"Cliffs of Dover" is an instrumental composition by guitarist Eric Johnson which appeared on his 1990 ''

Ah Via Musicom ''Ah Via Musicom'' is the second studio album by guitarist Eric Johnson, released in 1990 through Capitol Records.Taylor, Robert"Ah Via Musicom - Eric Johnson" ''AllMusic''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2016-02-25. The album reached No. 67 on th ...

'' album although the song had frequently been played live by Johnson as early as 1984. The album version of the song is composed in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable com ...

. The song was played with a

Gibson ES-335 The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, sometimes known as semi-acoustic. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES (Electric Spanish) series in 1958, it is neither fully hollow nor fu ...

(as well as a

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuous ...

) through a B. K. Butler Tube Driver and an

Echoplex The Echoplex is a tape delay effect, first made in 1959. Designed by Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s—it is still regarded as "the standard by which everything else is measured." It was used by some of th ...

plugged into a 100-watt

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an ...

amplifier. The song takes its name from the

White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, deposi ...

, an extensive and visually stunning

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Cha ...

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficia ...

that runs along the southeast coast of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is also featured on the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

Guitar Hero III ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero 3'') is a music rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the third main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' series, following ''Guit ...

'' and is available as DLC for the game ''

Rocksmith 2014 ''Rocksmith 2014'' is a music video game produced by Ubisoft. It is a followup to the 2011 game '' Rocksmith'', but has been described as a replacement to the original game rather than a sequel. Like its predecessor, the game allows players to plu ...

.''

Song structure

"Cliffs of Dover" begins with an ad-libbed electric guitar solo, using techniques such as

string skipping String skipping is a guitar-playing technique that is used mainly for solos and complex riffs in rock and heavy metal songs. Explanation of technique String skipping is a method of achieving a guitar sound that is different from more traditio ...

and

hybrid picking Hybrid picking is a guitar-playing technique that involves picking with a pick (plectrum) and one or more fingers alternately or simultaneously. Hybrid picking allows guitar players who use a pick to perform music which would normally require ...

. In the solo

intro Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

, Johnson does not adhere to any distinct time signature. Drums are then added as the song settles into a rhythmic shuffle verse accompanied by a very accessible set of

melodies A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinati ...

that, throughout the song intro, feature variations (octavations for example) on the main chorus. The outro or

coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

then recalls the freestyle mood and timing of the ad-libbed

. While he did indeed compose "Cliffs of Dover", Johnson does not take full credit, saying "I don't even know if I can take credit for writing 'Cliffs of Dover' ... it was just there for me one day ... literally wrote in five minutes ... kind of a gift from a higher place that all of us are eligible for. We just have to listen for it and be available to receive it."

Equipment used

Johnson has stated that the guitar he used in the intro before the band kicks in is a 1954 Strat (possibly "Virginia"). When the band comes, the guitar is a stop-tail

(either a 1963 or 1964) until the solo. The first part of the solo Johnson recorded with ES-335 was no good, so he cut it out and recorded the Stratocaster with a 1980s Tube Driver in its place. Halfway through the solo, around 3:03, there is a noticeable change in tone when the guitar switches back to the original Gibson lead track. He got playful remarks about it from engineer Richard Mullen, saying "You can't do that!" but it was agreed that it sounded like Johnson simply enabled an effect pedal halfway through the solo.

Accolades

"Cliffs of Dover" was voted number 17 in ''Guitar World'' magazine's list of 100 Greatest Guitar Solos, placing it between 16, "Heartbreaker" (by

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...

) and 18 "Little Wing" (by

The Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

). In 1992, "Cliffs of Dover" won a Grammy Award for

Best Rock Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance was an honor presented to recording artists for quality instrumental rock performances at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Award ...

, beating

the Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guit ...

("Kind of Bird"),

Danny Gatton Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. (September 4, 1945 – October 4, 1994) was an American virtuoso guitarist who combined blues, rockabilly, jazz, and country to create a musical style he called "redneck jazz". Career Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. was born in ...

("Elmira Street Boogie"),

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

("Where's My Thing?"), and Yes ("Masquerade").

References

{{authority control 1990 songs Eric Johnson songs Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance Rock instrumentals Songs about England 1990s instrumentals