Crossroads Guitar Lesson: Mastering Eric Clapton's Holy Grail of Blues Solos

Have you ever wondered how Eric Clapton gets such an incredible electric blues guitar sound? 

Do you want to learn some insider secrets to unlock some of his signature blues guitar tricks? 

Do you want to learn to improvise with the 12-bar blues chord progression? 

If so, keep reading…

It was the evening of March 10th, 1968 when Cream took the stage at the Winterland in San Francisco. At that moment, to them, it may have just felt like another gig and another performance of a blues song that they'd been playing since their early gig days.

But what happened next was truly a moment of capturing lightning in a bottle. Now, over a half-century later, this iconic recording is revered as one of the most epic live performances in the history of blues and rock. And as a guitar player, this one is a complete masterclass of elite blues and rock techniques and improvisations.

In this article, I’ll share with you key points to learn to play “Crossroads” on guitar and how you can incorporate this blues and rock style into your own music.

What are the three chords used in the song Crossroads?

Believe it or not, the entire song is based around just three simple blues chords. Those chords are: A7, D7, and E7.

If you’re just getting started with blues guitar, begin by playing these three chords in open position and start getting used to the sound of a dominant seventh chord. Dominant seventh chords are a crucial sound in the blues, and this is what is meant when you see a seventh chord. So for example, the full name of the chord A7 is A dominant seven, but we just typically refer to it as A7.

So for A7 play this:

For D7 play this:

And finally for E7 play this:

That’s it! Those are the only three chords you’ll need to jam along to this classic recording.

What key does Eric Clapton play Crossroads in?

Those three chords (A7, D7, and E7) make up the primary chords in the key of A major. These chords would be considered the I, IV, and V in the key of A major. So if you're wondering what key Eric Clapton plays "Crossroads" in, the answer is A major.

Now, traditionally in the key of A major, we would not have dominant seventh chords for the A and the D, just the E7. However, this is a key indicator that the song is a blues tune. Pro tip: if you are looking at a chord progression and all of the chords are dominant sevenths, it just may be a blues song

I, IV, and V in the key of A:

• A = I chord
• D = IV chord
• E = V chord

I, IV, and V in a typical major blues song:

• A7 = I7 chord
• D7 = IV7 chord
• E7= V7 chord

What tuning is Crossroads in?

The original writer of "Crossroads" was blues guitar legend from the Mississippi Delta, Robert Johnson. Johnson played this song in his typical Delta style blues on acoustic guitar using a slide. Now, often early blues players actually tuned their guitars to open tunings. However, Eric Clapton just keeps his guitar in standard tuning (E, A, D, G, B, E) for this performance.

How do you play Crossroads by the Cream?

Once you understand the chords and how to play them on your guitar, the next step is to put them into the progression. Cream's "Crossroads" follows a typical 12-bar blues structure used in millions of songs. As blues guitarists, this is one of the most important skills to develop, and unfortunately, 92% of guitarists miss this.

The basic structure would go like this:

• A (4 bars)
• D (2 bars)
• A (2 bars)
• E (1 bar)
• D (1 bar)
• A (1 bar)
• E (1 bar)  

Once you add up all those bars, you'll arrive at a must-know chord progression for playing blues guitar. Tip: Try strumming each chord once per bar and count to four. Try to start internalizing this progression. Trust me, if you want to learn to play songs or jam with friends, you'll thank me for it later!

Two Easy Riffs To Learn To Play In The Style Of Eric Clapton’s Crossroads

When it comes to being able to improvise through the 12-bar blues the way Clapton does in this iconic recording, you'll want to start by building off those basic open chord shapes we learned above. Here are two examples to get you started playing blues guitar grooves in this style.

Example 1 above demonstrates a must-know blues rhythm pattern. It takes just two notes out of that A chord, the open 5th string and the 2nd fret on the 4th string. These two notes together create a power chord and can be written as A5. The 5 after the letter name essentially means A power chord. Instead of writing "A power chord" for the chord symbol, we'll just write A5. From there, the pattern moves up the neck and trades out the 2nd fret on the 4th string for the 4th fret of the 4th string. The pattern moves back and forth like a see-saw and develops a root 5th to a root 6th motion, sometimes referred to as the "Kansas City Shuffle."

Example 2 goes a step further and plays a simple riff off the A chord. Start by playing just the root note of the chord, the open 5th string. Then move up the octave to the 2nd fret on the 3rd string, play that note, and then you'll bounce back and forth from the root note to the open 3rd string like this:

After the hammer-on to the 2nd fret, play one last open 3rd string and then leap down to the 3rd fret of the 5th string. This is the note C, which creates a bluesy clash against the A major chord.

This note is often considered a "blue note" and is typically played with a little string pull, bending the note just slightly out of tune.

Mixing in these riffs to a typical 12-bar blues can get you started with learning to improvise and play in this style.

Scales & Licks

Clapton's guitar solos in this live recording of "Crossroads" are at the pinnacle of blues guitar improvisation and virtuosity. The song develops throughout, and each solo he plays goes higher and higher in intensity and range up the neck.

To get started learning how to improvise in this style, it’s important to be familiar with two scale patterns. The first one is the A major pentatonic scale. This pattern can be played in the 2nd position like this:

This scale has a sweeter sound to it and is a sound used quite often by one of Eric Clapton's heroes, B.B. King.

Here would be the frets to play on each string:

• 6th string frets = 2, 5
• 5th string frets = 2, 4
• 4th string frets = 2, 4
• 3rd string frets = 2,4
• 2nd string frets = 2, 5
• 1st string frets = 2, 5

Here is an example of a lick in this pattern:

 As a secondary scale I would recommend trying the A minor blues scale starting on the 5th fret of the low E string like this:

Here would be the frets to play on each string for the A minor blues scale:

• 6th string frets = 5, 8
• 5th string frets = 5, 6, 7
• 4th string frets = 5, 7
• 3rd string frets = 5, 7, 8
• 2nd string frets = 5, 8
• 1st string frets = 5, (8)

The second scale has a bluesier and more aggressive sound to it. Clapton switches to this scale later in the song as the energy rises throughout. Here is an example lick to give you an idea of how to combine the notes in this style.

Conclusion

This track's historical significance should not be overlooked. It’s a pinnacle moment in the lineage of the blues from the Mississippi Delta all the way to the British and blues rock styles that paved the way for more modern blues guitarists today. Take it slow and for another great Clapton-style guitar lesson check out "I Shot The Sheriff" next!

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