clapton : Eric Clapton: Blues guitar legend

Eric Patrick Clapton was born on March 30, 1945 in England. Clapton's musical career has developed from band member to solo artist and has allowed Clapton to be considered one of the premiere rock and blues guitarists in history. Clapton was raised by his grandmother who he thought was his mother until age 9 when he learned that his "sister" was actually is mom and he was an illegitimate child. By the time Clapton was 15, he was fascinated with the blues and playing guitar (a gift for his 13th birthday) and by age 17, he had dropped out of Kingston College of Art to focus on a career in music in London.

Click here for an excellent Eric Clapton timeline of his career.

During that time he has sold millions of albums and known worldwide fame - but also experienced the pain of drug and alcohol addiction and the tragic death of his son.

Born in Ripley, Surrey, on 30 March, 1945, Eric Patrick Clapton began learning the guitar as a result of his love for blues and US R&B in the shape of artists such as Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley.

He became a serious scholar of the blues, learning about its history, listening to legendary exponents such as Robert Johnson and discovering the work songs of the US deep south.

"It did something to me emotionally," he later said of his affinity with practitioners of the blues sound.

"The blues are what I've turned to, what has given me inspiration and relief in all the trials of my life."

After brief spells with various British blues bands in the early 1960s, Clapton rose to public acclaim in 1964 as a member of The Yardbirds, playing lead guitar at London's Marquee club on the band's first album, Five Live Yardbirds.

While The Yardbirds would go on to recruit fellow guitar heroes Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, Clapton had joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, and would soon emerge at the heart of one of the late 1960s' most important rock bands, Cream.

Co-founded with bass player Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker, Cream combined the era's psychedelic influence with hard-rocking remakes of blues standards such as Crossroads and Born Under A Bad Sign.

Before the decade was over, Clapton and drummer Baker joined multi-instrumentalist Steve Winwood and bassist Ric Grech in the so-called supergroup Blind Faith, recording a number one album that was hailed by critics.

After a spell in Delaney and Bonnie & Friends, Clapton began to test his vocal skills, recording a 1970 solo album and the widely-admired track Layla on an album recorded under the name of Derek and the Dominos.

Throughout the 1970s he enjoyed continued success with a string of solo albums featuring hits such as I Shot the Sheriff and Lay Down Sally.

At the height of his fame Clapton was devastated by the death of his four-year-old son Conor, who fell from the 53rd-storey window of a New York City apartment in 1991. Clapton later recorded the song Tears in Heaven in tribute.

He has acknowledged a drug habit that began at art school at the age of 15. By 1969, he was drinking two bottles of vodka a day, and five years later his heroin addiction was costing him £1,500 a week.

He has been sober since 1982 and now raises millions of dollars for his drink and drugs rehabilitation centre in the Caribbean.

A winner of eight Grammys and the only triple inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Clapton, now 58, married (wedded) American Melia McEnery, 27, the mother of his daughters Ella and Julie, in Surrey a year ago.

For nine years he was married to Patti Boyd, previously the wife of former Beatle George Harrison and the subject of Layla.

The string layout on the guitar allows us to play some of the component notes that maybe make up the chord more than once. The usual way to play the E Major chord is shown here. The numbers indicate which finger you will use to fret that note, (1) is your index finger, (2) is your middle finger, (3) is your ring finger and (4) is your pinky finger (not used in these easy guitar chords however). The O on the left side of the string indicate that string is to be struck in the "O"pen position. Place your fingers at the appropriate frets and strum all six strings together (with a downstroke). Congratulations, you just strummed your first guitar chord!

Next we will learn how to read guitar tab and also how to read guitar sheet music.

Sit upright in your comfortable chair (usually has four legs so you don't fall off) with your back erect and as far back as you can go in the chair. Straddle the guitar over your right thigh - note that if you are lefty you will have to reverse all the directions given here! Also note that for classical guitar you will eventually be playing with the guitar on your LEFT thigh - just keep it on your right thigh for now for these basic lessons. Bring the guitar as close to your body as you can, and balance it on your thigh so it doesn't wobble (too much) - and the neck forms a straight line parallel with the ground. If you need to raise your right leg to keep the guitar balanced, use the footstool. Put your left hand under the neck of your guitar with all your fingers open and pointing skywards, rest the neck between your thumb and forefinger. Your thumb should be along the back of the neck, slide your hand up and down a few times and get to know how cool it feels to be holding your guitar. Your right hand should go over the body of the guitar, and your fingers should be near the soundhole (or neck pickup, if you have an electric guitar).

