58 Guitarist Summer 2014

http://vault.guitarist.co.uk

Want to cop Joes best blues licks? Who better to teach you how to play
them right than the man himself?

fter we chatted with Joe about his occasion. Also joining the fun was Bernie Marsden from
forthcoming album, he talked us though some Whitesnake, who brought some of his stunning
of the go-to licks that define his hot, high- collection of vintage guitars (see p66) along, too. Talk
energy style of blues guitar. He didnt have about choice! Once Joe was plugged in and warmed up,
any of his touring electrics with him, but a he explained some of his best blues moves for us, lick by
gorgeous Gibson Collectors Choice 57 lick. Weve transcribed those lessons below for you to
Goldtop Les Paul, kindly provided by Peach Guitars in learn, and you can follow every note of each lesson with
Essex, saved the day. It sounded stunning through the the accompanying video. Hopefully, theyll help you
Lazy J combo we borrowed from John Henrys for the explore some Different Shades Of Blue

Epic Doublestop Bend

This is a great way to start a blues if youre with your jamming buddies, and maybe they say, Hey, you kick it off. Try
this little lick out for size its great for starting a blues, because you get these ominous kind of half-bends within the
chord. Its a lot of fun if you can get your hands trained to anticipate the changes and bend down. And the real trick with
that is making sure that the intonations right, because if you dont get that right it just sounds like youre making a lot
of mistakes!

Joe demonstrates a cool way of adding thickness to bluesy doublestops by using a wider interval. The
Ex 1a minor 3rdissue
GUITARIST MAGAZINE (top note)
3 8 4 is pushed upAdrian
to the major 3rd,3creating
Clark's 8 4 JOE a partial major chord,
BONAMASSA and the rest of the lick uses
LESSON
a G blues scale (G B b C D b D F). This would work well on the last four bars of a 12-bar blues.
A Lesson 1 - Example 1A

.
G7
j j j
b n b n .
#
& 128 . . . # . n j n . .
j j j
# n b
J .
BU BU BU PB8
E
B 11 (12 ) 12 (13 ) 11 (12 )
BD
G 12
D 12
A 10 11 10 8 10 8 10 8 10 8
E 10 10 ( 9 ) ( 8 ) 6
1

.. n .
b b
n b ... b .
A 6 G6 G7 E 9 D9 G 7 1/4

# b
b . .. .
1/4

& n . . b .. . n .
. b . 1/4

1/4
E 6 5 3 6 3
B 6 5 3 5 3 3
G 3 6 5 4
D 3 2 5 5 4 5 4 3
A 6 5
E 3 4 3
4

.
B Lesson 1 - Example 1B Summer 2014 Guitarist 59

# n
G7
j j j
 A 10 11 10 8 10 8 10 8 10 8
E 10 10 ( 9 ) ( 8 ) 6
1

b
A 6 G6 G7

n b ...
E 9 b
..
D9
. b .
G 7 1/4

#
b . b . n .
1/4

& n . . b .. .. n .
. b . 1/4

1/4
E 6 5 3 6 3
B 6 5 3 5 3 3
G 6 5 3 4
D 3 2 5 5 4 5 4 3
A In this example, Joe applies the same
6 doublestop
5 technique to all three chords from the I-IV-V progression.
E
4
Ex 1b
3 4 3
Also, note the Eb chord leading down into the D at the end and the Ab chord at the start the neighbouring
chromatic chord is used for temporary tension.

.
B Lesson 1 - Example 1B

# n b
G7
j j j
b n b n
# 12 . . n
n n b # . b
J j j
& 8 #
J 3
PB13
BU BU BD BU BU BD BU
E 12
B 11 (12 ) 12 (13 ) (14 ) (13 ) 11 13 11 11 (12)
G 12 7 10 7
D 12 8 10 ( 11) 10 8 8 10 10 7 ( 8 ) ( 7)
A 10 11 8 10 10 10 10
E 10
1

b
b # j n
C7 E 7 D7

# j
b n
1/4 j . n # .
j
. . .

& b . b .
.
BU 1/4 BU BU
E 3 5 6 3
B 4 (5 ) 3 7 (8) 6 (7)
G 6 5 3
D 5
A 3 6 5
E
4

Cascading Blues Licks

One of the most commonly asked questions is how you get from point A to point B when youre soloing, such as when
youre starting high [among the upper frets] and you want to go lower down on the fretboard. So I think about the fretboard
in terms of blocks. So if you want to do a cascading lick down the neck, you pull [blocks of notes] from every one of these
areas. That also helps you in mid-solo to just look down and then if youre in danger of getting stuck [for where to go next],
you can kind of right the ship once it starts listing.

