Knowing that what you hear in your head you can play with your hand. Yeah. That's all.

I just rolled off the couch from a nap, time for my interview.

Most people never realize that your head creates better melodies than your fingers ever will.

“It’s not about technique at all...” he says while displaying some of the best mfing vibrato in human history.

Love that he is so casual about the greatness he's achieved. Humble dude.

His guitar is totally tuned to the 80's

Best advice for lead guitar playing on KZfaq. It's NOT about scales or modes or arpeggios or musical rules. Like Miles Davis famously said, "First you got to learn all that stuff, then you got to forget it". It's about vocalizing the music in your head. Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker did it the same way.

Clapton is one of the most influential guitarists of all time, and has a unique style that you can recognize instantly (very few guitarists have this). Great emotion and melody to his playing. Plus he's a great vocalist, a great songwriter. If you think he's overrated, you're clueless.

That is "The Journeyman's" gift. The "hearing in your head" thing. He has said this at other times : he knows that he has the command of the "vocabulary' and can effortlessly apply that onto the fretboard with his hands. This it what make him great.

Amazing that Eric’s gift for playing beautiful guitar has survived the many addictions he went through, and that he survived them too... he is without doubt a chosen son!

Always will prefer Eric’s fiery and tormented work with Cream ... but gotta appreciate his later “vocalized” playing.

I swear he can make more with 3 or 4 notes than anybody can ...that sounded so good

the interviewer sounds like the same guy who interviewed him for creams albert hall interviews

A nostalgic hero and artist with a great personality and heart.

This lesson I never forget, after I saw it on a age of 12 years ...30years later I really sing in my head when I start a solo.

The out of context laugh at the beginning 😳😂

Extremely hard for a musician that thinks in terms of sound to verbalize their thoughts. I think he did a wonderful job answering the question.

Man I remember the these times when artists need actual skills and talent to become famous

The more triads, harmonizations, scales and licks you can learn the better. I think the secret is to somehow get all that stuff into your subconscious so you can play it at will without thinking about it. Also KNOW THE FRETBOARD!!! Notice how he drops from somewhere over the 12th fret down to the second or third without missing a beat cause he’s done it a million times. The best improvisation I’ve done, which doesn’t happened very often, is when Im not thinking about it. In fact everything I “F” up in life in general is a result of overthinking. Life is a song, if you stay in the key you’ll be all right, if you’re out of tune you’ll be thrown off the stage.

the best blues guitarist of all time !! and i listen to all of them

This very video has taught me so much and much more is to be learned and practiced. Grateful to have him!

Clapton is one word amazing ,,,,,,,,,

Damn the guitar sounds so good

GODDAMM LEGEND !! I´ve seen Eric in Frankfurt 2015 ...GOOSEBUMPS 100% The Audience Won´t Let him Go ..Standing Ovations ..SUCH a LEGEND !

Just love this man and his music 🎵

Happy Birthday Mr. Clapton!

This is a clip from a 1987 edition of The South Bank Show on TV. Was an excellent programme all about his career up to then, they got him together to play with Buddy Guy too. Amazing!

OMG, Thank you so much for uploading that great video!!! Keep on rocking! CLAPTON IS GOD -STILL

Thank you-that was good and just what I needed to hear.

What artists don't fathom, is you need it in your head in the first place, and being able to translate that feeling and depth of emotion from your soul, brain, fingers...... in too the guitar and out too us..... that..... THAT is the magical bit. People often say they don't believe in magic, but i do every time i hear Clapton, Gilmour, Doyl Bramhall II, Satriani, Vai, Rothery and many more play.

That tone is so buttery 😍

Be nice to see this entire video. Great stuff. Thanks Doug.

is no one going to mention that his tone in this video is so satisfying and calming?

Never heard anything more true I spent so long trying to learn all the technical stuff to soloing and drained all the creativity from it as soon as you know the scales and all that learning how to play what you think is the most crucial thing above all

A great guitar lesson.

amazing best touch bending and vibrato maybe all time and he knows the 5 positions!!!!

That’s exactly what I’ve felt and it’s cool to hear a master say that. It’s humming/singing to the song with the instrument. Just my fingers don’t always get it haha, but sometimes you make a little fumble and it actually sounds good and you roll with it. Maybe even re do that fumble and add a little something to it and just keep it rolling. At least when you’re jamming.

He's so good....🙏🙏🙏

"Just me singing, really". That about sums it up.

he really has the feel

Legend

The genius of Clapton is he can play the same song - flawlessly - a thousand times while no two sound the exactly the same and, yet, each is a masterpiece. I mean, think about what this really means. A performer can often do ONLY one or two: 1.) Perfectly deliver - no mistakes. 2.) Give a different performance 3.) Make something beautiful that stands above all others He has done ALL THREE simultaneously - _many times over_ .

Brilliant x

Just feel it Thanks Eric lol

Never gets old ;-)

Man he hit it on the head, but even at this time he had in around 20 years, and 20 years of being Eric Clapton at that.. I think he unintentionally undersold the value of dedicated technique development, but he describes what it's like to be in the zone so accurately.

