Pragmatic Draw Bend
I have been practicing draw bending for a little while now, and experiencing a lot of frustration. I learned to make all of the draw bends, but controling them has been a real issue. Recently, I started fooling with the 'Beatles' song 'And, I love her'. The tab that I used went up for the phrase, 'And, I love her'. It sounded very wrong to me. So, I trasnscribed it to the lower register. What I found was that I needed a full-step, 3 hole, draw bend to play the phrase.
I began to work on 'playing the bend muscially'. I found that my frustration began to evaporate. For me, putting the technique into a proper musical context made the practice more meaningful, and, my learning improved. I don't know if this would be true for everyone, but it sure helped me.
Here is the tab for the song, with my transcription:
-4 5 -5 -7 -6 7
I give her all my Love
-4 5 -5 -7 -6
That's all I do - oo
-4 5 -5 -7 -6 7
And if you saw my love
7 -6 -5 5 -4
You'd lover her too - oo
-3" 3 -3" 5 (lower register with draw bend)
-6 6 -6 8 (upper register)
And I love her
Hope it helps someone else,
Bill
I agree with you that bends are more easily developed when played in a musical phrase. And for that purpose, trying to reproduce a well known melody has proven the most effective for me. Does not have to be a blues song.