This lesson is about the importance of learning notes all over the fretboard, so youre not restricted to
2 Ex 2a single-box positions. Joe plays some descending E minor pentatonic lines in various positions, sneaking in
a C# note from the Dorian mode (E F# G A B C# D) in bar four.
C Lesson 2 - Example 2A

N.C. .
.
Loco 1/4

# 4
1/4

.
& 4
1/4
1/4
E 12 15 12
B 12 15 15 12 15 12 12 10 12 10
G 14 14 12 14 12 12 12 9 9
D 14 14 12 14 12 9
A 14
E
1

1/4

# .
1/4

#
j # j
1/4

& .

. b
1/4
1/4 1/4
E
B 8 5 5 3 0
G 9 7 9 7 6 4 2 0 1
D 9 9 7 5 5 2 0 2 0 2
A 7 7 5 7 2 2 1 0
E 0 3
4

D Lesson 2 - Example 2B
60 Guitarist Summer 2014
# 4 w
 N.C. 14. 14 12 14 14
.
Loco

12 9 1/4

# 4
D

.
A 1/4

& 4
1

http://vault.guitarist.co.uk 1/4

# .
1/4

# 12 15 12
j # 12 10j 12 10
1/4 1/4

& 15 12 14 15 12 14 12
12 12b 9 12 9 9 .
1/4
E
B 12 15

.
G 14 12
D 14 14 12 14
A 14 1/4
E
1/4 1/4
E 1
B 8 5 5 3 0
G 9 7 9 7 6 4 2 0 1
9Another 9 7 Dorian 51/4 note (F#) creeps 1/4in here and adds melodic interest.2This is
0 the
2 simplest form of what
Ex# 2b 5

0 2
D

# . j #
A 7 7 5 7 2 2 1 0
Joe is demonstrating
1/4 here, but 0dont just play complete descending scales in your own solos; theres3a whole

E

& j b .
4
lot more you can do besides

D Lesson 2 - Example 2B .

1/4

# 49 7 9 7
1/4 1/4

8 5 6 4 5 3 0 2 1 2 w 2
E

B
G
D
& 4 9 9 7 5 5 0
0 0 2
A
E
4
7 7 5 7
0 2 2 1 0
3

E 10 7
B D Lesson 2 - Example 2B
10 8

G 9 7 9 7
9 9 7 9

D

# 4
9 7
A

w
E 10 7
& 4
1

E Lesson 2 - Example 2C
8
7 a10start,
1/4

# 4 For
10
9 7in. the melodic
7 contour,
E

9 kinks so the notes9 dont

B 1/4

& 4 If youre a feel player, this might seem a deliberate, but the more
you can
9 add
7 little just go straight down or up.
Ex 2c
G
D
A
9
studied
9 7 way of working, ideas
youfeed into your

E 10 7
1 brain during practice sessions, the more variety you can call on when youre really playing.
1/4
E
E Lesson 2 -5Example 52C 7 5 1/4
B 8 8 5 8 5
G 7 7 4

# 4 .
D 1/4 7 5 7 5

7 7 5

A
7 5 3 1/4
0

E

& 4
1

1/4
E 5 7 5 1/4
B 5 8 8 5 8 5
G 7 7 4
D 7 5 7 5
A 7 7 5
E 7 5 3 0
1

Now Joe opens up, adding more position shifts and those kinks within each melodic contour. You might not
3 TITLE
Ex 2d think that a single position shift would do much to your playing, but just applying comfortable patterns to a
3 TITLE
different part of a scale can create melodies you wouldnt normally play.

