Electric Blues Guitar Solo

in the style of blues legends Stevie Ray Vaughan & Albert King

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Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan Blues Guitar Solo

Learn a cool blues guitar solo in the style of blues guitar legends Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King. Packed full of great blues licks and techniques guaranteed to boost your blues soloing power!

Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:

0:35 Here’s the blues guitar solo over a 12 bar blues in the key of G. You’ll probably recognise some of Stevie and Albert’s favourite blues licks in there.

1:30 Learn the two G minor pentatonic scale shapes we’re using in this blues solo. The first pattern is played around the 3rd fret area and the second pattern extends up into the 6th and 8th fret area of the fingerboard.

2:54 Blues Lick 1 – Starts up in the extension of the G minor pentatonic scale. This is a classic Stevie Ray Vaughan idea he used in most of his guitar solos. Look out for those monster string bends and be sure to get those blues curls in there!

5.21 Blues Lick 2. This lick is in the first scale shape at the 3rd fret. Check out that tasty little one fret bend at the 5th fret G string. A cool little device you can slip into your blues guitar solos.

6:28 Blues Lick 3. A Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King favourite and a great lick for learning to connect both the blues scale patterns we examined earlier. This short blues lick is played twice to give the third part of the blues guitar solo. Watch those position shifts, slides and big SRV style string bends here.

7:56 Blues Lick 4. This lick stays up in the extended minor pentatonic scale pattern and uses this essential bend at the top E 8th fret. Notice the repeated use of this bend in this solo. It’s one of the most commonly used and effective bends in blues guitar and always sounds great so use it in your improvisations. Remember to ‘kill’off’ the bends before you let them down. This is a super important tip for getting clean string bending technique.

9:30 Blues Lick 5. A cool little lick in the first minor pentatonic shape. Watch that little blues curl at the end – a super cool blues guitar trick!
Notice the fingers I’m using for this lick. This is how I find it easiest to play them even if the stretch is a little large.

11:51 Blues Lick 6. Another classic Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan lick. Some big string bends in this one and a handy position shift up the high E string. Remember to attack the notes for this style of playing! Dig in with that pick, thumb or whatever you play with. This is an important part of getting a big , full blues sound out of your guitar.

13:30 Blues Lick 7. This turnaround lick is about as Stevie Ray Vaughan as you can get – he played this lick a lot. Watch the vibrato, blues curls and the little fragment of a D7 chord which ends the lick. I use my middle finger on my picking hand to pluck the G string note – this helps the two note ring together.

16:03 That’s the solo lick by lick. Let’s check out how the whole thing sounds again.

17:00 Tips for using the licks that make up this blues guitar solo. Take your favourite licks, change them, extend them, create your own variations and make sure you use them! This is a crucial part in absorbing new vocabulary into your soloing and improvising. Don’t be afraid to experiment, experiment, experiment! This is the only way we become better blues soloists.