HAND ME DOWN BLUES
Guitar Player 01/1999
Creating new lines from Cream-era Clapton licks
By Andy Ellis
"Borrow, rework, borrow, rework". This is the mantra of the blues gods. Muddy
Waters, B.B King, John Lee Hooker - in fact, all the giants - internalized music
they heard as kids and then played it their own way? They didn't reinvent the
wheel, they simply gave it a new spin. And that's all you have to do. Developing
your own blues guitar style is a straightforward process consisting of two steps
: First, discover the essential elements of the blues-its rhythms, harmonies,
melodies, and texture - by imitating your favorite players as accurately as
you can. The second step (one all the greats take, but others commonly neglect)
requires that you recombine the elements in a way that tells your story.
The Template Technique
One potent way to develop your own voice is to make this pact with yourself.
Each time you cop a line from one of your heroes, you'll take the time to craft
and practice two related, but different, phrases. Latch onto an idea-a
rhythmic pattern, a harmonic shape, a physical gesture, a melodic fragment-within
the line, and use this idea in two other ways. Eventually such reworking becomes
instinctive. What starts as a methodical exercise becomes a creative habit.
Eric Clapton borrowed heavily from the greats-Hubert Sumlin and Freddie King,
in particular-hot-rodded their lines, and then, with Cream, used his supercharged
blues to change the sound of rock guitar. It is fitting that we explore our
"one classic phrase begets a pair of new ones" concept using Clapton's Creamera
blues lines as templates. Be sure to record background chords for each example
so you can hear the lines in their appropriate harmonic context.
Superimposed Triads
Clapton played several variations of Ex. Ia in "Strange Brew" (from Disraeli
Gears). Notice that the phrase begins with a 2nd inversion C triad arpeggiated
against the background D9. Two of the C triad's three notes are D9 chord tones:
E, the 9, and C, the 67. The remaining note, G, sets up a restless I I sound
against the harmony. Using triads this way is a great idea. They're easy to
visualize and grab, and, though tame by themselves, they can generate intriguing
tone colors when superimposed over other chords.
Ex. lb uses the "Strange Brew" lick as a template. We've kept the harmonic setting,
tempo, and resolution to A7s root. What's different is the triad-this time we
play Em against D9. Our ringing, root-position Em yields one chord tone and
two extensions: As before, E is the 9 and G the 1 1. The new note, B, is the
13. The Eb (b9) chromatic passing tone and beat three's triplet slurs add sophistication.
Our retooled phrase has a jazzier vibe, but still sounds great with a tripped-out
tone like the one Clapton used for "Strange Brew." Notice that we're parked
two frets higher than the standard, Deposition A blues "boil" Be sure to investigate
this territory on your own.
Let's try another triad against D9. This time, we'll traverse a root-position
Am and work from the twelfth position down to the tenth (Ex. I c). Relative
to D9, Am provides the 5 (A), 67 (C), and 9 (E). The phrase concludes
with a whole-step bend into C# (A7s 3), which contrasts nicely with the
preceding C4. Clapton often used this trick in his Cream-era licks. Give the
bend a fast, even vibrato once you reach pitch.
Contour Cloning
"Outside Woman Blues" is another great Disraeli Gears song. Clapton begins
his solo with a line similar to Ex. 2a. The double-stops in bar 2 are especially
cool-the trick is to barre both G and B with your I st finger and then give
G a quarter-bend without changing Bs pitch. Clapton frequently used this move
to explore the gray area between a major third (G-B) and minor third (G#-B).
The latter interval lies within E7, the chord of the moment, so each quarter-bend
takes you closer to home.
Let's borrow this licks rhythmic structure and melodic contour to craft Ex.
2b, but rather than starting with a whole-step bend into B, we'll stretch into
it from a half-step below. Bar 2s first two beats are straight out of Grant
Green's blues bag, but the line ends with the same Clapton approved whole-step
bend we saw in Ex. Ic. In this case, we're nailing E7, so the bend targets G#.
The contrast between G4 and G#-the 63 and 3 of E7-is particularly juicy because
the two notes occur within the same measure.
In Ex. Ib, we hovered two frets above the blues box. In 2b, we're two frets
below it. The message? You can extend the four-fret blues box by two frets in
either direction. Use these licks as passkeys to blues-box extensions.
Another lick-hunting tip: When you find a cool move, try it in another octave.
Look what happens when we drop our "Outside Woman Blues" line down an octave
(Ex. 2c). Thicker strings mean no bending, so hammers and slides provide the
grease. The concluding tritone (D-G#) ties the phrase tightly to E7 by sounding
the chord's 67 and 3.
Just think-if you took each lick you know and moved it up or down an octave,
you'd have twice as many phrases. It's one of those "duh" ideas that's easy
to overlook. Chances are you'll have to adapt a line when you move it-change
its fingering, swap bends for slurs, move along the fretboard differently, and
so forth-but that's good for two reasons. One, the new lick will take on its
own character, and, two, solvffig ft-etbo@ puzzles makes you a better player.
