It must have been awesome to be knocking
around all the blues clubs in London
during the mid to late ’60s. Think about
it: On a given night, you could run across
Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Peter
Green, Mick Taylor, Jimi Hendrix, or David
Gilmour. The stars aligned as they did in
NYC in the ’50s with Miles Davis, Charlie
Parker, and John Coltrane, or in Chicago
around Chess Records and Detroit with
Motown. Unfortunately, I wasn’t alive for any
of that stuff. Maybe the tail end of the British
thing, but my diapers would most likely have
been a downer onstage. (I did witness the
Seattle scene in the ’90s, but at that point,
guitar solos had gone out of fashion.)
I’m a huge blues fan, but the way the Brits
played it really got to me. It was just the right
blend of blues and rock ’n’ roll—two great
American art forms blended into its own
sound. So what is British blues? I’ll make a
few generalizations here, so bear with me.
I’d say the Brit school is mostly influenced
by Chicago blues—and the likes
of B.B. King and Muddy Waters—so the
sound is a bit more of a mix of major
and minor blues scales, as opposed to the
straight minor blues sound that’s associated
with Texas blues. Basically, Brit blues is a bit
happier. For an in-depth look at this sound,
check out my column in the June 2011
issue [
“The Composite Blues Scale,” June2011]. Mix that with all the great Memphis
rock ’n’ roll sounds of Elvis Presley, Carl
Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis, add some loud
guitar, and it all comes together.
The invention of the Marshall amplifier
had a huge impact on the British sound.
Cranking the volume on a Marshall generated
overdrive and sustain that defines what
we think of as British Blues. Eric Clapton
basically invented that guitar tone in 1966
on John Mayall’s Blues Breakers with Eric
Clapton album. Don’t own it? Buy it now!
What is cooler than a cranked Marshall and
a Les Paul? This month, I want to share a
few of my favorite licks from Clapton, Jeff
Beck, Jimmy Page, and Peter Green. These
aren’t difficult licks, but they do embody
that British attitude.
Every time I play the intro lick in
Fig. 1,
it makes my big toe stand up in my boot.
This is straight up Cream-era Clapton. I
love his heavy vibrato on the tritone of the
C7 chord (Bb and E), while the amp’s gain
does the work for him with the ringing
overtones. Another Clapton-ism that I have
heard Robben Ford use from time to time
is shown in
Fig. 2. It’s based on a C minor
pentatonic scale (C–Eb–F–G–Bb) with the 6
(A) replacing the b7. I like it because it adds
a little bit of flavor to a blues. This lick
can also be seen as coming from C Dorian
(C–D–Eb–F–G–A–Bb), so make sure to try
it out over a Cm7 chord as well.
or Download Example Audio
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The rapid-fire
Fig. 3 is a classic pentatonic
lick. Have some fun with this one by
playing it at different tempos and laying
back a bit. For a cool Michael Schenker-vibe,
try stepping on the gas. Take a minute to listen
to the natural clashing overtones this lick
produces. Once again, the advent of amp
gain really added to the coolness of this lick.
or Download Example Audio
Let’s face it: Jimmy Page is the riff master.
Where would rock or metal be without
his influence?
Fig. 4 is a Zep-inspired
groove over an E7 chord that really exemplifies
the British sound of mixing blues
and rock. As with any lick you learn, try
this one at some different tempos and feels,
as it can fit in so many different places. It’s
not so important that you learn the lick
exactly—it’s more about how it’s played.
Peter Green, the original guitarist for
Fleetwood Mac, is one of my favorites. He
had a great “out-of-phase” Les Paul tone and
such a natural feel.
Fig. 5 is a cool opening
lick for a blues in C that incorporates some
quarter-step bends. I must admit I have stolen
this lick many times.
or Download Example Audio
or Download Example Audio
I hope these licks give you some insight
into the British blues players. There are
many albums I can recommend, but if
you are new to the genre I cannot stress
how important John Mayall’s
Blues
Breakers album is. It’s the blueprint of
what was to follow. Now crank that
amp and get to it!
Jeff McErlain
Jeff McErlain is a New York City-based guitar
player, producer, songwriter, and educator. He
performs regularly in NYC and abroad with
his trio and blues band. Jeff has a number of
instructional DVDs available at TrueFire.com,
and he is a featured instructor for the National
Guitar Workshop. Jeff's latest CD I'm Tired is
available on iTunes or at
jeffmcerlain.com.