Hello Paul and welcome to the Community.
The lesson are very simplified versions and are designed that way to make them beginner froendly, and Justin is making it clear that beginners are not expected to learn the entire song at all.
You’re learning a riff.
'Cause it’s fun.
And it will help you pick single strings too.
Alexis is exactly right.
You are in Grade 1 and this riff is a fun and easy way to practice one small skill without getting hung up on other skills simultaneously.
The riff is for fun and to develop single note, single string picking.
If you can count it exactly right with no effort then all good.
If you cannot then do not, at this stage of learning, spend days and weeks worrying about the count. Just listen to the riff and play it how it sounds. That is ‘feel’. You’re not meant to be playing it along to a metronome or drum track or the actual song itself. Just the riff as a stand along. A musical exercise but using a real-life piece of music.
Alexis to me is bang on the money. Think of it this way can you tell the difference between a human and a midi sequencer performing the same piece? Yes, of course you can. The difference is feeling. Put on the track, listen to the track, feel the beat, play along with the track.
As Richard says this is a simplified lesson to teach you some key skills in a beginner friendly and fun manner. I would highly recommend that you do not skip them and make the most of these lessons designed to help lay some key foundations.
This is a joke right? We’ve gone from “don’t worry about counting because you’re a beginner and not good enough to know how to count” to “when you count in time rather than feel it you’re too perfect and it’s not musical enough”? When did this leap happen?? Lol.
First post in the new JG version, so not sure I’m doing this correct.
Still - Re “Sunshine Of Your Love” lesson. Didn’t have too much problem with the rythm. Listened to this song a zillion times when Cream was hot. And I skipped counting altogether, knowing the tune quite well.
But - qurious about the “correct” picking pattern. Is it all down strokes, strictly alternate picking or whatever feels good (which is the way I ended up IIRC)?
At this stage, all down picks or whatever feels good.
Roland - a few months on … did you take the leap? How was it?
Thanks!
This was fun! 
Jumped from Ukulele to Guitar a few weeks ago. My biggest trouble is the spreading of the fingers, so unstretched…
Hope it is getting better 
Am I crazy in noticing that the the last 2 notes played are incorrect? When I listen to the song on spotify the last 2 notes are played in a lower sound, while Justin is making it higher. Is this a difference between the spotify version and the original? I didn’t know this song prior to the lesson so I’m finding it hard to learn because of this difference. Especially since I prefer the lower version too.
@Joshmosh , you’re half crazy 
Clapton plays (at least) two versions of the riff, one goes down in the last phrase, and the other goes up. If you listen right at the beginning of the song (for example here: https://youtu.be/f3y8jf01UY8?si=OlMYcLFQbaK-gQ82), he plays the riff that goes down twice, then he plays the version that goes up twice, then the vocals come in.
In Justin’s more advanced lesson on the full song (https://www.justinguitar.com/songs/eric-clapton-cream-sunshine-of-your-love-chords-tabs-guitar-lesson-sb-306) he goes through the different variations. Though, the whole thing is played higher on the neck, involves double stops and vibrato. In other words, more advanced. But, it will show you the difference in the two variations.
Makes way more sense now thanks for making it simple for me. Guess I’ll try my best to stick with the higher version for the sake of the exercise 
Great riff to introduce at this stage. I’m actually more intermediate, coming back to guitar after a long break, and realizing there’s a lot I can learn even from a simple riff. Working on alternate picking, minimizing finger motion and fret buzz, putting the little bend and accents in there, playing with perfect rhythm with a metronome, gradually increasing speed, playing with eyes closed, dynamic range, and learning the names of the notes I’m playing. No way I could work on all that with a more difficult piece!
To add to that, I would say counting it out is an important skill when figuring out how a piece of sheet music is supposed to sound, if you don’t know the song. But since we’re going from a recording, we don’t need to count it out so much, except maybe to recognize how syncopation works.
Hi Eric @ejustice, welcome to the community! I don’t have a strong guitar background, but many people here who have make the same observation you did: Justin’s beginner lessons have good information even for players with experience. Hope to see you around!
You’ve told us a little about your background, but we’d love to hear more…consider telling us what brought you to here over on this topic. 
I struggle with the tempo of the riff. The beginners video at 5:28 has justin walking it but i get distracted by the voice-over. I found the tab below at songster although the notes are much higher. Is this the correct tempo - so after the first 4 notes we’re strumming on the “and” for 4 notes then back to on the beat and the “and”?
That tab seems right to me, but you should try to get it by ear if you can.
Do you know the song well enough to hear the riff in your mind? Can you tap out that rhythm with your fingers on a table top?
If you can, then you probably needn’t count it out.
Hi Bill @bill2009, welcome to the community! Justin presents the tab for this lesson on the website toward the bottom of the text, under the video. The tab you presented shows the same tempo, you might as well use Justin’s! (If you’re watching lessons on YouTube, I’d strongly suggest setting up an account on JustinGuitar.com and watching there. The notes with the lessons are great, and sometimes Justin offers other resources too.)
Try counting along out loud as you play each note, reading from the tab. There are two bars in the tab. You are correct: in the first bar, no note is played on beats 3 and 4. In the second bar no notes are played on beats 1 and 2. What works for me is to practice a new riff without a metronome, counting aloud, until I get it. Then I use a metronome set very slowly. Once I can stay at that slow rhythm, I increase the tempo usually 5 bpm.
