Alright so today I want to talk about cool blues riffs – and in particular I’m going to use Albert King’s “Born Under A Bad Sign” as my demonstration riff.
Now, your first question might be, “What’s the difference between a lick and a riff?”
I’m glad you asked… now I’m no expert on grammar (my expertise ends at the end of the guitar neck 🙂 but to me, a riff is signature melody or chord progression that is fairly short and recognizable. It’s generally the basis for a song, and not part of a lead break.
Some famous ones are the intro to “Smoke On The Water,” “Sunshine Of Your Love,” “Back In Black,” etc.
Now a lick is a little different to me… I would say something like “check out this lick at the end of the solo to Pride & Joy” for example. It’s one little flurry or group of notes that isn’t repeated throughout the tune.
This tune has a riff, it’s repeated throughout the tune and it’s well worth a few minutes of your time 🙂
Have fun with this and make sure you move it around to different keys and play the whole box that it comes from so you can see it.
Downloads
bad-sign-DL.mp4The MP4 version of this video (best for Mac and some Windows users.)
- bad-sign-DL.wmv
The video in WMV format (best for Windows users.)
110 replies to "Born Under A Bad Sign Style Blues Guitar Lesson"
Hey Griff – do you find working out with weights hinders your guitar playing? Sore or tight muscles, ext ??
I love Albert King, I hope you do a full course just to him and his style.
Once again…Thanks Griff!
5/18/19
As usual well explained. He turns done to “D” make it sound truly different.
GOT ALL TH BOXS FROM YOU,5 YEARS AGO. THE FIRST 4 NOTES SOUND LIKE THE INTRO TO LALA! THEN THE BEND AND THE REST OF THE LICK. EASIE PIZZIE GRIFF !
WHAT ABOUT BAD TO THE BONE. I TUNE MY GUITAR TO D. THEN I USE A SLIDE. ONESONG THAT IS VERY BULESY. I USE TO PLAY BORN UNDER A BAD SINE, WHEN I WAS I MY FIRST BLUES BAND . SO THANS FOR THE REAMINDER.
Paul, you need to learn to spell
and to stop using all caps…
Great lesson right there Griff. We hear a lot about the cage system/boxes etc and you make it all sound doable. Thank you as always. This must be one of the most iconic riffs out there?
Thanks again for some more tasty little bits. Oh,I am enjoying my new blues unleashed course..Jim
Griff I have your programs Blues for Beginner, Unleashed and Blues in a Box. I was trying to get the fingering. Any chance of just putting just one of those phrases in tabs. I will be able to figure the other octaves out. I just couldn’t pin point your fingering because you were too fast. I would appreciate it. Thanks.
George
Griff..I got this, I am going to play it for my
family & friends” this weekend.
Thanks Griff”
RORY GALLAGER does this one and tears it up RIP Rory
This riff sounds great on it’s own. No bass or drums necessary. It also makes a great loop to comp or jam over when I play alone (doesn’t play well with others).
Thanks Griff,
-ed
Kudos to Griff on a very cool lesson! So much going on here – even new icons for downloading!
So, a Riff is Repeated; a Lick, a one-Liner? Can we standardize with the illiteration?
My thoughts kept going to “Give a guitarist a riff and they’ll know one riff. Teach a guitarist where a riff comes from and they’ll be able to play the guitar!” Thanks Griff! Your teaching is reaching new heights!
Another famous riff is the one on “Daytripper” by the Beatles. I believe it was by George Harrison if I am not mistaken.
You are mistaken! Written by Lennon and McCartney!
I like the creedence clearwater revival versin of this tune .Clapton does it too his version is good also . Ive been playing this tune forever . I gotta tell ya though I am seeing alot of great explaining on lots of other journies you can take with this tune .
Thanks for your time spent in this lesson-much appreciated.Have a brilliant christmas with your family and thanks again for your generous teaching.
Cheers Griff
I’m glad I’ve been working on the boxes could follow this
And play along
It makes sense thanks griff
Griff,I play a tele same as yours..Was wo ndering what type of strings you prefer ? Merry Christmas Kevin
Thanks Griff
Totally awesome explanation of following in different keys. Slowly starting to understand the language of music.
