BB King is one of the blues greats of all time. The first great blues player who crossed over into jazz, pop, and everything in between. His playing reaches all walks of life, and if you’re serious about blues guitar, studying his approach is time well spent.
In this lesson, I’m going to show you a BB King-inspired lick that uses his signature bends, vibrato, and that famous high-octave B note he loved to hit.
The Scale You Need
To play BB King, you need the pentatonic minor scale. We’re in B minor here, starting at the seventh fret. BB also extends into a second position, and he bounces between the two freely.
BB didn’t use his pinky much — his hands were big enough that he mostly used his first and third fingers. I use my pinky because I had some jazz training, and it lets me sneak in little inflections. Either fingering works. The important thing is knowing the scale cold.
One thing about BB — he doesn’t play complicated jazz scales or throw in extra chromatic notes. He sticks pretty true to the pentatonic form. His magic comes from how he plays those notes, not from playing more of them.
The Bend and Slide Lick
This lick works in the upper register of the B pentatonic minor scale. Start at the twelfth fret and stretch up a whole step — do it twice. The second time, come back down, drop to the tenth fret, and cross over strings.
BB usually doesn’t go much further down from there because the B note (the tonic) is right nearby. He’ll land on that root note, then jump up to the high octave B.
And that high B is one of his most recognizable moves. On a standard-tuned guitar in B, that’s the nineteenth fret on the first string. It’s the highest B you can reach. He’ll either start a phrase with that note and play a riff coming down from it, or he’ll end a phrase by reaching up to it. Either way, there’s usually a little slide into it — BB likes to be expressive with his slides and bends.
Feel Over Complexity
BB King can say more with two or three notes than most players say with twenty. That’s taste. The riff doesn’t have to be hard. It has to be smooth. His vibrato, his bends, the way he lets notes breathe — that’s what makes it BB King.
I need more notes than two or three most of the time, honestly. But BB has real class that way. Something to aspire to.
For more blues lick lessons, check out the second BB King lesson or browse the full guitar riffs collection.
Come join me at riffninja.com. Three days for free — what have you got to lose? Have fun. See you later.
