Out of tune bending.

[Tatosh Guitar]

So, I was watching this video on facebook of some guy (name withheld to protect the innocent) with a moderate following on social networks playing a difficult solo from the 80's. Very technical piece, and yet, the one section he didn't really need monster technique (aka: string bending,) was all sorts of pitchy, if not downright out of tune. 

It took me out of it completely. It was like nails on a board.

Posters were still praising his playing, so I thought it might have been me. I sent the video to a friend whose opinion I trust, and he agreed the bending was way off.

I didn't post a comment on it. Why bother? 

That got me thinking. Some guys will work on developing monster chops and will ignore the basics. You might be able to play incredible stuff, like EVH, YJM, Hollsworth, Vai, etc. But if you can't play in tune, there is something very, very wrong. 

I know these are big words from me cause I am a lazy bastard with a very spotty practice regime and I can't play the piece in the video, but still... I am not sure the guy even noticed he was so off...
 
 
 

[Duojett71]

Fully agreed. Bending and vibrato I worked at from the start when I was a beginner. The rest means nothing without that. Now admittedly I was lazy about other things and I don't have the greatest alternate picking technique and my scale and theory knowledge is limited. I am basically a pentatonic player that will throw in a couple other things.....however I still think I play with class and my vibrato and bending is excellent. It's really annoying to see a guy who has all these chops but can't execute a proper bend or has poor vibrato.

In Yngwie's autobiography....he talks about vibrato. He talks about players(not specifically) not being able to do this. He says you either have it or you don't. Part of me agrees with that. Some players come about it very naturally. I think I did to a point.....but I also think it is more about having a good ear. I think if you have a good ear for pitch, then you can develop a good vibrato over time and practice even if you don't come by it naturally. Malmsteen is a stickler for pitch and his vibrato is as great as everything else he does.

[Tatosh Guitar]

Fully agreed. Bending and vibrato I worked at from the start when I was a beginner. The rest means nothing without that. Now admittedly I was lazy about other things and I don't have the greatest alternate picking technique and my scale and theory knowledge is limited. I am basically a pentatonic player that will throw in a couple other things.....however I still think I play with class and my vibrato and bending is excellent. It's really annoying to see a guy who has all these chops but can't execute a proper bend or has poor vibrato.

In Yngwie's autobiography....he talks about vibrato. He talks about players(not specifically) not being able to do this. He says you either have it or you don't. Part of me agrees with that. Some players come about it very naturally. I think I did to a point.....but I also think it is more about having a good ear. I think if you have a good ear for pitch, then you can develop a good vibrato over time and practice even if you don't come by it naturally. Malmsteen is a stickler for pitch and his vibrato is as great as everything else he does.

 

If Yngwie doesn't have perfect pitch he is close. Dude is crazy in tune, all the time, and I remember an old interview from him where he said "what ever you are doing, you gotta do it in tune". All the extras come after that. And we all know how great his vibrato is as well.  
 

[M11]

It took me out of it completely. It was like nails on a board.
 

I feel the same way about out-of-tune bends. I have seen and played with many guys with proficient technique in other aspects but who don't use their ears and bend in tune, and I think it's probably because of that; bending is muscle memory and listening to yourself.

PS: I've noticed that apparently, bending is out of fashion with kids these days. Many kids you see doing lots of tapping licks on Instagram or TikTok don't bend at all. Bending is a "boomer thing" now.
I think Rick Beato did a video on "Boomer Bends" not too long ago.
 

[Dinosaur David B]

Fuck 'em. Long as they don't bend, they can't touch us. 

 

[Haffner]

It took me out of it completely. It was like nails on a board.

 

I feel the same way about out-of-tune bends. I have seen and played with many guys with proficient technique in other aspects but who don't use their ears and bend in tune, and I think it's probably because of that; bending is muscle memory and listening to yourself.

PS: I've noticed that apparently, bending is out of fashion with kids these days. Many kids you see doing lots of tapping licks on Instagram or TikTok don't bend at all. Bending is a "boomer thing" now.
I think Rick Beato did a video on "Boomer Bends" not too long ago.
 

