Layla Guitar Lesson – Eric Clapton

Genre:

Difficulty:
Length: 13:29

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Wikipedia page
Artist website
Music video

• Alternate picking
• Barre chords
• Hammer-ons
• Multiple string slides
• Power chords
• Pull-offs
• Slides
• String bending

The guitar lesson on Layla, written by one of the best guitarists in the world, Eric Clapton will be one of the most beneficial lessons you take. The video tutorial in jam-packed with material, so learning this song well will be really beneficial to your advance as a guitarist.

You’ll start off by learning the signature intro riff solo, which literally uses a barrage of techniques already, including chords and many techniques you'll need if you want to play solos on guitar.

By many lead guitar techniques, I do mean many. You’ll be practicing consecutive hammer-ons and pull-offs and bends. This part of the lesson is focused on these techniques, and if you learn it well, you’ll really see an improvement in your guitar speed and accuracy.

After the intro, you’ll be learning the verse, which is made up of several chords, both open stringed and bar chords. It’s not as hard as it looks, as the bar chords are very close to each other, so this part of the lesson will give you an excellent chance to practice chords and quick chord changes, as well as rhythmic strumming.

Layla is a great song to learn on guitar and will improve many-many aspects of your playing. You’ll be practicing lead guitar and solo techniques, as well as chords and strumming, so this is really an all-in-one lesson. And best of all, it’s a great song you’ll really enjoy playing, and people will love listening to it! Once you're done with learning Layla, have a go at another one of our guitar lessons for beginners.

Layla song details

Layla was written by Eric Clapton and released in 1970, 1972, then again in 1992. The song was inspired by a classical Arabian love story, The Story of Layla, at a time when Eric Clapton was falling in love with George Harrison’s (The Beatles) wife. The song became a huge hit and is held to be one of the best rock songs of all time.

Layla awards and chart rankings

• Grammy Award in 1992 for Best Rock Song
• VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Rock and Roll: #16
• Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. #27
• UK charts: #4 (1972 version)
• US charts: #7
• Billboard Hot 100: #51

If you want to refine the skills you learned in Layla, check out these lessons on songs by clicking these links:
Alternate picking / Barre chords / Hammer-ons / Multiple string slides / Power chords / Pull-offs / Slides / String bending

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