Ma A COMPLETE EXPLORATION OF cs % : al RANE TS (hCG are ae SaaSguitar \ \ "2" meee A COMPLETE ¥ EXPLORATION OF HIS INNOVATIVE GUITAR STYLE BY ANDY ALEDORT Cover photos by Joe Sia Copyright @ 1995 Music Sales Limited Order No.AM929445, ISBN 0-7119-5143-8 Al Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Exclusive distributors for EC and EFTA countries (United Kingdom, Eire, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Holand, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Austria and Switzerland) and Australasia Music Sales Limited, 8/9 Frith Street. London W1V 5TZ, United Kingdom. ‘Music Sales Ply Limited, 120 Rothschild Avenue, Rosebery, NSW 2018, Australia, NOTICE ‘This publiestion is not authorised for sale in North America, ‘South America and Japan, Unauthorised reproduction of any part of this publication by any means Including photocopying is an infringement of copyrightPhoto by Joe Siaguitar \\ ye Wynn | i CONTENTS ANOTE ON THE “IN DEEP WITH...” SERIES A INTRODUCTION eee cee 5 CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE MUSIC z Chord Progressions 7 Scales 9 Specifie Techniques 4 CHAPTER TWO: SONG STRUCTURES . al The Riffs 15 Minor Pentatonic ‘The Blues Scale The Mixolydian Seale Major Pentatonic The Dorian Mode The Major Scale ‘The Aeolian Mode. .+.++ igures Vocalized Melodic wae a Harmonized Melodic Figures .........00006 = 45 Other cm nsarnencin 3 ee) The Rhythm Figures : ac sk A Chords/Rifts nas oe ae a auocanads os 50 Chord/lmproy Riffs ....260eeceeeeeneees 2 36 Thumb Chords With Pinky Movement... 58 Ninth Chords - sm: 2 RB. os eave miner 65 Power Chords Unison Bends Double Stops Chroma ‘Textures. (OPH aaanneroe 66 crea CHAPTER THREE: THE SOLOS ....+0e0000+ +90 Minor Pentatonic +90 Minor Pentaconic with 9th . seve OL The T-Bone Lick . cece ee esetence sence eee 103 ‘The Blues Seal a ip JaURNES ws 1 emRRNEOTS we apenaalOS Major Pentatonic «+ 107 ‘The Mixolydian Mode. 10 The Dorian Mode 112 Backwards Solos swat scr os eS Combining Seales pi Bo eR coves lI9A NOTE ON THE “IN DEEP WITH...” SERIES ‘The “In Deep With...” series is designed to give all musicians — aspiring as well as pro- fessional ~ the most complete, in-depth and thorough analysis available of a specific band or artist, ‘Through the presentation of casily accessible, highly detailed instructional materials, you will learn both how to play in each given style, as well as be given a comprehensive examination of all aspects of the music, This is accomplished through the breaking down and reassembling of all solos, riffs, rhythm figures, harmony lines, ensemble parts/intertwining figures, and textures ~essentially every guitar sound inherent in the music — using the actual music as played in the creation of these materials. It is my sincere hope that you will find these to be the most accurate transcriptions that you have ever seen, All performance techniques, such as left-hand articulation (hammer-ons, pull-ofis, slides, bends, etc.), right-hand articulation (flatpicking, fingerpicking, palm muting, strumming, etc.), plus slide guitar, vibrato bar activity, feedback, pick slides and any other idiosyncratic behavior will be fully explored, as will the equipment used — guitars, six-string basses, amps, and effects. Those of you who are familiar with my “Guitar in the ’80s,” “Guitar in the 90s,” “Stick Yer Neck Out” and “In Deep With...” columns from Guitar for the Practicing Musician, Guitar Extra, Guitar World and Guitar School magazines should be pleased to see that this, and every “In Deep With...” book, is basically a gigantic “In Deep With.../Guitar in the *90s" column. I finally have some room to stretch ‘out! T hope that Jt Deep With... Jimi Hendrix brings you closer fo the music and the artist than you’ve ever imagined, and helps you on your way fo your own musical successes. Dig in! Andy Aledort Senior Editor, Guitar World, Guitar SchoolINTRODUCTION Jimi Hendrix is by all estimations the ultimate guitar hero. He was a true innovator of legendary proportion, a multi-faceted artist whose prodigious contributions forever changed the face of mode music. His stature only grows with each passing year. Jimi Hendrix is also the only rock musician worthy of comparison to the great jazz masters Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, in that all three were artists who redefined their instruments while creating unprecedented sounds. ‘Though many years have passed since Jimi Hendrix's death, his spirit is more omnipresent and readily acknowledged than ever. His records still sell in the millions, and the catalogue, taken over by MCA, has been, in part, re-released with new jackets, liner notes and additional tracks. ‘TheWarners Brothers release, Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix, features many of today’s top rock bands, including Jimi’s old sparring partners, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, plus such diverse acts as the Spin Doctors, The Cure, PM. Dawn, Pat Metheny, the Pretenders and Buddy Guy. In honor of Jimi’s historic 1969 Woodstock performance, and coinciding with Woodstock "94, fans were treated to Jimi Hendrix: Woodstock, available in both audio and video formats, presenting this incendiary, legendary concert in all of its splendor. Add to this the release of the incredible Jimi Hendrix: Blues, and it becomes absolutely clear that the timelessness of Jimi Hendrix’s music allow it to speak directly to every generation. This renewed interest in Hendrix is due in part to the changing musical fashion trends, as the birth of “grunge” — the latest revolution headed up by Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains — has summoned a total embracing of all things ’60s. This includes the Hendrix- coined “exploding” guitar concept, built from Fender Stratocasters, Marshall stacks, wah-wahs and pirmitive effects boxes. Curiously but not coincidentally, grunge was born in Jimi’s backyard, blossoming from his hometown of Seattle. Pearl Jam lead guitarist and Seattle native Mike McCready confirms the connection: “People are definitely aware of Jimi’s presence here. There’s a-certain vibe—it’s cool that he’s from here—and that vibe is acknowledged by many of the musicians.” As the spirit of Hendrix is intergral to the sound of grunge, it seems that it's taken all {his time for the world to catch up to those sounds first introduced by Jimi, a man clearly so very ahead of his time. The enormity of Jimi Hendrix’s contribution to modern music is still being analyzed, examined and written about in new books published every year. In Harry Shapiro’s and Caesar Glebeek’s excellent 1991 biography, Electric Gypsy, Jimi is referred to as “a genius of 20th- century contemporary music,” an artist whose “substance [should] predominate over his image.” In this I am in complete agreement, and it is the overall intent of this book to shed light on Jimi’s greatest contribution to the world: his music, More vital, more important than ever, is the man with the guitar—Jimi Hendrix. ‘The musical examples in this book are derived from 40 of Hendrix's greatest songs: Purple Haze Little Miss Lover Are You Experienced? 