Chords for Eric Clapton's Simple Acoustic Blues in E ...

_ [E] _ _ _ _ The 12-bar blues is indeed the backbone of [N] many blues songs.
Robert Johnson, T [B] Bone Walker, Muddy [C#m] Water, Arbor King, BB King, [F#m] you name it.
All these players expressed their struggle and joy through the blues.
Today we are learning from one of the most amazing guitar players ever [C#m] lived, Eric [Bm] Clapton.
[E] And we are checking out his take on Rumbling on My Mind, a blues song recorded by Robert Johnson in [B] 1936.
_ [E] _ _ _ _ [D] _ [A] Let's break down the structure very quickly.
We start with an E7 chord.
[E] _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [B] _ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _
_ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [A] _ [B] _ _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ _ _ When we take a closer look at how Clapton plays this blues, we find an insane number of elements that make this overplayed blues riff beautiful, groovy, unique [G] and just a joy to play.
The first element is open strings.
Rather than keep [C] repeating the same riff over and over again, [D#] Clapton adds open strings at the [E] end of the E7 and at the end [A#] of the [A] A7.
_ _ _ Which open [E] strings are we actually playing?
We have three notes and we're going to play these three notes at the end of the E7 and at the end of the A7.
Let me show you.
_ We got the E7.
_ _ _ _ _ [D] _
[C#] We got these three notes on the fret 4, [D] on the 4th and on the 5th. _ _ [E] _ We're _ _ _ [D] _ [A] going to do the same for the A7. _ _ _ _ This time we [B] have 4 [F#] on the 4th string, on the 3rd [G] string and on the 4th string. Let me show you a better [E] example. _ In _ [D] _ [A] _ _ _ [G] _ [E] _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [D] _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Em] _
[E] _ _ _ [D] _ [E] _ _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ [E] _
_ _ _ _ [C#m] _ [C] _ [Em] _ [A] _
[E] _ _ order to [Em] spice up this blues recipe, Clapton adds [C] chords to this blues [A] riff. [G] _ [E] _ _ _ [A] _ [E] _ Sometimes a simple E major or [A] A major does the trick. [C#] And that's the thing about Clapton. He's not trying to play crazy chords. He's not trying to impress the audience with crazy sounding chords. It's clear that for him it's all about the music, the groove and the song. Again, I'm not trying to replicate every single note, every single chord that he plays. [F#] So let me just give you an example of chord stuffing in the style of_ [F] _ [E] Element _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ [A] _ [E] _ _ _ _ [A] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ [A] _ [E] _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ [A] _ [E] _ _ _ _ _
[C#m] _ [Em] _ [A] _ [E] _ _ number 3. Guitar [G] tricks. Hammer-ons, [C] grace notes, hybrid picking and [D#] slides. These [N] are some of the techniques that Clapton uses to spice up this blues. Again guys, all these techniques are there to fulfill a purpose. In fact, you don't have to be a guitar player at all to appreciate the beautiful embellishments that Clapton adds to the blues. The grace note is [E] played on the E major chord. We play it with a [A] hammer-on [G] between the G natural [G#m] and the G sharp on the fret [Em] 1. [E] _ _ _ _ _ _ We can also use the slide technique over the riff. _ _ _ [D] _ [A] _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ [E] _ _
_ _ [A] _ [E] _ _ _ Now, let me give you an example. _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _ [Em] _ [E] _ _ _
[A] _ [E] _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _
[A] _ [E] _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ [A] _ _ [E] _ [A] _ [E] _ _
[C#m] _ _ [C] _ [Em] _ [A] _ _ [E] _ _
Element number 4. It's my favorite. Guitar [Em] fills. _ _ [G] _ [Dm] _ [E] _ _ _ _ _
Of course, we can't talk about the blues without really talking about guitar fills. Which is basically just adding notes between chords. And I have to say that Clapton's approach to this aspect of the blues is insanely beautiful and satisfying. Of course guys, we are playing the blues in E, so we have to learn the holy grail of all scales. Which is the E minor pentatonic scale. [A] [D] But [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ [A] _ [Em] _ [E] _
_ _ also the [Em] blues scale. _ [Bm] _ [A#] _ [A] _ [Em] _ [B] _ [A#] _ [G] _ [E] _ _
_ _ Let's be clear about this. I'm saying this because we are guitar players and I know that sometimes our fingers just kind of go out of control. A guitar fill is not a guitar solo. In fact, you never see Clapton playing long lines, long phrases. It's more about playing a few notes between chords. Again, I'm not trying to copy the exact same phrase that Clapton is playing. But let me give you an example in his style. [C#m] _ [C] _ [Em] _ [A#] _ [B] _ _ [Em] _ [E] _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ _ _ [Bm] _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ [G] _ [A] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ [A] _ [E] _ _ _ _ [A#] _ [B] _
_ _ _ [A] _ [E] _ _ _ _
_ [C#m] _ [C] _ [Em] _ [A] _ [E] _ _ _
_ Alright guys, I just finished [N] this video and it was a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun recording this blues lesson. And one thing that I learned from Clapton is that the blues is indeed one of the most fascinating, simple, yet complex genre of music. And if the goal is to express yourself through music, the blues is definitely the style that you want to practice. Now you don't have to become a blues man, but you definitely want to understand how it works. And all these small elements that you can add to a guitar solo or to a chord progression to make it sound more like your own. Now I'm going to leave you to practice this lovely blues. Let me know if you liked the lesson.