There’s something wonderful about consistency—the feeling that no matter what the circumstances are, you know how a certain player is going to play. It’s a valuable trait to have if you’re a professional musician. And it’s one that I honestly feel I don’t have. Every little variable affects how I play as well as how I hear and react to music. Eric Clapton has to be one of the most reliably consistent players out there; he pretty much almost always sounds good. And most important of all, he has his own identifiable sound which to me is the holy grail for the musician.
Crossroads has to be one of the most analyzed solos from Eric Clapton. Eddie Van Halen often refers to how much he learned figuring out and eventually learning the solo. I’ve posted the first Chorus of the first solo from Crossroads. It’s not overly difficult to play but there’s a lot to learn from observing how the notes fit over each chord. Clapton seamlessly floats between the minor and major pentatonic scales in order to follow the chord changes and firmly ends on the root of the V chord. It’s a rock blues, meaning it’s not swung, and there’s a fantastic train-rolling-forward feeling to his phrasing. Make sure you listen to the recording while learning it to capture the nuance and feel. And in the end, use it for ideas to inspire finding your own signature sound. Enjoy....
