Bending

Bending notes on guitars usually implies bending a note up in pitch by pushing the string sideways on the fretboard, keeping good solid contact with the fret wire so that the note doesn't choke off.

Depending on the gauge of the string and the strength of your fingers, notes can be bent up several semitones. More than one finger can do the sideways pushing. You can see in the movie, I use 3 fingers. It makes it MUCH easier.

Requires Windows Media Player

This movie shows a bend-down. The string starts off already bent up to the required note, struck, and then relaxed to the end note. The difficult part is knowing how much tension to apply before you strike the note. You have to estimate the pressure so that when you pluck, the note is right. In the movie, the bend down is one semitone, but it could be anything.

This, like everything else, comes with practice.