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Here’s a Quick Way to Rock Your Blues Guitar Licks

Lesson ID: TB099

What’s your favorite Clapton solo?

Tough question, huh?  I know, that’s like asking a parent to pick a favorite child.

Since Eric Clapton is such a diverse player whose genius work spans a few genres, I  have a difficult time narrowing down his solos to just one favorite.  But, this is for sure.  When he fires up his trusty Strat du jour and unleashes some blues-rock pentatonic fury, my jaw drops.  It just doesn’t get much better for me.

If pressed, I would say the live version of I Shot the Sheriff  from Crossroads 2004 is exceptional, even for Clapton.

After seeing this the other day, I immediately grabbed my guitar and attempted to rock my blues guitar licks like Clapton.

Rock Your Blues Guitar Licks with Clapton-Style Legato

The first bar and a half is chock full of hammer-on and pull-off combos that scream Clapton and for that matter, rock in general.

Legato: Italian for “tied together”

The timing of the hammer on / pull-off combos is super important. practice this with a metronome. Its easy to get ahead of the beat with legato playing and it takes great skill to make sure these non-picked notes are played in time.

Check out the video to see how I lock in with the beat using the metronome at a slow and normal tempo.

Channel Clapton’s Blues-Rock Licks

I still can’t say that the solo from “I Shot the Sheriff”  is my favorite Clapton style lick, but I can say it is incredibly fun to play and to mimic.

Give this Clapton inspired lick a try in your own jam sessions and you’ll be channeling the blues-rock skills of Clapton for sure!

When you are ready, there are two ways I can help you:

Back Porch Blues Course:  A proven system to fingerpicking the blues.  This step-by-step course guides you through building fundamental fingerpicking skills.  Plus, you’ll learn three levels of a delta blues style performance study to put your new skills into action.

Become a myBGI Member: Get a proven plan to playing better blues with one of BGI’s structured roadmaps:  The Fretboard Roadmap, Fingerstyle Roadmap and Slide Guitar Roadmap.

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