Boomer Bends

ibmorjamn

ibmorjamn

Ambassador of Moar Jammin
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Insert funny comments about the Tittle here. Lol
Anyway. I caught this term flying around youtube and at first I felt a little offended because nearly 50 years trying to achieve what is now being slighted by young players.

Turns out Tim Henson and Rick Beato might have coined the phrase.

In the end I guess the current players have to do something different. As long as it keeps guitar music going.
This is an example here:
 
Maybe what's happened here is younger players are giving new names to old tricks and thinking that they've "invented" something? I dunno, but I can find plenty of younger guys doing the "boomer" bend and also plenty of "boomers" using the "millennial" "bend" technique as well.

See SRV for example. He employed both techniques to great effect. The key is knowing when it's appropriate to use whichever one, and knowing whichever one to use when.

I can't get on board with the idea that bend technique (which, let's be honest here, the "millennial" "bend" isn't even a bend) is a generational thing. Either you bend the string to get pitch modulation, or you don't and use some other technique. Like a slide/slur.

Seems like maybe the millennial kids don't wanna put in the work to learn a proper bend? Is that what this video is implying?

Maybe the whole thing is a veiled dig at millennials, and not boomers?
 
mcblink said:
Maybe what's happened here is younger players are giving new names to old tricks and thinking that they've "invented" something? I dunno, but I can find plenty of younger guys doing the "boomer" bend and also plenty of "boomers" using the "millennial" "bend" technique as well.

See SRV for example. He employed both techniques to great effect. The key is knowing when it's appropriate to use whichever one, and knowing whichever one to use when.

I can't get on board with the idea that bend technique (which, let's be honest here, the "millennial" "bend" isn't even a bend) is a generational thing. Either you bend the string to get pitch modulation, or you don't and use some other technique. Like a slide/slur.

Seems like maybe the millennial kids don't wanna put in the work to learn a proper bend? Is that what this video is implying?

Maybe the whole thing is a veiled dig at millennials, and not boomers?
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Maybe , it's just not cool to younger generations to be older. I don't remember being that way when I was young but maybe I just forgot about it.
 
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ibmorjamn said:
Maybe , it's just not cool to younger generations to be older. I don't remember being that way when I was young but maybe I just forgot about.
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Maybe it's the way I was raised, I dunno, but I have always had great respect for those who are far along in their years.

Sure, they may be senile, but oftentimes there's a wealth of unseen wisdom to be gleaned, learned from a literal lifetime of experience and lessons.

Sure, they may be "out of touch" but, they also know stuff...
 
mcblink said:
Maybe it's the way I was raised, I dunno, but I have always had great respect for those who are far along in their years.

Sure, they may be senile, but oftentimes there's a wealth of unseen wisdom to be gleaned, learned from a literal lifetime of experience and lessons.

Sure, they may be "out of touch" but, they also know stuff...
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So….. I’m old and senile. And I’m out of touch. You really don’t want a Christmas card from me do you? Of course being senile, I’d most likely forget to send it. :pound-hand:
 
So a younger generation takes an old jazz technique of not bending and claims it for themselves, whatever. But every degeneration believes (or wants to ) that they have somehow figured something out no one else has.
Whatever, but like what was already said as long as future generations are still playing guitar I’m all for it.
But hey you wippersnappers listen to some Django, Les Paul, Montgomery and Segovia before you start claiming you are all that.
 
C-Grin said:
So a younger generation takes an old jazz technique of not bending and claims it for themselves, whatever. But every degeneration believes (or wants to ) that they have somehow figured something out no one else has.
Whatever, but like what was already said as long as future generations are still playing guitar I’m all for it.
But hey you wippersnappers listen to some Django, Les Paul, Montgomery and Segovia before you start claiming you are all that.
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It's a case where fame went to his head, seize the 15 min. of Fame.
The kid can play , my guess is sliding is faster than bending. Because he moves all over the board quickly there just isn't time for big ol step and half bends. However , I doubt if Rick Beato could pull this off.
youtube.com

ABC Riff

youtube.com youtube.com
 
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Not enough strength in hands to bend a string = slide up a step real fast, and release.
 
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SG John said:
Not enough strength in hands to bend a string = slight up a step real fast, and release.
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There are clones of this guy popping up so it won't be to long before the attention span of the internet loses interest.
Supposedly TicToc's algorithm is generating less music video's.
Besides that AI is going to storm the music world. No emotion but fast.
 
I initially thought this thread was going to be about physical fitness and how to bend at the knees properly.

I didn’t know guitar techniques were generational. I always thought they were person or genre specific.

I will echo what was said before in this thread. Who cares, as long as newer generations continue to play, they can say they invented the brown sound for all I care.
 
Well. I’m solidly in the middle of the Boomer camp. I don’t do bends…. At least very often. Not that I don’t know how or the concept. The music I tend to play in the method I tend to play it just doesn’t require bending…. For the most part. And since I don’t do solos, pretty much exclusively rhythm…. Just not a lot of call to bend a note. Although as I’m strumming my “cowboy” chords, some of the “Rick” strum I’ve developed poorly over 50 years of playing guitar, I’ve come to do a lot of arpeggios. Occasionally I will bend a note just to prove to myself I can actually do it….. or I’m trying to do the intro to Iron Man.
 
Don O said:
Heck, I thought it was a brand of guitar strings.
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Speaking of strings , I noticed the local mom and pop music store is carrying Stringjoy in shop.
Seeing Rick Beato's deep dive In string size (size matters, really ?)
8's and 9's are better than 11's for being tighter sounding.
 
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