Unit 3: Clapton 12 Bar

The 12 Bar

In the first lesson of this unit, we will talk about the 12 bar blues, and how Cream tended to approach it with this more rock style. The first thing to cover is the main chord progression, which goes like this:

So at face value, it’s a pretty standard 12 bar format! The I chord for 4 bars, then the IV chord for 2 bars, then the I chord for another 2 bars, then the V chord for a bar, then the IV chord for a bar, then the I chord again. The key things to note here are the first 4 chords are all the same, and the turnaround is extremely simple!

Why?

Good question! It really comes down to the speed at which these tracks are normally played through and the rock blues style itself! At a fast blues rock pace, you don’t want intricate (potentially cheesy) sounding turnarounds (think Sweet Home Chicago for example), plus the first 4 bars really set the solid, driving foundation for the track. So, our first task is simply to play through the progression in powerchords!

The Riff

Let’s now tackle the riff section of the track. This is used anytime we play over the A7 (I chord) in the track, and uses the minor pentatonic very heavily. Check out the first bar of the tab to see the riff. We start with a cool little back and forth on the A7 chord, using the minor and major 3rd crossover (We will establish this more in the coming units), followed by a cool riff using the A minor pentatonic.

“Clapton loves to use the minor pentatonic over Dominant 7 chords, especially in Cream!”

So, your first task is to master and loop this riff. The rhythm of it is absolutely crucial, so get it on loop with a drum beat and have some fun!

The 4 & 5 Chord

For our 4 chord in the track, we are using a Dominant 9th chord, which is built as follows:

Root 3rd 5th b7th 9th

This is therefore a simple extension of the basic dominant 7th chord (root 3rd 5th b7th) which adds a bit of extra colour and fun to the chord! Check out the chord boxes section to see the shape. We also arpeggiate the chord to add a bit of extra melodic value to it, filling out the bar! This is a great shape to learn, and as you can see in this track we change between using that chord arpeggiated as well as the classic shuffle groove on the E and the D.

The Turnaround

Finally, let’s look over the turnaround... Which in fact, is absolutely nothing! Once again, because of the speed at which we are playing, there is no real room for an epic turnaround and it actually sounds better without straying away too much from the root chord. What you will hear is either Clapton or Jack Bruce referencing the 5 chord at some point, usually by simply ending a lick on the E note in this instance. So, with that all said, let’s put the whole thing together and get it on!

Variations

At this point, it is very much worth looking at all the things you can do with these progressions, and simply learning how to mix and match. We will therefore take these three elements that we have:

What We Have...

1. The shuffle groove, which can be used on any of the three chords.
2. The 9th chords with the arpeggio, which can be used on any of the three chords.
3. The Riff, which can be used on any of the three chords.
4. Our imagination and anything else we want to bring to it!

So now, as we have all of these elements, we can get a drum loop on and have some fun! Enjoy this wonderful process, and all the benefits it will bring to your playing.