RITCHIE BLACKMORE STYLE LICK

This Ritchie Blackmore style guitar lick captures the essence of one of rock’s most distinctive and influential guitarists. Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Rainbow pioneered the combination of classical music harmony with hard rock aggression — creating a template that influenced every neoclassical and hard rock guitarist who followed.

About This Lesson

Blackmore’s style draws from Bach, Beethoven, and the blues simultaneously. This lick demonstrates his signature approach — harmonic minor scale phrasing, precise alternate picking, and a dramatic sense of tension and release that comes directly from classical music. It is vocabulary that never goes out of style.

What You Will Work On

• Harmonic minor scale phrasing — Blackmore’s most important melodic tool
• Classical-influenced sequences — patterns drawn from Baroque music
• Precise alternate picking — clean, aggressive, deliberate
• Dramatic tension and release — how Blackmore builds and resolves phrases
• Hard rock attitude — classical ideas delivered with electric power

Tips for Learning

• Learn the harmonic minor scale in multiple positions before applying it to licks.
• Listen to Deep Purple’s Machine Head and Rainbow’s Rising to hear Blackmore at his best.
• Practice the picking pattern slowly and deliberately before pushing the tempo.
• Compare this lick to Bach’s harpsichord pieces — the connection is direct.