How many fingers to bend?

[trickster]

I was wondering, should I train my fingers until they can bend the string up each on their own or is it okay to bend with 2 fingers to get to the tone? Can be pretty hard for me to bend 1 1/2 steps up. Do pros use only one or more fingers when they bend? Thanks in advance.

[Benoit]

I don't know about pros but I always bend with 2 fingers, gives me more precision to get the tone.

[Bardsley]

It's useful to be able to do small bends with one figner, but it's rare that you need to do it. With bends, I find that the more fingers you can spare to do them the better. If you need to do a really fast and small one though, it's very good to confidantly use just your ring finger.

[Zeppelin]

Most of the players bend strings with their 3rd finger, and support it with the first and the second. You have to know how to do a one finger vibrato, or half bends with one finger but regular semi or tone bends are usualy done with more then one finger

[trickster]

Thanks for the input guys. Appreciate it. I thought using more than a finger is kinda like cheap. Know better now...

[Azrael]

i think more important than the question of which finger u should use is, that the bends should be precise.. nothing sounds worse than wrong bends.

Besides that i think that the index finger is hardly ever used for bends - its mostly the ring finger, the pinkie and sometimes the middle finger -

do what suits YOU best.. if you have problems with it, then dont do it - if it makes it easier for you - then do it - its as simple as that - its the result that counts in music... not always the way

[Edited by Azrael on 04-06-2002 at 05:37 PM]

[lalimacefolle]

I always used three fingers, until I tried to cop some hellecasters licks, where you need to bend two or three strings with one finger on each of them.

[Stringbender]

Ummm, Hmmmm, well I may use any fingers to bend with in any sort of combination-However I will rarely try to bend a string with my pinkie finger. Seems my best tones are achieved using the ring and supporting with the middle as was stated earlier by Zeppelin, Benoit and others.

I Love a sweet bend! Remember to bend in key. Practice them, they are but one of my favorite techniques.

Above all have a good time!

Stringbender