50 Cool Licks and Ideas for Traditional Electric Blues Gtr.

Master a powerful G diminished chord lick, built from a G diminished shape, played boldly for intros or solos, and movable up the neck to adapt to other keys.

Explore augmented chords over the five (V) in a traditional blues groove, using bar-chord shapes and the blues box, to improvise turnarounds from five to four to one.

Learn to slide first position ninth chords from the one to the four and back in a 12-bar blues in G.

Explore a second-position G9 solo lick built on ninth chords and hammer-ons. Use slides and walk-ups to kick off the blues solo and return via a descending slide to D9.

Learn a Jimmy Reed ninth-chord lick over the V (E) in A. Use a second-position ninth-chord shape with strings at seventh fret and 9–7/9–8–7 fretting to fit one-to-five blues progressions.

Learn to voice 9th chords in first and second positions and slide into the four-chord with a unique 13th-chord lick, inspired by Wayne Bennett and Bobby Bland’s Stormy Monday.

Learn to use the second position ninth chord in blues to play licks over the I, with examples from Little Walter and Willie Johnson, featuring hammer-ons and pull-offs.

Explore a first-position ninth chord shift over the one in blues, featuring T-Bone Walker style walking from I toward IV with ninth chords in g.

Explore sliding into ninth chords over the blues five, using b9, e6, and quick strumming patterns inspired by Little Walter's boom boom out go the lights, with variations for percussion.

Learn B.B. King’s 9th chord slide from G to C9, moving from the 14th–15th fret to the third fret to connect the one to the four in a slow blues.

Explore Robert Jr. Lockwood's blues lick that blends E double stops with ninth chords in E, moving to F#9 and back, in so glad I found you with Johnny Shines.

Explore cool blues chord licks built around Freddie King seventh chords, using anchored pinky shapes to move through F9, F6, and diminished forms for rhythm and solo ideas.

Explore a jazzy five-to-one chord shift inspired by Johnny Guitar Watson and Mickey Baker. Learn d minor seventh, b flat, f nine shapes and bass patterns for blues songs.

Explore a double-stop rhythm pattern on the first and second strings, inspired by Eddie Taylor and Sonny Boy Williamson, over the G key and 1-4-5 chords.

Explore a t-bone walker lick built on a partial augmented shape, moving from the five to the third fret and back, with muted strings in the key of A blues.

Explore Robert Lockwood's rhythm guitar idea of walking into an add ninth chord, especially over the four (iv) progression, with a walk on the third string and shifting shapes.

Explore a Walter Horton inspired descending blues chord idea from I to IV, using D7 shapes moved up frets, then E flat nine to D nine, playable in any key.

Explore a jazzy five-to-one chord change from Junior Parker's driving me mad in a slow blues in g, featuring d13 and g9 voicings and an f-shaped g.

Learn a blues shuffle in drop-d tuning, using open D and bass-string rhythm on the sixth and fifth strings to recreate Slim Harpo and Robert Johnson styles.

Learn a classic Buddy Guy–Junior Wells bass rhythm behind vocals and harmonica, with simple patterns over the 1–4–5 blues, variations, muting, and bass-only accompaniment that keeps the groove.

Master an octave-based rhythm pattern from a king carr blues song, adapted to New Orleans style, with bass octave notes and chord movement, and preview single-string fills and licks.

Explore Earl Hooker's descending hammer-ons and chromatic bass run for blues guitar. Learn hammer-ons from frets four to five on strings one and two, then build ideas across other strings.

Learn a Gary Carter–inspired single-string lick in G, sliding from the bass string’s fourth to fifth fret, then weaving through second- and first-position blues boxes with tremolo and staccato picking.

Learn Peewee Crayton’s sliding lick in G, sliding into the G note on the second string’s eighth fret, with reverse variations for traditional electric blues guitar.

Learn a Roy Gaines Magic Sam lick in the second blues box, key of C, using 13th–11th frets on the second string to 12th fret of the third string.

Learn a Buddy Guy pull-off over the second blues box, with a second position blues box option in keys like C or G, inspired by Viet Cong blues.

Explore ascending licks on the first and second strings in the key of A, inspired by Hubert Sumlin, Howlin Wolf's Louise, Buddy Guy, using blues box positions up the neck.

Explore a blues lick that slides and uses a lot of vibrator up the third string, inspired by Sonny Boy Williamson and Freddie King, using ascending G barre chord shapes.

Explore B.B. King style blues guitar licks that slide from the first blues box to the second position, drawn from early B.B. King recordings in the key of B flat.

Explore Pee Wee Crayton chromatic lick concepts in the D position, including a d-shaped G chord and chromatic notes on frets 7–10 over the G scale in the 8th position.

Explore d-position blues licks in the key of c, using a d-shaped bar chord moved to the 12th–13th frets, with high-pitched ideas inspired by B.B. King and Jody Williams.

Demonstrate Robert Jr. Lockwood blues guitar licks over the iv in G, featuring single-string runs, slides, bends, and chopped phrases over C7, with echoes of Sonny Boy Williamson.

Explore Eddie Taylor’s bending licks over the IV in the key of A, including sliding into frets 11–12 on the 3rd and 1st strings and long bend on 2nd string.

Learn a Hollywood Fats inspired scraping lick over the IV chord in a boogie blues in G, with hammer-ons, palm muting, and Pee Wee Creighton style shuffles.

Explore Magic Sam's high-bend blues licks from the second position blues box, outlining a second-position bar chord on frets 12-15 and 15-17, bending high notes up the neck in C or D.

Explore a Billy Butler lick over the five to one change, using the first position blues box, chromatic runs, and five-nine voicings across keys like A, B flat, and G.

Explore Freddie King bass-note licks that switch between bass strings and treble lines, moving from the first position blues box to C7 and D7 bass phrases.

Explore a Johnny Guitar Watson–inspired descending bass lick leading into the five, with a capo on the sixth fret in Bb and chromatic runs on the fourth string.

Learn an ascending single-string lick in the key of G inspired by early Fenton Robinson, using bass notes on the 5th and 4th strings, slides, and blues-box positions.

Learn Earl Hooker style octave licks in G, drawn from the huckleberry and the drive, using the first position blues box and muting the second string for fullness.

Explore Pee Wee Crayton's double stop bends in the key of B flat, using the first position blues box, bending the third string while the second stays, with downstrokes.

Explore Charlie Christian double stop licks over IV and V in blues guitar, using a two-note shape on frets 8 and 10 and shifting over IV and V chords.

Learn Buddy Guy's octave licks over the first blues box in B flat, using pinching, hybrid picking, and position shifts to craft powerful, concise blues solos.

Explore a three-part Otis Rush double-stop blues lick in b-flat, combining two double stops, hammer-ons to the 11th fret, and a b7 to bb7 slide in the second blues box.

Master the sending double stops on the first and third strings, using a first-position G blues box that descends two frets and moves up the neck in electric blues.

Explore a Luther Tucker lick behind Muddy Waters, rooted in Robert Johnson blues, in the key of A, using frets 9, 7, and 5 on the third and first strings.

Learn Mickey Baker’s double-stop lick over a seventh chord in the key of G, with a movable second position bar chord approach for playing the idea in other keys.

Learn an Eddie Taylor double-stop lick and a d7 shaped lick in the key of A, then apply movable d7 and g7 shapes across keys for blues shuffles.

Explore a cool double-stop lick from Little Walter's Shake Dancer, blending a D7-shaped seventh chord with hammer-ons and slides on the second and third strings in the key of F.

Master a descending lick over the minor II and I in blues guitar, using double stops and a shifting harmony, with practical swing tempo and fingerings.