Lick of the Day: "Stevie Ray Vaughan Meets Lightnin' Hopkins" by Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Today's lick pays homage to the playing of blues legends Stevie Ray Vaughan and Lightnin' Hopkins.

It's a short but action-packed lick in the key of A (resolving in E), played out of the open position and incorporating lots of quick finger slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs and open strings.

This lick features some microtonal quarter-step bends. With a microtonal bend, the string is bent just a little bit, approximately halfway between the third and fourth fret in each case here. It adds a little "sass" and attitude to the note, unlike a bend that raises a note up to a new, specific pitch.

The tempo is 100 beats per minute, 64 for slow practice.