F Lesson 2 - Example 2D

F Lesson 2 - Example 2D

# 4
N.C. 3 3 3 3

N.C. 3

3

&# 4
3 3

& 4
3
3 3
3 3 3

3 3
3 3
E 12 10 12 10
B
E 12 15 12 10 12 10 12 10 12 10 12 10
G
B 12 14 12 15 12 10 12 10 12 12 10 12 9 9 7 9 7 4 7 4
D
G 12 14 12 14 12 12 9 12 9 7 9 7 9 9 7 9 7 5 5 7 4 7 4 7 5
A
D 14 12 14 12 9 7 9 9 7 5 7 5 7 7 5 7 5
E
A 1 14 7 7 5
E
1

1/4

#
3

j
3 1/4

& #
3

3


j j
3

3

& j

E

1/4
B
E
G 1/4 7 9 7 9
B
D
G 7 5 0 2 2 5 7 5 7 9 7 9 7 9
A
D 7 5 7 5 0 2 0 2 2 5 2 5 7 7 5 7 9
E
A 7 5 7 5 3 0 0 2 0 0 3 2 5 7
3
E 7 5 3 0 0 0 3
3

jj

#
#
&
& Summer 2014 Guitarist
3 61
3
E 8 10 10 12 8 10 8
B 8 10 8 10 12 10 12 13 12 10 10
 # j
3

3

& j

http://vault.guitarist.co.uk
E
1/4
B
G 7 9 7 9
D 7 5 0 2 2 5 7 5 7 9
A 7 5 0 2 2 5 7
E 7 5 3 0 0 0 3
3

j
#
&
3

E 8 10 10 12 8 10 8
B 8 10 8 10 12 10 12 13 12 10 10
G 7 9 9 12 11 12 11 9 12 14
D 9 12 9 12 14
A
E
5

# #
3

&
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
E 12 15 17 15
B 12 15 17 15 17 15
G 16 16 14 14
D 17 14 14 12 14 12 14
A 16 12 14 14 12
E 15 12
7

Super-Heavy Chord Inversions

I use a lot of these low chord inversions that make it sound almost as if the guitars tuned down. Im not a fan of tuning
the guitar down, because the guitar sounds brighter, more powerful and heavier in A440. Natural E, natural A. These days,
guitars get tuned down not only to D but down to B and A, and Ive even heard of people tuning down to F#. So in that case
you either have a baritone octave guitar, or you have a bass! So, how do you get the heaviness without having to tune your
guitar down? Well, try this. Its nice to throw this kind of lick in during the course of a blues or something up-tempo.

In this lesson, Joe shows how a knowledge of chord inversions can help you get thick, meaty sounds, even
4
Ex 3a when the current chords root note isnt particularly low on the guitar. When the chord moves from G to C (bar
3), he plays a 2nd inversion C chord (with G, the 5th, at the bottom), keeping things low and pungent!

G Lesson 3 - Example 3A

4
G
1/4
D /Ab b C/G
1/4
b b
A /E G/D
# 4
3
j
b 3A J .
1/4

.
1/4

4 3- Example n b b b
3
G& Lesson b
bDb/A b C/G

G
3 1/4
1/4
b b
A /E G/D
#
3
j
& 44 5 b 3 5 3 J3 5 .
11//44

5 b 3 5 5 b 3 .
11//44 1/4 1/4

n b 3
E 3

2 b10
B
G
D
A
5 3 5 5 3 5 b 3 3
3
2 9
3
E 4 11 10
1
1/4 1/4 1/4 1/4
E
B 3
G H Lesson 3 - Example3 3B
5 3 3 3 5 3
D 5 5 3 5 5 3 5 3 2 2 5 5 10 9
A
b b
A /E Here, Joe
5
G /D isolates the I-V-IV
E /B chords,
E /B usingD/A
chromatic 3
neighbouring b b
D /A chords
C/Gto lead into
A each
/E 11one. 10 b b b b
E
1 Ex
# 3b
4 D/A
3 G /D

