Nudgey bends are one of those techniques that separate blues guitar that feels alive from blues guitar that just sounds correct. The idea is a slow, subtle bend that stops just before it goes out of tune, and that tension right in that sweet spot is where all the magic lives.
I'm focusing on the 15th fret B string in the key of E, which is the flat seven. You nudge it up slightly, then resolve to the root naturally with some vibrato. That contrast between the tension of the bend and the release of the root note gives the phrase that vocal, crying quality that Clapton built a career on.
Go try it out!
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