50 Slow Blues Licks You MUST Know

There's no hiding behind a slow blues. That's the bad news. The good news is you don't need fancy fretwork, blazing technique, nuclear effect racks, or a giant Marshall wall to pull it off either. All you need is soul, a pair of good ears and a versatile vocabulary of slow blues lines and moves. You bring the former to the table and Anthony Stauffer will deliver the latter in this collection of 50 Slow Blues Licks You MUST Know.

Anthony organized the collection into five groups representing the five most common styles of slow blues tunes. You'll not only learn the lick itself but also where it fits within a standard 12-bar progression. Anthony performs the lick over a rhythm track and then breaks it down for you note-by-note, move-by-move. You get all of the tracks, tab, notation, Power Tab and Guitar Pro files.

The first group of licks is inspired by the inimitable B.B. King. You'll start with B.B.'s signature opening lick, work through several more soulful lines, and then pick up on a few of B.B.'s tastier chord runs.

Albert King influenced Stevie Ray Vaughan ala Texas Flood and this second group of must-know lines pass on those coveted big Texas-sized bends, killer call-and-response licks, intense vibrato moves, screeching multiple strings bends, octave jumps, approach notes, repeating hammer-ons and slinky slides.

Next up is a series of searing slow blues moves inspired by Eric Clapton and Freddie King; lots of major and minor licks, a few choice call and response phrases, an essential descending hammer-on and pull-off combo and a Freddie King-ish force-of-nature vibrato lick.

SRV may have been influenced by other great Texas blues players but he in turn influenced the rest of us with his fresh, innovative prowess on the fretboard. Long story short – this fourth group of licks will inject more than just a bit of that prowess on your own fretboard.

The final group of licks are all derived from one of the greatest slow blues of all time – Jimi Hendrix's Red House. Most of these are Jimi-powered but a few tip their hat to Johnny Winter as well; triads, trills, screaming bends, slippery slides and a few hammer-on chord embellishments.

Master these 50 Slow Blues You MUST Know and you can still leave the fancy fretwork, blazing technique, and effects at home, but that Marshall wall will sure sound mighty sweet now.