ERIC CLAPTON's 42 Greatest Guitar Techniques

The most impressive thing about Clapton is the way - via recordings - he picked up the blues guitar vernacular. Mike Bloomfield, an American contemporary, for example, had a very different learning experience. He lived in Chicago and saw first hand, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, Otis Rush etc. He watched how they played. He saw how they executed bends and slides and the their neck positions. Eric must have worked all this out from listening. There was nobody in the UK at that time who could have taught Eric how to play in that modern electric blues style,. Also, you could say that Hendrix also had a terrific advantage over Clapton because he too could watch the great blues and funk players and learn from them first hand. No, Eric's ability to get to grips with all the subtleties of the blues from simply listening is very impressive.

Seeing Eric Clapton demonstrate his playing to an interviewer at the original Goodbye Cream Concert at Royal Albert Hall on RUclips really shows why Clapton is one of the most influential guitartsts of our times.

Hi I am and old guy from Pittsburgh and you have shown me a lot and I enjoy your lessons. Stay true to who you are.

You have a gift for teaching. Wish I'd had the Internet and this 20 plus years ago. But, the great thing is, there's so much more to improve upon. Thanks.

Wow. You deserved a PhD in Claptonlogy :)

Always enjoy your clear instruction and your friendly manner. Nice crisp clear camera work. Much appreciated. Thanks for being so generous.

My idol, got stars in my eyes!! He's the complete player, the total package. I love all your artist series, but he's , Eric Clapton!!!

4:29 one of the best guitar tehnique
ln my opinion

That was an immense amount of work that didn’t go unnoticed. Thank you very much. You are a talented teacher and player

If you practice for the feel. You can do the floating vibrato by pulling up and pushing down all in one. I know it sounds a little weird but you'll do a mixture of both. Got to find that sweet spot. Good lesson.

man, you are a great teacher.

I'm SO GLAD 😂 that I subscribe to your videos!
I've been working on my vibrato lately. I learned to do it while playing Classical Guitar, some 30+ years ago. I'm quite good at doing it that way, in fact, it comes very natural. As natural as I assume other kinds of vibrato are to ppl who play steel string guitars.
And therein lies the problem. I don't know how to describe vibrato on a nylon string guitar, but that method works great with nylon strings.
Notsomuch on steel strings, though.
So I've been trying different ways that I see pro players do it (with steel strings, esp electric guitar).
'Snot easy. I've watched other people do it, I've even seen "lessons" on how to do it. There's the "opening a door" method , like twisting a knob, then there's the "squeeze & unsqueeze" method. Then there's Clapton.
Lately I've been working on Clapton licks (so I hope you're gonna show me some!), and I figured I'll learn his vibrato.
Anyway, you provided the best tips I've ever heard regarding that, specifically to use the fret as a "rail."
Thank you for that! I'll get to work on it. ( I know it takes a while to get it down, and it's a part of everyone's "style." But I've already developed my style...sans vibrato. (At least, the steel string type.)
Now back to the video!

Wow! So many of the techniques I have been wanting to learn all in one video. Thank you so much!

So much work has gone in to this video. Fantastic job. Great playing and sound from that Strat.

Goldmine of a video, Thankyou.

15:59 god damn that was a rory gallagher lick!
Awesome!
He has his own hidden star
Please make a video reviewing his playing (or something like that XD)
if you didn't listened him before i'm sure you will like it
by the way, cool guitar, info please?

I have to add this one to my list.need to revisit 100 times.

I've been waiting for this so long. Thank you, you really make me better.

I like this channel alot

Can you do this for Mark Knopfler?

Great video, the effort is appreciated!

The wait is finally over, thank you!

27:26 damn that sounds good

Great video unfortunately broken up with over 35 commercial interruptions. Had to back up as much as forward to get any continuity. RUclips pushing hard for memberships. Thanks for helping me break out of some of my old ruts.

Hello Sir, Some truly awesome playing! And very informative! Great Job!

Excellent info and Thank you for your humility and time!

❤ the greatest musican on this planet Eric Clapton ❤Forever Fan ♥

Your excellent guitar teacher.thank you

Thank you for posting !

Love your style of teaching can you continue to send more great lessons on songs from Clapton zeppelin and Hendrix Blues

“The color of the sound.” Bloody good stuff mate

Another amazing tutorial video from your channel! Thanks for this!! 👏🏻👏🏻

Very well done succinct, not too fast and diverse. Thank you

Thank you, man! Ps. A lesson about Jeff Beck would be amazing as well!

Awesome video Mike!! Fantastic playing and explanations 🎸👍🏻

Pure Gold! thanks!
and love your Strat!

Thank you so much! guitar samuri

@39:46 not a barre chord but Tears in Heaven is played with a lot of thumb action and could almost say he's the king of nylon. One other very important thing I've noticed in common is the amount of famous artists which started with blues / jazz because it creates outstanding solos on everything else.

