Hey, you know what's cool? My name is Liam. You know what is also cool? I'm the one the requested this :) thanks for reacting! this was really cool to not just watch but really listen to! I have more BB where that came from!
I had the great fortune to meet him at the Whiskey on the Sunset Strip in L.A. My younger brother was really into the blues, and was a huge fan. I asked if it would be possible for him to meet the legend, and we both were invited into the Green Room. B.B. couldn't have been nicer, and my brother was blown away by the experiences. What a warm, kind person he was.
I was fortunate to see B.B. in Tuzla, Bosnia in 1996. I was getting into blues at that time and liked it. After that performance, I loved it. What a show. It was blazin' hot that day, but he still played like it was his last show.
I've seen B.B. King in concert multiple times. His band was always one of the "tightest" I have ever seen, everyone in step to the beat, from the bass to the horns, with B.B. out front leading the way.
BB was beyond great. Witnessed his greatness in person a bunch of times and he was a true master at his craft. Not only did he know what he was doing on guitar, he directed his whole band while performing. Thanks for sharing this Michael. Great stuff as usual.
Also, one reason BB is often called a ‘Jazzy’ Blues player is he does play the cord changes. He moves between Major and Minor pentatonics and of course his phrasing is very vocal-like. He is a master of the call and response 😃
I just watched the documentary "Life of Riley; B.B. King" and this is such a great follow-up to that! The movie really conveyed where the feeling in his music came from, and your review really shows how he expressed it!
It’s crazy that you covered this video because years ago when I started playing guitar, this is the lesson that finally made the guitar make sense to me. Past the third fret was totally foreign to me, but for some reason after I started trying to play along with this video it finally clicked in my head.
Best stuff you've ever put on your channel. It's not just the blues, it's a deep look into what makes meaningful playing and creativity. A lesson like this opens up a world of insight into what's being done in great playing that's not in my own playing. This is a classic lesson into iconic real world guitar playing. You deserve all the credit and respect this video will generate. Good Luck to All. Hubba, hubba.
It's 2AM in the morning here and I just dusted of my guitar and felt a connection to my guitar I haven't felt in so long. Thank you so much for breaking this down and providing a translation, nay a BRIDGE to this amazing music. I'm a self taught guitarist and it can be so hard to find content that really breaks down the theory behind more complex pieces.
Michael, a great vid. For BBK, it wasn’t just the notes he played, it was his touch, his tone, his feel. I’ve seen shredders play a thousand notes and say nothing; I’ve seen BBK play ten notes and write a book.
Victor Wooten said it best. " We lost one of the greatest guitat players ever ...Alan Holdsworth. " " Your mom doesn't know who Alan Holdsworth is but your Mom knows who BB.King is." "BB King has been playing the same 3 notes for 60 years."
Since consciously implementing two simple concepts into my playing, it really sounds like I play music and not random notes: 1. Repeat yourself with small musical phrases 2. Target the chord tones (3rd is enough to begin with!) A bit more detail about the second concept: I startet out finding only one string/fret for the third of the one, four and five chords. Just three simple notes! No multiples, exactly one position which was close to my (in this case) G minor blues scale position 1. Play the minor blues scale as usual and either start or end on the third. Next I evolved to find the same thirds one octave up. All this changed sooo much and I can only recommend learning the thirds (start simple!). It will evolve you and your music and will distinguish you from many other amateur players. Thanks Michael for always making aware of this, I needed a long time to understand you were right :D
One of the first instructional videos I ever bought. That and Carlos Santanas. Carlos had one with all his inspirational artists he strived to be like.
