be able to play this part correctly.

Overall, I like how this lesson is going. You succeeded in managing some harder types of bends and that's really awesome.

Have a great practice time!

Hi Monica,

Back with another record of which I think it's an improved one...



Analysis:
28: the double bend is played a little too soft
49: unwanted string ring (D-string)
55: first bend sounds little different then second one

Overall I have the feeling I'm getting more and better control over the bends and I start to make less mistakes. Although when I look at my left hand, it does not always look good.

Hi Gert!

Yes, you are right and your overall control over the bends is getting better. Each new take of yours, show improvements.

0:18 - at the beginning the pitch is a little too high but somehow your ears noticed this and you fixed it.
Try to catch more precision when you do the bends. You tend to search a little more the pitch. Keep in mind that you will not have the same amount of time to search the pitch when you play at full speed.

Also, be careful because now you have gotten used to the bending technique and your hand react in a different way. That's why you tend to go higher with the pitch and then you let the string slip until you reach the correct pitch. You need to always have high control on your hand.
To understand better what I say, do two things:
1. Close your eyes and listen to this bend (0:18). You will hear how you go higher and then you start to lower the pitch until it reaches the correct point.
2. Look at your hand and you will see how the string slips.


0:28 - you have right, is played too soft. Also, don't forget after you play the bends to stop the sound immediately with your right hand. When you start playing these bends, count in your head 1, 2 and when you say 3 stop the sound.

0:33; 0:46 - wrong pitch

0:58 - you do not keep the right pitch on both bends. The second one is lower.

1:00 - wrong pitch. I like the fact that you fixed the ring finger issue, but it's a mystery for me to understand why you put the middle and index fingers to still keep the string in bend. Hahaha...I did not predict this.
Let me clarify, when you take away the ring finger from the string, also remove the other fingers. The string should comeback at point zero. Look close at Darius and you will understand.

1:05 - not a perfect pitch. Also you forgot to remove your ring finger.

1:14; 1:17 - wrong pitch.

As a conclusion, you go in a very good direction. I'm very satisfied with how things work and I'm very proud of you.

For the next time, you can choose from two things (I'm ok with anything you decide).
1. Start learning the final part of the lesson.
2. Play the same part as today but at a faster tempo.

Have a great practice time!

Hi Monica,

Let me solve a mystery for you

1.00: I only let go my ring finger and bring down the G-string with my middle and index because I always have unwanted string noise when I just let it go. It's of course the D-string that starts ringing when I let go the G-string. I thought that's what Darius is doing but after watching it more close now, I can see he's muting the D-string after he let go the G-string.
So now I know what I have to do

About the wrong pitches... before I start practising a lesson, I always listen to the instructor and how it's played. But when I play it over and over again (especially this lesson), I think the pitches start to become wrong and I don't hear it and it goes in a wrong way.

I'm going for option 1 and will start learning the whole song at this tempo. I prefer to learn the whole song at this tempo as I think it will go easier when I master the whole song at this tempo and then increase speed. Otherwise I have to learn the most difficult part at a faster tempo.

Now I understand why you have made that move. Just work to mute that string as Darius and the problem will be fixed.


Don't worry, at some point you will be able to play all the bends at the correct pitch. It's hard at the beginning, but you have already made huge steps. If you compare your first take with the last one, it's a day and night difference.


You misunderstood the option 2. I meant you to play the current part at a faster speed and then learn separately the difficult part from slower to faster tempo. After that, you can play the entire lesson at full speed.
BUT...the option 1 is a perfect choice.

Hi again

Of course I also have been practising this lesson and especially the last part.



My analysis:

- I'm starting to get a better feeling on these bends as they become more and more natural and easy. Although they still need a lot of work. But this lesson isn't finished yet in a long way. So I will be bending some more...

8: pitch sounds little too high I think
23: pitch not high enough
37-41: I hurry too much

I'm pleased with the last bends and ending. It starts to sound good. I don't have to do so much effort anymore as in the beginning to make these bends.

Look forward to your feedback.

I will try to make a take of the whole lesson now at the same speed. Maybe I will post it today. Or if I don't succeed in making a good take today, I will try again tommorow.


Cheers,
Gert

Hi again Gert!

So, it seems the new part doesn't look so scary anymore. I can hear some good things in your take.

What happens because your guitar sounds a little out of tune? I had the same feeling when I listened to your AC/DC takes. Check if it's a tuning issue or if the strings should be changed.


Now let's analyze your take:

What you pointed out is correct. So, I will skip over these details.