Try it.
Change the Venue
Ex. 3a is the elegant turnaround Clapton used in "Sitting on Top of the World,"
from Wheels of Fire. Play dm with a fat, squawky humbucker tone. Notice
how five notes get vibrato. Fortunately, it is a slow 12/8 blues, so you have
plenty of time to caress the strings. The grace-note pull-off (bar 2, beat one)
is a signature Clapton move.
In Ex. 3b, we make a template from Ex. 3a's chords, rhythm, and melodic contour.
Notice how the notes in bar 1 remain in the same register as before, but are
located on a lower string set. Where previously all the notes fell within the
third position, the turnaround now encompasses the fifth, seventh, eighth, and
tenth positions. To get around the fretboard smoothly, we have to add slides-cool.
Featuring quarter-bends, the sweet moves 2's second and third beats are right
out of Clapton's amazing blues playing in "Sleepy Time Time" (Fresh Cream).
Beat one's quick minor-third pull-off, however, is pure B.B. King.
Once you learn a turnaround such as this one, find fresh ways to interpret it.
Ex. 3c illustrates what happens when we nudge the phrase in a country direction.
The melody remains virtually the same, but this time we harmonize it where possible.
Dig the whammiffied minor sixth on bar I's third beat! Beat four's bend-one-string-against-two-others
wrench suggests a pedal-steel guitar. Release the bend carefully in bar 2 so
that beat one has a honky-tonk whine. Notice how the concluding minor seventh
supplies D7#9s root and 67.
On "Wheels of fire, Clapton launched his "White Room" solo using the
moves in Ex. 4a. The tricky parts are at the end of bar 1, ere you hold C absolutely
steady while adding vibrato to the A bend, and in bar 2, ere you keep C ringing
as you release e whole-step bend.
Ex. 4b precisely duplicates the previous rhythm. But this time, hold the whole-step
bend for a total of five beats while sustaining a tangy major second above it.
Be generous with the whammy Drop the same grip to the seventh position (bar
2), and you're rewarded with pedal-steel lick composed of D pentatonic scale
tones.
This three-bar phrase starts salty and ends sweet. As in this instance, a reworked
lick Will often suggest a new background progression. Great-a double payoff.
Like Ex. 4b, Ex. 4c begins with a D7 arpeggio that's sustained for five beats,
but this time, no bends. Fretting the notes sets us up for the cool soul-jazz
maneuver that caps the phrase. As jazzy as it is, see how closely this three-bar
line resembles Clapton's original?
Hammered Tritones
Ex. 5a stems from the riff Clapton played in "Sleepy Time Time" from Live
Cream. (This growling live version differed substantially from his studio
tiff, which featured a singing melody on the second and third strings.) Focus
on the hammered tritone in the first beat of bars I and 2. It makes a strong
arrival point to C7, the 17.
Rather than approach the tritone from below, as Clapton did, let's plunge into
it from above. Ex. 5b illustrates. The chromatic G-G9-F(5-65-4) adds spice,
and the quarter-bend puts you somewhere between minor and major - Clapton's
preferred zone-for a heartbeat.
We're not limited to hitting the 17 tritone.
Ex. 5c targets the tritone in F9, the IV7, with the same hammer as before. While
it's the same physical move, the musical results differ: Hammering into
the I7, we shift from 63 to 3. Hammering into the IV7, however, we shift from
6 to 67. The same thing happens in Ex. 5d, where we nail the V7 by hammering
into G9s tritone. Try linking the G9, F9, and C7 moves into a V7IV7-17
turnaround. See how one idea gleaned from a phrase-in this case, hammering into
a tritone-can inspire new licks and even extended passages?
Take It Out
Ex. 6a is inspired by a lick Clapton played in "Politician," on Live Cream,
Vol. II. The key here is the major-second dissonance that's made especially
gnarly with massive Marshall distortion. Watch the letting marking-keep
your Ist and 3rd fingers planted on the fretboard throughout beat one.
For Ex. 6b, let's graft the major-second dissonance to another favorite Clapton
move-the slippery, position-shifting lick (beats two, three, and four) that
appears in nearly every solo he plays. Though it's quick, the quarter-bend is
essential.
InEx.6c,hold the major-second for another beat to really get the point across.
Beat three's hammered double-stop adds a country flavor, while beat four's pulled
double-stop has a'60s soul-jazz vibe.
Why stop there? Lees move our major-second dissonance to strings two and three,
and develop an entire lick around this single grip (EL 6d). Don't lift your
fingers from the strings-just follow the descending notes as if you're riding
on train tracks. Follow the accents and slide markings very carefully,
and keep those major seconds ringing as indicated. Some slapback echo (40 to
60ms delay, with no regeneration) makes the nde even wflder AU this jangle from
one "Politician" lick.