Paul Man, SINCE YOU LIKE CARLOS SANTANA HAVE YOU HEARD THE AUSTRALIAN SAVANT GUITARIST 12 YEARS OLD NOW BUT PLAYED IN LAS VEGAS AT THE "HOUSE OF BLUES" WITH CARLOS AT 10 YEARS OLD ??? TYPE IN THE SEARCH BAR ABOVE, TAJ FARRANT AND TAJ HAS MANY SONGS BY THE BEST GUITARISTS FROM THE PAST !!! TAJ HAS HIS OWN YT CHANNEL. HE PLAYS THEIR SONGS AND ALSO PUTS HIS OWN STYLE IN THE SONG. ONE TIME I WAS BROWSING AND HEARD A BEAUTIFUL GUITAR SOUND AND THOUGHT, WOW WHO;S PLAYING THAT !!! I LOOKED AT MY COMPUTER AND SAW A 9 YEAR OLD PLAYING "TENNESEE WHISKEY" AND IMMEDIATELY WAS HOOKED !!! GIBSON GUITARS SPONSERED TAJ AT 9 YEARS OLD I THINK. TAJ AT 9 YEARS OLD WAS ON AUSTRALIA'S GOT TALENT AND HE PLAYED PRINCE'S "PURPLE RAIN !!!" AWESOME TALENT AKA "PRODIGY !!!" JUST MINDBLOWING !!! BROWSING IS HOW I FOUND MICHAEL PALMISANO TOO !!! LOVE HIS STYLE OF TEACHING AND HE HAS A CALM APPROACH WHICH I LOVE. I ALSO LIKE TO LISTEN TO THE GUITARISTS WHO MICHAEL CRITIQUES AND THEIR SONG TELLS A STORY !!! GREAT SINGERS TOO !!!
I have the VHS tapes on this lesson, definitely a treasure for BB lovers. The “host” is Askold Buk. Back in the day he used to write for Guitar World. magazine. If I remember correctly, it took a while for BB to warm up to him at the beginning. Nevertheless, it was good seeing that segment again. I guess I should hook up my VCR and review those tapes again. Thanks for the post and your comments.
God bless you for doing this video Michael. I’m a massive fan of the channel, but I don’t ever submit requests because frankly I rely on this channel to force me to broaden my musical horizons. With that said, watching anyone examine the nuance of BB King’s brilliance is must watch. Watching YOU do it?!? It might be my favorite piece of content ever created. I’ve watched this instructional video many times. What BB King tries and spectacularly fails to teach (much to my delight), is how to have the most soulful and brilliant left hand god ever made. What an unbelievable piece of content by you. Thank you Michael, sincerely.
This was a three or four part video series B.B. did, and as well as the tuition, he played tunes between with his band. Some of the sweetest B.B. I've ever heard. I learned some great stuff from these videos. Wish I still had them. There's one excellent jazz run in particular I still use all or bits of in solos, think he said he got it from a singer he was influenced by. And you can't beat that sweet vibrato!
That was awesome!!!! Lots of the British players learned from B.B. like Peter Green who is just great. Great analysis and explanation. Really a good insight and understanding of what the British players picked up on!!!
My favourite out of the all videos you've ever done Michael, thanks! The rest of the videos from this clinic are much more technical than this one, they're amazing!
dude my favorite video!!! i learned everything he did in this video an apply it every once in awhile. the way he resolves tension is so good to the ears.
Really well done. Thank you. Love the breakdown. His use of the major third is just so good. And the vibrato legendary. And one pass thru Live at the Regal makes you realize just how great a singer he was, as well. The complete package. That's why he's the king.
Thank you Michael, great great stuff. In the years of self-taught stumbling around, this video sticks out as a real gem. You (and BB) gave me so many things to think about and practice. You make RU-vid a vital learning tool. Thanks again!
B.B. was the greatest blues player there was. It was in his fingers and soul. The way he softened his attack at times was genius. He got such a wonderful tone out of Lucille.