As always. Great full for the info. Thanks Griff.
Thanks Griff,
This is a really great Riff and I will be purchasing your Pentatonic Scale Course once we move House during hopefully 1st Qtr 2015. But with this demo it is so easy to follow as I already know a few of the scales here.
Wishing you and your Family a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2015 and also a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2015 to all at BGU worldwide.
I am off for a few weeks and will be practicing as much as possible Whoopie!!!
Michael -Sydney Australia
This is such a simple but great riff to have in ones tool bad as it is an ear catcher and can be thrown in during a jam with others just to throw in some fun as I have done on occasion; taking riffs from other songs and incorporating into other songs/jams/gigs, whatever is going on.
BTW Griff, I took what I’ve learned from you in merging the major/minors together and was playing along with an Albert Collins DVD yesterday and it worked out fantastic. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Amazing
NICE EXPLANATION GRIFF
Thanks Griff. Nice to add a great Albert King riff. I have always liked box 3 for some reason. And your lesson is great for showing how to move that pattern around the fret board for any key.
Thanks Griff. I have just about all of your programs and have just added your pentatonic scale course. It is incredible. Have been looking for something like this. Thanks again.
Hey very trivial blog!! Man .. Superb .. Magnificent .. I will bookmark your web place and acquire the feeds additionally…I am cheerful to obtain made known a lot of practical communication decent at this time inside the submit, we’d like develop additional strategies in this regard, be grateful you for sharing. . . . . .
Huh?
Great way to start the weekend. I also will be working (We play for fun/Food. Pretty much for free.) tomorrow at the Gringo July 4th gig here in San Ramon, Costa Rica. I can use this lesson. Thanks Griff.
Redheaded stepchild was mentioned . I know thoes guys and got to see them perform . One of the guitarists Rick is a friend of mine and so is the bass player . I have actually played at there bar afew times and they like my band alot. Any ways history lesson over . I like this lesson because I once asked a music major in colledge to help me read the music to this tune . It inspires Me alot. I like the early cream version of this song . Hope they paid Freddie alot to redo it .
oops albert
Thanks Griff! Great lesson!
Great! Love this song and this lesson. Learning so much from you. Thanks!
Lucid & informative. Thanks!
Very entertaining. Thank you…
Griff, this lesson plus the special you have going on, gave me the push necessary to purchase your “Blues unleashed program”. I appreciate the email lessons to hold me over until I could afford the full blown program. Thank you for all your efforts to teach the willing.
Mark Prindle
Wasilla, Alaska
I HAVE THE BUG COURSE. TOOK ME MONTHS TO GO THROUGH IT AND LEARN THE TECHNICS AND THE G9TH AND 7TH CHORDS. JUST HAVING THE DVD DOES NOT STOP ME FROM USEING THE TID BITS OF LESSON’S FROM GRIFF. I KNOW THE BORN ON THE BAD SIDE SONG IN D. NEVER DID LEARN THAT RIFF. THANKS GRIFF.
Griff,
Thank you for examining one of my all-time favorite songs. As always, you skillfully breakdown the song into small, manageable bits, making learning so much easier and understandable. I’ve learned more from viewing just a handful of your on-line videos than I did from many months of costly personal guitar instruction. I cannot thank you enough!
Sincerely,
Mark
Hey Griff,Thanks for that cool blues riff aka cream cover tune i will practice it till i master it lol! thanks man.
Hi Griff !
Sorry I don’t chime in very often but after this brief/killer tip I am reminded how often you offer help to the aspiring guitarist (any musician actually) without insisting that we buy something. I have purchased too many instruction videos already. Your little gifts now and then keep me inspired because I can get so wrapped up in the learning process that I forget about the simple fun things that can be done to keep the freedom in playing. I really enjoy grabbing my guitar, opening one of your videos and just learning something new real quick.
I’m not rejecting the fact that you would like to sell some good instructional stuff but you make it obvious to me that you are also interested in making sure that we all keeping playing.
Thanks again, you rock! Tom W
TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU TOM. I HAVE ALOT OF DVD’D AND I’VE BEEN PLAYING PROFESSIONALY FOR 38 YEARS. STILL LIKE THOSE LESSONS FROM GRIFF. HE’S THE MAN!
