You can add this little track to the end of any of the licks in this article.Ĭheck out the video lesson below which explains how to get 3 BB King Licks from using the box shapeīB King’s guitar style incorporates a lot of jazz and changes based playing, so to complete this study of BB King licks here’s a Charlie Christian esc lick done BB King style. I have also included a signature BB King phrase on the 3 rd beat at the 2 nd bar which he does to “wake people up”.

This lick starts with a descending 5 th interval and bends up the 3 rd of a chord twice before finishing on the root. No study of BB King Licks would be complete without something from the BB box. Note that this lick is a variation of this classic jazz blues lick too. It should be notated that this a common piece of blues language that is frequently used in backing parts, blues riffs, acoustic blues, and blues guitar solos. BB probably would not start slow blues solos with this lick, but he will throw it into the beginning of the 2 nd or 3 rd chorus. The next line is a great way to build up a blues solo. Like the first lick, this line features the major pentatonic and finishes on the root of the chord. The next lick features a 16 th note triplet rhythm which is commonly used by BB in both fast and slow tempo solos. Bend with the 3 rd finger and use the 1 st and 2 nd fingers for additional strength.Ĭheck out the full video lesson for this lick below Make sure that the bend in the first bar is a full tone bend and goes all the up to the major 3 rd (B) before playing the last note. While most blues guitarists favour the minor pentatonic scale, BB favours the major pentatonic which produces a bright and warm sound. To start things off, here’s a classic blues intro that has been used by countless guitar players over the years. Reading the tab and notation alone will not make you sound like BB because so much of his sound comes from phrasing, attack and feel.īB King Licks 1: Classic Slow Blues Intro The key to really nailing these licks and BB King’s style in general is to listen to his playing as much as possible. In this article I have written out 5 BB King licks that showcase BB’s signature slow blues guitar style by demonstrating the techniques he’s known for such as raking, vibrato, the BB box and jazz guitar arpeggios.Įach of these licks is in the key of G and comes with an audio example to play along with. BB King licks are an essential part of developing a well rounded blues language.

Bb king on youtube