Learn the greatest licks from over 100 years of trailblazing blues guitarists, from Robert Johnson to B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Eric Gales and more

Today, we can listen to over one hundred years of blues. Sylvester Weaver’s unaccompanied instrumental Guitar Blues (1923) may be the earliest example of recorded blues guitar, with Son House, Charlie Patton, Memphis Minnie, Lead Belly, Robert Johnson and many more cutting records in the late 1920s and ’30s. 

These greats inspired the post-war Chicago blues explosion, which was subsequently seized upon by “British Blues Invasion” bands, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and more in the mid-’60s. From there, blues-rock was born, and the style has branched out ever since, taking on wider musical influences with every passing year. 

Here in our lesson, we’re covering a little bit of everything from early Delta blues, slide guitar, Chicago blues, through to the styles of modern day shred-blues greats like Eric Gales and Joe Bonamassa. 

Where relevant, you’ll find scale boxes to help guide you. Don’t be put off by the technical nature of these scales. A key part of this lesson is how our licks veer away from formal scales – and this is the very heart of blues playing. 

Example 1. Robert Johnson

Picked fingerstyle, this example uses a slide for all notes except, obviously, the open sixth string. This is usually worn on the third or fourth finger of the fretting hand as this allows a combination of slide and conventional fretting as you become more advanced. 

Remember to position your slide directly over the fretwire and lightly mute the bass notes throughout. 

Example 2. Memphis Minnie

This example is played with downward thumbstrokes, alternating with upstrokes using the first finger. It’s a technique Memphis Minnie used, and it gives the impression of two guitars playing separate rhythm and melody parts. Note the open strings at the end of each bar which allow for smoother chord changes. 

Example 3. Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was one of the first people to play electric guitar through a very loud tube amp. She usually played with a thumb pick, but our example is just as practical with a regular flat guitar pick. The rapidly-picked notes in bar 1 are best articulated with alternate down- and upstrokes. 

Example 4. Elmore James

Elmore James usually played slide in an open tuning, but for convenience, our example is arranged in standard tuning. Take care to position the slide over the fret rather than behind it as you would in conventional playing. Muting behind the slide by resting a fretting finger on the strings also helps deliver a cleaner note. 

Example 5. B.B. King

B.B. King used a sharp tone, just on the edge of distortion. Our example is in the key of Bb – a key B.B. used a lot as it suited the brass sections he would often play with. Note particularly the shallow, fast vibrato and flamboyant slides up and down the fretboard. These are real trademarks of B.B.’s style. 

Example 6. Buddy Guy

Buddy’s aggressive, distorted Stratocaster tones inspired Jimi Hendrix among many others. Our example is played using the neck and middle pickups with plenty of drive and some reverb. Dig in hard with the pick and be sure not to miss details such as staccato notes and quarter-tone bends.

Example 7. Jimi Hendrix

Jimi was known for his inventive rhythm playing as well as his soloing. This example is inspired by tracks such as The Wind Cries Mary, using unusual versions of F, Eb and Bb chords. These versions allow you to add embellishments from the pentatonic scale. Use the neck pickup with a clean tone and some reverb. 

Example 8. Eric Clapton

Inspired by Eric’s playing on the famous ‘Beano’ album, this example highlights a few ideas you can still hear in his playing today. For example, the re-picked bends in bar 1, the unusual use of D# in bar 2 (against D in the bass and next to E in the guitar part, all giving chromatic flavours) and the ringing doublestops with vibrato in bar 3. 

Example 9. Peter Green

Peter Green was the master of saying a lot with just a few notes. Our example demonstrates this, featuring lots of held bends with vibrato. Don’t be afraid to leave lots of space between the phrases when playing in this style. As with the B.B. King example, you should aim for a sharp, almost distorted tone with reverb.

Example 10. Stevie Ray Vaughan

As well as being a great soloist, Stevie was able to create deceptively tricky rhythm parts. Using a bright overdriven tone and the neck and middle pickups of his Strat (though any guitar set for a bright sound could work), you should aim to let the notes and chords ring into each other where possible. 

Example 11. Derek Trucks

Derek’s incredibly accurate slide playing can sometimes give the illusion of somebody playing in the conventional fretted style. This example is designed to help you develop that facility using lots of slides along a single string. A little distortion and some reverb will help you get the sustain you need. 

Example 12. Eric Gales

One of the most technically challenging examples, this is played using the bridge pickup and plenty of fuzz style distortion. Bar 2 is the trickiest, with its descending pentatonic line. Don’t worry if it doesn’t fall under the fingers straight away, take your time and work through it slowly – you may be pleasantly surprised! 

Example 13. Samantha Fish

Coming very much from the roots/rock side of blues, this example is representative of Samantha’s pentatonic-based lead playing. Note the picked ascending chromatic run in bar 3 – this is played with alternating down- and upstrokes, then really dig into the ascending line in bar 4 using only downstrokes.

Example 14. Marcus King

This example mixes blues, rock and country styles, with an aggressive distorted tone. Be mindful of details such as the vibrato and staccato hit in bar 1, the pre-bent note in bar 2 and the triplets in bar 4. Once you have this phrase under your fingers don’t be afraid to experiment with different timings and groupings of notes. 

Example 15. Kirk Fletcher

Kirk is a fabulous lead player but is also well known for his ability to create interesting chord parts. This example attempts to mix the two approaches with some pentatonic phrases combined with doublestops. A little bit of drive works well with tones like this but be careful not to go too far!