&Lessonb 3 - Example 3B # n n

b

b b D/A b Db/A b
H

b b
A /E G /D E /B E /B b D/A

C/G b b
A /E G /D
#
& b10
E
B

9 # 6 n 4 4 n 2 b10 9
b 5
G
D
A
E 11 10 7 6
5 5 b 34 3 11 10
1
E
B
G
D 10 9 6 5 4 4 3 2 10 9
A
E 11 10 7 6 5 5 4 3 11 10
1

62 Guitarist Summer 2014

 http://vault.guitarist.co.uk

Now joe uses the inverted chords within the context of a full 12-bar progression in G. As well as using the
Ex 3c inversions to mark the main chord changes, hes using them to create nice chromatic doublestop lines.
5 TITLE

5 TITLE
I Lesson 3 - Example 3C
5 TITLE
I Lesson 3 - Example 3C G7 b b
A /E G /D G 7
#
& # 444
5 TITLE
A b/E b
I Lesson 3 - Example 3C
.
G7
n
G /D G 7
# n
n G7 n bAb/E b
5 TITLE

# 44 3 - Example3C
. # n
I Lesson 3 - Example 3C

I &Lesson . G7 n G /D nG7
G /D G 7

n
.
bAb/E b ## nn
& # 44 nn . G7 n bAb/E b
G /D nG7
n
4
& # 44 . n 3 3 . # 6 n 5 3
E
B

3 b10 9 3 4
5. 3 n 3 3 3 3 3 3 3. 3 3 3 6 5
G

& 4 5 n 3 5 3 5 9 n 3 3 5 5 3 5
E

b1011 5
D
B

3.
A

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 6 5
G
E
D 5 5 5 10 5 5 5
B 1
A
E
G 5 4 5
E
B
D1 3 5 3 5 3 5 11
10 10
9 3 5 5 3 5
b b b b

b . . 3
G
A
E A /E G/D 5 6 5 4 5 D /A

# n 3
D
E
B 1 3 5 3 3 3 3 5 3 3 3 3 5 3 3 10
11 9
10 3 3 3 5 3 3 5 3 5
A b/E b D b/A b
3 3 j5 # 3 n 1011b
A 5 5
G/D 3
b . . 3
G 6 5 4

.3
G/D
&# 5
E 3 3 3 3 10 3 3 3 3

3n n 3 Db/A b
D1 5 5 9 3 5 3 5
A
b b/E b 5
3 3 3 j 3
# n 11b 5
.
b .. .
. bDb/A b
A
&#
E 3 3 10 3 3 3
A b/E b
b G/D n n
1

jj #
.
&# . . n n b bDb/A b
n
A b/E b
b b 3 3 3 3 # n b
b 3. 5.
.
G/D
&# . n 3 3 3 b
E
B
b10 9 X 5 5 3 n 6 3 j # 6 n 5 b 3
& 3. 5. 3 5 5 5 b 3
G 5

9 X n 3 3 X 3
E

b1011
D

5 X
B 6

3. b 43
A
G
E 5 5 5 5 6 5 3
D 10 5 5 5 5
B 4 3 6 3
A
E
G 3 5 3 5 5 5 6 5 3 5 X X
E 11 10 4
10 9 3 6 3
b b
B
D X 5 5 3 5 3 5 3 3

