What do the finest blues guitarists have in common? These are the technique secrets behind 30 of the most iconic players

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Welcome to a blues guitar extravaganza. The aim of this feature is to study and apply some of the technical and musical concepts employed by 30 top blues guitar icons from the 1950s right up to the 2000s.

To provide a full overview of 50 years of blues guitar innovation, we picked five of the most varied and influential players from each of our chosen decades.

We start with the ’50s pioneers like John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, and Albert Collins. Next up it’s time to wig out with the British Blues Invasion, so you’ll see examples inspired by (honorary Brit) Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Peter Green.

For our third group of five it’s time to pop on the bell bottoms for our list of ’70s blues-rock legends, with examples in the style of America’s Michael Bloomfield, Billy Gibbons and Johnny Winter, and our own Ritchie Blackmore and Robin Trower.

For the 1980s, we concentrate our studies on the return of the single-coil pickup as typified by players like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Chris Duarte, Robben Ford, Walter Trout and Robert Cray, while the 1990s was a time for revved-up revivalism so we turn our attention to Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Warren Haynes, Gary Moore, Jeff Healey, and the amazing Eric Johnson.

To finish up, the noughties ushered in some incredible new blood who showed us the blues is not only alive and well but in some ways healthier than ever. So we have five last licks to unravel, echoing such powerhouses as Eric Gales, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Trucks, John Mayer, and the UK’s blues master Matt Schofield.

We have recorded a four-bar lick for each of our artists. These are knitted together with a bar of drumstick clicks so you can make adjustments between the examples.

To keep things simple we have stuck to the classic blues guitar keys of E, G and A. The main scales of choice are their corresponding major and minor pentatonics, some blues scale (the minor pentatonic with the flattened 5th added). Most of the examples have a dominant 7 tonality. This frees up the note choices as major pentatonic, minor pentatonic and blues scales will all work nicely over it.

The staple blues techniques that crop up throughout our 30 examples are string bends (including quarter-tone bends) finger slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs. We have also included a few bottleneck slide examples for good measure. The whammy bar is a less commonly used piece of apparatus for traditional blues, but we couldn’t resist throwing it in here and there for a few examples where appropriate.

Blues guitar has a hand-me-down tradition of transferring vocabulary from player to player, generation to generation. We had great fun researching the examples and seeing how the same lines of classic vocabulary were used over and over, but with each player putting their own twist on the delivery.

We have reflected this concept in some of our examples and this re-working of vocabulary is a key feature of blues guitar improvisation. Some of our chosen artists inhabit the fringes of blues guitar, but all retain the essence of it in their playing.

Example 1. '50s Pioneers

Figure 1. John Lee Hooker

We start things off with some classic double-stop ideas. You can play these with down strums to maintain a solid feel. The quarter-tone bends add that bluesy authenticity to the delivery. This type of idea has many variations and works well in any key.

Figure 2. B.B. King

B.B. is the master of the ‘less is more’ approach. Here a simple quarter-note rhythm is used and this swings hard against the shuffle groove. We finish on a high A note (at the 17th fret), a classic way in which B.B. King punctuates his phrases.

Figure 3. Freddie King

The Freddie King sound comes from plucking the strings with the flesh of the fingers. Discard your pick and dig in with the fingers to achieve a biting tone. The finger slide is a Freddie favourite and is a good technique to add into your arsenal.

Figure 4. Albert King

All the notes are plucked with the thumb and first finger of the picking hand for a bright, snappy tone. Make sure the string bends are musical and keep an ear on intonation. There are many ways to bend a string in terms of timing and pitch, and playing with these parameters is one of the main ways Albert kept things exciting.

Figure 5. Albert Collins

Albert Collins’ unorthodox use of a capo is an ingenious way to play open position style licks in a variety of keys. Our backing track is in A so the capo is placed at the 5th fret. Fingerstyle picking allows for greater facility across the strings and can provide a more articulate tone.

Example 2. '60s British Invasion

Figure 6. Jimmy Page

Large interval leaps have an ear-grabbing quality and Jimmy’s big string bends cash in on this, big time. We start this lick with a four-fret (two tone) bend from the 20th to the (virtual) 24th fret on the second string. It’s worth warming up before trying this one, or having light strings on your guitar, as he does.

Figure 7. Peter Green

Our Les Paul is equipped with the same pickup modification as Peter Green’s famous Gibson. So that classic ‘out of phase’ tone can be dialed in by selecting both pickups, turning the bridge pickup to 10, and the neck down to 8. For this first lick we’re referencing some classic B.B. King-style lines in the key of A.

Figure 8. Jeff Beck

Jeff is a master of the blues slide and our example uses some classic, blues-style phrasing. The picking hand fingers provide good facility and tone. Using the fingers also makes muting unwanted string noise quite a bit easier.

Figure 9. Eric Clapton

Hendrix often beefed up his melodies by using the unison bend. To create this effect, simply fret the note on the second string and then bend the note on the third string up until it’s the same pitch. The two notes should ring, clash and interact, providing a unique sound.

Figure 10. Jimi Hendrix

Hendrix often beefed up his melodies by using the unison bend. To create this effect simply fret the note on the second string and then bend the note on the third string up until it’s the same pitch. The two notes should ring, clash and interact, providing a unique sound.

