“Clapton in Crossroads, Gilmour in Comfortably Numb and Peter Green in Black Magic Woman… all have their own take on how they approach rhythms in the phrasing”: The secret to great guitar solos isn’t technique – it’s rhythm

Eric Clapton wears a beret and plays a Fender Stratocaster onstage.

Most of us guitarists are perpetually chasing ways to raise our game. That is part of the fun, after all. But sometimes what we seek is already freely available, without studying music theory, learning scale/arpeggio shapes or drilling picking exercises.

I’m talking about the rhythm of what we play, which is arguably 50 per cent (if not more) of what makes phrases appealing and memorable.