4
j5
# n
1/4

b. b 6
G
A
E C /G 3 5 3 5 5 1/4 5 6 3 5 X A X/E G /D

# 3 n 5 3 n3
D
E 3 10
11 9
10 X 5 5 3 5 3 5 3 3
4
A b/E b
B 4 6 3

5 5 b J . A Xb/E b
X
j5 5 X
A

#5 n3
10 bb

1/4

b 5 3
G C 3 5 1/4 3
3 /G 10 G /D
5

&#
11 10 4

E

n n
D4 9 X 5 5 3
A
b J . j
j
# 3 n
X
b b b
G/D
1/4

b
C /G 1/4 G
4 /D
&# C/G
b
3 11

E

nn n bAb/E b
4

b JJ6 . # 3 n
1/4

b
1/4

C/G 3 G/D
1/4

&# b 3 6 n bb
j
8 8 # 93 n 8
11/4
/4

3 b. b 6
1/4 A /E
&# 2 3 8 10
8
E 1/4

2 5 b 3 3 n 6 J6
n10 9
B 11 11
5 5
1/4

& 3 3 3 5 3
G
E 1/4 8 6 8 10 8 9 8
b
12 10
9
D

23 3
B
A 3 11 8 11
1/4
G 5 5 1/4 10
E
D 2 5 5 3 6 8 6 8 10 8 9 8 12 11
10 10
B 6 3 6 11 8 1/4
11
A 3
E
G 3 5 3 5 3 61/4 8 6 8 10 8 9 8 10
E
B
D6 2 2 5 5 3 6 11 8 12 111/4 11
10 10
9
G
A
E C7
3 3 5 3 5
C sus4 C 3 6 G 8 6 8 10 b b
E /B 8 D/A9 8 E /Bb b 10
E /B F/C 9C /G
#
D
E 2
3 2 5 5 12 10
11 10
j 11F/C
B 3 6 11 8 11
j
A 6 31/4
E b/B b b b
b 3 3 5

3 5 10
j
G

&# n j Eb/B b
E /B#
j 1011F/C
E 3
C7 C sus4 C G D/A E /B E /B 10
9C /G
j
D6 2 2 5 5 12
b n j
1/4

3 b CC sus4
bEEbb/B/Bbb
A

&# n j bEb/B b nE/B# j F/C C

E C7 C G D/A 10C /G

/Gj
6

b G n jj
1/4

b
C7
C sus4
sus4 C
j bEb/B b
D/A
bEb/Bb
nE/B#
&# n C
1 1 j F/C /Gj
1/4

b b G n j
1/4

&# n j bb 5 j b n #
C7 C D/A
3 01 031
E

2 0 2 2 0 0 b n 2j
1/4

3
B

5 b 3 4 b 5 n # 6 78
1/4

& 5 n 3 3 3j 6 3
G

3 0
E

2 0 2 2 0 0 b 1 n 2
D

3 7
B

3 3 b 56 54 b 6 5 n 7 6
A 1/4

23
G
E 5 3 0
D
B 8 1/4
5 3 1 3
1
A
E
G 5 3 0 0 1 2
E
B
D 5 3 2 0 3 2 1 1
3 2 0 0 5 5
4 6 5 7 6 8
7 2
8 1/4
G
A
E 5 3 0 0 3 1 2 1/4
1/4
2 G0 7D7 6
#
D
E
B 8 5 3 2 0 3 2 1 3
1 0 3 3 5
6 4
5 6 5 7
8 2
3

1 2 b
A 3 1 2

b 32
G 5 3 0 0

n . 5
1/46

&# n
E
2 G0 3 3 6 5 7D7 6 8

.
1/4

. .
D8 5 3 2 0 3 2 3 0 5 4 5 7
b 3 b 3 # 6 7D7
n 8
A 3

. n . b 3
1/46

&# n
E G

.
1/4

. b
8

bb b# n LetD7ring
G 1/4

1/4

&# . . . n . 1/4
b b# n 3
1/14/4
n LetD7ring
&# n 3. n
G

2.
1/4

. 2 . 3 3
E

b 9 9 b 8 # 8 Letring5
7 n
B

3 b 3 3
1/4 1/4

& . 3 3 n 3. 5 5 5 n 3
G

2 . 2.
E

b11
10 X
9 8 # 9 8 5 Let5ring5
D

7 n
B
A 1/4 1/4

. 3 3
G
E
D 5 5 10 9 10 8 X 5 3
B 11 1/4 1/4
A
E
G 3 3 5 5 5
E
B
D 11 2 2 3 5 3 5 11 10 9 10 9 8 9 8 7 8 X 5 3 Let ring
1/4 1/4
G
A
E 3 3 5 5 5
D
E
B 3 2 3 2 3 5 3 5 11 10 9 10 9 8 9 8 7 8 X 5 3
A 11 5 5
G
3 3 3 9 8 3 5
E
D 11 2 2 3 5 3 5 11 10 9 10 9 8 8 7 X 5 3
A 5 5
E 3 3 11 10 9 8
11

Guitarist would like to thank Peach Guitars for lending us its stellar 57 Goldtop reissue for this feature www.peachguitars.com

64 Guitarist Summer 2014