Wise words from legend himself.

I use interviews as a form of meditation and Claptons from this era seemed to be calm my mind. I can get very anxious and overwhelmed

HI MY ERIC PATRICK CLAPTON ❤️ 💙 YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL VOICE I LOVE TOO SEE YOU PLAY YOUR GITAR

That's a great explanation!

Eric one of the most talentet guitarist 😊❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

He said it best, you just gotta be thinking about playing, and let everything else go out the window.

The best of them all

Shapes becoming sound. It’s like hand - eye coordination. To be any good it’s automatic. But it’s finger - ear coordination.

I love the last phrase. It’s subtle

he can go all the way to the top this guy

Good Lordy; that tone!

I think this guy has a future if he sticks to it! Lol

Never disappoints, my goat.

That’s awesome. I play guitar as a hobby just by myself. It’s amazing what you can learn from KZfaq

Brilliant

Mr. Natural!

I can't get over that tone.

Thanks

I think he’s an incredible improviser and wonderful command of the instrument. Really good live. Total pro. Like a boss... lol

From someone who is self taught and just now understanding scales and solos... Clapton describes it how i describe making solos... Its like a voice or your speaking with the strings instead of your mouth. Only way to describe it really.

Best singer in world!

You listen every minute/every day to what's been done. Then you "forget all that shit and play."

That is so true.

" So' Good ". .. ☺😊😀/💙💙💙/👍👌👏👋

What i hear in my head somehow doesn't come through in my hands while playing guitar 🎸

wow.. where's the rest of this interview??

Eric Patrick Clapton (Ripley, Surrey, Inglaterra, 30 de marzo de 1945) es un guitarrista, cantante y compositor de rock y blues británico, conocido por su magistral habilidad con la guitarra eléctrica, en concreto con su Stratocaster. 79 AÑOS 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤

David gilmour also said that he hums the solo before playing it

the thing is its more than just singing it's compositional. improvisation is just composition except instant. theres a lot of rules to it that tell you what note you should go to

What amp is here? Does anyone know?

it comes so natural to him that he cant really explain how he does it

when you clicked the video to gain knowledge about soloing then ending up shame because of his laugh

What's the name of this video/documentary?

When I was a young guitar player this would have made no sense.. Now it does. I will try to explain - imagine you are in the key of c and you are playing a c chord in the open position - like we all learn when we are starting out. When we strum the C chord - that cord is make from 3 notes - they are C E and G - so when you strum strings 5,4,3,2 and 1 - all of those strings are playing one of the 3 notes - C E orG. Nothing magic there. Now you want to improvise,.... play something at random to match up with a C chord . So have someone strum the C chord while you at random pick notes in that open position - of course you can pick and of the C E or G notes and everything will sound fine - you can do hammers, pulls, slides, bends, vibrato on any of those C E and G notes. It will sound find but might get a little boring after a while. So here is the secret - the C scale - yes, that scale you never wanted to learn about or practice. We will take the C major scale that is the notes C D E F G A B - those 7 notes - you already play 3 of them when you make the chord - you play C E and G notes. That leaves 4 more notes in the scale - they are D F A and B. For basic rock or blues we fill leave out the F and B notes for now so the notes we will play are C D E G and A. (if you want to get technical we will call that the 5 note pentatonic scale. So what? Well, have your friend strum a C chord while you randomly play and of those 5 notes (C D E G or A) - do any hammers, pulls, slides, bends, vibrato you want. - it will be really hard to make it sound bad - and it will probably begin to sound pretty good to you. After you do it a while you are not thinking of notes at all, you are hearing a sound in you imagination and then playing it on the guitar as you go. You are playing notes in the c scale and your fingers have memorized what notes are allowed and which ones to avoid.

Strats sound great with chorus

I've drawn similar conclusions, not just with guitar but multiple instruments. If you can make those instruments "sing", at the right time, you're gonna get amazing results. Not all the time you want your instruments to sing though lol.

Good ol wake and bake Clapton. Wish he played that 1967 sound

cool

Gods guitarist.

Anyone know what this clip is from? I assume it's from a full-length interview.

Pentatonics FTW!!!

Tales of brave slow hand.🎸

His guitar tone here is very unique nothing you’ll find when you buy your own strat

anyone know where this came from, would love to what the full version.

Yup… nuthin’ to it.

what acoustic is that

"It's not clever at all, is just feeling".

Chorus 👍

Where is this interview from?

does anyone know the effects he has on that guitar? The tone is great! I would love to recreate it

How would you play a solo in your head?

❤💛💚🎶💖

Clapton has always been No1 for me .even b4 I heard his solos on crossroads which changed my life the most badass playing I ever heard.

Actually like me he spends hours learning run licks bits of solos from Albert king muddy waters Freddie king ect Then using technique and scales arpeggios ect Puts his own twist on it I like his twists though So does everyone els Love you Eric you opened the door to the old blues guys.the thing is you had it when you were 20 and just got better.thank for the inspiration