It’s tempting to call this the “3 note solo,” but since I already did a 4 note solo, that might be a little silly 🙂

Seriously, though, this is a really simple pattern… a lot of people call it the “BB Box” or the “BB King Box” but I’ve studied a LOT of BB King and, while he uses this box, he uses a lot of other patterns more.

Also, a lot of people use this pattern, not just BB…

So I call it the “house pattern” because it kind of looks like a house, and it’s REALLY easy to use it to follow the major and minor chord sounds throughout your solo.

Here, I’ll show you…

By the way, I have a course called Killer Blues Solos Made Easy that uses this pattern like this, and more.


    14 replies to "Using The BB Box House Pattern And Switching Major and Minor"

    • Suzanne

      This was a really, REALLY helpful lesson that made me feel like maybe I’m not as far from playing a decent solo as I usually feel!

    • Mike

      Thanks Griff for all your doing for me to learn some blues I look forward to your emails Every day for they are the highlight of my day gives me hope on being maybe just a little better of a player and helps me to make sense of it play on bro

    • Bob C

      I did your “4 note solo” which I found to be a tremendous help – because prior to that I was wondering all over the fret board making noise and not really playing anything. Then I thought what can I do with 3 notes or 2 notes. Playing around for a few hrs I ended up with something vaguely similar to what you demonstrated not because I knew what I was doing but because it sounded good. (If I could only hit those bends)

      • Paul

        I also struggled for a long time with bends. I started out just using my ear to gauge it, but to no avail. I then put my acoustic (TC Electronics coloured LED) tuner on my headstock and practised over and over again hitting 1/2 note and full not bends – a littel every day. This way my brain finally figured how far my fingers needed to push the string up to hit the right tone as I had a visual inidicator as well as the sound. Eventually, I was able to remove the tuner (after some weeks of daily practice) and now I find I can bend reasonably well. I’ll never be BB King or Clapton, but it sounds good to me 🙂 Hope that reminder of a someone else’s good idea my help.

    • Tony Ludwig

      Griff, as always making the difficult extremely simple….the idea of a full bend versus half bend to start mixing major and minor sounds – awesome!

    • Jeff

      It doesn’t have to be complicated. 3 notes. Stay in time. Have fun. Thanks Griff.

    • John Snow

      Hi Griff,

      That’ s a definitive B.B. King lick, for sure. I am blessed to have seen B.B. live at least
      six times (I have the same t-shirt as you’re wearing!) and you hear this lick and variations
      a lot.
      Griff, thanks for all the lessons – you’re helping this old bluesman a ton!

    • BOB DOWD

      I was wondering, what recorder equipment you use to make your loops with?

    • Mike C

      As an additional option, you can stay on the A and not bend at all if you’re over the 5. Great stuff Griff. Thanks.

    • Dave Greene

      You’ve done more to keep blues alive and well than anyone could ever expect or imagine. Especially now, your emails are a golden part of my day – a spirit-lifter like no other. Thank you!!

    • Jim Christenson

      Thanks!!!

      That jist opened the door to get me out of box 1! For some reason I never made the connection until this video. Keep em coming!

    • Chris CLEMANS

      Hi Griff, thanks for another great lesson. This lesson will help with the bends!

    • Interstate slim

      Thanks Griff for another reminder that blues soloing does not have to be complicated. Not all of us are joe bonamassa etc…(or you 😁) and can fly up and down the fret board yet or if that’s even our style. You’ve shown me how to get what I feel when I hear the blues into notes on my guitar without over complicating it. Your four note solo is how I found you and became a bgu member. Thanks for all the time and effort you put in for us. Enjoy your day.

    • Alan

      I still have problems killing the note at the top of the bend. I think it’s that the act of “picking” the note and “rocking” my right hand slightly to kill the note on count are harder than they look.

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