This blues riff guitar lesson covers one of those licks that sounds way harder than it actually is. It comes straight out of the pentatonic minor scale, and once you get the string stretch down, the rest falls right into place.
Colin walks you through the whole thing note by note.
The String Stretch That Starts It All
The riff kicks off on the third string, 7th fret. You stretch that note up one whole tone — that’s the move that gives this lick its character. Then you mute it and cross over to the high tonic at the 5th fret, first string.
The stretch has to be clean. Pull the string toward the floor (pulling down on the 3rd string works way better than pushing up). Use the flat part of your finger and make sure you’re bending a full tone. If it sounds flat, you’re not there yet.
Adding the Descending Hammer-Ons
After the stretch and tonic note, you follow through the scale going down. Pick the note, then as you reach the lowest note on each string, you hammer and pull off. The whole thing flows as one connected phrase — stretch, mute, tonic, then cascade down through the pentatonic.
At slow speed, you should hear every single note ring out clearly. Don’t rush it. Speed comes once your fingers know the road.
Why This Riff Works
Everything in this lick lives in the pentatonic minor scale. The stretch adds drama, the mute creates a brief silence that makes the next note pop, and the descending hammer-ons give it that fluid blues sound. You can vary the timing, change up the picking, even slide into the opening note. Lots of room to make it your own.
Practice Tips
Start by nailing the stretch on its own. Third string, 7th fret, bend up a full tone. Do it twenty times until your pitch is consistent. Then add the mute and the tonic. Once that two-note sequence feels solid, tack on the descending run.
The pieces are simple — it’s the transitions between them that take practice. Give each step a few minutes before you string the whole thing together.
If you’re working on riff technique, the call and answer riffs lesson uses similar string bending ideas. And for more blues riff guitar ideas, there’s a sweet riff in E minor that’s worth learning too. And if you want your blues to sound bigger without more complexity, doublestops add a thicker two-string tone to your riffs.
More lessons in the full Blues Soloing section.