1983 (A Merman I Should Turn To Be) All Along the Watchtower House Burning Down ‘The Wind Cries Mary Little Miss Strange‘Wait Until Tomorrow Fire Manic Depression Spanish Castle Magic Little Wing Have You Ever Been (to Electric Ladyland) Voodoo Child (Slight Return) Machine Gun Red House (Hendrix in the West) Stepping Stone Gypsy Fyes Freedom May This Be Love ‘Third Stone from the Sun She's So Fine Pali Gap Highway Chile Remember Hear My Train A’Comin (acoustic) Who Knows Power to Love Driftin’ Ezy Rider My Friend Drivin’ South Belly Button Window . Crash Landing Rock Me Baby Still Raining, Still Dreaming Beginning Midnight Instrumental Solo (Woodstock) (a.k.a. Villanova Junction)CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE MUSIC In this section, the basic ingredients that comprise the music of Jimi Hendrix will be examined in terms of the chord progressions, scales and specific techniques that he most often relied on. 1) CHORD PROGRESSIONS Many of the chord progressions used in Jimi’s music are variations on time-honored blues forms. Ex. 1 illustrates a typical 12-bar blues in E, using the standard blues chord form, dominant 7487, AT and BT). Besides “Red House,” which is Jimi’s only true 12-bar blues original, there are no straight blues forms in the Hendrix catalogue, but many of his chord progressions do borrow from blues forms. One of the closest representations of the 12-bar blues is heard on “I Don’t Live Today” (Are You Experienced?) shown in Ex. 2. Both begin with four bars of the I (one) chord (the I chord represents the key that the song is in; B(7) in the 12-bar blues example, B in “I Don’t Live ‘Today”), Bars 5 and 6 of the 12-bar blues feature the IV (four) chord (A7), while in “I Don’t Live “Today,” the IV chord (B) is substituted with the FVII (flat 7) chord (A). Bars 7 and 8 of both return to the I chord, and both go to the V chord in bar 9; in “I Don’t Live Today,” the V chord is held through bar 10, while in the 12-bar blues, the IV chord is played, Both forms return to the I chord forthe final two bars. Ex. 1: 12-Bar Blues in E o ayy Br 2 3 4 3 At 6 1 Vario: A) 0} Ww o ® o wy o 7B! 8 » Br 1 At u 2 Ex, 2: “I Don't Live Today” o 1BAlso derived from the 12-bar blues form is the verse progression to “Little Miss Lover” (Axis:Bold As Love), shown in Ex, 3. Again, both forms begin with four bars of the I, and, like “I Don't Live Today,” “Little Miss Lover” features a substitution in bars 5 and 6; here, the PIII (flat three), Am7, replaces the IV chord, Bm7. Both feature a return to the I chord in bars 7 and 8, and both go to the V in bar 9. Like “I Don’t Live Today,” the V chord is held for both bars 9 and 10, followed by a return to the I for the last two bars, Ex. 3: “Little Miss Lover” Verse a cum, 1 Fin? 5 3 ‘ s Am? ¥ ® © ® Ft 9 Cha? © PD, Pmt Another good example of a progression that borrows from the blues is found on the verse section to “House Burning Down” (Electric Ladyland), shown in Ex. 4. The form here is an eight-bar minor blues, similar in format to the old Howlin’ Wolf blues standard, “Sittin” On Top of the World,” shown in Ex. 5 (written here in the key of E for the sake of comparison). Notice that both begin with two bars of the I chord, followed by two bars of the IV chord, returning to the I chord in bar 5. In bar 6, “House Burning Down” goes from the IV, Am, (o the V, Bm, while “Sittin’ On Top...” goes straight to the V, B7. “Sittin’ On Top...” features an extra bar, bar 7, making it a nine-bar blues, so if we move ahead to the last two bars of both forms, youll see that they are virtually identical; the only difference is that “Sittin? On Top...” returns to the V chord, B7, for the last two beats of the last bar. Ex. 4: “House Burning Down” Ve =“ ow O w Em 2 Am i Em «Am a o™ o 7Em Am 4 Em Ex. 5: “Sittin’ On Top of the World” o ™ o » 1 Et 2 at Am? B wi oy a vy a wy , AT opt Ey OAT Yo gsAlso derived from the blues is the chord progression used for bars 9-16 of the verse section of “Spanish Castle Magic” (Axis: Bold As Love), shown in Ex. 6. This form is virtually identical to bars 5-12 of the 12-bar form shown in Ex. 1: two bars of the IV chord (F#m7 in this case) are followed by two bars of the I chord (C?m7). Bar 13 goes to the V (G#), and bar 14 goes MM (E) to IV (F#), instead of straight to the TV (F#), as it does in the 12-bar form. The progession ends with a return to the I (C#m7). Ex. 6: “Spanish Castle Magic” Verse, bars 9-16 av) o % cout at 3 3 Cn? 4 so oF Ww FA ‘Though various twists and turns are added, the standard I-IV-V structure is at the basis of all of these progressions, Other songs which feature variations on blues chord progressions are “Can You See Me,” “Stone Free,” “If 6 Was 9,” and “Up From the Skies,” among others. Similar to one-chord, stomp-type blues are “Machine Gun,” “Voodoo Chile” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return).” ‘Songs which rely on one-chord vamps for the verse sections are “Foxey Lady,” “Fire,” “You Got ‘Me Floatin’,” and “Gypsy Eyes,” which is basically a one-chord vamp all the way through. There are a few songs in the Hendrix catalogue that feature fairly complex chord progressions, especially for the rock idiom. (In the following examples, minor chords are represented in lower case, ic. i, i, iti, and major chords are represented in upper case, IIL) Some examples of complex chord progressions are: “Little Wing,” which is a i-III-iv- VE-II4I-VI-+VIIl (Em-G-Am-Em-Bm-Am-C-G-F-C-D); “Crosstown Traffic,” which is a I7- IVPIT-IV7-+VIL-SII-*VI-V (C#7-F47-C#7-F#7-B-E-A-G); and “Bold As Love,” which is a I-V- viAV-L-V-vi-V-I-IV-L-ii-IV-IV-L-ii+VI-VII (A-E-Flm-D-A-E-Flm-D-C-D-A-Bm-D-D-A-Bm- G-G!), Long enough for ya? 2) SCALES The scale used most often by Jimi, for both written material and improvisation, is the minor pentatonic scale. As the name implies, minor pentatonic is a five-tone scale (“penta” means “five,” and “conic” means “tone”), and is derived from the Natural minor scale, also known as the Aeolian mode. Natural minor is derived from the major scale. Ex, 1 illustrates a C major scale, with the derivation of A Natural minor shown between the notation and tab systems. The intervals that make up the major scale are illustrated above the notes, and are as follows: 1(root), maj2 (major second), maj3 (major third), perf4 (perfect fourth), pert5 (perfect fifth), maj6 (major sixth), maj7 (major