Blues guitar is surely one of the most pleasing and satisfying styles to play. So many guitarists gravitate toward this genre as it can be accessible to beginner and advanced players alike, due to factors like its basis in musical simplicity.
Think of the hypnotically appealing, repeating 12-bar structure over which the sound of the minor pentatonic scale can wail so beautifully – Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix all make fabulous use of the scale.
Certain other players incorporate intricate lines of musical complexity, like the mixing of minor and major pentatonic scales and the use of jazzier harmony, as we hear with a player like BB King.
Then there are unusual melodic approaches, with the use of more exotic scales and runs, and even rock and roll influences, as Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck do so well. And of course we see other players who display extremely high levels of technique, such as fast-paced legato, alternate picking, and manic vibrato – Freddie King, Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa anyone? What’s not to like?
However, playing blues guitar authentically and sensitively, should not be underestimated. The use of few notes shouldn’t be confused with ‘easy’ and, conversely, flashy, fast playing shouldn’t be confused with ‘good’.
It's all about the feel: BB King wasn’t ‘flashy’, but everything he played was so beautiful and the epitome of taste and feel. Great players can combine the ‘simple’ with the complex, but everything they play has musical meaning and intent.
So, onto our feature for this issue. Can you imagine what it would be like to have various all-time blues masters (mixed in with a few blues-influenced rockers) improvising together?
Okay, so we haven’t exactly been able to line up these actual players, but what we have for you is five mini pieces in the style of 10 iconic guitarists, fictitiously paired up according to their guitar choices, stylistic similarity or contrast, where each player takes a blues-style solo over half of the piece.
The guitarist pairs on which our fantasy pieces are based include those already mentioned, so you’ll encounter the licks of B.B. King and Freddie King, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, David Gilmour and Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, then Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa.
The guitars themselves are almost as iconic as the players, so we have pieces by the name of ‘Semi Attack’ which pays tribute to the Gibson ES guitars played by the two Kings. ‘Stratocaster Standoff’ which features the Fender model associated so closely with Hendrix and latterly Clapton.
‘Tasty Tone Masters’ is another Fender Strat tune paying homage to the ever tasteful Knopfler and Gilmour. ‘Telecaster Tradeoff’, which features that style of guitar in the hands of the incomparable Beck and Page; and finally, ‘The Paulverisers’, which tips the hat to those Les Paul-wielding masters of high-end blues-rock, Messrs Moore and Bonamassa.
Improvising in the style of these iconic and legendary guitarists is a massive challenge, given the breadth of ground they cover stylistically and technically, so I’ve done my best to capture the essence of some of the idiosyncrasies in sound and playing style that characterises each artist.
But, after all, our chosen subjects are absolute masters, guitar legends in their own right, so the purpose of this lesson isn’t to compare my efforts too closely with the players, but to take influence from the ideas, techniques and approaches in these solos. Hopefully, some of what follows might be of use to
you in your own playing.
Blues guitar is an ever-evolving discipline that passes from one generation of great musicians to another – a Freddie King breeds an Eric Clapton, who breeds a Gary Moore, who in turn breeds a Joe Bonamassa. Have fun!
Get the tone
Amp Settings: Gain 4, Bass 4, Middle 6, Treble 6, Reverb 4
Both single-coil and humbucking guitars are handy to cover the tones of these and other blues players. An ‘on the verge of breakup’ amp sound will provide a good base for overdrive pedals, but backing off your electric guitar’s volume control does wonders for cleaning up the sound. Reverb or delay can be used to add an extra layer of ambience if required.
Example 1. B.B. King & Freddie King – Semi Attack!
We start with a medium upbeat 12-bar blues shuffle in B Major.
B.B. King Style Solo: With a distinctly major kind of feel and a clean tone, this solo features B.B.’s characteristic use of the top three strings of shape 3 major and minor pentatonic (the ‘BB box’.) Ensure accurate timing and a bouncy feel. Tone Notes: Neck and middle humbuckers on a Gibson ES-335.
Freddie King Style Solo: Freddie was a much more aggressive player than BB and this is reflected in our solo. There’s a noticeably more overdriven guitar tone and this one has a more minor pentatonic feel, even though the major 6th (G#) and major 3rd (D#) from the major pentatonic are employed.
Tone Notes: Bridge pickup on the ES-335 with extra overdrive from pedals.
Example 2. Jimi Hendrix & Eric Clapton – Stratocaster Standoff!
This 12-bar blues in E has an untypical structure as it starts on the IV chord (A7) and also incorporates the relative minor VI chord (C#m) in bar 9.
Jimi Hendrix Style Solo: Based around the E minor pentatonic scale (E-G-A-B-D), this solo features typical Hendrix-esque blues-rock licks involving bending and legato.
