In this lesson you'll learn how to play a bluesy lead over a slow blues in the key of A minor, similar to the B.B. King classic, "The Thrill Is Gone". The lead is actually made up of licks from Albert King, Eric Clapton, and B.B. King as well - I wanted to put my own twist on things by combining influence. If you're trying to do this on acoustic guitar, I recommend using light gauge strings for the bends. … [Read more...]
Eric Clapton Blues Lead Guitar Lesson – EP074
In this lesson you’ll learn how to play an Eric Clapton inspired, bluesy lead in the key of C. The backing track has a bluesy gospel sound and is available to download for premium members (tablature is available as well). You’ll also learn how to alternate back and forth between the major pentatonic scale and the minor pentatonic scale. … [Read more...]
Electric Blues Lead Guitar Lesson in C – Clapton, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughan influence – EP056
I wasn’t 100% sure what to title this lesson when I recorded it, but after I listened to the final recording I realized that there are 3 primary influences in this. Clapton, Gary Moore, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. I’m nowhere near any of those guys, but they certainly have influenced my playing through the years. You should always try to pick up things from other players and incorporate it into your own playing. My guitar tone in this lesson is a very heavy overdriven sound – something that … [Read more...]
Blues Rhythm and Lead Guitar Lesson – EP040
I’m always trying to find more interesting ways to play both rhythm and lead when playing the blues and it seems that there are endless combinations of styles for either. This lesson is split into 2 parts, the first part shows you how to play the funk rhythm part. Also included are 3 versions of the jam track in different keys, so that you can practice playing that rhythm in various keys. The second part breaks down the Eric Clapton / Buddy Guy inspired lead which has a lot of dramatic bends. … [Read more...]
Cream Guitar Lesson – Eric Clapton – EP035
In this lesson I'll show you how to play an Eric Clapton (Cream era) bluesy rhythm and lead, using the call and response technique. Clapton's style has changed a few times through the years, but the way he played during the Cream years is still legendary because of his unique phrasing and perfect tone. Most ActiveMelody guitar lessons can work on either acoustic or electric guitar, but this lesson is really intended for just electric (because of the high position on the neck and the bending … [Read more...]
Rock Blues in the Key of A- Learn to Play Rhythm and Lead – EP018
This is a new 4 part mini series that will show you how to play a driving blues lead guitar and up-tempo rhythm guitar. This lead lesson was influenced by several different artists, namely Eric Clapton, Dickey Betts, and B.B. King... with some various country pedal steel licks thrown in for good measure. Hopefully there are enough out there that share my love of this style of playing to make lessons like this worth while. I will be releasing the 4 videos for this mini-series over the next few … [Read more...]
Eric Clapton Style Acoustic Lead Guitar Lesson: EP015
In this blues guitar lesson I’ll show you how to play an acoustic lead guitar part. This is a follow-up to EP014, the acoustic fingerstyle blues guitar lesson, in which I’ll show you how to play the rhythm part to this song. This song is an original composition and sounds very similar to something you might have heard Eric Clapton play on his Unplugged album. In the included jam tracks, I’ve included 2 versions. One version that has the rhythm guitar (so that you can practice this lead part), … [Read more...]
Blues Rhythm and Lead Guitar Lesson – LEG007
I asked the question on Facebook what type of lesson should I create next? And a few people responded that they would like a lesson on how to make a more interesting rhythm, by mixing in some lead licks at the same time. I grabbed my guitar and came up with a really cool way to play a slow blues rhythm / lead part in the key of A. This is a combination of various artists licks including Eric Clapton and Albert King. The nice thing about learning how to play this way is that you can play all … [Read more...]
Eric Clapton Blues Rhythm Guitar Lesson – Part 2: Advanced – LEG013
In this lesson, we'll continue looking at how Eric Clapton approaches playing blues rhythm guitar. This lesson is really a continuation of the previous Eric Clapton Rhythm Guitar Lesson, however this lesson is a little more advanced and has a lot of extra licks that spice it up. Neither of these Clapton lessons are direct copies of a particular song, but instead are a hybrid of common guitar phrases that he uses when playing rhythm. I had several requests for more Clapton rhythm stuff so … [Read more...]
Eric Clapton Crossroads Festival 2010 Review
So on Saturday I spent the entire day in a guitar player's heaven, I'm talking about Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival. The show started at 11:50 (kind of a random starting time) and Sonny Landreth kicked off the show. It's too bad they put him on as the first act because as he's playing most people either aren't there yet, or are trying to find their seats, etc. - he was absolutely amazing. He is such a phenomenal guitar player and had (to my ear) the best guitar tone of the whole … [Read more...]