seventh), and 8 (octave). Starting from themaj6, A, and continuing up an octave, forms the A Natural minor scale. This is shown in its extracted form in Ex. 2. With A now as the root, the intervallic relationships between the notes are different, and are as follows: 1 (root), maj2, #3 (flat third or minor third), perf4, perfS, 66 (flat sixth or minor sixth), 7 (flat seventh or dominant seventh), and 8 (octave) Ex. 1: C Major Seale in Two Octaves Ex. 2: A Natural Minor Extracted 5 ym ett ts Ve ak He hy PH? HF ere pens mas mn? 8 ose 1} Natural Minor. F(a Aeolian) A minor pentatonic is formed by taking the 1, }3, perf4, perf, and +7 from A Natural ‘minor, as illustrated in Ex. 3. Ex. 4 shows the A minor pentatonic scale in two octaves, in what is commonly refered to as the “box” position, Ex. 3: A Minor Pentatonic Ex. 4: A Minor Pentatonic Standard “box” position, in two octaves Totevsie, 143 pelt parts 8 ‘oon ial odive) - Ex. Sard illustrate four A minor pentatonic scale positions used frequently by Jimi, Memorize these and then transpose them to all other keys. Ex. 5: A Minor Pentatonic Scale Positions (a) AI position () IIEX position \e Is le 10(OX-XV position (@) XVII “box” posit 2 Me ‘The second mast common scale in Hendrix’s music is the Blues scale, which is the same 4s minor pentatonic, but one note is added: the +5 (flatted fifth). The 5 is found one half step below the fifth, so in the key of A, with E as the fifth, the #5 is B». Ex. 6 illustrates the same standard “box” position of the A Blues scale. Ex. 7a-d illustrate four other positions of the A Blues scale. Memorize and then transpose to all other keys. _ Ex. 6: A Blues Scale Standard “box” position, in two octaves, Ex, 7: A Blues Scale Positions (6) 1AM position (b) IIL-X positions &*) () X- XV position (@) XVI‘The next four scales, major pentatonic, the Mixolydian mode, the Dorian mode, and the Acolian mode, were used less frequently by Hendrix, but are essential ingredients nonetheless. Major pentatonic is derived from the major scale, Ex. 8a illustrates the A major scale, and as illustrated in Ex. 8b, the 1, maj2, maj3, perfS and maj6 are extracted to form A major pentatonic, Ex.8 (@) A major scale, in two octaves (©) A major pentatonic, in two octaves Thiervais 1 maj2_majh pnt pS maj6 maj? 8 1, sul? malB pers mais, 8 Hoo HP mo Ped pers mals mae 8 ea HP MAE EHS ve) ) = 6 ae Ex, 9a-c illustrate three common scale positions of A major pentatonic, Ex, 9: A Major Pentatonie Scale Positions (a) I position () V- XII position Gin The Mixolydian mode is identical to the major scale with the exception of one note, the seventh scale degree. The major scale features a maj7 (major seventh), and in Mixolydian, that tone is lowered one half step to +7 (flat seventh or dominant seventh). Ex. 10a-c illustrate three ‘common scale positions of A Mixolydian. Ex. 10: A Mixolydian Scale Positions @ I position (®) IVY position Totes: 1 maj maj pertperémaj 97 re re oct (IX position at ete eS _ 2if ‘The Dorian mode is identical to Aeolian (Natural minor) with the exception of one note, the sixth scale degree, Aeolian features a 46 (flat sixth), and in Dorian, that tone is raised one half slep to maj6 (major sixth). Bx. 11a-c illustrate three common scale positions of A Dorian. 1: A Dorian Scale Positions Teer ama 13 pert pest mm goon"? fs =F (©) VIIL- X position ‘The Aeolian mode scale structure is shown in Ex. 12. Ex. 12s-c illustrate three common positions of A Acolian. 12: A Acolian Seale Positions IIL postion mente Lm mgm ot (0) VIIL- X position3) SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES ‘Two shapes that Jimi commonly employed for composing and improvising will be covered in this section: Octaves and Mixolydian doublestops. The term “octave” refers to the interval between the first and eighth tones of a diatonic series, such as the major scale, Dorian or Acolian mode. If you look at any of these scales as pre- viously illustrated, you will see that the first degree and the eighth degree are the same notes, but are “octaves” apart (thus the indication “octave” below the 8 in each example of the intervallic series). Jimi’s use of octaves was most usually confined to the Mixolydian mode and pentatonic minor; Ex. 13a and b illustrate octaves in both of these scales. Jimi did of course, use octaves with other scales, and I suggest you work out all of the scales outlined in this section in octaves. Ex. 13: Octaves (a) A Minor Pentatonic (0) A Mixolydian Mixolydian doublestops are exactly what they sound like: doublestops (two-note chords) played within the Mixolydian mode. The presence of the +7 in Mixolydian ties it to chords which include 7 (dominant sevenths), which in turn makes Mixolydian doublestops appropriate for use in muusic built upon +7 chords, such as blues, r&b, and rock. Ex. 14a illustrates Mixolydian double- stops that are thirds apart, and Ex. 14b illustrates Mixolydian doublestops that are sixths apart. Ex. 14: Mixolydian Doublestops (a) Thirds Apart (in A) (b) Sixths Apart (in A) Any other material that will need further theoretical explanation will be dealt with as it arises in the musical excerpts. The next chapter, titled Song Structures, divides Jimi’s music into two basic catagories: 1) ‘The Riffs and 2) The Rhythm Figures. The Riffs addresses single-note melodic figures, also known as “primary riffs,” upon which the songs are bused, dividing these rifis into ten different catagories. The Rhythm Figures addresses the rhythm parts—chords, chords combined with riflS, doublestops, octaves, thumb chords, ete.—dividing these into a whopping svelve catagories. As incredible a soloist as Jimi was, he was equally adept, and perhaps even more inventive, as a rhythm guitarist, and this aspect of his playing will be fully explored. This will then be followed by Chapter Three, The Solos. 