Additionally, it features characteristic double-stops with hammer-ons and pull offs marking some chord changes, in bars 5, 9, 10 and 11 – make sure both strings are heard in these licks. Also of note is the use of a B minor pentatonic (B-D-E-F#-A) phrase over the B7 chord in bar 7.
Tone Notes: Fender Stratocaster neck pickup, pedal overdrive and light UniVibe effect.
Eric Clapton Style Solo: This solo is mainly centred around E minor pentatonic scale (E-G-A-B-D) but as so many blues players do, also features snippets of E major pentatonic (E-F#-G#-B-C#) in bars 19, 21 and 22.
Ensure pitching accuracy with the string bending, and technical accuracy with the numerous triplet legato licks. Note the use of the melodic-sounding major 9th interval (F#) of the E minor pentatonic played on beat 2& of bar 14 as well as the C# note on beat 4 of bar 18 – although this is the major 6th interval of E major pentatonic, it’s heard as the major 3rd of the A7 chord over which it’s played.
Tone Notes: Fender Strat neck pickup with a smoother overdriven tone.
Example 3. David Gilmour & Mark Knopfler – Tasty Tone Masters!
This piece has a 16-bar structure in the key of A minor. Due to the players being referenced, it’s reminiscent of a Pink Floyd/Dire Straits instrumental section.
David Gilmour Style Solo: Based around A minor pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G), this solo features laid-back Gilmour-esque blues licks. Check out the use of the major 9th interval (B) in the beginning phrases and in bar 8 – this adds a further melodic colour, which comes from A Aeolian mode (A-B-C-D-E-F-G).
Note how the G# on beat 4& of bar 14 strongly marks the chord, as it’s the major 3rd of the E7 over which it’s played. Timing is crucial to get the most out of the phrasing. Tone Notes: Fender Stratocaster on the neck pickup with pedal overdrive.
Mark Knopfler Style Solo: Although this could be played with a pick, it will sound best played fingerstyle to emulate Mark’s style (hybrid picking could also be used). Feel is the key here.
Although based mainly in A minor pentatonic, there are quite a few different approaches used, like the Am7 arpeggios at the beginning, the E Phrygian (E-F-G-A-B-C-D) into E Phrygian Dominant (E-F-G#-A-B-C-D) phrase over the Esus4 to E7 in bar 22, and the country bends in bars 28 and 30.
Ensure pitch accuracy here, although if your guitar is vibrato equipped this might be due to the the higher string flattening when the lower one is bent.
Tone Notes: Fender Stratocaster bridge/middle pickups with mild pedal overdrive.
Example 4. Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page – Tele Tradeoff!
This blues-rock piece is a standard 12-bar blues in the key of G and features some classic and quirky licks inspired by these icons’ Tele wielding days.
Jeff Beck Style Solo: With quirky bends, rapid pedal tone legato and country 6ths, this solo is best with hybrid picking or fingerstyle. Note the C Mixolydian (C-D-E-F-G-A-Bb) 6ths in bars 4-6 over the C7 chord. The fast pedal tone, open first-string legato phrase in bars 9-10 needs careful hand-eye coordination.
Tone notes: Bridge pickup with pedal derived overdrive.
Jimmy Page Style Solo: Based mainly on G minor pentatonic (G-Bb-C-D-F), this solo incorporates a number of classic repeating blues-rock licks inspired by Jimmy. Some of the licks are technically challenging due to their speed, so learn them properly paying attention to cross-string picking technique, bending accuracy etc, and then practise them slowly at first.
Tone notes: Bridge pickup, a heavier overdrive with quite a bit of delay.
Example 5. Moore & Bonamassa – The Paulverisers!
This is a medium tempo blues-rock 12-bar in C minor, although the IV chord (F) is a dominant 7th rather than the arguably more common minor.
Gary Moore Style Solo: This solo incorporates slower melodic lines to fast, legato phrases. Based around the C minor pentatonic (C-Eb-F-G-Bb), there are minor 3rd and regular bends to contend with, so awareness of pitch accuracy is important.
Practise the fast legato passages slowly, and pay attention to getting these in time. Don’t be afraid to ‘dig in’ as this should sound aggressive.
Tone notes: Gibson Les Paul, bridge humbucker.
Joe Bonamassa Style Solo: Again based on C minor pentatonic, this has a melodic approach until the climactic ending phrase. Note how the A note is targeted at the end of the phrase on beat 1 of bar 18 over the F9, as this is the major 3rd of the chord.
The hardest part of this solo is the speedy phrase in bars 22 - 24. A repeating C minor blues scale (C-Eb-F-Gb-G-Bb) pull-off lick leads into a trademark ‘Bonamassa meets Eric Johnson’ descending quintuplet/sextuplet minor pentatonic run.
Tone Notes: Gibson Les Paul, bridge humbucker.