 

I think it was Joost whom mentioned if there isn't any bending in a solo he's not particularly interested. I feel the same way. The distorted electric RockMetal guitar isn't a piano and I don't like to hear it played like one (at least not as a rule). Bending is perhaps the technique that elevates the instruments expressiveness above countless others...

I don't care if that sounds pretentious.
 

[merlo_zeppelin]

I'd like to se the video mentioned in the OP.
I think bending is one if not the technique that defines lead electric guitar and sets it apart from other instruments.  It's a very characteristic and expressive sound that you don't really associate with other instruments. Any self respecting lead electric guitar player (excepting traditional jazz) should master this technique. I make a good point to really drill it into my students.
I completely disagree with Yngwie that vibrato (or bending for that matter) is something that you either have or don't have, and can't be learned. It can be learned to a very high level,  and I've witnessed it many times. The thing, as other have said, it demands you to use YOUR EARS. That dreaded thing so many guitarists neglect. Because guitar is a semi tempered instrument, you fret the note and it's going to be pretty much in tune, and each semitone is perfectly separated from the other. But when you bend, or do vibrato,  you get into the non-tempered territory,  like violin, cello, etc, where there are infinite pitches between the "correct" notes. The thing is, there is where the expresivness lies, that's why we like to listen to singers (except when they auto-tune the shit out of them).
Training your ear is definitely the best thing you can do as a musician, regardless of the instruments or genres you play. It's hands down the biggest asset you can have.

[Tatosh Guitar]

I'd like to se the video mentioned in the OP.

 

Check your inbox. 
 

[Haffner]

I'd like to se the video mentioned in the OP.
I think bending is one if not the technique that defines lead electric guitar and sets it apart from other instruments.  It's a very characteristic and expressive sound that you don't really associate with other instruments. Any self respecting lead electric guitar player (excepting traditional jazz) should master this technique. I make a good point to really drill it into my students.
I completely disagree with Yngwie that vibrato (or bending for that matter) is something that you either have or don't have, and can't be learned. It can be learned to a very high level,  and I've witnessed it many times. The thing, as other have said, it demands you to use YOUR EARS. That dreaded thing so many guitarists neglect. Because guitar is a semi tempered instrument, you fret the note and it's going to be pretty much in tune, and each semitone is perfectly separated from the other. But when you bend, or do vibrato,  you get into the non-tempered territory,  like violin, cello, etc, where there are infinite pitches between the "correct" notes. The thing is, there is where the expresivness lies, that's why we like to listen to singers (except when they auto-tune the shit out of them).
Training your ear is definitely the best thing you can do as a musician, regardless of the instruments or genres you play. It's hands down the biggest asset you can have.

 

Really well put. I also completely disagree with Yngwie, and hope he isn't making that assertion based on a "I was born a God and you can't hope to reach Olympus" mindset (though I guess some would think that was "Rock 'n Roll" of him). Many players put work into their vibrato...there are very effective exercises that (when conscientiously persued) can yield significant improvements from all perspectives.

[Dinosaur David B]

In the past, there has been a general attitude put forth in interviews by SOME guitarists (more-so in the past, and not just YJM), that they "never worked on their vibratos." And regardless of what they say or said, it's BULLSHIT. 

I'm not sure why guys said those things, and similar things about other aspects, like acquiring speed technique. It may just be the competitive nature of players manifesting itself as an effort o create or enhance a mystique that they are somehow talented/gifted in a way most of us are not. But it's utter bullshit.  Oddly enough, we can hear Eric -- the ORIGINAL DINO lead player, at the very height of his power in Cream, explaining in this clip at 2:48:



that vibrato itself "can take you a long, long time to play." 

We discussed this in the Sweden DRG meetup, and I quoted Dave Meniketti because what he said about vibrato really captured it perfectly:  You get the one you're born with (the one that comes naturally, before you ever start thinking about it -- for free), and anything beyond that, you have to work on. 

And the other thing that I never see or hear discussed is that if you work on it correctly, doing the right kind of tried and true exercises, it need not take you a long, long time to play.  IMO, unless you're someone who has pitch issues with their ears, it should only take a matter of weeks of practicing the right things to master a decent, in-pitch vibrato.