In this lesson I want to show you a slow blues turnaround lick in the key of B. This lick is similar to what Eric Clapton, BB King, or Freddie King might play at the turnaround section of a 12 bar blues. This is an excerpt from the 19 Blues Licks course and is available for All Access Pass subscribers.
Turnarounds are very important if you want to learn how to play the blues. They occur at the last 4 bars of the 12 bar blues. This lesson is in the key of B. The last 4 bars are F#7, E7, B7, and F#7. ( V, IV, I, and V ) You must be able to play a lick that sounds good while these chord changes are happening.
Many times ending on a chord tone of the final chord, in this case the F#7, will give you great results. This means you want to end your phrase on the 1, 3, 5, or b7 notes of the F#7 chord. In this lesson I simply bend to the F# note. If you don’t know, the 1, 3, 5 and b7 notes are F#, A#, C#, and E.
Try ending on any of these notes when you arrive at the F#7 chord in the last bar of the 12 bar blues. I think you’ll be pleased with the results.
