That blue note

I started playing guitar as a way of staving off boredom during compulsory prep sessions at boarding school. Convincing my house master that I was part of the school orchestra was no mean feat considering my basic grasp of the D and G chords. But I have continued playing ever since and it is probably the one constant in my life.

And so to my new personal Everest - becoming proficient in the blues. At the moment I am being inundated with theory; the correct way to approach certain notes, phrasing, minor fifths and lots and lots of trying to imitate the great guitarists. 

Of course whenever you learn something new you are bound to become disheartened at one point or another. Thank God for YouTube and these little beauties that keep me learning...

Eric Clapton is often ranked as the best guitarist of all time. His technical style is extremely smooth and comes from years of imitating other artists such as Muddy Waters.

Layla is one of Clapton's most intimate songs. He wrote it for British model Pattie Boyd who at the time was married to Beetle George Harrison. Listening to the words you can hear the anguish and frustration in his voice.

But it worked, he was able to convince her to divorce Harrison and a few years later they got married - no small feat considering it was at the peak of the Beetles fame.The iconic riff of the song was later translated into an acoustic version that is as iconic as the original.

The guitar Clapton plays in the video is called 'Blackie' and is probably the most famous guitar of all time.

While technically a country or blue grass musician, Albert Lee's mastery of the guitar is second to none. His iconic 'chicken picking' style is illustrated perfectly in this song. The extremely beautiful Theresa Anderson accompanies on the violin with a cry baby effected solo thrown in for good measure.

Why do all the good die young? Stevie Ray Vaughan.

And finally, here's a plug for one of my mates from school who is currently doing great stuff in the Durban music scene. The sir Walrus band is their name, go check them out on YouTube!