Eric Clapton's Tools
By Art Thompson
"Clapton Is God" graced many a structure in the late '60s, and for good reason-he
practically wrote the book on how to play electric blues-rock guitar. Attaining
a credible Clapton sound requires that you first determine which period in his
long career you like best. In his early years with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers,
Clapton used a late-'50s Gibson Les Paul Standard through a 45-watt, model-
1962 Marshall 2xl2 combo. Part of the secret here is that Clapton's amp was
equipped with KT66 output tubes, which have a more refined midrange and clearer
top end than either EL34s or 6L6s.
With Cream, Clapton went to high-volume heaven with 100-watt Marshall heads
and 4xl2 cabs. He also used a Vox wah-wah and, occasionally, a fuzz. After his
Les Paul was stolen, Clapton played a'61 SG-style Les Paul, and then a Gibson
ES-335 for Cream's farewell concert.
With Blind Faith, Clapton used a Gibson Firebird through a Fender Showman. He
then switched to maple-fretboard Strats through Fender tweed Champs during his
Derek & The Dominos/Layla period. Both setups yielded tones that rate among
Clapton's best.
After years of touring with Fender Lace Sensor-equipped Strats (likely for noise
considerations) and Soldano SLO l00-watt amps, Clapton has recently been seen
performing with a Gibson ES-335 and-yep-tweed Fender amps.
BUDGET CLAPTON
Guitars: Fender Standard Stratocaster ($400), Epiphone Les Paul Studio ($659).
Amps: Crate VC508 ($250; 5 -watt, lx8 tube combo), Marshall VS30R ($399;
30-watt, IXIO tube/solid-state combo), Fender Blues Junior ($470; 15-watt, lxl2
tube combo with reverb). Effects: Dunlop CryBaby Original wah-wah ($148).
MID-PRICED CLAPTON
Guitars: Epiphone Les Paul Standard ,($769), Fender American Standard
Strat ($1,000), Hamer Sunburst Flametop ($769), Gibson Les Paul Studio ($1,378).
Amps: Marshall VS65R ($599; 65 -watt, lxl2 combo with reverb), Line 6
Flextone ($799; 50-watt, lxl2 digital-modeling combo), Fender Vibrolux Reverb
($1,200; 40-watt, 2xlO tube combo with reverb), Kendrick Black Gold 35 ($1,295;
35watt, lxl2 tube combo with reverb). Effects: Dunlop CryBaby Original
wah-wah ($148).
HIGH-END CLAPTON
Guitars: Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster ($1,600), Kendrick Town House
($2,500), Gibson Les Paul Standard ($2,520) or Les Paul DC Standard ($2,189),
Gibson SG'61 Reissue ($2,599), PRS McCarty ($2,900), Gibson ES335 Reissue ($3,382).
Amps: Marshall 1962 Bluesbreaker ($1,599; 45-watt, 2xl2 tube combo),
Dr. Z Route 66 ($1,499; 32-watt, Kr66-powered tube head), Marshall 1959 SLP
($1,499; 100-watt tube head) and Marshall 1960 BC 4xl2 cabinet ($1,039), Soldano
SLO 100 Combo ($3,599; 100-watt, 2xl2 tube combo). Effects: Vox V847
wah ($164).
By Michael Molenda
It is deified as the perfect evocation of a blues-rock guitar solo by practically
everyone-the notable exception being the cat who actually played it.
I've always had 'Crossroads' held up as, like, one of the great landmarks of
guitar playing," said Eric Clapton in an April '98 interview with Britain's
Mojo. "But most of that solo is on the wrong beat. Instead of playing
on the two and four, I'm playing on the one and three and thinking, 'that's
the off beat.' No wonder people think it's so good-because it's wrong!"
Groove-challenged or not, Clapton's solo on "Crossroads"-recorded five at
San Francisco's Winterland for Cream's classic 1968 album, Wheels of fire-is
truly inspirational. Clapton's ferociously passionate licks, bends, and
runs have humbled pro guitarists and music fans alike, and "Crossroads" has
become a staple of every blues bar band worth its beer intake.
The gear equation for this landmark solo is explicit: Clapton used a '61 Gibson
SG-shaped Les Paul (his prized sunburst Les Paul was stolen during the rehearsals
for Cream's debut concert), light-gauge Fender Rock and Roll strings, and a
100-watt Marshall stack (two stacks were typically set up onstage, but one was
a spare). More mysterious, however, is what possessed Clapton to transform Robert
Johnson's licks-as well as the riffs and lines of other blues greats-into a
stunning and highly personal language.
You can explore ways to morph classic blues lines into fresh licks in our "Hand
Me Down Blues" lesson (p. 54). Then, use this "Crossroads" transcription as
a starting point for your own stylistic epiphany. In other words, don't
merely rip off these riffs-get inspired! If you can translate Clapton's playing
into something all your own, you're on the road to becoming a genuine blues
god.
Good luck!
Suivi de la partition complète de "Crossroads".
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