Playin' Through The Changes of B.B. King's Thrill is Gone

I was teaching a student this evening and we were working on a basic blues chord progression based on "The Thrill Is Gone," by B.B. King.

We happened to be playing in C minor (the actual "Thrill Is Gone" recording is in B if I remember correctly), so the chord progression was Cm - Fm - Ab - G.

This is a C minor blues, including a minor IV chord (or "iv" to be more accurate -- if you don't know the "Nashville Numbering System," you need to learn more about it. Also the Ab to G turnaround gives the progression a little spice.

Anyway, it was helpful to my student to just solo over the i and iv chords repeatedly, and leave off the VI-V turnaround. You may also find this a valuable exercise. Just have a friend play Cm and Fm repeatedly while you find your way through the appropriate Cm and Fm pentatonic and diatonic scales, and arpeggios.

If you'd like to learn more about all this, you'll find a lot more info on my site: LogicalLeadGuitar.com

And while I'm on the topic of B.B. King, check out my very detailed interview with B.B. here: B.B. King on Guitar Life Magazine