I particularly like the fact that you managed to keep some notes ringing while you add the bend (as you do at 0:53). Even if that bend doesn't reach the right pitch, the fact that you understood the mechanism behind it's already a success.

0:08 - You are right, the pitch is a little too high. Also, try to make the sound more fluid between this bend and the next note. At this moment, you make a pause between these two notes.

0:14 - let the D note (B string) ring more. Don't stop it so fast.

0:28 - 0:34 - the unison bends. It doesn't have a perfect pitch yet, but we talk about a few cents difference. From the hand mechanism point of view, you played these bends very good. You keep the index finger in a good position without pushing the string up. Also, your middle and ring finger show good strength (this is what we need). Look how well your left hand works. Try to add the same hand mechanism when you play the bends from AC/DC lesson.

0:35 - nice bend, I like the fact that you let the bend ring over the next note (E note). That's perfect, but try to make the next notes sound more glued.

Overall, you started to have less bends played with wrong pitch. That's a really great thing and proves how much you practice.

What I would like to see, is more fluidity in your playing. You have moments when you play some notes shorter than you should. I know it's normal to do this because it's the first time you have played this part. But, try to avoid the pauses between phrases. Change the hand position at the last moment and the song will flow.

You did great work and I'm very proud of you!

Hi Monica,

At the beginning of this lesson, I made a take of the entire lesson. Today (after 9 weeks) I made a new take of the entire lesson.

I'm happy to see there are some differences

As promised... here's the take. There are some mistakes but I feel there's progress.



My analysis:

50: This last bend comes little too quick. And I think it is the first mistake in this take...
1.00: That bend is not high enough I think
1.22: Fraction too late to start the bend
1.24-1.26: These bends don't sound good yet
1.34-1.40: Although not perfect, I'm happy how these bends start to sound
1.41: That note did not ring enough
1.50: End note needs to be higher I think

Overall I'm satisfied about this take. After this one, I did 40 more but none of them could top this one. Also after 30 takes, I start to feel tired little bit and should built in a rest in the future.

Let me hear your feedback

Hi Gert!

I'm glad to hear that you are happy and you notice how many steps you have made so far. Each new take of yours shows improvements.

Your analysis is almost perfect. So, as usual, I will not repeat the things that you pointed out and I agree with them.

Overall, your take definitely sounds cooler. I like the fact that you started to play the notes more glued. That improves the sound of the take.
Also, your left hand looks nice and has better control. This can also be felt in your playing, because you are not so tense anymore.

0:12 - bend under the right pitch

0:34 - bend under the right pitch

0:37 - 0:42 - very beautiful this part. I absolutely love it.

0:43 - 0:54 - another cool section with really nice bends. Of course, without that spot that you already pointed out where you rushed the bend.

1:05 - wrong pitch bend

1:14 - 1:17 - try to play these notes more glued. Don't make pauses between them. These notes need to deliver a legato sound.

1:32 - you rushed these notes.

1:37 - wrong pitch bend

1:47 - no, the end bend (last note) should be played a little lower, not higher.


I'm also satisfied with your take. It's not perfect, but compared with your previous takes, this one is much improved.
For next time, try to fix all the things that we both pointed out. We need to take care of these details at a slow tempo before going to the next tempo.

It's normal to feel tired after you record so many takes, but this thing will disappear in the future. We will work on this.
The more you play, the more you will get used to staying focused for a long period. This is built on time and usually it works for those who find the practice a pleasure not a chore.
I know you enjoy the practice, you are very positive and you can laugh when something is not working. So, I'm pretty sure things will turn out really great for you.

Keep up your amazing work!

Good evening from Belgium Monica,

Because I can't get enough of this lesson and because it's my last day before I leave on holiday (in between I have to work and no time for recording) AND because today I changed strings for the first time on my guitar (and ooh my God I feel the difference ) I made another recording of this lesson.

And in my humble opinion, this is the best one so far.



Analysis:

- 1.14: one little unwanted string noise (and maybe the first thing that's not good in this take but your a better judge of that )
- 1.17: too high
- 1.24: unwanted string noise
- 1.37: unwanted string noise and not a good switch between two bends
-1.41: that note should ring more

I have my guitar now for 6 months and changed the strongs for the first time (as mentioned earlier in this message). I feel and hear the difference and that's what makes this take sounds better, I think.

I'm happy I can 'close' this lesson in this way before I leave and I will 'reopen' it of course and continue working on this one.

Have a good evening and... spring is coming!

Hi again Gert!

The new strings made a huge difference in sound. Six months you say...wow, I change the strings at 3-4 weeks.
I advise you to change them often, mostly because old strings can cause tuning issues.

