"Learning How to Bend" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 country music singer Gary Allan

Gary Allan

Gary Allan Herzberg is an American country music artist, known professionally as Gary Allan.Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his debut on the United States country music scene with the release of his single "Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album Used Heart for Sale,...

. It was released in March 2008 as the second single from his 2007 album, Living Hard

Living Hard

Living Hard is the seventh studio album by American country music singer Gary Allan. It was released on October 23, 2007 on the MCA Nashville label....

. It peaked at number 13 on the Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

 charts.

Reception

Thom Jurek of Allmusic thought that the song had better production than the others on the album, saying, "With the echo effects on the vocal and the big strings at the same volume as those ringing, jangling guitars, [the musicians] can't miss."

Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine

Slant Magazine

Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...

also made note of Allan's "effective falsetto."

Leeann Ward of CountryUniverse.net gave it an A rating, citing Allan's "raw and powerful delivery" and his use of falsetto

Falsetto

Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...

 in the chorus, as well as the "interesting production."

Music video

The music video was shot in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and at live performances, and was directed by Stephen Shephard, who also directed his previous music video "Watching Airplanes" in 2007.

Chart performance

"Learning How to Bend" debuted at number 51 on the Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

chart dated April 5, 2008. > >

Chart (2008)	Peak position