Yes Griff very good lesson ,i enjoyed it very much and keep those great lessons coming thank you so much and you are a great teacher .
Great lesson Griff. I Was supposed to be somewhere about 30 minutes ago but this was too much fun!
Hey Griff
Thanks for another GREAT lesson … Your teachimg technics are FANTASTIC !!!
Thank you for the Music Lessons! It puts all the pieces together. Learning chords, notes, fingering, riffs, etc, was very confusing until you put it into perspective! I learned the first three boxes and learning the 4th and 5th but was having a hard time using them. Practicing what you taught, I heard a lot of different songs when I practice the boxes! Now it makes sense! Thank you very much, you saved me from a LOT of frustration! Mark
ポスト|おやおや、これは非常に素晴らしい本当にいいだった。でコンセプト私はたい？作る| | 正確な実際の努力優れた時間とを考慮さらにさらに、このような書面に入れ記事しかし？私は何を言うことができる、私は多くを先延ばしして？決して 見える 何かを得るためにが行わ。
Exactly!
Hi Griff, one of my favorite blues songs!
sometimes feels like the story of my life.
but there is always someone worse off!
long as I can play music,life will be good
regards Chris
great stuff griff grate to learn from you. Michael
thanks Griff – this is very useful right now and you really do teach with clarity.
cheers
Griff,
I love learning new things and you always come thru.
Box 3 to the 4th and 5th, I never noticed how close it was.
Thanks,
Drew
Another gem you passed along Griff…I appreciate it!
I propose that we hereby resolve that any riff augmented with a lick be referred to henceforth as a “Griff”.
Cool lesson G, can’t wait to teach my son that, so we can lay that groove down and play around wih it!
Thanx again Griff, for another valuble lesson…Hope you & yours Have a Safe & Happy Holiday!
Griff,
You brought back some memories with this tune. I was thinking of Pat Travers version in E, that is more of a Rock approach to this classic, but I have always been fond of that version. I’m adding this one to the set list for this week. Thanks for all you do brother…
Cletus
Griff,another fine example of your teaching skills. You make it so easy to follow,and learn the riff.Thanks for sending the lesson. Mike Z.
can you add the solo to this bit also? I enjoyed it so far, thanks. I did order and get your DVDs.
do you have the tab for this?
like it every time i listen
whistler
Hey Griff.. love this kind of theory lesson.. throwing the 4th and 5th chords over a scale box (position 3) puts two aspects of playing (melody and chords) into a blender and throws out some great ideas for us all to play with. Great stuff… Much appreciated!
Hi Griff
Great stuff
Return from 4 – 1. First note landed on
Was it 3rd note 2nd fret before starting
1 chord again ( u,r,h,s,)
Thanks Joe
I am lost at this same point too.
wicked. thanks for the great lesson. help me learn the fretboard. just the kind of questions I need answered. keep up the great work.
Hi Griff, That is a cool riff, I haven’t listen to that song in a while, I think I here a similarity of the radar love song intro by golden ear ring. Thanks for the Lesson (Allen)
Thanks! More stuff to practice!
It’s a very good lesson and it’s nice to have a good guitar teacher around like you, thanks Griff.
The one version i really like is by-Rita Coolidge.
Thanks Griff. That helps me understand how to use more of the fretboard. I am also pleased to see the video will play on my android phone. A while back the acoustic lessons would not play. I had almost given up. But, you have the best lessons I have found. Thanks again.
I learned this song in G with a garage band, but the lead guitarist who taught me it wasn’t into explaining anything to me (I don’t think he knows…) so it’s great to get a better understanding of what I’m doing. Thanks, Griff!
hi griff more great stuff from you as usual.
please keep sending the tips. from a very greatfull learner and nefinitely improving.
regards a.weston
thanks mate good stuff
Great stuff Griff cheers!
Thanks Griff!
AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE ABOUT YOU GRIFF GOOD TEACHER GOOD STUFF
Would be helpful if you would PLAY through the lesson first…before you talk about it.
This would help us beginners have a better idea of what we are trying to do.
THANKS for your posts.