14CHAPTER TWO: SONG STRUCTURES 1) THE RIFFS Melodic single-note figures, or primary riffs, have been the backbone of hard rock and heavy metal since its earliest days. The compositional concept of basing songs on what are often melodically and rhythmically simple themes can be traced back to the earliest forms of music; this has endured throughout the centuries up until the present, and is today inherent in virtually every style of music. Country blues has always had single-note melodic figures at its core. Born out of African tribal chants, the music sung by the plantation slaves in the 1800s and early 1900s laid the framework for the earliest forms of blues music, Mississippi Delta bluesmen Willie Brown, Charlie Patton and Son House popularized the idiom and set the tone for the next wave of blues masters, most notably Robert Johnson, whose historic mid-30s recording established him as the first blues “superstar.” His influence is clear on perennial blues heroes Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, avalars of Chicago electric blues, which stylistically greatly influenced the riff-based rock music of the midjlate °60s, Jimi Hendrix was certainly no stranger to the blues, having absorbed the music of Robert Jonson, Elmore James, B.B. and Albert King, and many, many others, as a youth. In his earliest compositions, Hendrix established himself as one of the progenitors in the birth of “riff rock,” though his contemporaries Cream and Led Zeppelin are often more associated with the term. This in no way reflects a deficiency on Hendrix’s part; he simply did so much more than just riff rock, transcending any singular label, as his music encompassed a wide range of stylistic elements and blossomed in a great many different directions. When Jimi did compose riff rock, it was among the gieatest that has ever been, prime examples being “Purple Haze,” “Spanish Castle Magic,” “Manic Depression,” “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” “Machine Gun,” “I Don’t Live Today” and “Foxey Lady.” In this section, Hendrix’s heaviest primary riffs will be examined and analyzed, organized {nto ten different catagories: a) Minor pentatonic £) The Major Scale b) The Blues scale g) The Acolian mode ©) The Mixolydian mode h) Vocalized melodic figures (Scat singing) 4) Major pentatonic i) Harmonized melodic figures ¢) The Dorian mode j) Other (All of these scales are detailed in Chapter One). Keep in mind that Jimi predominantly tuned down one half step (this goes for the bass too, of course). If you want to play along with the recordings, tune down like so: 6th sig. = EB; Sth stg. = A; dth stg, = Ds; 3rd stg, = Gls 2nd stg. = Bh; Ist stg. = Bb. 15On occasion, he did not tune down at all; on others, he tuned down a whole step, and on one tune, the acoustic “Hear My Train A’Comin’,” he tuned down two whole steps. If he is not tuned down one half step, this will be indicated in the text. (a) Minor Pentatonic As stated in the “Overview of the Music,” the minor pentatonic scale is the most prevalent sound in rock and blues. Throughout the Hendrix catalogue, the majority of the primary riffs are based on minor pentatonic. ‘The most obvious example of a minor pentatonic primary riff, from “a song that I think everybody knows out there” (Jimi at the Isle of Wight, 8/30/70), is the main lick to “Purple Haze” (Are You Experienced?), shown in Bx. 1. This lick is based on E minor pentatonic, played primarily in V and VII positions. Notice the quarter-tone bends on the high G notes (beat 2 of bars 1 and 3), and the use of the Fuzz Face distortion unit. Jimi did not tune down for this one. Ex. 1: “Purple Haze” Wort and Mc i Hest Intro (bars 2-9) At ips Coe 27 Sed Ue em Sue Sn ‘MitevotecredUacoued Cope Jem NCE) aw nan nO Sa AAA iP Face dt, pods 1 aa a One of Jimi’s most potent primary riffs is the opening figure to “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” (Electric Ladyland), also based on E minor pentatonic. See Ex. 2. This is also played primarily in V and VIT positions, and features the use of the wah. Notice the subtle half-step bending throughout this figure. 16Ex,2: “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” ‘VoOn00 CHILD SLIGHT RETURN) Be a 5-12) sanecnnetigteceir aoe te = won Saat theres, N Ces) an 30 lesser known tune, but no less a killer, is “Beginning” (War Heroes). This figure is again ed on E minor pentatonic in V position, but features the “shuffle” time signature of 12/8. See a, Tis opening can seem a little deceptive, as Jimi, playing alone, gives the line a bit of a 4/4 lernote=160 feel. ‘At 0:17, the lick is transposed to the key of C, and is based on C minor pentatonic, sub- tly returning to the E minor pentatonic lick. See Ex. 3b. peeing” and (bars 1-4) ALR Cone ot Bryon Wie Me Gp Rg een’ nonin pp Send e108 b) 0:17-0:26 NCB) NCC)e) A live version of this song appears on Woodstock I (and what a version shat is), and the song is credited to drummer Mitch Mitchell. Hendrix devotee Stevie Ray Vaughan wrote a tune based on this figure called “Wall of Denial,” for his own In Step album. Radio One is comprised of mostly-live material Jimi recorded for the BBC, and certainly ‘one of the high points is the old standard from his Curtis Knight days, “Drivin’ South,” recorded on 10/6/67. (Curiously, this song was never broadcast on the BBC, and though the songwriting credit goes to Curtis Knight, Curtis himself admits that the tune was in fact written by Hendrix). The intro figure is based on D minor pentatonic, with a chord hit on beat 2; the chord is D749 (more on Jimi’s use of ninth chords later). See Ex. 4a. The 4th to Sth (G to A) movement on the sixth string is akin to part of the “Beginning” figure. Ex, 4: “Drivin’ South” DRIVIN: SOUTH] 2) Intro eatgistterl eed ae ne eee a i pie NC. De NC. See eis esis - + + —+ z { oe + * : 3— Fe = At 2:44, the lick modulates up to E minor pentatonic, shown in Ex. 4b. Notice that the major 3rd, Gt, is left out of the chord hits, sounding Em7 instead of E749, b) Modulates to E (2:44) Em? a NC. Em? En’ D Ne Em? D Ne. = Sess a fae ers + Sse es wih ace z Z z $ n ri 7 7 18One of my all-time favorite Hendrix tunes—an absolute crusher—is War Heroes’ Midnight.” Ex. Sa illustrates the intro lick, based on E minor pentatonic. Notice that the Em7 1d voicing in bar 2 is the same as that used in “Drivin’ South;” this voicing is used in many ix tunes, such as “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and “Purple Haze.” After the initial theme is stated, Jimi takes this figure through a series of chords, ishing a chord progression; when he begins soloing, two bars of the same riff in C are added the progression. Ex. 5b illustrates the progression he plays the first time through, as he sposes the riff up a whole step, to F4 (bar 5), and then up another step and a half, to A (bar 7). |Am7 voicing in bar 7, with the pinky fretting the B and high E strings at the 8th fret, is another voicing for Jimi, used also on “Ezy Rider” and “Foxey Lady.” einige” oc adMby ee Tato Avge Cred ct Miu) on in ae "Kington enn Cpyipe See Em? E6 ES Jase b) Chord Progression (0:13-0:43) Em?Fee? Am? Another killer is the mind-bending “Manic Depression” (Are You Experienced?), which is played in a 3/4 time (making it the only rock waltz I can think of) and is played with a triplet feel. ‘The main lick is based on A minor pentatonic. See Ex. 6. Don’t tune down for this one. x. 6: “Manic Depression” nial RTE Intro £203 eh 1967 by BELLA GODIVA MUSIC IN Jee Agee ee ater eared ‘Triplet Feel ([J=J NCA?) A similar lick is heard on Noel Redding’s “She's So Fine" (Axis: Bold As Love). This intro lick, also based on A minor pentatonic, is shown in Ex. 7. Ex. 