BTW, because now your strings are new, you will need more turns of stretching when you tune your guitar.

Returning to your take, yes, you are right, it's the best one so far. The funny thing is that somehow you played the harder types of bends in a good way and you failed some of the easy ones.

0:33 and 0:34 - wrong pitch

0:41 - too high

0:55 - the first bend is a little lower but the second bend has the right pitch.

1:00 - not a correct pitch. This bend should sound in the same beautiful way as you played it at 1:13.

1:31 - 1:33 - you are out of timing. Don't rush these notes.

1:21 - 1:37 - all these bends have a perfect pitch. Huge congrats!!! You have no idea how huge smile I have on my face. I'm so happy that finally these harder bends started working so well.

1:38 - wrong pitch

1:40 - perfect pitch for the bend. Just be careful not to cut the sound on the next note.

1:45 - 1:48- this end sounds very cool. You reach the correct pitch a little late, but even in this way, the notes ring nice and the feel delivered for this end, it's a great one.

I can say that 1:21 - 1:49 is my favorite part of your take. Even if it has some tiny details that I pointed out earlier and need to be fixed, it sounds very nice.

Gert, I'm very proud of you. You did great work. Awesome!!!

Have an amazing holiday!!! You deserve some rest and fun. Take care of you and see you when you come back!

Just dropping by to say you are doing awesome here Gert, and you and Monica have a great chemistry resulting in amazingly fast progress 😎

Many of those bends are absolutely spot on which is not an easy thing to pull off. I predict with a bit more time you will consistently nail 'em.

Keep up the fantastic work guys!!

Hello Monica,

Here I am, as promised with not only one take, but TWO new takes of the bending workout

I did a lot of takes today and had 2 recordings today of which I was quite happy.

Here's the first one:


Although still not perfect, I'm quite satified with this one.

0-25: I think they all have good pitch
35: just little too high
41: definately too high (those bends are better in the next one )
55-1.16: I'm happy with this part
1.17: just the last bend is too high
1.24: missed this bend
1.27: missed one note
1.34-1.40: the last 3 bends are not good
1.40-1.43: the last 2 bends are too high

Because of too many mistakes, I went on and did some more takes. I think the next one overall is better.



Ok, here's the second take of today...



0-30: again no problems to my ears
-> The double bend is in this take better then the first take
30-43: also better and to my ears perfect pitch
43-53: these bends are also good I think.
So the first part sounds really good and I'm happy I got this far
53-1.07: I still don't hear any mistake
1.07-1.18: Maybe the last bend is not perfect
1.25: unwanted string noise
1.32: Am I still playing this note too soon?
1.33-1.39: these 3 bends sounds way better then the first take.
1.41: missed a note here
1.47: I think I reached the correct pitch at the end

This take contains much less mistakes and I think my best take since the start of this lesson

What do you think, master Monica?

Hi Gert!

I listened to both your takes and yes you are right, definitely the second one sounds much better than the first one.

Your analysis is 90% correct. So, I will skip in my feedback on these particular spots.
The most important thing is that you realize where the problems are and each take of your show improvements.

Because the first approach contains too many issues, I will talk about your second approach, which is a really nice one.
Hahaha...you wanted first to test the resistance of my ears and then let me listen to the shining take.

0:23 - Don't press too hard on this note because it sounds out of pitch.

0:28 - after you play these double bends, don't forget to stop the sound completely with your right hand. This is an issue that you have made in your both takes.

1:07 - the last bend is on the correct pitch and the first one is lower than it should be.

1:31 - yes, you played these notes too soon. You made the same mistake in both videos. Look, to fit this part in good timing, when you play the G note (G string) count in your mind, 1; 2; 3 and then (on 4) play the rest of the notes.

1:35 and 1:37 - wrong pitch

1: 47 - no, the last bend is not correct. Has the pitch a little higher (a few cents).

Overall, your playing started to sound smoother and that is what I like very much. Also, the fact that you already have fewer bends with the wrong pitch is a huge step that you have made.

Time and practice will make you able to play this lesson in a good way.
If you want, for next time, you can boost the speed a little (5 - 10 BPM). It will seem hard at the beginning, but the bends will become easier for playing.

Great work for today!!!

Hi Monica,

1) About the speed boost (5-10bpm)...

I noticed the change in functionality on the website. Kris made it possible to change the speed of the video. But I load the backing track in my DAW which makes it not possible to change the bpm, right?
For this lesson, Darius provided backing tracks for 60, 75, 90, 105 and full speed (120) bpm. Currently I'm playing at 75bpm.

