Pre-bend
Bending a string to pitch before picking it, so the note sounds already bent.
Pre-bending means the string is pushed to its target pitch with the fretting hand alone and then struck, which removes the scoop and gives a hard, immediate entry that suits aggressive lead playing. The difficulty is knowing where the target is without hearing the note first, so players check the pre-bent pitch against a fretted note or a tuner. A pre-bend is often paired with a release bend, so the phrase starts high and falls back to the written note.
Example: A rock solo note that appears suddenly a whole step above its written position, with no audible bend, was pre-bent before it was picked.
See also
Related
- PageRelease bend
- PageBend
- PageVibrato technique
- PageAccent
- PageAction height
- PageAlternate picking
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley