How To Play Acoustic Guitar Like Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE (born 30 March 1945), is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and of Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time. Clapton ranked second in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". He was also named number five in Time magazine's list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009.
The truth: there is no single blog post, magazine article, or website blurb that could sum up this legendary, prolific, and iconic guitar player. He's simply amazing. The guitar worship is real.
Similarly, there's no way to capture all the guitars (and there's a lot!), gear, lesson material, or recordings of Clapton.
So, instead, consider this just a quick wine tasting - a sample of his guitars, a few acoustic-oriented lesson materials, and some quick links to some great albums.
Enjoy.
Eric Clapton's Guitars:
Fender 1956 Stratocaster Brownie
This Strat is called 'Brownie', and is reportedly one of Eric Clapton's favorite guitars. Clapton said that he used 'Brownie' throughout the entire Layla album, including the title track - the iconic, world-renown, upbeat, and downcast love song. According to purchase records, Clapton bought this guitar on May 7th, 1967 while he was still with the group, Cream. Clapton has used 'Brownie' extensively in his recording and performing career.
19th Century Salvador Ibanez
Eric Clapton commented that this guitar has "..a great sound.." and that he kept it as "…a dressing room guitar…". Lee Dickson recalled that Clapton had this guitar for a long time and that he took it to the dressing room at The Royal Albert Hall for Clapton during one of his seasons there in the 1990s.
Martin 0-18 Mid '40s Natural
Built in Martin's Nazareth, PA workshop, the 0-18 was smaller than the 00-18 and the 000-18, but larger than earlier parlor-style guitars. Like other 18 series Martins, the 0-18 is defined by a Mahogany body (starting in 1917), Spruce top, and minimimal cosmetic flourishes. Also like many classic Martins, the design of the 0-18 changed little from the World War II era until production ended in the mid-'90s.
Martin 000-28EC Guitar
Martin Guitars also sells an "Eric Clapton" model 000-28EC Guitar based on the guitar Clapton used for his iconic MTV Unplugged appearance. It lists at a hefty $4,799 on Martin Guitar's website, but you can get it for significantly less, even at Amazon.
Eric Clapton's Guitar Lessons:
Hal Leonard Eric Clapton - Acoustic Classics (DVD)
Learn to play eight of Clapton's best acoustic songs and solos note-for-note with this DVD: Change the World * Circus * Layla * Malted Milk * Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out * Signe * Tears in Heaven * Walkin' Blues. Exclusive DVD features include: guitar techniques section, jam-along songs, and practice tips. 79 minutes.
Learn to Play Eric Clapton Acoustic Songs (DVD)
In 1992, Eric Clapton performed a live concert in front of a small audience in the UK for the MTV Unplugged series. Featuring reworkings of many of Clapton’s most popular tracks and a collection of standard Blues songs, it was eventually released as the ‘Eric Clapton: Unplugged’ album which reached number one across the world and earned Clapton six Grammy awards.
Eric Clapton - From the Album Unplugged (Guitar Signature Licks) (Paperback)
Learn the techniques Clapton used on his best-selling acoustic album. Includes demonstration tracks for practice purposes. 14 songs are covered, including: Alberta * Layla * Lonely Stranger * Nobody Knows You When You're down and Out * Rollin' and Tumblin' * Tears in Heaven * and more. Audio is accessed online using the unique code inside the book and can be streamed or downloaded.
Eric Clapton's Discography
- Eric Clapton (1970)
- 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974)
- There's One in Every Crowd (1975)
- No Reason to Cry (1976)
- Slowhand (1977)
- Backless (1978)
- Another Ticket (1981)
- Money and Cigarettes (1983)
- Behind the Sun (1985)
- August (1986)
- Journeyman (1989)
- Rush (1992)
- Unplugged [Remastered] (1992)
- From the Cradle (1994)
- Pilgrim (1998)
- Reptile (2001)
- Me and Mr. Johnson (2004)
- Sessions for Robert J (2004)
- Back Home (2005)
- Clapton (2010)
- Old Sock (2013)
- The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale (2014)
- I Still Do (2016)
- Happy Xmas (2018)