Clapton's blues playing lives in box 1 of the minor pentatonic, and most of the magic comes from phrasing: bends that sing, short gaps, and phrases that answer each other.
Key: A minor pentatonic, box 1 at the 5th fret. The two key bends are G up to A on the B string (fret 8 to 10) and D up to E on the G string (fret 7 to 9). Keep your index finger at fret 5 and use the ring finger, backed by the middle, for both bends.
Woman tone
The commonly cited recipe: neck humbucker, tone knob rolled almost fully off, amp turned up into overdrive. The result is thick, dark and vocal, with soft attack and long sustain. Pick a little harder to get the notes to speak through the dark tone.
Phrase in pairs: a call that leaves the music hanging, then an answer that resolves to A. Start the answer half a beat late; that space is part of the style.
It should sound smooth and confident rather than fast. The most common mistake is filling every gap with notes. The second is releasing a bend before the next note, which makes it sound unfinished.
How to practice
- Loop the one-bar phrase with the darkest tone you can get.
- Play the call and answer and sing along in your head.