7: “She's So Fine” — Intro (0:07-0:11) sae hte ‘Nits Contd nt Admnatraby Ce Seetewes ernie Cope dass a 20One of Jimi’s most powerfully haunting tunes is “Gypsy Byes” (Electric Ladyland), which three different riffs based on A minor pentatonic. Following the alternating bass drum/high figure, the first figure is introduced, shown in Ex. 8a. When playing this figure, continually ‘across the middle three strings, fattening up the rhythmic nature of the figure. Notice in lar the low AYs, fretted with the thumb, and the low C’s, fretted with the third finger, though ‘may prefer to fret this note with the pinky. Other rhythm parts that utilize these techniques are Got Me Floatin’”” (Axis...) and “Freedom” (The Cry of Love). This intro bit reappears at 2:04, ‘At 0:25, the riff is altered slightly, as the 16th-note A-to-G riff falls now on beat 2 instead of M, See Ex. 8b. Notice also the totally cool trills on the upbeats of beat 3. At 0:36, a new lick is introduced, used for the four-bar section prior to the verse. Ex. 8c states this lick, which is doubled by another guitar with a brighter tone. Both guitars have ly clean, Strat/Marshall tones for which Jimi was infamous. This figure recurs at 2:44. On. 2 of the second bar, an overdubbed guitar plays a doublestop bend. : “Gypsy Eyes” ocd an auc rgd Rouse (0:08-0:16) a og "Ai Riga Reeve Icon aye ed Ne (Am) pee (Ween ers), = = Mey he " ¢ = }—5- 5- E 0 ke c) 0:36-0:44 NC — ———! — = Ets St 2H == == Ez 4 vet val Band of Gypsys’ “Power to Love” (a.k.a. “Power of Soul” or “With the Power,” originally titled “Paper Airplanes”) features a deceptive riff based on B minor pentatonic, introduced at 1:21 (this riff reappears at 2:13 and 5:24), See Ex. 9. This riff shifts between 9/8 and 7/8, with the first bar one 8th note longer than normal, and the second bar one 8th note shorter than normal {odd time signatures are a rarity in Hendrix's music, for the most part). The two bars together could be thought of as straight 4/4, thus changing the rhythmic syncopation of the riff totally in the second bar, but it is more likely that Jimi thought of the lick as it is written here, as drummer Buddy Miles sets up the downbeats in terms of the shifting time signature. Notice also the doublestops (major thirds) played on beat 3 of each bar. Another good example of minor pentatonic is heard on “Freedom,” on the two-bat section preceeding the bridge. See Ex. 102, This riff, based primarly on C4 minor pentatonic, sets up the chord change from the I, Cém7, to the IV, F4. Ex, 10b illustrates the part previously alluded to when we examined the “Gypsy Eyes” lick This outro figure (played at 2:35), also features the use of the third finger (or pinky) for the fretting of the low }3rds on the sixth string. This bit is also used for the four-bar section prior to verse two (at 0:52), 22‘rREEDOM . on tir ee 1) Outro (2:35) pyre commns Enieny bo in sense aes canna mete me nec ms, ‘Again similar to “Gypsy Eyes” is Jimi’s intro rhythm figure to “Stepping Stone” (War as a 16th-note figure is strummed on the middle strings, here based on E minor tonic, See Ex. 11a, In bar 4, Jimi introduces the technique of pulling off from a note fretted third finger on the low E string (G in this case) to a note three frets lower on the same (Gin this case), fretted with the thumb. This pull-off requires large hands, accurate ation and good hand strength—it’s a tough one. Stevie Ray, one blessed with large hands, yed similar figures, but even he would usually pick both notes. Notice also the brief use #35, Bs, making reference to the B Blues scale. " Bx. Lib ilustrates the melody, also based on E minor pentatonic, played here in IT and IIT { “Stepping Stone” sparc sone dais New b) Melody (0:18) NC.C minor pentatonic is used for the outro riff to “Crash Landing” (Crash Landing), shown in Ex. 12. This features the same m7 voicing as “Midnight,” and ends with a cool C7/13 voicing. ean sano anand OMSL Reo Fen l ~ ol Anat $ Also utilizing minor pentatonic is the verse figure to “Fire” (Are You Experienced?), shown in Ex. 13. This simple figure, based on D minor pentatonic, ends with D major pentatonic, in bar 8, Ex. 13: “Fire” Werdeand Mase a Fane sna conan MSIL eon Twas Ne. Seay ioc paper Z fo eter co cS ES iit 10-4 i Our last two examples of minor pentatonic come from the masterpiece “Machine Gun” (Band of Gypsys). Ex. 14a illustrates the second theme, based on E minor pentatonic, which is introduced at 2:43. Notice the abundant use of grace notes in this figure, giving the line a great feeling of movement. 244: “Machine Gun” onde MACHI pen Theme (243) ncn cone lhe REREE Cee one Rigs Resend” [era Contig Seewed nf Face and Univibe Ex, 14b illustrates the third theme, introduced at 7:36, also based on E minor pentatonic. tune, Jimi is tuned down just shy of a whole step, with his low E sounding closer to pitch D than Eb, This tuning is partly responsible for the extreme heaviness of the tune. sence of Fuzz Face and Univibe doesn’t hurt, either. ‘Theme (7:36) id he Blues Scale iven more predominant than minor pentatonic—in terms of Jimi’s improvisations—is the ‘As outlined in the previous chapter, the Blues scale is the same as minor pentatonic, is added: the $5 (flatted fifth). What follows are some of the great examples of primary on the Blues scale. icking up where we just left off, “Machine Gun’’s first theme is based on the E Blues ced at 0:50. See Ex. 1. Both the Sth (B) and the bSth (B*) are bent up to from A, and the 32nd-note dead string “chugs” (more on this technique in the upcoming chapter, , al etal (050) Eenyiguo tomy atta SoD AMEIC IN sarin connd MRSC erin R mel ne nae Cpe‘The next four examples feature descending Blues scale riffs played in the rhythm of 16ths, beginning with the main lick from “Who Knows” (Band of Gypsys), based on the D Blues scale, See Ex. 2a. Like “Gypsy Eyes” and “Freedom,” this figure features the low +3 (F in this, case) played with the third finger on the sixth string: again, you may prefer to use the pinky. Ex. 2: “Who Knows” 2) Int OG coawresra mira a ‘Triplet Feel F7F)=1573) Aig cota andy See sa Jess Ne ene we fF + SSeS — ae = : = 5 4AM ie =, ae = In Ex. 2b, the same riff one octave down is illustrated, which Jimi plays at 0:49. Notice the unusual positional shift on the upbeat of 2, where the F is played with the index finger. b) One Octave Down (0:49) Nea) ® © ® ) A “ =F 5 whe cass 2 ei tort eae nes i $ = SS a == Pai at a Another killer is the break lick from “Little Miss Lover” (Axis...), shown in Ex. 3. This lick, based on the F# Blues scale, features the bending of the }3 to the natural 3, in bar 1, on the sixth string, Dig also the beautiful use of the wah.