BB King Style Blues Licks

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   Okay GMC, this one is for all you blues lovers in the house :)

Here we have some of the finest, classic blues licks from one of greatest bluesman in the world. The one and only Mr. B.B.King ;)

B.B. is known for his great talent and ability to play the melodies directly from his head. And boy, a melodies they are! Phrasing of this guy is legendary, and you can really hear his soul and heart in his playing and singing.

This lesson is not a difficult one, instead I've tried to give you an insight on B.B.'s main techniques and licks that he uses most often. The most important ones are for sure his signature vibrato and raking techniques. He would mix major and minor pentatonic scales very seamlessly like a true master of blues and the syncopation is very pronounced in his playing. Also the abillity to make a solo from putting together only a few notes and do it good is one heck of a talent if you ask me.

He said in one interview once:"Sure anybody can play the blues, anybody can do almost anything, but would you like it?" Couldn't agree more.

Here we have a simple blues 12 bar blues in the key of G. Tempo is (weird) 63.33bpm. Sorry about that one, had troubles translating the shuffled rhythm.

I'll try to explain a few things as we go along, it really is simple as hell, but maybe a few tips can be useful. :)

Lesson contains:

- B.B.King signature licks and techniques
- Great blues licks
- vibrato
- raking
- bending

Sound for this lesson: Guitar bridge humbucker, Toneport Fender Blackface 1964 emulation, trebly eq, compressed and little spring reverb added.



Gminor Blues scale.jpg

Gminor pentatonic.jpg

Gmajor pentatonic.jpg


     Lesson Questions, Feedback & Comments



Kristofer Dahl
post 6th January 2008


GMC Founder & Rocker


Wow just fantastic - I can't tell you how much I love this kind of blues. To me it sounds like the raw tone of the guitar - as if there were no amplifier in between, and this is soo expressive. Thanks Ivan! biggrin.gif
preownedguitar
post 6th January 2008


Member


Sounds tasty. Blues lessons are always welcome smile.gif
Overkiller
post 6th January 2008


Member


WOW! ohmy.gif Cool! I couldn't agree more with Kris, and I will learn this. Thank you! smile.gif
Dejan Farkas
post 6th January 2008


Instructor


Excellent Ivan! biggrin.gif Real BB style smile.gif
Hemlok
post 6th January 2008


Member


Awesome! I was waiting for this lesson! Thanks Ivan, you nailed it, I can't wait to learn this.
boy_sets_fire7
post 6th January 2008


Member


woow awesome ^^
Bogdan Radovic
post 6th January 2008


Bass Instructor


Awesome lesson man ! wink.gif
Toni Suominen
post 6th January 2008


Instructor


Great lesson!! smile.gif
kaznie_NL
post 6th January 2008


Member


thnx for keeping it beginner style! I'm definetly gonna try this one!
Marcus Lavendell
post 6th January 2008


Instructor


I love it! old school blues! smile.gif
The Uncreator
post 6th January 2008


Fire Up The Blades, Moderator


Magnificent!
Tuubsu
post 6th January 2008


Member


WOW! This is so B.B. king! Great work! I love this kind of blues because it's fairly easy and it's sounds damn impressive. Great!
Ben N
post 6th January 2008


Instructor


great stuff love the bluse smile.gif
Nick325
post 6th January 2008


Member


cool
JVM
post 6th January 2008


Member


I love BB biggrin.gif When I do blues I try to do it BB style, so I'll definitely investigate the ins and outs of this lesson smile.gif Thanks Ivan.
Gerardo Siere
post 6th January 2008


Instructor


Great sounding blues, I{ll get sure to check it all out
Ivan Milenkovic
post 6th January 2008


Instructor


Thanks guys, B.B. is the true bluesman, not a fast player at all, but a whole lotta soul. Respect. smile.gif
Guitarzan
post 6th January 2008


Member


More B.B.!! This man is the greatest.
Tomy Jeon
post 6th January 2008


Member


Cool sounding stuff your lesson Ivan! smile.gif
Pablo Vazquez
post 6th January 2008


Instructor


Very Nice Lesson Ivan!! Really Cool
krudtaa
post 6th January 2008


Member


This is great. smile.gif
shammy
post 6th January 2008


Member


Love it Ivan, Great work.
Muris Varajic
post 6th January 2008


Instructor


Great chops Ivan,must love the blues! smile.gif
Hisham Al-Sanea
post 6th January 2008


