The remaining bends are all related to half- and whole-step bends. Each has a slight variation in the attack and release. These bends are very expressive and, once again, mimic the human voice. These bends are common among great lead players and you should recognize them quickly.

Pre-Bend

The pre-bend is a simple variation that involves bending the note up before striking the note. Pre-bends can be applied to any type of half-step or whole-step bend. Check out the following example of a pre-bend in FIGURE 4-8.

The pre-bend can be difficult to master. On other bends, your ear can tell you when to stop (when it's in tune). But on a pre-bend, you have to stretch the note up before you hear it. This means that your hands have to know exactly where to place the bend because you can't hear it until the string is played. If you've practiced bending for a while, your hands will start to feel the “sweet spot” where the notes are in tune. FIGURE 4-9 uses pre-bends and standard bends. Notice the difference in the notation for each bend. As you get more used to reading guitar tablature and notation, you'll be able to accurately read the symbols.

Bend and Release

A bend and release is a simple variation on a common bend. You bend up, and then you release the string back to its normal position. In the following bend and release example shown in FIGURE 4-10, notice that the released note is in brackets; this means you don't restrike that note. It just keeps sounding.

Another simple variation of the bend and release is created by varying the speed. You may wish to bend up quickly, and release very slowly. You can do the opposite. You can do whatever you want!

Tremolo Bends

A tremolo is a device that enables you to change the tension of the strings. Tremolos are built into the bridges of most guitars and have a piece of metal that screws into the bridge so you can rock the bridge back and forth to change the pitch as you please. Because tremolos allow you to change the tension of the strings, they bend notes in a very different way than your fingers do.

When you bend a string with your finger, you can only raise the pitch. Up to this point, all the bends you've played have gone from a low note to a higher note. But with a conventional tremolo, which is found on Stratocaster-type guitars, you can easily bend the pitch down by using the bar to bend the string down. All the bend types you've just learned can be done this way, even pre-bends. If you have a guitar equipped with a Floyd-Rose® tremolo, you can bend pitch up and down. One of the masters of the tremolo is modern rocker Steve Vai. His album Passion and Warfare is an encyclopedia of guitar techniques. Vai has taken the ability to bend notes with his tremolo and fingers to an art from. Other interesting tremolo players are Eddie Van Halen, Allan Holdsworth, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Practice using your tremolo to bend notes from any of the previous examples. Simply substitute the tremolo bar instead of your finger bends.