This volume examines the playing style of Eric Clapton. Without Eric Clapton, we may never have heard the sounds of blues/rock, hard rock, metal and everything that came after it. Born in 1945, Eric was the prime mover in the British Blues boom, first appearing as a member of the Yardbirds and releasing the essential proto-blues/rock recordings “I Ain’t Got You” and “Got to Hurry.” His move to John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers resulted in the essential recording, Bluesbreakers: John Mayall with Eric Clapton, and Eric’s mercurial, mind-boggling soloing on tracks like “Steppin’ Out,” “Hideaway” and “Double Crossing Time” soon earned Eric the nickname “God.” One could easily count Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Peter Green all as disciples of Eric’s early work.

Eric is known for his incredibly deft phrasing and fluid vibrato, and, though influenced by B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Otis Rush, has a distinct quality all his own. His playing is very expressive and, at times, vocal-like, but also erupts in blasts of pure virtuosity. A complete study of Eric’s playing is essential for any guitarist interested in playing either blues or blues/rock.

Kings of Blues & Rock will impact your playing in two distinctly different but equally important ways: first, you will learn all of the essential elements for soloing in the style of each of these great players; more importantly, you will be able to take this information and use it to create your own style and sound in rock and blues guitar.

The playing styles of each artist is examined in a variety of musical settings designed around the artists' signature style and performances. All of the solo segments are played first at tempo, over practice rhythm tracks, and then presented slowly with thorough explanations. Practice rhythm tracks are provided so that you can practice the solo examples as presented and work on creating your own solo variations and ideas. Also discussed is the type of guitar and amp each artist favors, and the means by which they achieve their distinct, signature sound.

Your Kings of Blues & Rock instructor, Andy Aledort is himself a "King" amongst players, editors and educators. Aledort has served as senior editor for several top guitar magazines, has authored over 200 guitar instruction books and DVDs and tours with high-profile artists such as Buddy Guy, Dickey Betts, and the Allman Brothers band.

Kings of Blues & Rock is optimized for intermediate to advanced players and is presented as interactive video software on CD-ROM (Windows and Mac compatible). The entire course features 160 full-length video lessons (20 per artist) and includes text overviews, practice rhythm tracks, standard notation and interactive Power Tab so that you can "hear" and "see" the tab/notation played out at any speed, without effecting pitch. TrueFire's video player features zoom, frame advance, looping and other handy controls.