“Little Miss Lover” Lick (1:09) coppuignal ete ieliae arn Conse Mee Bes Sa ee J 2100 "Ai igure needa Cope as NCAFAS) s “Power To Love"'s intro theme (Ex. 4) is based on the A Blues scale, with the inclusion of B, The E-G-B ascending and descending lick across beats 1 and 2 can be analyzed as an Am9 arpeggio or an E minor triad arpeggio; this is an example of the “jazzy” element up in Jimi’s music occasionally. Again, b3rds are played on the sixth string, fretted with [Power To Love” aga onan tg on EAR ie (1:11) Seated Des Wns i eam) variation on the “Who Knows” D Blues scale main lick (shown in Ex. 2a and 2b) is by bassist Billy Cox, illustrated in Ex. Sa, Ex. 5b shows Jimi’s lick, at 3:48, which 5 around the figure. i sy in Hear ymin 1m, wrsty HELLA GODIVA MUSIE INC Knows” ‘nips Conte Alidawedy tories Ma Sse Aight! coe Cop Ses (bass art. for gtr.) ) Jimi’s Lick (3:48) =by sake--] Another rare example of odd time signatures is found on the outro to “Freedom,” shown in Ex. 6, Here, bars of 3/8 and 2/4 (or 4/8) alternate repeatedly, as the band plays a figure that descends mostly in whole tones (two half steps, or two frets, at a time). Beginning with the Ct Blues scale in the first two bars, this moves down to the B Blues scale, the A Blues scale, and then down a half step to the G# Blues scale. The chord progression alluded to here is the time-honored cycle of fourths: C# to F¥, B to E, A to D, and then GF to CH. The time on this figure can also be analyzed as 7/8, dividing the lick into three and then four eighth notes. ‘The diminished-ascending 9th chords (moving up in intervals of 1 1/2 steps) at the end of the example, recall the rhythmic syncopation of the “Crosstown Traffic” intro (Electric Ladyland). Ex. 6: “Freedom” venues Outro (3:08) Conygh © 671 by BELLA GODIVA M Aaa a Te Sonnet ® w ae ek +4t— + ae +4 + + (D) (GA) cis BP o Bo ce ig 55 EF =e me Ex. 7a, b & ¢ all come from the solo section to “Stepping Stone.” Ex. 7a illustrates the primary figure behind the solo, based on the A Blues scale. At 2:27, the figure is modulated up 1 1/2 steps to the C Blues scale (7b), and at 2:40, it moves back down to the A Blues scale (7c), and is played with a slight variation. All of these licks are rhythmically similar to the main figure in “Straight Ahead” (The Cry of Love) 28i “Stepping Stone” ar aa Mayne pets ‘At pcos by Dax rN rp WeBnesSeleaay heen it Et plerttines ores) JABlues Seale. NCAAs) play ses A Blues Seale w/Variation (2:40) Nc(Ad) ‘Based on the E Blues scale is the break lick in “Ezy Rider,” with the +5, Bb, bent up to from A, See Ex. 8. Rider” (132) i coma ang mR Es See i ne ep WE DED (tendy iss) jmain melody to the aforementioned “Gypsy Eyes” is based on the A Blues scale, and ‘snot only sung but also played on two guitars, octaves apart. Ex. 9a illustrates the low 9b illustrates the high melody (both at 0:16). Notice the slight discrepancies between of the many great things about Jimi was that, even when “doubling” a part, little ‘would always sneak in, adding personality and a sense of spontaneity to the music.Ex, 9: “Gypsy Eyes” a) Low Melody (0:16) nie Coen ee ee toc eo Neda) DION "Bend bots Gand Dw wind finger fw b) High Melody (0:16) ve The last two examples of Blues scale usage are found on the tune “Still Raining, Still Dreaming” (Electric Ladyland). Ex. 10a illustrates the non-wah guitar part, and 10b illustrates the wah guitar part, both appearing at 2:32. Ex. 10a (non-wah) features triplestops (three notes at a time) played across the top three strings, all fretted with the third finger, and Ex. 10b (wah) features doublestops (two notes at a time), played on the G and B strings, incorporating bending into the 30lick, both notes are bent simultaneously with the third finger. This is another example of how the patts of a “doubled” figure are played slightly differently. These figures are the result of provised soloing, as opposed to being “written” parts 10; “Still Raining, Still Dreaming” STIL RAINING, STILL DREAMING Woh Guitar (2:32) corsuomatiniesaainiinne ‘ig Cont Rie Bon wins Me Gr gs ‘iplet Real F<] J = 116 ‘ini ted? ose Cte = NCB) = be ut alk Eve iG fF PURE p eME SE FF, 2 r ¥ 2 a A n “ — toe a Guitar (2:32) NCE) SMe A (=) b (=) ee BUS) By 2 —— 7 - - — , , : “a = it = tt —— +4 + BSS fl ; Mixolydian Mode Mixolydian most closely represents the prevailing tonality in Hendrix’s music—the (or dominant 71h) tonality—there aren’t nearly as many primary riffs based on this mode ic or the Blues scale. There are a few great ones, however, outlined below. his only “traditional” blues composition, “Red House,” Jimi devised a cool lick based ated dominant 7th triads, half steps apart. See Ex. 1. In bar one, a B7 arpeg; B Mixolydian) is played on the top three strings, and in bar 2, the shape is moved lf step (one fet), sounding a BI7 arpeggio (derived from B> Mixolydian). Jimi used ently in his solos, “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” being one good example. entre shape is vibratoed, but not by bending or squeezing with the fingers: the proper ym this vibrato is to keep the fingers and the wrist stiff, shaking your whole arm and neck to rock up and down in your hand. Keep the triad shape firm and make sure all of moving back and forth across the frets equally. This should also be done slowly; the to sound soulful, not like someone having an anxiety attack. ends with a beautiful B Blues scale lick. The version transcribed here is from the The West. One of my favorite versions, unfortunately, remains unreleased: the "found only on the British import of Are You Experienced?, not included, as it is new MCA reissue of Are You Experienced? [Late-breaking news: The British us on the upcoming release, Jimi Hendrix: Blues.] aeo) uo say a BoA Anis Conta sated Sy Don is ‘Ainigs Raced nena Copia 3) “endo Awd F wie ge Another live masterpiece is Jimi Plays Monterey, featuring a cover of the B.B. King classic, “Rock Me Baby.” Ex. 2 illustrates two bars of his verse rhythm figure, based also on B Mixoydian. This line is squeezed in between the vocal phrases. In later years, Jimi turned this ‘arrangement into an original composition, “Lover Man,” captured on Hendrix in the West. Ex, 2: “Rock Me Baby” Ast Verse (0:29) “Conta AV ips Contd ed Adee He = 160 Thsaion Cypseuna Ap Nee) One of the few Hendrix riffs that incorporates the entire Mixolydian scale is heard during the solo section to “Freedom,” shown in Ex. 3. The lick, based on F¥ Mixolydian, makes reference to E major in bars 2 and 4, as the notes G4 and the open low E ring together.3: “Freedom” ory and Mc by ent no Section (2:13) AN Rigs Comte 2 Aes bon an Near N.c.(FA) (higher ture Copp aed ® A Mixolydian crops up in a backing figure on the second verse in “1983...