Great stuff. I've noticed in other great blues players like SRV and E.C. that they often hit the major third of the chord to mark the change. It's a good sound. When going up a 4th (in a G blues: either G to C or D to G), the major 3rd is the leading tone of the chord you go to, and the b7th is the 4th of the chord you're going to. So the 3rd moves up a half-step to become 1, and the b7th goes down a half-step to become the third. Going up a 5th (in G blues it would be C back to G), the root becomes the 4th so it falls back a half-step to become the 3rd. or the b7th moves up a half-step to become the 3rd. The 3rd moves up a half-step to become the b7th. It takes a minute to read all this and think it through, but blues beginners who do that will benefit a lot because it helps keep track of the changes, to really hear them and know what to play.
Thanks Mike !! been playing for a little over a couple years now, And I love the way you break this stuff down, Helps so much, seems every string he touches sounds so smooth, Love that sound, Thanks again.🙏👍
Brilliant, seen this video watched it a few times but I cannot remember any teacher going over it, what I have learned in my short years of playing is the importance of understanding your chord tones , a personal thank you from me for going over this amazing video by the King of the Blues,
For anyone who is interested, the DVD of the BB King lessons featured in this video is still available online. It is called Blues Master Complete. I bought it many years ago and cannot recommend it highly enough. You get over 90 minutes of the great man calmly demonstrating his technique.
Awesome idea by the . I'd love to see more like thisLike you said, "Players aren't always the best teachers," so many guitarist play off intuition and feel so having an actual teacher break it down properly is super cool.
Excellent!!! I feel like I’ve commented this too many times…but I have to say the same thing: “by being on GuitarGate and taking your lessons, I am now able to “understand” your breakdowns”….. I am aware of what I have started to grasp…and how much more work there is to do! The whole video is helpful, but sometimes the little summary at the end is the “GOLD MINE”…. going to grab the guitar! Thanks Michael!!
Another great vid Michael. Love your enthusiasm and knowledge! I saw BB in the early 80s. One of my first gigs and I still remember one particular note he played that was so good you could almost see it! Shook his hand after!
Ive seen you deep dive on a few songs, super in depth and obviously you know your stuff to where you can drop knowledge on a dime. Most amazing breakdowns of songs I have seen especially the Polyphia. Beginning to love watching your stuff I have to say.
This was awesome.💕🙋🎶 I am gradually learning the technical. I am so excited when I play along with tiny bits of this on my ukulele. Nothing anyone else would want to hear, but there I am *ooo, we're in G and these notes go with that.* (bends string and gets REALLY excited.) 😜
Excellent explanations Michael and I like the points you bring out regarding BB's phrasing and chord-tone targeting. I have this full DVD and the book too - it's amazing.
B. B. was the man who got me out of a deep depression. Not by talking. Not with words. I learned so much from this man whoom i never met, never even been close to seeing him. (He died when I was only 13 years old) But by lisening to his music, and him playing, I learned to let all the chaos in my emotions flow into music. Playing the blues was my way. I had good professional help to get over my depression. But letting my emotions flow through a guitar helped me to a point were I was able to reach out to this help. And I am sure, that I wouldn't have been able to do this withoud the things B. B. taught me withoud even knowing. This man was a real blessing for this world. May he rest peacefully until one day he is born again and reunited with his Lucille to bring music back to its greatest. (I, by the way, hate the fact that Lucille is cased into glass in some museum. She will never sing again and thats a shame. This legendary istrument has to be played by soemone who is worthy to play it.)
Just woke up with the major 3rds of Zeppelin's "You Shook Me" playing in my head, really relishing what Jimmy did on that one, then this video is suggested. Thank you Universe!
Now that I understand music theory on the guitar a little bit better, I can enjoy your videos more. I've been saving this video until I felt my understanding was at a level high enough to appreciate Mr. King's talent, but I fear I'll have to keep coming back every time I Supersayan-up my guitar skills. He does so much with so little. It's personified elegance.
A big part of his playing that I feel is very worth mentioning is his dynamics. His sense of touch and how gently to play a note is what truly pulls you in.
Billy gibbons did one too, and it is mesmerizing. He starts with a walking blues and name drops a bunch of blues artists for each technique. Next thing you know, you just learned the first 8 zztop albums in 6 minutes!
