Practice Sessions: Bending Workouts

Learn and Practice Bending Techniques with Interactive Practice Sessions

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Chris Buono

Educator

blues-rock, rock

Genres

About this course

Bending is one of the most unique and expressive techniques a guitar player can master. Unfortunately, most players never properly train their ear or build the muscle memory and pitch control needed to execute a wide variety of bending techniques and take command of the broad melodic applications that bending can offer.

Chris Buono’s Bending Workouts edition of Practice Sessions drills deep on Van Halen Overbends, Ghost Bends, Double-Stop Bends, Wound String Bends, First Finger Bends and Combined Bending Techniques.

”We’ll focus on building your bending technique by playing together through eight powerful practice sessions. I’ll kick off each study with a breakdown of the bending technique and then I’ll perform an example over a backing track to give you a feel for how it sits in a groove.

We’ll cap off each study together with a hands-on practice session. I’ll roll the track and we’ll trade back and forth as I guide you through the core exercises followed by several variations and embellishments.”

What makes this format really special is how you’ll get these approaches firmly under your fingers -- you’ll practice each of the bending techniques together with Chris, in a series of interactive practice sessions.

Chris will kick off each study with a breakdown of the bending technique and then perform it over a backing track to give you a feel for how it sits in the rhythm section.

You’ll cap off each bending study together with a hands-on practice session. Chris will roll the track and you’ll trade back and forth as Chris guides you through the core examples followed by several variations and embellishments. Working regularly with these “practice sessions” is the key to having command of all 8 blues soloing approaches.

”We’ll start out with a couple of workouts for basic bending technique. Then we’ll work on one of my favorites, something I call Van Halen Overbending. The fourth session focuses on bending on the wound strings while the following one addresses ghost bends (AKA pre-bends).

Next up, working on some drills for building bending strength in the first finger followed by the timeless double stop bend. Lastly, we’ll work on some lines that combine bending approaches together.

Throughout the lessons I will pass along key tips and insight that, with time and practice, will help you become a bending expert. Each of the practice sessions come with the jam tracks I use throughout the course so you can work with them on your own.”

Chris will explain and demonstrate all of the key concepts and approaches along the way. You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson. You can also loop or slow down the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks are included to work with on your own as well.

Grab your guitar and let’s practice bending with Chris Buono!

What you'll learn

Use ghost bends as a phrasing tool
Release bends smoothly from pre-bent position
Bend to pitch without hearing the rise
Develop proper ear training for accurate pitch control in bends
Build muscle memory for consistent bending execution

Release date: 12/20/2020 • 2h 37m runtime

intermediate late intermediate guitar electric guitar soloing practice

Start Course

Sample lessons

Double Stop Bends

Demonstration

Double Stop Bends

Performance

Double Stop Bends

Practice Session

Double Stop Bends

Demonstration

Double Stop Bends

Performance

Double Stop Bends

Practice Session

What's included

26 lessons • 16 charts • 8 Jam Tracks

Practice Sessions: Bending Workouts

Hey! This is Chris Buono and welcome to the Bending Workouts edition of Practice Sessions. This is a course I've been wanting to do for a long time. In my 30 years of teaching and throughout my own journey as a player I've found bending to be the most important technique that's most often overlooked. While the Guitar Gym format has been a game changer for players all over the world, Practice Sessions is what felt just right. Together with TrueFire we've taken my approaches and made them into a course I feel confident will help you get off to the right start.

Bending is one of the most unique and expressive techniques a guitar player can master. The bummer is many players never properly train their ear or build the muscle memory and pitch control in their hands. As a result they never take command of the broad melodic applications that bending can offer.

In this hands-on course, we'll focus on building your bending technique by working on eight powerful bending workouts and we will do it together in an interactive practice session. I'll kick off each study with a breakdown of the bending technique and then I'll perform an example over a backing track to give you a feel for how it sits in a groove. We'll cap off each study together with a hands-on practice session. I'll roll the track and we'll trade back and forth as I guide you through the core exercises followed by several variations and embellishments.

We'll start out with a couple of workouts for basic bending technique. Then we'll work on one of my favorites, something I call Van Halen Overbending. The fourth session focuses on bending on the wound strings while the following one addresses ghost bends (AKA pre-bends). Next up working on some drills for building bending strength in the first finger followed by the timeless double stop bend. Lastly, we'll work on some lines that combine bending approaches together.

Throughout the lessons I will pass along key tips and insight that, with time and practice, will help you become a bending expert. Each of the practice sessions come with the jam tracks I use throughout the course so you can work with them on your own. You can loop or slow down the videos to work with the lessons at your own pace. Everything is notated in Guitar Pro and PDF. What's more, these jam tracks feature drum programming and bass playing by my good friend and monster bass player Steve Jenkins to work with on your own.

Ready?! Let's do it to it!

Basic Bending Technique, Pt. 1

In this first session I go over my basic approach to bending in great detail. Whether it be developing a technique from scratch or enhancing what you already have going on, it's crucial you take in everything being said and consider my suggestions. I'll discuss finger placement, how the neck and string gauge play into the equation and introduce my obsession with bending being in tune. The latter is huge. Throughout this session and all the ones to follow you'll hear me say "bending in tune" and "pitch is the priority" over and over. Listen to these words - live them - bend in tune!

The first group of bending workouts will establish my time-tested method for developing a solid bending technique with a focus on bending in tune. All three are based on what's called unison bending. The basics of it rest on playing a fretted note (a reference pitch) and bending a lower adjacent string to that same note…in tune, of course!

For the playing parts you'll hear and play along with me over the first of eight tracks fellow TrueFire artist and my good friend Steve Jenkins put together. This one is set four chord progression in Dm based on the groove heard in "Trademark" from Eric Johnson off the seminal Ah Via Musicom record.

Basic Bending Technique, Pt. 1

Basic Bending Technique, Pt. 2

Jumping off a solid foundational bending technique, we move to varying bending distances. In addition to the whole step bends we take everything you've learned and apply it to 1/2 step, 1-1/2 step and two whole step bends. As this is happening I strip away the reference note security blanket (you can do it!). While examining the feel and tension of these new distances we will also start down the delicate road to a vibrato technique. Finally, I'll hip you to the ever-important bend and release and get you doing that into a pull-off. Essential stuff!

The track we're gonna play over is a Cm groove that pays homage to Charlie Hunter. His pocket is just awesome and I jump at any chance to get down with that vibe and just play. With that said, it's important you play over tracks you find inspiring, which in turn keeps you engaged.

Basic Bending Technique, Pt. 2

+ 19 more lessons

Reviews

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Joe

06/03/21

Fixed my bends!

I've only completed a part of this course so far but even the early exercises have had a huge impact on my bending ability. Calling this a "workout" is no joke, it will work your fretting hand hard. However, the results come pretty quickly. If you're suffering from weak, out of tune bends, this course will whip you into shape in no time.

Aaron

02/09/21

Bending all out of sorts!!

Im a terrible bender - I mean that I can "physically" really well, but hardly ever in pitch. Im two lessons in and so happy to have this. Thank you, Chris!!