I dont get to watch most of your things because downloading is too slow (stops and starts, and stops, and doesnt start again i.e. the screen is always playing ‘catch-up’ to the download) and takes up too much time and cost(Vodafone);but i would like to mention that it would be better with the camera angle view of your ‘hand on the guitar’ be above horizontal and not below horizontal because ive noticed your fingers(especially middle and ring fingers) get in the way, from a viewers perspective.
Good lesson. Old stuff but you put it in a way that makes ot easy to follow.
thanks Griff, I have a book on the riff , I been working on it. thank you.
Nice riff, Griff.
(Someone had to say it)
Nice Griff, very nice!
Great riff and great lesson again thancks
another great lesson – your lessons are the best
Hi, i have been trying to watch your Video ref.’ born under a bad sign’, but it breaks up every 5 to 7 secs. I would love to learn it, and others ,but the continuous breaks ,makes it almost unplayable.
Is there any thing i can do to better the reception. My PC is MS XP PRO & my OP is Googlecrombe I am not a computer Buff, But an elderly guitar learner
Thanks Griff, Ken Lloydl
Great lesson Griff for a modest beginner like my self
chester boy
Thank you for another good lesson!!
Griff,
Pretty cool. As an advanced player, and one who also adores and has opened for Albert,
I’d be more interested in the signature root lead he utilizes as I incorporate elements in my playing style. Keep on rockin the blues!
Thank you! To be able to change keys is important, and your explanation makes total
sense.
my mp3 demos are on this site…just the one signature song…i am lucky to have one of the greatest guitar players in my neighborhood….i go pester him…..he knows i can play, but you are gonna give me the right to blow his mind…i am glad i found you….doc dillon unchainedpublictaste@yahoo.com has 6 of my original demos…if you send an email there i will kick that demo back…some jazz guys in atlanta requested it cause they said my stuff could be recorded in various styles as it was “so simple”….i buy and sell vintage guitars and have access to 625 from a private collection for sale…any wish list guitars i may just have them on file …..
Volume is perfect Thanks again G.T.
En punto Griff, as always, dead on on it from a novice perspective!
Very Nice and Really cool.Pls send me more of your good work.Tnkx
Thanks for simplifying this. I have been practicing my pentatonic scales forever, it seems, but you explaining how they fit with a song is very helpful!
Thanks Griff like all ways enjoyed the lesson
good job. Larry
Griff..Great Job again! I really love that pentatonic box at the 2nd fret,because going back to the first formation at the 9th fret, you can also play that same stack in the middle of the fret board at the 9th fret on the “A” string to give the Octave Flair to the lead….without changing or shifting to another fret..stacked just like the pattern on the 2nd fret. I hammer this all the time, much like Gary Moore does in his leads when he played with Albert King and Albert Collins with his Midnight Blues Band.
thank you for this explanation to a song I play often… always enjoy your videos
Great little lesson Griff. Always enjoy the stuff you share…thanks
hey griff that was really good ,but it would have been so good if had put a little music back up alone wiht it thanks enjoyed it
Great stuff broken down into a simple understandable mini lesson that is useful and fun. I love the two screen part showing close up what both hands are doing. Keep it coming Griff.
I’d always wonder what a riff was and what a lick was, in fact I was just about to ask you but you beat me to the punch, thanks for that. 🙂
Many thanks Griff – for both the original “PTTB” course a few years back, and, as promised, the continuing correspondence. I’ve learned a lot.
It’s a very rare experience to receive more than expected……
Highly recommended for sure!
Very cool Griff, strange things happen sometimes I just bought the book “Blues Guitar Tab White Pages” & was looking at this specific song by Albert King…thanks Griff !
Nice lesson. ‘Born under a Bad Sign’ is a great example of the kind of song your students would want to know how to play at a blues jam. Explaining the general principles is much more helpful than a specific, note-by-note run-through of version X or Y.
I’m not sure how you knew it, but I’ve had this one on my mind for a while. Very cool. Thanks Griff.
Griff,
I am forever saying thanks. You are the luckiest find for me in all my years of playing.
Gary…Old School and Still Rockin’
Really good lesson, Griff. This will expand my limited repertoire no end!!!
This a great little lesson. I learned a lot of this one getting ready for your BGU Live event. You can play right along with song with what you’ve taught here. This is great! Thanks Griff!