Most guitarists know the minor pentatonic scale pretty well. Play it long enough and it starts to feel like a safe zone — you can noodle around in there without hitting any wrong notes. That’s a solid foundation, but at some point you want your solos to bite a little more. That’s where chromatic blues licks come in.

These three chromatic blues licks in E will add tension, color, and that slippery between-the-frets feel that separates a great blues solo from a predictable one. The video above covers all three in detail — Jonathan teaches them off an E major chord, and the lesson runs about 10 minutes with plenty of time on each lick.

A quick word on what “chromatic” means here: these licks include notes that don’t strictly live inside the scale. That might sound like it would be a problem, but the opposite is true. The tension those extra notes create is exactly what gives the licks their character. You’re not playing wrong notes — you’re making a musical choice.

That said, this is more advanced territory. If you’re still building your foundation, it’s worth spending time with the pentatonic scale first. Knowing where the “right” notes are is what gives you permission to step outside them. When you understand the pattern, you know which rules you’re bending.

How Chromatic Approach Notes Work

Each of these licks uses what are called chromatic approach notes — notes played just before landing on a target note, usually a half-step below or above it. The effect is a little like stepping on a squeaky stair right before reaching your destination. There’s a moment of tension, and then release when you land.

Lick 1 comes off the open E and uses chromatic approach notes to walk into the main melodic target. The motion is smooth, almost vocal. If you’ve ever heard a blues guitarist make the guitar sound like it’s “talking,” this is one of the techniques behind it.

Lick 2 and Lick 3 take the same idea and push it a little further, using the chromatic notes in slightly different rhythmic placements. Each lick has its own feel, but all three will work over an E blues progression.

Playing These Over a 12 Bar

The good news is that once you have even one of these licks under your fingers, you can start throwing it into a jam right away. They’re built for an E blues, so any standard 12 bar in E gives you a natural home for them. Try landing Lick 1 at the top of the form, or saving Lick 3 for when you want to build toward a resolution.

It’s also worth playing with the chromatic notes in isolation — just the approach into a single note — before trying the full lick. That way your fingers get the muscle memory for that half-step slide or pull without you having to think about it mid-solo.

If you want more context for how licks like this fit into a broader blues vocabulary, the full blues guitar lessons section has a lot of ground to cover — from rhythm work to soloing concepts to licks at different levels.

For more hands-on lick study, check out the blues guitar riff lesson built on thirds — it’s a great companion to this one, and together they’ll give your solos a lot more vocabulary to work with.

Start Slow, Then Push It

Chromatic licks have a tendency to fall apart at speed if the finger coordination isn’t solid. Work each one slowly until the notes ring clean, then gradually bring the tempo up. Your ear will tell you when it’s ready — the lick will start to feel inevitable instead of forced.

Give all three a shot and see which one clicks first. Then bring it to a jam track, loop it over an E blues, and let it settle into your playing. That’s how licks stop feeling like exercises and start feeling like yours.

Want to keep building your blues guitar vocabulary? Check out the full blues guitar lessons hub for more lessons at every level.