A short primer on building specific slow blues licks.
For this article, I am going to show you guys how to put together some really simple blues licks. The tabs accompany a jam track from the new Jam Corner. We'll stick to the key of G today, so most of these licks are based off of the G blues scale with a little twist of G dorian (modes explained). The chord progression is a standard blues progression in G.
Be sure you check out the my Free Jam Tracks at the Jam Corner after this article!
Start with the first chord first
The I7 chord (G7 in the key of G) is the base of the progression. You want to build a lick that wraps around that major third instead of just that minor 3rd from the blues scale. Here is a quick example.
This lick is a pretty basic building block, infact, you can slide it up to fit any chord you like!
The lick starts with a nice full bend on the 4th and pulls down to the root before hammering-on to the major 3rd and hitting a double stop at the end.
The progressing progression
For the IV7, C7 in the key of G, you really want show off that seventh a lot. Here is a lick that does just that.
This one is a little trickier and moves away from the blues scale and uses C mixolydian (or G dorian, however you prefer) to get some of the more colorful licks.
This lick starts with a full bend on the root, full bend on the 7th and then sits on the major 3rd. It resumes with tasty half step bend on the 6th and finishes with a hammer-on/pull-off combo on the 5th and 6th.
Just paying the bills:
Coming back to the first chord
Once you come back to the I7 (G7 in the key of G) you might want to use a little more color? Howabout the 6th? The 6th is huge in blues. Here is a big lick that does just that.
It repeats itself quite a bit, but repetition is fine in music.
This lick's repeating line starts on the 5th, hammers on to the 6th and grabs the root before using a half bend on the minor third to use show off the major 3rd. It finishes with a basic bend on the 4th.
The final stretch
The last four bars of a blues progression contains the V7 and IV7 (D7 and C7 in the key of G). You usually want to show off that seventh again for each chord. Here is a simple lick that does just that.
Its simple and effective. What more can I say?
This lick uses the major 3rd and dom 7th at the beginning of each chord. It bends the root for the D7 and the 6th for the C7. It finishes off with another hammer-on/pull-off combo on the 5th and 6th to finish on the G.
Practice.
Now that you've got a decent idea on what to do in addition to a basic blues scale, try it out! Head over to the Jam Corner and take a try for yourself!
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