Bending strings.

I hope this is not a stupid question or worse already illustrated by one of the instructor and I just haven't found it yet.

How do you get what I would describe as the screech right before and or during the bend?

Santana does it at the begining of Samba Pa Ti when bending the 1st and 2nd strings on the 5th and 8th and Los Lonely Boys, Heaven in the first solo.

Thinking about it, the two sounds may not even be made by the same techinque.

It' driving me nuts.

Thanks and sorry for what may be a dumb question.

Are you talking about pinch harmonics?

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pinch%20harmonics

Edit: Not really sure what part of the song you are talking about in Santana, but about 27 seconds in I hear him bending with some distortion. Not really a screech though.

Hunter:

Thanks for replying. Screeching was definitely the wrong word to use.

Is this sound all from distortion?

Checked out the video on harmonics.

I have so much more to learn!

Thanks.

I think I know what you are talking about. It is a mix between distortion and dissonance. Distortion I'm sure you are aware of already. Even if they are playing clean, they sometimes use a little distortion behind it to make it sound a little "grindy".

Dissonance on the other hand is just an effect that multiple notes create by themselves. Think of it like an "imbalance" in sound. If you play two C's on the fretboard, there is no dissonance since the tones are exactly the same. Play a C and a C# (on another string of course) at the same time and you will hear a sort of "vibration" effect.

You'll notice this a lot when tuning up. If you use the 5th fret to the next open string method to tune you can play with it and see. Strike the 5th fret and then tune the next string UP to that pitch. The closer you get, the faster the "vibrations" go. You'll hear it. Once the two are in perfect pitch with each other, you'll get a smooth sound. That's why you'll hear a lot of people tune by hitting two notes and then tuning UP to that pitch.

Alright....so how does this relate to your question? When they are doing those bends, they aren't just playing 1 string. They are bending a note and also holding a different note on another string.

-Hold the 12th fret on the 2nd string with your first finger. Put your third finger on the 3rd string, 14th fret. Hit both at the same time, but bend the note on the 14th fret.

It'll give it a unique sound and when you look at the theory behind it, you are playing a Major 2nd interval (I'm pretty sure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong). The 14th fret is A, the 12th fret is B.

The dissonance, along with the fact that you are playing two different notes, gives it a unique sound. Add some distortion to that kind of bend and I think that is the sound you are working at. Actually, that chord shape is pretty common (Note X, then 1 string up 2 frets over). Even without bending. Just play that and slide it up a couple frets. Throw it in the mix when you are playing single notes and you'll hear the difference.


Edit: That reply was longer than I thought. Also realized I may not have answered your next reply. You asked if that sound was all from distortion. What were you referring to? Your original question, or pinch harmonics?

That is a great example, and it's called a unison bend. You're actually bending the 2nd note (A) of the scale up a whole step to the third note (B) which is the same as the 2nd string in the 12th fret. This note is an octave higher than the open 2nd string, and you can hear a difference in pitch eventhough they are both (B) notes.

This kind of unison bend is used in conjunction with the A formation barre chords. Barring the bottom 4 strings in the 12th fret is a G chord, but you only play the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings, and block the 1st string. They sound great with distortion, or playing clean, and I use them with other effects too.

The dissonance Hunter1801 mentioned, can be achieved by letting the bend slip a little, and you'll hear the vibrations get further apart as you drop the pitch on the bent string. After that push the bend back up to pitch, and let it drop again. I would practice this with a clean tone so you know how it sounds, before adding distortion though. I hope this helped you a little, and let us know if you have any other questions.

I hear muted raking, and I've heard it called sweeping too in the first solo of Heaven. The strings are muted in a downstroke, and when you get to the 2nd string you bend it. The same technique is used for a bend on the 1st string too. I would practice just the bend first, and then mute the strings when raking, and do the bend. It's almost a slap on the strings leading up to those bends, and that's basically the signature of that first solo. Well that's my 4 cents, and be sure to let us know how it goes.

You do know that "Heaven" is in our song section, and Anders covers the solos.
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=863