Learning bricks in isolation is useful, but seeing how they fit together is where things get exciting. Bricks 2 and 3 — the Springbacks — are designed to complement the Springboard (Brick 1) and lead straight back into it, and the three of them together give you an instant demonstration of how blues vocabulary actually works in practice.
What you’ll get out of this lesson: You’ll learn two short melodic fragments that pair naturally with Brick 1, and start to see how a small number of bricks can generate a surprisingly large range of musical phrases just by changing the order you play them in.
Brick 2 — The First Springback
Brick 2 is similar in shape to Brick 1 but starts from a different place. The bend now happens at the 15th fret of the B string, bent up a tone to the equivalent of the 17th fret. Then you bar the 12th fret across the high E and B strings. So compared to Brick 1 (which bends the G string), Brick 2 moves the bend up a string and keeps the bar in the same general area. Play Brick 1 straight into Brick 2 and you’ll immediately hear why they’re called springbacks — the phrase bounces back and sets you up to start again.
Brick 3 — The Second Springback
Brick 3 follows the same logic as Brick 2 but shifts up one string further: the bend is now at the 15th fret of the high E string, and the two barred notes follow below it. You can add a little bend on those barred notes too, which gives the phrase a nice expressive finish. Lick 2 and lick 3 are both called springbacks because they go really well together, but you can use them in any context you want.
You start to see how these little fragments weave together to make other things.
Putting the Three Bricks Together
When I introduce someone to the idea of Blues Bricks, I always teach Bricks 1, 2, and 3 together. The possibilities from just these three fragments are already substantial. Here are some sequences worth trying:
1, 2, 3
1, 3, 2
1, 1, 2
1, 2, 3, 2
You can write out possibilities and then try to play them. This is the beginning of building a real blues vocabulary — not memorising single licks, but understanding how fragments combine.
Taking it further: Once these three bricks are solid, start interspersing them with free pentatonic improvisation. Play some random ideas, then drop into Brick 2 or 3, then continue freely. The goal is to weave the bricks into your playing rather than always playing them as fixed sequences.
Your homework: Write down five different sequences using Bricks 1, 2, and 3 — different from the examples above. Then practise each sequence until you can play it cleanly. Pick your favourite and try playing it over a blues backing track by ear.