Instructor


real BB king style ivan ,great job man
Kosei Kubota
post 6th January 2008


Classical Instructor


Great, Ivan.
Even your vibrato sounds bluesy.
skennington
post 6th January 2008


Member


thank's Ivan. Will definitely bookmark this one. Just the lesson I needed to have a few cold ones with!
Robwylde
post 7th January 2008


Member


You nailed it! This a very tasty blues lesson. Thanx
Ivan Milenkovic
post 7th January 2008


Instructor


Thanks again guys smile.gif I really enjoy playing the blues ever since the early days.

Soon more blues coming up. I'm planning to do a series about blues soloing, involving some tips and tricks how to make a quality solo. Series will have three levels, beg, int, and adv.
nickmarx12345678
post 7th January 2008


Member


Very well done! love the bite on your guitar for this one
misha
post 7th January 2008


Member


yeah great lesson! i love bb king, he's one of the greatest blues guitarists ever!!!!!
you've made it very simple...i hope there will be more komplex stuff;)in my opinion it would be a great idea if you make a lesson about the shuffle rhythm taht you play here:)
zoom
post 7th January 2008


Member


Ivan this is awesome! Great feel. I'm really digging your lessons. Bring on some more blues!
Crazyfret
post 7th January 2008


Member


Great lesson Ivan. You captured the essence of the great BB King smile.gif

Looking forward to your series on the blues.

Was wondering if you were going to look at other blues players. I like the styles of Robert Cray and Robben Ford in particular
Ivan Milenkovic
post 7th January 2008


Instructor


Thanks you very much guys. It means a lot really! smile.gif

I'll do some beginner, intermediate and advanced blues soloing by the end of the month for sure. smile.gif
David Wallimann
post 7th January 2008


Instructor


I love that vibrato man, very BBKingish :-)
Great job capturing his style.
buttmonk
post 7th January 2008


Member


This is really good. I will be looking out for some more beginner blues lessons. Have been meaning to try some blues for a while since every time I try to improvise on some metal or rock pentatonic riff it always comes out sounding like some sort of bad blues lick so I guess it must be my destiny or something:)
JWBauer
post 7th January 2008


Member


This is great. BB is one of my all time favorite blues players. Did you catch the album he did with Clapton. Tremendous!
Ivan Milenkovic
post 8th January 2008


Instructor


Sure I did man: "Riding with the King". Very smooth one indeed wink.gif
JukeboxHero
post 9th January 2008


Member


This is great I love the blues but I never got around to playing it but I am going to learn this for sure.
Reaver
post 11th January 2008


Member


10/10 You won't ever really know how much I appreciate this lesson smile.gif
Reaver
post 12th January 2008


Member


Sorry for the double post, this is my absolute favorite vid on the whole site, could we get some more like these! This is the video that practically made me sign up smile.gif
Ivan Milenkovic
post 12th January 2008


Instructor


SUre man, my new blues solo for beginners lesson is similar, and have som interesting licks foru you to get started with blues soloing along with the theory. I'll upload in a few days! smile.gif
adam1302
post 12th January 2008


Member


great lesson
Joe Kataldo
post 14th January 2008


Instructor


Cool Vibe Great Lesson
Vinod Saranga
post 16th January 2008


Acoustic Instructor


Very bluesy.
Nice vibratos too
Keep the blues coming
tnasty
post 26th January 2008


Member


Nice Chicago blues licks. Easy and cool like BB the man. Thanks.
Ivan Milenkovic
post 18th February 2008


Instructor


Thanks guys! smile.gif
Carlos Carrillo
post 12th March 2008


Instructor


excellent lesson and nice job David!!!!!!


thanks
Ivan Milenkovic
post 18th March 2008


Instructor


Uhm, the name is Ivan smile.gif

Thanks man! smile.gif
Hammerhead
post 10th April 2008


Member


fantastic! you've got the feel! If you are going too do more blues, could you give us some in the style of Buddy Guy? Buddy can make the guitar cry...anyway great lesson and would love more!

thanks,
David Ivan
Ivan Milenkovic
post 10th April 2008


Instructor


I'll sure do Buddy Guy soon wink.gif thanks for the idea.


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