(A Merman I ‘Tura to Be)" (Electric Ladyland), shown in Ex. 4. This symmetrical shape (the hand stays sme position throughout) is also used for the main lick in “Helter Skelter” by the Beatles, “1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)” 10.4 ERMAN SHOULD TURN TORE Verse (1:31) eon wasty Baa CODIVAMURIC INC ‘ps Cama a Aree aw in! Man Gr ‘Aibaghe sere leat Copper (FaChorus) 20. Neva) last example is the intro melodie figure to “She’s So Fine.” See Ex. 5. This lick, based -Mixolydian, is doubled by another guitar. 5 So Fine” ors nd Mic by Note lic Figure (0:11) ntact f Chg sentonl Coppa Seoul A Rip ee (To Verse) NCA) stead(d) Major Pentatonic Continuing with the same tune, bar 6 of the verse sections of “She’s So Fine” features an A major pentatonic lick, also doubled. See Ex. 1. To execute the lick properly, keep all of the notes fretted throughout the duration of the first three notes. Ex. 1: “She’s So Fine” tet ie Ist Verse, bar 6 (0:23) ‘nigh nbn Cpa tani ape ATA N.c(A) Ds Inherent in major pentatonic is the major triad: the one (root), major 3rd and the Sth. Based on major triads is the verse figure to “Manic Depression,” shown in Ex. 2, which outlines A, G, and E major triads. A bit of chromaticism (notes one half step, or one fret, apart) appears in bars 3, 10 (counting the repeat), 20, 21 & 24. Ex. 2: “Manic Depression” ura nd Verse Figure (0:09) bene Cnet meter) en sn are ite ‘Aigo Ino Coe ‘Triplet Feel (1=J)) NG.(AD dean Ooh ®) w wiz Facew On, O0) ©) ‘The early Hendrix tune “Remember” features a verse figure based on A major pentatonic, like “Manic Depression,” is transposed for each chord in the progression, See Ex. 3. The in bars 3 & 4 is based on E major pentatonic, and the lick in bars 5 and 6 is based on D major ic. Notice that Jimi begins the figure by sliding up to the low A, fretted with the thumb. ‘This melodic shape is very similar to that of the Howlin’ Wolf classic, “Killing Floor,” Jimi covered throughout his career. a vets MER sere (025) areca Tee Ee 156 aes ie incr, :‘These same shapes re-appear in the backing figure during the solo section on “The Wind Cries Mary” (Are You Experienced?) shown in Ex. 4. In bars 2, 4 & 6, reference is made to the B> and Ab major pentatonic scales. Like “Manic Depression” and “Remember,” the major thirds are glissed up to from two frets below each time. Ex. 4: “The Wind Cries Mary” vena EMI Bahinid Solo, bats 1-6 (1:21-1:39) anos cmnn TASS ae a ‘Altigesred’ Inet Cage J =30 FA BYG a BS BYG NctB) ay (e) The Dorian Mode ‘The Dorian mode is another scale that Jimi used more for soloing than for written figures, relying on it heavily for the “Purple Haze” and “Pali Gap” solos. The only example of Dorian from this list of tunes is heard on the intro and chorus melody to “1983...” shown in Ex. 1. Though there is no 6th (F*) in the melody, itis implied by the presence of the D major chord, which is made up of the notes D, Fé and A. Played mostly on the G string with abundant sliding, this melody is revisited at 0:59. 361; 1983...” 19. ca emp ssuounn rune o Be Man by i Hendete Melody (0:18) sig cnt Arey Don Wa On igen? Rirabad denise co DrAnnnn Ss, AS c D \¢ Major Scale Equally rate in written figures (and a rarity in soloing as well) is the major scale, which ‘up on the bridge to “1983...,” behind the line, “Anyway, you know good and well, it beyond the will of God...” See Ex, 1. In this repeated four-bar phrase, references are made , A and C major scales, as the first four notes from each are used in a repeated 16th-note ot the last two bars of the phrase, reference is made to G Mixolydian, as F, instead of Ff, is figure is doubled by the bass, which was also played by Jimi. 83, 234(9) The Aeolian Mode Again a bit of a rarity in written parts, Jimi used the Aeolian mode for Rainbow Bridge’s “Pali Gap” and Woodstock’s “Instrumental Solo” (the slow minor blues towards the end of the piece, a.k.a. “Villanova Junction”). Shown here in Ex. 1 is the backing figure to “Pali Gap,” based on B Acolian, After being introduced by Jimi, this figure was picked up by bassist Billy Cox and carried through the piece. This piece is named after Pali, the Hawaiian Goddess of the volcanoes. “Instrumental Solo” will be covered in the “Octaves” section of this book. Ex.1: “Pali Gap” oan Muncy Ino (0:10) sna come arisen aaa een ree ae ee ® @ Ww (h) Vocalized Melodic Figures A staple of the blues idiom, playing and singing melodic phrases simultaneously (often refered to as “scat singing”) was something Jimi employed abundantly, displaying his complete mastery of this difficult technique. Like so many techniques borrowed from other forms—the fragmented chordal work of r&b, for example—Jimi raised the method of vocalized melodic guitar lines to unprecedented heights, approached only in later years by another man closely associated with the technique, George Benson. (Hendrix devotee Steve Vai did much to advance the concept on the mind-boggling “The Jazz Discharge Party Hats,” from Frank Zappa’s The Man from Utopia). Examples of vocalized melodic figures abound throughout the Hendrix catalogue, evidenced herewith Examples 1 and b, 2a-d and 3 all utilize the E minor pentatonic scale, starting with the verse melody to “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” shown in Ex. 1a, which illustrates the first three bars. Notice that in this, and all of these examples, there are slight discrepancies between the vocal and the guitar part. When the vocal line is repeated in bars 7-9, Jimi employs a different melody, also doubled on guitar. See Ex. 1b. Not only does he sing and play the same intricate figure here, he plays more complicated figures on the guitar while singing,1; “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” ‘YooDO0 CilLD (SLIGHT RETURN) Bp bars 1-3 1:08) apcaccRiietuml eager ea Sasha eee Nc.(E8) Wall, 1 stand up next to @ mountain, and I chop it down with the edge of my hand. — Waune oa gus dowaiw Ser ) Bars 7-9 (1:21) NC.(E9 A te Well, 1 standup next to & moun - tain, Le an == on I chop it down with the edge of my — 2a illustrate four examples from the tune “Machine Gun.” Ex. 2a is from the first 1-3, with Jimi singing and playing the same phrases in bars 2 and 3. Again, the guitar ‘more complicated than the vocal phrases. In this instance, he seems to be leading with not his voice; that is, he’s singing what he's playing, as opposed to playing what he’s i) 39Ex, 2b illustrates bars 15 & 16, another beautifully. ‘rly complicated phrase that Jimi matches Ex. 2c comes from the second verse, bar 3, featuring a bit of a triplet feel, and Ex. 2d represents bars 7 and 8, which again features discrepancies between the vocal and guitar phrasings, Also, the bend from E to F in the second bar of the example is unusual, and may have been ‘unintentional. Ex, 2: “Machine Gun" oc a na yl a) Ist Verse, bars 1-3 (1:43) ‘At ide Cons a tee Boa ines Ve AUR ot NCE) 2; ‘Ma ~ chine gun b) Bars 15 and 16 (2:30) NCES) Fsan E-vil— man— make me kill you,— A A ©) 2nd Verse, bar 3 (2:56) N.C. (BS) E a E-venthoughwe'reon-ly fam “lies a ~ part. ..bul-Iets keep knock-in” me down, a3, > rez > > > > >urs 7 and 8 (3:09) XCES) 4; axe and fight like a Hey, 1 pick up my San BAAR, 3 ee ‘Also based on E minor pentatonic is the verse melody to “Stepping Stone,” illustrated in Ex. part shown here along with the vocal is the high melody, played with the wah; the lower lin is incorporated into the rhythm part, shown in Ex. 11b of the Minor Pentatonic section. writen in late °69 during the Band of Gypsys period, was originally titled “Tryin? to stern sroxe onde and Mt by Id Het go wid yy BELLA CODIVA MUSIC ar Wins Gop tepping Stone” =m nn cwn tel boa i cn) C.