These are the riffs and runs that every blues player gets addicted to. The physical sensation of playing them is half the reason they exist. Each one has been used on a thousand records, but they never get old — because they feel great to play. All translated to Bm so they slot straight into your Renegade backing track.
Three things, every time: physical satisfaction (the hand movement feels natural and rhythmic), harmonic punch (the notes resolve in a way that releases tension), and repeatability (you can loop them without getting bored). Every riff in this pack has all three.
Play any of these once and your hand will already be doing it before you finish reading the next sentence. That's the test of a great blues lick — it teaches itself to your fingers.
e|--------------------------| B|--15-b(17)~~~~~15--12-----| G|----------------------14--| D|--------------------------| bend D up to E (whole step) hold with WIDE vibrato release to D, descend to B, then E D = b3 of Bm E = 4 of Bm B = root
The b3→4 bend creates the most classic blues tension in the language. Your ear hears "tension wanting to resolve" and the release DELIVERS that resolution. Plus the wide vibrato feels physical — your wrist gets into a slow rocking motion that's almost meditative.
Try the same move at fret 7 B-string (F# bent to G#). It's the 5→#5 bend — bluesier, more aggressive. Both work over Bm.
e|--------------------------| B|--15-12-15-b(17)-15-12----| G|--------------------14-12-| D|--------------------------| D-B-D-bend-D-B then A-G b3-R-b3 bend to 4 then b7-b6 The "ohhhh" lick — a vocal cry.
It's a tiny physical zone (your hand barely moves) but the harmonic content is COMPLETE — you cover the root, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7 all without shifting position. Plus the repetition is hypnotic. Loop the first 5 notes (D-B-D-bend-D-B) over and over and you'll feel yourself sliding into the BB King trance.
e|--15-12-----------------------| B|--------15-12-----------------| G|-----------------14-12--------| D|------------------------14-12-| A|------------------------------| D-B-D-B-E-D-A-G b3-R-b3-R-4-b3-b7-b6 Pure pentatonic descending, feels like an exhale.
The physical motion of cascading DOWN the strings is satisfying like a slinky falling down stairs. Each note "uncovers" the next. There's almost no wrong way to play this — it just falls into place. Pull-offs do half the work for you, so it feels effortless.
Reverse it: start on A (D-string fret 7) and ascend. Same notes, opposite direction. Equally addictive but feels different — like a rising tension instead of a release.
e|--------------------------------| B|--7-b(9)-7-7--7-b(9)-7-7--------| G|------------9----------------9--| D|----------------------7---------| A|--------------------------------| bend F# to A, hit F#, F# bend F# to A, hit F#, F# land on A then back to E Shuffled 8th notes: da-DA-da-da da-DA-da-da
The shuffle rhythm is built INTO the fingering. You don't have to think about timing — your hand naturally falls into the shuffle pattern when you play this. Once you've got it going, stopping feels weird. It's the most physically rhythmic lick in blues.
e|--------------------------| B|--14-13-12-11-10----------| G|------------------12------| D|------------------------12| A|--------------------------| chromatic descent from F# down to A on B string F# - F - E - Eb - D 5 - b5(blue) - 4 - b3(blue) - b3 Then G string fret 12 (G) then D string fret 12 (E) The "round trip home."
Your fingers literally walk down one fret at a time — the most natural finger motion possible. Every fingertip touches the string in sequence. It's a tactile pleasure to play, AND every chromatic step pulls your ear toward the next note. By the time you land on the final note, the resolution feels INEVITABLE.
Try it ASCENDING — start at fret 10 and walk UP to fret 14. Same chromatic line, opposite direction. Sounds like building tension instead of releasing it. Equally addictive.
e|-------------------------------| B|--12-15-12-15-12-15------------| G|-------------------14-12-14-12-| D|-------------------------------| Triplet pattern across 2 strings: B-D-B-D-B-D-A-E-A-E 1 trip-let 2 trip-let Three notes per beat. The hand swings between two frets on each string.
Triplets feel different from straight 8ths — they have rolling, dancing energy. Once the rhythm locks in, your hand maintains it automatically. Adding speed makes you sound like a blues master without much effort. The pull-off makes the lick feel like it's PLAYING ITSELF.
e|------15-15-12-12-----------| B|------15-15-12-12-----------| G|--14------------------------| D|--12------------------------| Bm chord stab, then double-stops on b3/4 and root/b3 The double-stop trick: Play TWO strings at the same fret, same finger. Bend BOTH together a quarter step.
Two strings ringing simultaneously gives you DOUBLE the harmonic punch of a single note. The bend on both strings creates a slight detune that sounds like a vocal "cry." It's lazy AND impressive — you're playing one finger, but it sounds like you're playing two notes. Maximum payoff per effort.
e|--------------------------| B|--------------------------| G|--7-b(8)~~~~~~7-----------| D|------------------9-7-----| A|--------------------------| bend D up a HALF step to D# (the major 3) hold with vibrato release back to D D = b3 of Bm (minor) D# = 3 of B (major!) One half-step bend changes the chord quality entirely.
You're playing a HARMONIC TRICK with one finger. The bend reveals the major 3rd hidden in the chord. Your ear hears the song shift from minor to major — a profound emotional change — and then back to minor again. It's a half-step bend that does the work of two chord changes.
Skip the release. Bend up and STAY there. Now you're in B major territory. This is the lick Robben Ford uses to lift a minor blues into a brighter, jazzier place mid-solo.
CALL (Question — sharp, up): e|--------------------------| B|--7-b(9)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| G|--------------------------| F# bend to A, sustained, questioning tone [2 beats of REST] RESPONSE (Answer — descending, settled): e|--------------------------| B|--10-7--------------------| G|------9-7-----------------| D|---------9-7--------------| A|-------------9------------| A-F#-E-D-B (descending) the answer settles.
It teaches you the SHAPE of music itself — question and answer. Once you start playing in call-and-response patterns, every phrase you improvise will naturally fall into this shape. You're not just playing notes — you're having a conversation with yourself. That feels deeply right.
BAR 1 (low intensity): B|--7-b(9)~~~~~~~~~~~| G|--------------------| BAR 2 (rising): e|--7-10-12-----------| B|----------12-15-----| BAR 3 (high tension): e|--15-b(17)~~~~~~~~~| BAR 4 (peak + release): e|--17-b(19)~~~~~~14-12-| Each bar climbs higher. Each climax is bigger. Final release on the b3.
This is the COMPLETE arc of an emotional solo in 4 bars. You can FEEL the build under your fingers as you climb the neck — your hand moves higher, the vibrato gets wider, the bends get bigger. By the end your whole body is leaning into the guitar. It's the most physically dramatic riff in the pack.
Individual riffs are good. Strung together, they're a SOLO. Here are addictive combinations that flow naturally:
The difference between blues vocabulary you "know" and vocabulary you OWN is whether you can play it without thinking. Addictive riffs become unconscious — your hand reaches for them automatically when the music calls.
This is how every great blues player built their vocabulary. They didn't learn 1000 licks. They learned 20 that felt great and played them thousands of times. The licks that survived that filter became their personal style.
Pick 3 from this pack. Play them every day for a month. They'll become yours. Then pick 3 more. Within a year you'll have your own voice — built on the addictive vocabulary you couldn't STOP playing.