Joe Bonamassa, at the age of only eight, opened for B.B. King, and was also playing shows on a regular basis by the age of twelve. Since then, Bonamassa has released numerous successful albums and has played at many famous concert halls across the world. Bonamassa is also known for his obsessive guitar collection. In 2019, he revealed in an interview that he had more than 400 guitars and 400 amplifiers. I hope you enjoy these Joe Bonamassa licks!
Lick #1: Blues Swing Riff
Here’s a burnin’ Joe Bonamassa lick I transcribed from one of his old Instagram posts. It’s essentially Joe just doing his thing over a G blues. You’ll want to give this one a listen first because there are a lot of notes!
Joe mostly sticks to the G blues scale, of course playing the changes over the C (IV) and D (V) chords.
The lick begins with a riff that repeats itself a couple of times. Then, Joe begins to open up in the second verse, with the range extending up to a bend on the 15th fret, sliding back down to the 3rd. The lick gets even more intense going into the third verse where you’ll find no shortage of huge bends and burnin’ eighth notes!
Click here to listen to this lick on Soundslice.
Lick #2: Burnin’ Pentatonic Lick
This has to be a record of mine for the most mentions of the word “burnin” in a single lesson… Although, I can’t think of a better lesson to claim the record than this one because Joe’s playing truly is burnin’!
This is another lick I transcribed from one of Joe’s Instagram posts. This lick is filled with pentatonic sequences, bends, and enough hammer-ons and pull-offs to where you’ll almost not even need a pick!
Definitely give this one a listen first because there are a lot of notes! The lick starts out slow with Joe warming into a big open B Major chord with open B and E strings, at the end of the second measure. Joe right away gets down to business in the third measure, playing a couple B major arpeggios. He then begins a grueling pentatonic sequence in the fourth measure that ends with a big vibrato in measure 6. He then takes on another HUGE pentatonic sequence starting in measure 7 that lasts all the way into measure 12, that ends with a big open E major chord (I love the way this E major sounds with Joe’s overdriven Les Paul). We then have yet another, you guessed it, pentatonic sequence beginning in measure 14 that carries us to the end of the lick with not much breathing room in between.
There are a lot of pentatonic sequences in this lick! They look like a whole mess of notes but they are easy patterns to play, and use the familiar pentatonic scale. Focus more on the sequence patterns and don’t be intimidated by the sheer number of notes Joe plays. Also don’t be sloppy and make sure to nail the hammer-ons and pull-offs!
The other challenge in this lick is nailing the bends. It isn’t easy nailing a full-step bend after coming out of a fast pentatonic sequence. This is something I am still practicing!
Click here to listen to this lick on Soundslice.
Lick #3: “I Know Where I Belong” Solo
Here is a transcription of the first nine bars of Joe Bonamassa's solo from his recording I Know Where I Belong.
Take note that the recording is a half step above what it is written below. I notated the transcription in the friendly key of A minor so that it is easier to learn.
The second measure begins with a full bend and release.
The sixth measure begins with a half bend and release.
Click here to listen to this transcription on YouTube.