Awesome Tutorial, Thanks so much!

Awesome video!

Told you dude. This is your niche. Awesome lesson

Good point about that extra third - the difference between Green Day and Clapton! ;) *(Having said that White Room IS the power 5ths in the main riff).

Fantastic Video

THANKYOU!

Great vids dude, would love to see one for top Mark Knopfler techniques :D

Mike please do one for Ritchie Blackmore I need it so much! Thanks for all the lessons, mate.

Can you please do one on The Who's one and only Pete Townshend? Not only his electric but his acoustic playing as well. He's basically the innovater of mean rock guitar. You don't have to demonstrate the smashing up guitars part though. lol

Great lesson, Mike! I love your teaching style and how you bring a great deal of insight and understanding of the techniques used by great guitarists like Eric Clapton. I would love to see more and more of these kinds of videos. Is there any chance you could do a breakdown of Jeff Healey, C.C. Deville, or George Lynch? I get a lot out of videos where you break their songs down, as well. It would be awesome to see more videos where you break the guitar parts down to our favorite rock songs because the tabs are many times not accurate. I want to learn to play the song like it was recorded. I love the breakdown that you did on Sweet Child O' Mine. Have a good one, man, and keep up the good work! :-)

Thank god for the video!!

Thanks to you

¡Muchas gracias!

awsome two gutiars together

THANK YOU!!!!!

That's MR. Clapton...

great job, thanks

thx ! useful !!!!

I can see being a drummer in your younger days has definitely creeped into your guitar playing in a great way I wish all the guitar players I've played with over the years had a clue what 1e & a 2 & a 3 e & a 4 e represents. Not that they have to know this but it sure can help when your trying to explained the tempo and rythem. The best rythem guitar player I ever played with was a drummer. 👍

Excellent. We need a Trower Lesson

Excellent thanks

WOW I didn't know how it was done vibrato. You press lightly on the rail to make that beautiful noise. 😍 am I correct?
Thank you 😊 your great teacher

I really dislike repeating patterns - see the motif section, but they are popular going back to Charlie Christian and beyond. Mind you, the way Mark K uses them in Sultans is great.

This video is huge, fruit for dayss!!

Good stuff! About those artificial harmonics, the spots to play the notes are always relative to the fretted note, so the whole natural harmonic series just scales in relation. :)

Zz top lick... those 7s stings help with that pinky bend.

Thanks for these vids, hope you get around to Duane Allman and Dickey Betts.

Dunno if you're still doing these, but if you are then how about one for Johnny Marr?

Please make a Mark Knopfler greatest techniques video!!!

Excellent

keep working at it

Pleaaaase do BB King techniques!!!!

Very nice man very nice ....what is your pre curser course for this or the Clapton style ...it will be good to know what all your Before’s are to this series but this is very clear and knowing perhaps all the full songs he uses these in will be the benefit
Very good teaching thanks

I love how you call it "the cocaine song". Oh ya.

Could you please do a Marty Friedman technique video?

song name at 23:59-24:03?

Could you do the Guitar Techniques of Jack White? He has some interesting tendencies that are hard to duplicate (plus its fun to mess around with a fuzz and whammy pedal)

Love the videos! Any chance you are going to tackle some Jerry Garcia??

Please do jerry garcia next!

awesome, how about the most under rated guitarist out there....Mike Campbell! Some great techniques hidden in plenty of Heartbreakers songs

I think you should do a Buddy Guy technique video.

Clapton Is God

YOU ARE THE MAN FOR DOING THIS VIDEO!!! YOU'VE DONE IOMMI AND NOW CLAPTON YOU ARE FUCKING AWESOME!!!! please do robbie krieger next he is so underrated

BTW Is that the top nut that came with that guitar? It looks like some sort of metal or maybe SS ?

I wish you were my friend. Break down "The Core".

Any chance of making the art of the guitar for Billy Gibbons?

Please do frank Zappa

You could have brought up his hybrid picking on I’m So Glad

You should do a technique vid on Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic

lower the speed to 0.5 and its like Mike is drunk

Just a suggestion...Robin Trower guitar techniques

I actually didn't knew that I can do that floating vibrato real good
I didn't knew it was called floating vibrato

Brilliant as always! Please make a video on Jack White :)

We need that one dude from rush's greatest guitar techniques!

Wow, i didnt know its called floating vibrato until now. All along I thought im weird as I am having trouble with the normal type of vibrato and is comfortable with "floating", ill now stop it and will stick with floating 😁

Nice🎸

which song is riff from at 8:36

Do a Keith Richards Artists Series

I'd love to see one of these on Matt Bellamy.

Just here for the unison bends.

Next do Chet Atkins :)

16:15 his hand moves like a spider