For your first strum (drum roll!), leave your left hand fingers in the air (don't fret any strings yet) while balancing the guitar neck in the V of your thumb and forefinger, and rotate your right hand wrist so the pick (or your thumb) strikes all six guitar strings from the top to the bottom (the TOP most string nearest your face is the SIXTH string, and the string closes to the ground is the FIRST string). Do it slowly at first, listen to all the strings ring out. That was your first strum - although it may not sound like much. As you strum by rotating your wrist, you will realize that it is quite a stretch to strike all six strings just with your wrist action. Now try it by moving your arm ONLY from your elbow along with the rotation of your wrist - must easier, isn't it. So keep in mind, your wrist action is what you need to strike the strings (not by moving your whole arm) - and your arm moves at the elbow to position your wrist over the string that you wish to strike. Strum the top most 6th string (thickest string, nearest your face) downward once, recover the pick back to position above the string (without hitting the string on the way back up). Now nudge your arm (from the elbow) down a fraction of an inch so your pick is in position over the next string (5th string) and pick it. Recover the pick back up without touching the string on the way back, and nudge your arm from the elbow into position over the fourth string - and keep going till you reach the bottom most (first string). Repeat the process backwards, coming back up to the sixth string. When hitting the string, you only need a little pressure - don't get carried away and try to slam the strings to get more volume. The important thing is to pick only the string you are aiming for, and only hit it on the DOWN STROKE (not on the recovery when you bring the pick back up). Try this exercise for a few minutes every day to get your hand and wrist used to the motion.

Once you have some control over your right hand for strumming, lets start with the left hand for fretting the strings. By pressing the string down at a fret you effectively shorten the length of that string, increasing the pitch of the sound it makes. This allows you to make infinitely more sounds than just the six strings picked in open (without any frets being pressed) position. Reposition your left hand so your thumb is flat along the back of the neck approximately in the middle - it should be as though you are placing a fingerprint on the back of the neck. Curl your remaining four fingers and lightly touch the sixth string (closest to your face). Now depending on the length of your fingers and the width/thickness of the neck, you have to get a comfortable feel where you are able to keep your fingers arched - so they do NOT brush against the first string (closest to the ground). Adjust your thumb accordingly, this is your indvidual "zone".

Now you are ready to fret your first string. Note that when we say "fret the string" it does not mean press ON the fret, you want to press AHEAD (towards the tuners) of the target fret as close to the fret as your finger fatness allows. Ideally only the finger tip should touch the string pushing it flat against the fretboard at that point, the closer you can get to the fret (without actually climbing the fret) the better the sound your guitar will make. Again depending on the length and thickness of your fingers, and the width and thickness of your guitar neck, you have to find your own "zone". Start by holding all four finger above the first four frets on the sixth string (closest to your face). Pick the sixth string, then lower only your index finger on the first fret (remember, ON means just ahead of) and pick the string again. Note the sound of the note changed, you just fretted your first string. Lower your middle finger on the second fret (again, ON means just ahead of) and pick again keeping your index finger down where it landed. Repeat with your ring and your pinkie fingers, picking once each time. Now reverse the process, lifting the pinky finger and picking the string, then lifting the ring finger and picking the string, and so on till all four fingers are back up in the air. Switch to the next string (the FIFTH string) and repeat, and keep going all way down to the first string. Then do the same thing in reverse, coming back up to the sixth string. When you fret a string, use your ears - each note should ring out clear as you pick it. If it is muffled your finger is not pushing down correctly or hard enough - if the note cuts out abruptly your finger did not move up (or down) smoothly. You will hear the sound change (technically, by half a step) for each fret that you play.

Always ensure your guitar is in tune before practicing - guitars frequently go out of tune as the strings stretch out, and as the weather changes (humidity affects the wood, swelling or shrinking the neck). You should have a guitar stand, and keep your guitar on it (weather and humidity permitting) so it is easy to just grab it and start playing whenever you have a free moment. After each practice session, you should wipe your guitar down with a dry soft cloth to remove the oils and sweat your hands and fingers deposit on the strings and body. If you have an electric guitar, remember to turn OFF the amp to avoid damaging both the guitar and the amp. It is a good practice to also unplug the cable from your electric guitar when not in use, this saves your equipment in case you forget to turn the amp off - and poses less of a risk that someone may trip over it (which could destroy your guitar, and possibly their teeth).

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