Hey Blues Fans!
In today’s blues guitar lesson, I will teach you the opening licks from “I’m Tore Down” off of Eric Clapton’s “From the Cradle” album. This song was originally written and performed by the great Freddie King. The song is in the key of C, and starts on the V chord (G7). The first lick comes in at the last beat of the first bar. You’ll have to listen to the song for the correct timing. All the licks are in the C blues scale played in the 8th position.

There is a nice backing track located below the video so you can practice.

Over the next days and weeks, I’ll post the rest of licks in the classic blues tunes.

As always, have fun.

Lick 1

Lick 2

Lick 3

Lick 4

Lick 5

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Practice along with this backing track:

Hey Blues Fans,
Why stretch your fingers if you don’t have to? Billy Gibbons doesn’t. ZZ Top plays a lot of songs in the key of G – Tush and Arrested for Driving While Blind come to mind. Many times, Reverend Billy G doesn’t play the typical shuffle pattern. Instead, he plays the top three strings of a G chord, C Chord and D Chord. For the G and C chords, he mutes the middle string. For example, he mutes the A string when playing the G, and mutes the D string when playing the C. There is no need to mute any strings when playing the D. The beauty of this style is that it’s easier to play plus you get a fuller sound. Sadly, this style only works in the key of G…perhaps that’s why so many ZZ Top songs are in G.

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Hey Blues Fans!
Here’s a little trick to make playing that blues shuffle a little bit easier, especially for beginners or those who don’t have the finger stretch. This technique can be used anywhere on the neck, but it is especially useful when you’re playing the shuffle in the key of F, F#, or G. Watch the video and you’ll see what I mean. I hope this makes your life a little bit easier.

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