How To Bend Strings on the Electric Guitar

A lot of people think that you use your fingers to bend your guitar strings. However, that’s not quite accurate. You actually use your wrist more than your fingers to bend strings in your fretting hand.

Here’s an exercise that can help you understand the wrist motion: Take your fretting hand and turn your wrist as if you were opening a door knob. This same turning motion your wrist makes here is the same turning motion your wrist should make when you are bending strings.

If you are bending the low E, A or D string, you’re going to want to bend the string down (towards the floor).

If you are bending the G, B or high E string, you’re going to want to bend the string up (towards the ceiling).