Example 3. ’70s Blues-rock

Figure 11. Ritchie Blackmore

Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore’s fast vibrato and signature whammy bar work are key components of this example. A 5th fret natural harmonic also features here. With a picking finger, lightly touch the string 12 frets above the fretted note, then immediately lift the digit off.

Figure 12. Michael Bloomfield

Linking together shape one and shape two of the A minor pentatonic scale provides a great fingering, and has spawned countless licks and riffs. For this one we start out with a statement in shape two, and then answer that lick in shape one.

Figure 13. Billy Gibbons

This lick is in the style of ZZ Top’s guitar legend. Bottleneck slide is an evocative sound and a great way to add expression to your blues leads. For convenience we are in standard tuning and with a little planning the slide sounds great without needing to retune your guitar.

Figure 14. Johnny Winter

This one features classic blues vocabulary and is well worth adding to your lickbag. The fast flourishes are created with hammer-ons and pull-offs, and are classic Johnny Winter stuff. Again the quarter-tone bend is an essential component of the delivery.

Figure 15. Robin Trower

Procol Harum guitarist Robin Trower is famed for his Hendrix-inspired guitar moments. This example combines that sought-after fuzz tone and Uni-Vibe effect in combination with Jimi’s tried and trusted E7#9 chord.

Example 4. ’80s Return of the Single-Coil Pickup

Figure 16. Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan helped to revitalise the blues genre in the early 1980s with his exciting blend of blues, rock and roll and Americana. Our example feature some classic Texas shuffle type ideas all played in shape one, A minor pentatonic.

Figure 17. Chris Duarte

This first lick features some classic Texas-style vocabulary. All of these phrases fit into shapes two and one, E minor Pentatonic. The minor 3rd intervals (G) can be bent a quarter-tone sharp, which helps to define that classic blues tonality.

Figure 18. Robben Ford

Robben Ford made great use of his Telecaster’s bridge pickup combined with a touch more saturated overdrive than the average blues guitarist. This provided more sustain and a little more wiggle room for playing faster lines. Take your time with this one.

Figure 19. Robert Cray

For this example we change the tonality to a minor-sounding blues. The Major 2nd (B) can be added to the minor pentatonic scale and this provides a rich and sophisticated flavour. Add the major 6th, too, and we push into Dorian mode territory.

Figure 20. Walter Trout

Walter Trout’s aggressive blues guitar style and powerful vocals have earned him a solid following. Playing ideas in the higher registers can be a little more tricky, but Walter’s Strat provides access, and the results create excitement and are a great way to end a solo.

Example 5. ’90s Revivalism

Figure 21. Kenny Wayne Shepherd

The 1990s provided an opportunity to take what had gone before and rework it into fresh and exciting new blends. Kenny Wayne Shepherd was heavily influenced by SRV, so we are using classic SRV-style vocabulary as a jumping-off point. Combining the open strings with fretted notes is a great way to beef up lead lines.

Figure 22. Warren Haynes

E major pentatonic sounds great over the E7 chord. The string bends and finger slides help to make lick sound more fluid and have been notated in the tab.

Example 23. Gary Moore

Gary Moore was a master of digging in and letting rip. For this one we turned up the gain and selected the bridge pickup. Shape four of the A minor pentatonic scale is a great place to generate Gary Moore-style phrases, and we have included the major 2nd (B) here to add some sophistication to the descending run.

Example 24. Jeff Healey

This example combines an aggressive touch with classic blues vocabulary. Jeff played his Strat on his lap and the results he got with this most unorthodox approach were stunning. We have also included a turnaround that lands on the root note of the V chord (E), which is an effective way to outline the change.

Example 25. Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson’s guitar style combines many elements, but his soloing on G3’s live version of Red House would satisfy the most hardened of blues purists. This example combines open-voiced double-stops with a honky tone. The key to that signature sound is to boost the middle frequencies.

Example 6. Noughties new blood

Figure 26. Eric Gales

Here the wah pedal adds a lovely vocal style quality to the phrases. The fast ascending arpeggio is played with a rake of the pick. Trilling down the first string is a great way to get more mileage out of an idea. Here we use the pattern of hammer-on, pull-off, finger slide and then repeat.

Figure 27. Matt Schofield

Matt Schofield is famed for his sophisticated approach to outlining chords. For this example we move from some classic, C minor pentatonic blues vocabulary to the Ab triad arpeggio which is used to outline the Ab chord.

Figure 28. Derek Trucks

Slide virtuoso Derek Trucks wears his slide on the third finger, which provides good control and a free vibrato style. Derek often uses an open E tuning but for ease of use for you, we have remained in standard tuning.

Figure 29. John Mayer

John Mayer’s blend of pop and blues has inspired a new generation of rock and blues guitarists. The pick and fingers are great for digging into the strings, and the key element here is to finger slide into and out of the b5 blue note (Eb).

Figure 30. Joe Bonamassa

Joe Bonamassa often includes fast pentatonic runs inspired by Eric Johnson. So for our final example we introduce a descending ‘groups of four’ pattern. This type of line can have all the notes picked, as Johnson would do, or made more fluid by including pull-offs.