Ten Easy Blues Guitar Riffs
Here is a collection of 10 great blues guitar riffs you can throw into your playing right away. Most of these riffs are based on the playing of the blues guitar legends. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing many celebrity blues guitarists during my 20+ year music journalism career, including B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Lonnie Brooks, Robben Ford, Taj Mahal, and many other blues greats.
These blues guitar greats have been a big influence on me, as well as the ones who were gone before I had a chance to interview them: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, and the likes of those guys…
Anyway, enjoy this quick batch of blues guitar riffs, and keep on practicin’!
Riff #1:
This is a great opening statement, in the style of T-Bone Walker.
E|————-5–5–|
B|——-5–7——–|
G|–5h6————–|
D|——————-|
A|——————-|
E|——————-|
Riff #2:
Here’s a similar move as demonstrated in Riff #1, and something you might hear from B.B. King:
E|—————–|—–
B|——-5–7/10v–|—–
G|–5h6————|—–
D|—————–|—–
A|—————–|—–
E|—————–|—–
Riff #3:
Riff #3 works well over either the I or IV chord.
E|–8p5—–8p5—–5——–5–|—–
B|——-7——-7——-5–7—–|—–
G|———————————|—–
D|———————————|—–
A|———————————|—–
E|———————————-|—–
Riff #4:
This is a riff played in the famous “B.B.’s Box,” because B.B. King (not to mention every other blues player in the world) uses this area of the pentatonic scale extensively – especially in slow blues. Bend the fourth note a whole step up to E and hold it a bit, before continuing back down to your root note.
E|——8–10–10b|–8——-|——
B|–10—————|—–10v–|—–
G|—————-|———-|——
D|—————-|———-|——
A|—————-|———-|——
E|—————-|———-|——
Riff #5:
Riff #5 is a tension building take off on a Chuck Berry riff, very common to many blues solos. Bend the final note a whole step and add vibrato.
E|–5———|—–
B|—–8p5—-|—–
G|———-7b|—–
D|————|—–
A|————|—–
E|————|—–
Riff #6:
Wiggle the initial double-stop (two notes played at one time) for a bit with your first finger before aggressively attacking the remainder of this riff.
E|————————|—–
B|–5——————–|—–
G|–5v——————|—–
D|——7p5—–7—7–|—–
A|———–7———–|—–
E|————————|—–
Riff #7:
Play these familiar sounding double-stops in groups of three, sliding into the first of each group, before playing the 7th fret and 5th fret double-stops with third and first finger barres (respectively).
E|————–|————-|————-|—————-|—–
B|–/8–8–8–|–/8–8–8–|–/8–8–8–|–7–5———|—–
G|–/9–9–9–|–/9–9–9–|–/9–9–9–|–7–5h6——|—–
D|————-|————-|————–|————–7—-|—–
A|————-|————-|————–|—————–|—–
E|————-|————-|————–|—————–|—–
Riff #8:
I learned this cool jazz-blues turnaround or solo opener from Charlie Baty of Little Charlie and the Nightcats – one of my favorite modern blues players. Try following this up with Riff #1, then take off from there.
E|–5–5–5–5–5–|—–
B|–5–4–3–4–5–|—–
G|–6–5–4–5–6–|—–
D|–4–4–2–4–4–|—–
A|——————–|—–
E|——————–|—–
Riff #9:
Here’s a classic blues riff for which you might want to use hybrid picking – plucking the high E string with the second or third finger of your pick hand, while simultaneously using the pick to sound the lowest notes. Let the high string ring throughout this whole riff.
E|–5——–5–5–5–5—|—–
B|–3h4p3—–3———-|—–
G|———–5—–5–2—|—–
D|————————–|—–
A|————————–|—–
E|————————–|—–
Riff #10:
Riff #10 goes for the style of Dickey Betts and the Allman Brothers, one of my favorite bands – along with a great Albert King-inspired lick at the end.
E|——10——8–10p8——|–10——8–10p8–|-8–12b-12r-11-10————-|
B|–10——10———–10–|——10———–10|—————————13–10–10v–|
G|—————————-|———————-|———————————-|
D|——————————|———————-|———————————|
A|——————————|———————-|——————————–|
E|——————————|———————-|——————————–|
To really master great riffs like these, you’ve got to understand your pentatonic scale patterns. All the blues greats do. I’ll show you how to absolutely master the five pentatonic scale patterns to play sizzling blues guitar riffs with my course, Logical Lead Guitar, a valuable resource for guitarists at all levels.
Whether you already play lead guitar, or are satisfied with simple rhythm work, Logical Lead Guitar includes some excellent lesson material that will truly help you learn and master guitar.
Get more info: www.LogicalLeadGuitar.com
