Guitar

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - unpacking a classic guitar solo

If there is a piece of music that captivated me this week, it was Eric Clapton's solo in the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." I've been working on it again, and have found it difficult to master in its simplicity because of its unusual shifts and bends. It's only sixteen bars long, played over the verse chords and leading into a bridge in the parallel major key, A major. Here's a tab of it, transcribed by a man known only as Clark.

   (E)
e------------------------------------------|
B--------------------------13-b14--15-b17--|
G--(14)b17r14---12h14-b17------------------| 
D------------------------------------------| 
A------------------------------------------|

E------------------------------------------|

Clapton's opening gambit focuses on an unusual three fret bend from A to C, a sound already established in earlier fills. This kind of ambitious bending was not at all common in rock in

1968, though Buddy Guy and Albert King were known for wide bends, albeit less psychedelic.Clapton's secret weapon was light-gauge strings - Ernie Ball Super Slinkys I believe.

   (Am)            (Am7)                (D2)   (F)
e------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B--13--------------------------------------------------------------------|
G------14~~~--------12h14-b17-14b17~~~----------12h14-b17-14b17~~~-------|
D------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E------------------------------------------------------------------------|


   (Am) (G)                          (D)                  (E)  
e-----------------------------------------15------------------>
B-------------------15-b17r15p13-15b17-------b17-r15--15--13-->
G--------12h14-b17-------------------------------------------->
D------------------------------------------------------------->
A------------------------------------------------------------->
E------------------------------------------------------------->
  
                                >--(15)b17--r---15b17--b17--|
                                >---------------------------|
                                >---------------------------|

                                >---------------------------|
                                >---------------------------|
                                >---------------------------|

Here Clapton breaks out of the A-C bend motif to gradually shift positions, climaxing

early on the high A, bent up from G.

   (Am)           (Am7)                 (D2)                         (F)
e----(15)b17r15----b17---------------15-------------------15--------------|
B-------------------------17--15b17------b17r15--13h15b17-----b17r15--13--|
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Backpedaling from this peak, he works in the 13th position with a series of permutations between C and G, the third and seventh of the A minor tonality.


   (Am)                                     (G)
e------------------------------------------------------------------>
B------------------------------------------------------------------>
G--(14)b17r14p12h14-b17--14b17---------12-------------------------->
D--------------------------------12h14----14--12p10-12---10h12-10-->
A------------------------------------------------------------------>
E------------------------------------------------------------------>

After a brief return to the A-C 'overbend', a series of hammered and slid note pairs returns the

line to the highest pitch.


     (C)                         (E)
  >------------------------------10h12--12/15--15-b17--b17r15--b17--|
  >----------------10h13--13/15-------------------------------------|
  >---------12h14---------------------------------------------------|
  >--12h14----------------------------------------------------------|
  >-----------------------------------------------------------------|

I learned this solo seven years ago for a Beatles show, but needed some serious

rehabilitation when remembering it during my practice yesterday. The slides and hammers at

the end in particular eluded me for a while - they're not in the common blues-rock lead guitar

inventory.

In the meantime, at one memorable gig around 2006 at the old Healey's club on Bathurst, Jeff Healey, Rob Phillips and I all wailed this solo in unison. A great night.

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