If you’ve ever heard the intro to the SRV tune Pride and Joy (you’re at a blues lick site, so that question should be a little redundant…) you’ll likely remember the awesome turnaround lick Stevie played right before the first verse. If you need a reminder, just check out the blues licks love at Last.fm.

Remember that these sort of licks are blues shuffles, so each eighth note should be heavily swung. This is also one of those blues licks that should be repeatedly played until you have the feel, there are no real good tips for playing it.

So far I’ve featured a ton of licks that sat on the I chord or IV chord of a blues progression, but I hadn’t said much about the all important turnaround. So today, I thought I’d show off a classic Stevie Ray Vaughan blues lick in C on the turnaround. Check out the song at Last.fm at about 0:47 into the first chorus for the lick in real, original audio.

The lick starts with a classic bend on the minor third before outlining a few key pentatonic notes and dropping off with a short slide. Another slide (6/11: filler really) leads into the important chromatic rise to the V chord that outlines the root and the dominant seventh (10th fret notes) of the G7 or V chord. Really just a classic, killer blues lick for a great finish to a chorus.