You’re not a guitar player if you don’t know something about Chuck Berry. That’s just a fact. And one of the biggest things Chuck brought to rock and roll guitar? Bends. Specifically, one-tone bends paired with double stops that sound absolutely killer when you get them right.
In this lesson — part 2 of the Chuck Berry series — I’m going to show you how to nail that classic bend-and-mute technique that makes Chuck’s licks sound so authentic.
The One-Tone Bend
We’re working out of the A pentatonic minor scale here. If you don’t know the scale yet, you’ll want to track that down because it’s pretty hard to pick up a riff without it.
The bend starts on the third string, seventh fret. You’re bending from D up to E — that’s a whole tone. Get your first and second fingers behind the third finger for support. You’ll need them, especially when you’re holding the bend to demonstrate the technique. Normally this happens fast, but slow it down while you’re learning.
The pitch matters. A lot. Think of it like tuning a guitar — you’re matching the exact pitch of the note on the second string, fifth fret. If you’re not bending far enough, it sounds weak. Too far, and it sounds off. Right on the money? That’s the sweet spot.
The Mute-and-Pluck Technique
Once you’ve got the bend up to pitch, here’s what happens next: your right hand thumb comes across to mute the string, and then you pluck the E note on the second string, fifth fret with an upstroke. So the sequence is: bend up, mute with thumb, upstroke on the second string.
Down, mute, up. That’s one smooth motion.
You can also double up on the root note for a thicker sound. In that case it goes: down, down, up, down, mute, down, up. Takes a bit of practice to get that coordination, but it sounds great when it clicks.
Making the Bend Sound Good
The biggest mistake I see? Letting the note wobble back down after bending it up. Once you hit that pitch, hold it there. Kill the note cleanly, then play the actual pitch on the second string. You don’t want to hear the bent note fading as the next one starts — that sounds sloppy.
As I like to say, you don’t want it to sound like a moose in northern Alberta in heat. You want it clean and in pitch.
And remember — if it sounds good, it must be right. There’s always a piece of theory that relates to what your ear is telling you. The ear comes first. That’s just practical.
If you missed part 1, start with the double stop rhythm riffs here. Ready for more? Part 3 covers double stops across multiple string sets.
For the full collection of riff lessons, head over to the guitar riffs page.
Alright boys and girls, if you want more of this kind of teaching, come check out riffninja.com. Maybe we’ll see you there. Take care, have fun.
