The bearded Texas guitar guru is one of the premier blues players around. His growling Les Paul tone, huge beard and raw voice the defining features of ZZ Tops music. Here we shall take a look at some of his trade marks licks.
Double Stops
E-----------------------------------
B-----------------------------------
G--7/8/9--------------8^-----8^-----
D----------10-8-10-------10----10---
A----------10---10-------10----10---
E-----------------------------------
Vibrato
E-8-------------------8-------------
B---11-8---------------11^(13)~~~---
G----------10^(12)------------------
D-----------------------------------
A-----------------------------------
E-----------------------------------
Pentatonic Flurries
E-----------------8-5-------8-----------
B--5/8--5/8--5/8------5-8-5-------------
G-----------------------------5-7-7-5~~-
D---------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------
Artificial harmonics
(AH) AH---->
E---------------------------------------
B----------5-----------------------8----
G--7^(9)-----7--9--7--9--7--5--7--------
D---------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------
- Since most of ZZ Tops music is Blues based, Billy used mostly the minor Pentatonic's and Blues Scales.
