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Intro, turnaround, and ending riffs have very similar DNA, so they can be
mutated ever so slightly to change into one of the other two functions. I provide
examples (in the figures) in this section that you can easily adapt and
add your own flavor to, so take a stab at converting the intro in Figure 7-12
into an ending that borrows from Figure 7-17. These practices get you used to
taking other people’s ideas and fashioning them into your own. That’s how
pre-existing riffs and licks get turned into an individual and original voice.
Intro riffs
Figure 7-12 is a snappy, triplet-based intro riff. The lower voice descends
while the top voice stays fixed. Try playing this riff fingerstyle or with a pick
and fingers.
Track 36, 0:00
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E7
3
B7
3 3 3
0 0 0
T
4 4 3 3 2 2
A
B
0
0
2
0 0
1 1 2 3 2 12
Figure 7-13 is related to Figure 7-12 in that the lower voice descends against a
fixed upper-note. But here, the notes are played together as double-stops for
a more obvious and dramatic harmonic clash of the two notes. This blues lick
and the one in Figure 7-14 are borrowed from a famous pop song — Johnny
Rivers’s version of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis.” Play this lick fingerstyle or with
pick and fingers.
Track 36, 0:11
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E7
B7
Figure 7-13:
A doublestop
intro
riff in E.
T
A
B
130 Part II: Setting Up to Play the Blues TEAM LinG
Figure 7-12:
A tripletbased
intro
riff in E.
0 0 0 0
5 3
2 0 0 2
2
3
0
4 2 0
0
2
1
2