Life in 12 Bars

Life in 12 Bars is a behind the scenes documentary of Eric Clapton’s musical restlessness and personal tragedy. Clapton’s quest to grow his artistic voice saw him routinely abandon successful relationships with bands and women.

His solitary pursuit of his craft, and fear of selling out, served as a catalyst for his evolution as an artist. However, alcoholism and drug addiction also serve as an extended backdrop to the tormented story of Eric Clapton’s life and career.

While there’s obviously a happy ending to Life in 12 Bars, I’m still impressed with Clapton’s willingness to severely examine his life. This documentary covers his musical/guitar genius — but also shows him in a fairly harsh light — mostly as he related to people.

This is the score I’ve been waiting for from Gustavo Santaolalla. It’s a perfect pairing with the brooding reality of Clapton’s career.

When he left Cream, Eric Clapton seemed to be searching for something beyond the confines of his guitar. Gustavo Santaolalla’s score is that musical manifestation, employing a multitude of stringed instruments — including his melodic and ultra minimalist guitar approach.

You might also like to play…

Fingerstyle (Clapton) Blues + TAB

Gustavo Santaolalla: Pajaros + TAB

How to play Dearest by Gustavo Santaolalla

As you can see by the video, Dearest is relatively easy to play. The guitar tab is three pages long and played straight through. It’s loosely played by Gustavo Santaolalla — and I tried to capture every nuance of his finger-style within the guitar tab and performance.

Enjoy, the guitar tab is available below:

Dearest is played in standard tuning with a capo on the 5th fret.

Gustavo Santaolalla: Dearest (Life in 12 Bars)

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