Guitar bends

The guitar bend is a technique commonly performed on electric guitars, where the performer pushes strings out of their normal alignment after notes start to sound. Bending strings tightens them, which produces the characteristic pitch fluctuation.

Performing a guitar bend often also involves sustaining the bent pitch before allowing the string to return to its natural position and un-bent pitch. In Dorico Elements, these actions are called a “guitar bend hold” and “release” respectively.

Guitar bends and releases with bend intervals of up to a whole step (tone) are reflected in playback.

Guitar bends

Guitar bends indicate that the performer should bend the string after playing a note, so that the pitch increases while the note sounds. In Dorico Elements, each guitar bend joins two notes: the start pitch and the pitch at the peak of the bend.

On notation staves, guitar bends are notated using an angled line between the noteheads at the start and end. On tablature, guitar bends are notated using an upwards-pointing curved line with an arrowhead at the top and a bend interval above the arrowhead. The fret number of the end note is hidden automatically.

If you input guitar bends on multiple notes in chords, their arrowheads are automatically aligned on tablature.

Sequences of consecutive guitar bends are notated as bend runs on tablature. In Engrave mode, guitar bend runs function as a group.

Guitar bend holds

Guitar bend holds indicate that the performer should maintain the pitch at the peak of a guitar bend. They are usually shown on tied notes.

On tablature, guitar bend holds are notated using a horizontal line. They are not notated on notation staves.

Releases

Releases indicate that the performer should allow a bent string to return to its natural position, which decreases the pitch. In Dorico Elements, each release joins two notes: the pitch at the peak of the bend and the end pitch.

On notation staves, releases are notated using an angled line between the noteheads at the start and end. On tablature, releases are notated using a downwards-pointing curved line with an arrowhead at the bottom and parenthesized fret numbers below the arrowhead to indicate the end pitches. The fret number of the start note is hidden automatically.

If you input releases on multiple notes in chords, they are notated with a single downwards-pointing curved line on tablature. If the bend intervals are the same for all notes, the end pitches are parenthesized together.