Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Eric Clapton (Cream Era) Blues Rock Guitar Lesson – EP176

Description

In this Eric Clapton guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a rock, blues solo guitar composition (no accompaniment required). This uses the “call and response” technique, which means you alternate back and forth between rhythm and lead. The rhythm parts are inspired by Robin Trower, while all the lead licks are Eric Clapton licks from his days with Cream.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

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Slow Walkthrough

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Video Tablature Breakdown

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Comments

  4. Mark O says

    Awesome lesson! Been waiting for another one of these, you sure didn’t disappoint with this!

    Would love to see you do a series on Clapton’s styles across his career (Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Dominos, etc)…

  6. Bill W2 says

    Thanks Brian!! Early upload. I’m here in Calif and have been up and practicing for about an hour on last weeks Dirty Blues and I pretty much nailed it yesterday!! and now we have this great lesson!

  7. Vorocnan says

    Lovely piece, Robin Trower’s Bridge of Sighs comes to mind with this see youtube. I have been looking at the Sheraton on the web earlier and noticed that big head stock when I logged in for this tune,sounds and looks good. I have to get an electric to try this stuff 🙂

  13. Jeem says

    Well, this makes 4 in a row that I HAVE to learn (I’m close on 1.5). So it occurs to me, I must quit my job to devote more time to these lessons and to this art. I’ll sell off all my guitars to pay the bills (except one). When that money is gone, I’m “outdoors, you know”. My wife likes a nice home, so she’ll probably dump me for a guy that has more ambition to work. And of course, she’ll keep the dog. I’ll get depressed and get drunk for a week and then get tossed in the county jail for vagrancy and being drunk in public and fighting.
    Within a couple months of that happening, I hope to fully understand the blues.

    Thanks for another great lesson Brian!

    Jim

  14. Christopher S says

    Brian, I don’t think that I have properly thanked you for all of your hard work- over the past 6 months I have spent about 10 hours per week on your site practising your lessons. I was almost at the point of giving up on improving and you have totally changed all of that for me. Nobody else has taught me so much, I love the format and love the lessons. Thank you all the way from Perth, Australia!

  15. Mudshark says

    Great another Cream lesson; we should call you Beano Brian! After all the breakdown of all these Clapton licks I think it’s starting to play them intuitively with the right amount bend, pulling off and on ect.

  21. drlknstein says

    well- if I forgot why I joined this site….You just reminded me!
    – great lesson!…
    .stone cold blues -super instructions, and great ideas as usual..

    and ..thanks for info on the sheraton- it s just stock?…!
    It sounds great- i had one but it never sounded like that—I guess it has something to do with technique- and being played by a real “Playa”

    i have trouble with the bending sharp on that note- 3rd string/5th fret.. (I know you have showed us that before and I forget to use it) I can bend it down easier- and I think it sounds o k.

    anyway- thanks- I think its safe to say that we enjoy your lessons as much as you enjoy prepping them– or more–so, thanks

  22. allanm says

    Brian
    First thank you for your feedback on my last post (ep153) , it means a lot, and I wholeheartedly agree with all the calls for a specialised Clapton course, that would be fantastic, just so happens my last purchase was an Epi Sheraton 11 pro, and I love it, I will be in Tennessee next spring for a couple of nights so you will have to give me some pointers to good 2nd hand guitar shops.
    Thanks for all the great lessons
    cheers
    Allan

  24. clay says

    Thanks Brian-I would like to request that you include a downloadable sound file (mp3) even with these “No accompaniment” lessons…….that we could practice to. That would really help with timing etc. I realize that we can sort of play along with the video or the onscreen tab viewer-(which I personally don’t use that much). I can put the mp3 on multiple devices-(including my phone) which make practicing a lot easier-wherever I am.

  28. Thomas R says

    Thank you Brian, this is another great lesson to me! Love it.
    Brian, tell me please. What gauge strings are you using? 9 oder 10? Or are you using different gauges for diffrent guitars?
    Thnak you kindly.
    Cheers
    Thomas

  29. DP2608 says

    I used to get the Beano every week, I had that copy. Wonder what its worth now? Bluesbreakers, still my favourite album of all time, thanks Brian for a great lesson and further insight

  33. Art M says

    Another OUTSTANDING lesson Brian. Can’t say enough how much I look forward to each Friday for one of your new lessons. You’ve made practicing and learning so much fun! One question that I do have on this particular lesson is; in Part 1 @ 14:10 you start the lick in measure 6 and it appears that you end that measure on the 7th fret / 4th string (or the “A” note) yet on the tab printout it looks like it was left off. Am I wrong or is that just the way my print came out? Thanks

    • Brian says

      I can’t replicate that on my end and haven’t heard from anyone else with this issue. Try closing all open tabs in your browser and restarting it. Also try clearing your browser cache

  37. Marty V says

    I love lessons like these, where I get an a-ha moment for music I’ve been listening to my entire life: “Oh, so THAT’s how it’s done? Heck, I can do that too!”

    I’m going to have a blast with this one!

  38. Alexandre F says

    Wow! I´m totally blown away with this Clapton and Robin Tower both great guitar players, the last one I didn´t know about it but now I will for sure watch some videos on youtube though I saw a live concert from Eric in 2002 or 2001 I don´t remember quite well but it was fantastic the quality of the sound of it. A bout the tone of this song “cream era” I´m using my standart fender telecaster selected the bridge pick up the tone volume at 3/4, a DN-2 Boss overdrive pedal and a Vox av 15w , I think this is not a bad setting for a start whatever this song pushes you up to the limit with all sort of licks between bendings, pull off, hammer on… and like you said Brian it´s a solo composition and you don´t have worry about timing as you can get the style and power of it by going slow or you can faster and feel the dynamics and weight of hard rock crushing in therefore a good way to skill your mind and fingers to become more sharp and comfortable with the guitar. Thanks a lot indeed

  41. RIFF DIGGER says

    10 Licks responding to the “call”. For me, using the Full Screen Tab Viewer with all its tools like looping bars really helped me get the Time, fluid and tight. These licks on the call and response when played tight, do sound incredible with the Clapton overdrive. Brian is spot on, explaining this. Even tho it is in A, it reminds me very much of Spoonful live, by Cream which is in E. Those hammer-ons, very Eric.

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