So, I don't see the possibility to change the bpm with 5 or 10bpm if I want to play with the backing track.

2) Already a few times I forgot to mention a particular struggle with the bends on the 17th, 18th and 20th fret. On my guitar, for me, it's difficult to reach these frets. When I look at the hands of Darius on his guitar, his thumb rests on the fretboard like all the other bends and he can perform the bending technique perfectly.
Me although have to bring my thumb way down the back of the fretboard and hold my thumb horizontally so I can stretch my other fingers far enough to reach the 20th fret. That's one reason why these bends are harder to make compared to the others.
I don't know if another guitar type like flying V guitars or guitars with double cutaways (like Darius' guitar) are easier to access the frets close to the bridge of the guitar with my type of hands?

Hi Gert!

Let's answer your questions:

1. Don't worry, I will send to you in a few minutes the backing track at 80 BPM. I think adding 5 BPM is exactly what you need for the next step.


2. Yes, some guitars (double cutaways) can be much more comfortable when we talk about playing bends on that particular frets. But this thing doesn't matter as much as you think. The whole trick is how to apply the technique to control those bends.

If you hold your thumb down on the back of the fretboard you will not have good control and you will not be able to keep a correct pitch for a much longer time. So...don't put your thumb back on the fretboard.
All you need to do is:
- Grab the neck with your thumb finger, but this time add the pressure on its left side. You need to use the thumb as a counter balance for control. Position your thumb where you have the frets 15th -16th (you can easily reach them).
- Stretch your hand more and when you push the string add more force to the fingers.
For this type of bends, you need to keep the neck firmly.


BTW, if you look close at Darius you will see that his thumb never goes further than 15th fret when he plays that bends. I also do the same thing. I usually, when I play bends on the 20th fret, my thumb grabs the neck on the 15th fret.

Here you can see around which fret Darius' thumb is positioned and also how he applies pressure on the left side of the thumb:
Click to view attachment


Let me know how things work after you try to apply what I have pointed out.

Quick update... yesterday after work, I tried it out to reach the 20th fret with my thumb in the same position as Darius. It's close because my thumb is on the heel of my guitar but I can perform the bend with my thumb in the desired position I think my thumb is near the 14th fret and it's not possible to reach the 15th fret because of the heel of my guitar. My thumb does not reach the top of the fretboard but I can hold it vertically now and can add counterforce with pressure on my left part of the thumb as you described.

I also noticed in my latest recordings, I have a lot of tension in my right hand when I play the bending workout. Same issue I have as you pointed out in the alternate picking lesson.

This week, I started with additional training of my right hand for alternate picking. My teacher here in Belgium gave me exercises to train my right hand. I need to losen my hand and I'm working on that now.
So yesterday I applied it in playing the bending workout and I relaxed my right hand and I immediately felt a big difference. In combo with the different position of my left hand (thumb) on the bends on the 17th, 18th and 20th fret, there's an instant improvement in achieving those bends.

Always a good feeling when you make progress

I will start practising the lesson at 80bpm on monday... (at work the whole weekend )

Enjoy your weekend!

Great to hear that things have started to work.
When you struggle to play some particular things, just let me know and we will solve this immediately.

Don't worry, soon you will be able to control your right hand and play relaxed. We've all been through this and it's normal to happen at this stage.
Now you tend, when you add strength to your left hand to make the bends, to also tense your right hand.
To fix this, you need to build more independence between hands. You can practice transitioning tension between hands. As an example: make a harder bend and with the right hand (keep this very relaxed) pick the string very, veeeery softly. Focus on feeling that difference in tension between hands.

I know it takes time to workout strength management, but we will constantly focus and work on this area. The most important thing is to learn when to relax the hand.
For example, on alternate picking lesson, those open notes might be used for a bit less picking strength (of course, keeping the same pick motion as for palm muted notes).

Your progress is huge and I'm very happy for you!!!

Have an easy weekend at work!

Hi Monica,

Today, another take of this lesson was on my list of things to do.

I have worked on this lesson and specially on the last bends with the thumb problem. And I can put my thumb on the side and not horizontal anymore and I have a better control of the bends. Even though my thumb is too short to come on top of the fretboard. My thumb is about in the middle of the back of the fretboard but in a vertical postion. And holding and pressing on the left side gives me better control.

Maybe you can hear it in this take It's the first one at 80bpm... (forgot to change the bpm it when I saved it but very minor detail )



Analysis:
31:pitch not correct (too high)
1.25: now I hav the good timing here I think.

Again quite happy with this take!

Btw... I found AUDACITY for Mac. IT's free software to change the bpm. I've tried it out and it worked.