The Blues Licks Challenge

Lick One

It's time to start our first blues lick, and this one has a bit of a Chuck Berry meets Eric Clapton vibe to it! Our first job is to take a look at the tab and identify the key and the shapes being used in this particular lick.

So we are in the key of A blues, and are using the box 1 shape as A minor Pentatonic, and the box 2 shape as A Major Pentatonic.

Matching to a chord

The next piece of the puzzle is to match this lick to a chord, so that we can easily identify it in any key. With this particular lick, using Box 1 in minor and 2 in major, we would use our E shape CAGED chord.

The other jams...

Finally, let's take this lick and try and make it work over our other jam tracks. Remember, the process for this is nice and simple...

Don't forget that you should also apply the principles from the How To Learn Licks course to ensure that the lick is getting learnt properly!

Lick Two

Next up we have quite a modern blues sounding lick. I relate it to players like Joe Bonamassa and Robben Ford. It's more about the way you play this lick than the actual notes you use, so let's get into it!

So we are in the key of A blues, and are using the box 2 shape as A minor Pentatonic, and the box 3 shape as A Major Pentatonic.

Matching to a chord.

The next piece of the puzzle is to match this lick to a chord, so that we can easily identify it in any key. With this particular lick, using Box 2 in minor and 3 in major, we would use our D shape CAGED chord.

The other jams...

Finally, let's take this lick and try and make it work over our other jam tracks. Remember, that the process for this is nice and simple...

Don't forget that you should also apply the principles from the How To Learn Licks course to ensure that the lick is getting learnt properly!

Lick Three

For our third lick we initially root into a much more major, very bouncy sound. However, it's not long before we shred a little bit of minor pentatonic, finishing back in the major. You might hear players like Freddie King or Buddy Guy play licks like this... Which can't be a bad thing! Let's get into it.

So we are in the key of A blues, and are using the box 3 shape as A minor Pentatonic, and the box 4 shape as A Major Pentatonic.

Matching to a chord

The next piece of the puzzle is to match this lick to a chord, so that we can easily identify it in any key. With this particular lick, using Box 3 in minor and 4 in major, we would use our C shape CAGED chord.

The other jams...

Finally, let's take this lick and try and make it work over our other jam tracks. Remember, that the process for this is nice and simple...

Don't forget that you should also apply the principles from the How To Learn Licks course to ensure that the lick is getting learnt properly!

Lick 4

Our next lick is more deeply rooted in the minor sound. In fact, in this position, I do like to stick more with minor than major. It has an Eric Clapton meets Chris Buck feel to it, and I love how it's both aggressive and melodic. Let's get into it.

So we are in the key of A blues, and are using the box 4 shape as A minor Pentatonic, and the box 5 shape as A Major Pentatonic, although we don't really touch the major.

Matching a chord

The next piece of the puzzle is to match this lick to a chord, so that we can easily identify it in any key. With this particular lick, using Box 4 in minor and 5 in major, we would use our A shape CAGED chord.

The other jams...

Finally, let's take this lick and try and make it work over our other jam tracks. Remember, that the process for this is nice and simple...

Don't forget that you should also apply the principles from the How To Learn Licks course to ensure that the lick is getting learnt properly!

Lick Five

Our final lick really dials up the major feel to the blues and focuses far more on the major pentatonic. We then switch back to the minor pentatonic right at the end of the lick, to give it that mix of major and minor, as we have been working on. Let's dive in!

So we are in the key of A blues, and are using the box 5 shape as A minor Pentatonic, and the box 1 shape as A Major Pentatonic, although we don't really touch the major.

Matching to a chord

The next piece of the puzzle is to match this lick to a chord, so that we can easily identify it in any key. With this particular lick, using Box 5 in minor and 1 in major, we would use our G shape CAGED chord.

The other jams...

Finally, let's take this lick and try and make it work over our other jam tracks. Remember, that the process for this is nice and simple...

Don't forget that you should also apply the principles from the How To Learn Licks course to ensure that the lick is getting learnt properly!

Congrats!

Another course bites the dust! Seriously though, take a few minutes to give yourself a massive pat on the back, and realize how much you have taken in over the duration of this course. It's a lot, and the ideas learned here can see you through your entire guitar journey... I know I still use these licks and have based my entire blues playing around them! Good luck, and keep jamming the blues.