(ES)Speaking of BOG, “Who Knows” features abundant vocalized guitar phrases, such as the six-bar phrase illustrated in Ex. 4. Remember that on this, and all of the Band of Gypsys material, the guitar is tuned down nearly one whole step. Jimi and drummer Buddy Miles trade vocal phrases throughout this section of the tune; only Jimi’s vocal is illustrated here, Ex. 4: “Who Knows” Ist Verse (1:23) sate anon oS el A ‘Triplet Feet JIT) SII), " ‘A gh Reserved” Iran Cope +N.) fF) o @ ® ©) Just came back in town. look - in’ for my Sal-ly. AEA, se “Chords derived rom bas gue @ © oy @O e,,0 © Le 2 sseenher? — Have you seen her? 00, have you selena aM ae ‘Talkin’ “bout my baby. Talkin’ a- bout my_ ba = by,‘The last wo examples cover the two extremes of Jimi’s career: Ex. 5 illustrates the first ‘bars of the first verse of “Rock Me Baby,” recorded on 6/18/67 at Monterey, as Jimi sings wth guitar phrases based on B minor pentatonic; Ex. 6 is from “Belly Button Window,” with based on the F# Blues scale, recorded on 8/22/70, Jimi’s very last studio recording. This tune released on the posthumous The Cry of Love album. Here, Jimi is playing what sounds like a trough a small Fender amp, perhaps a Twin Reverb. “Rock Me Baby” sock MEnAsy ‘ocean nde by earn ig , bars 1-8 (0:19) evened a at Nc(B?) ‘reradond Crypt come A Rah Reeves night long. ck me all night long. > Sa paEx. 6: “Belly Button Window” Words aad Mane At Chomis (1:27) niga Tee lasers ‘AiR Rwened nena Cop ‘Triplet Feet 1) J = 120 2 N.c(FHS) So if you don't ‘make up your mi 2 uh, where or when. — 2 give or take, you on = ly got two hun-dred days, aHarmonized Melodic Figures si rs ‘The technique of weaving intricate guitar harmonies is something not often associated with ti, but he did in fact use the technique quite frequently. And as is usually the case, he did not amy set procedure or standard practices in the creation of these types of guitar parts; like the 1d melodic figures, slight discrepancies between harmonized parts were welcome additions. Atune rife with harmonized metodic figures is leetrie Ladyland’s “Little Miss Strange,” iby bassist Noel Redding. Ex. 1 illustrates three episodes of guitar harmonies on the tune: in the intro harmony is shown, which begins major 2nds apart in the first two bars, moves to ‘in bars 3 and 4, is based on Sths in bars 5 and 6, and ends with 4ths (mostly) in the last two ’s that for variety? In bars 1-4, the lines are based on D minor pentatonic, and in bars 5-8 ate based on D major pentatonic. indy Ex. 1b shows the bridge harmony, with the higher guitar harmonizing against a line based inot pentatonic. In the first two bars, the harmony is based on major 3rds; in bars 3 and 4, on Sths; bar 5 is based on 4ths, and bar 6 is based on majar 2nds. ‘The tune switches to a signature for the outro, at which point Jimi plays a harmonized triplet figure based on the scale, shown in Ex. 1c. This harmony is mostly Sths, but changes to 4ths and then 3rds at |, Both guitars are treated with wah. Miss Strange” 1 daimuanme rman or ns ie ‘ARs Reeders Copy Seed (sh si ny {euktes vid) a aa awn na fa — a "6 aie fey dion.Verse b) Bridge (1:00) 4 Nc{A) Nn Sons Ormrnmrnaeanesy c) Outro (2:23) b= 168 Bases se winch Gir Tabi e om Git. 2 tabbed om lef = Ex, 2 illustrates the overdubbed harmony to the “1983...” melody (shown in Ex. 1 of the Dorian mode section), introduced on the final chorus. This harmony begins as Sths, but quickly becomes a melody unto itself. It’s great how the two “harmonized” counter melodies go together. 462; “1983. Chorus (11:54) ‘ni ibs Coeotedad Retansy b Wtl MOr ne ‘Aig kaso’ lend Cope Nea) (Cc) (D) (© () > (© m4. foes pO2S WAR ITA One of Jimi’s “tighter” harmonies is heard on “Gypsy Eyes,” in the four bars that follow the ine, “I'l try an’ meet you by the old highway, hey!” Shown in Ex. 3a, this harmony is based in the first three bars, switching to 4ths in the last bar, all the while diatonic to A minor ic. his is followed at 2:11 with the harmonization of the chorus melody, shown in Ex. 3b. the frst pair of notes, this harmony is based on 3rds, then ths at the end of the first bar sinning of the second bar, switching to octaves for the last part of the lick. The lower line lon the A Blues scale, and the higher line begins with A major pentatonic, ending with A tonic. en sean tie pee (155) aol ee ee onal A Righs Rexel! ncaa Copy Seated ory b) Harmonized Melody (2:11) x { both mse ii ain 2 ia ai8 we ® “Gir ated aia Gin 2b on lt a7All Another guitar harmony built on the song’s melody is heard on the outro section of “Stepping Stone,” illustrated in Ex. 4. The lower line represents the melody, based on E minor pentatonic, and the higher line is the harmony, based on E major pentatonic, a major 3rd up. In this instance, the harmony guitar is more prevalent in the mix. Ex. 4: “Stepy Stone” Outro (3:36) a ay mth MS rT naa sa saunn ow AU eT A, it =" oe F = ‘The final example is from the song “Beginning,” in which a harmony of the primary figure is played at 0:27. In Ex. 5, the down-stemmed figure represents the main melody, played at this point by the bass, and the up-stemmed harmony is played on guitar. In the first bar, the harmony is based on 3rds, and in the second bar, the harmony is based primarily on 6ths. Ex. 5: “Beginning” Harmony of Main Figure (0:27) [A Rigs Coed 2 sated os ea Ai ips Revered era Co & nce) es ae 555 a lll = SS Gir oneOther Our last entry into The Riffs section of the book comes from the 12-string acoustic version fear My Train A’Comin’,” released only on Soundtracs Recordings from the film, Jimi riz, Recorded during the filming of See My Music Talking (currently available as ce), at the Bruce Fleming photographic studio in London on 12/19/67, this is the only lc piece in the “standard” Hendrix catalogue, perfomed on a Zemaitis 12-string, tuned down "whole steps. This transcription is written as if the guitar were tuned normally; to play along the record (or the film), you must tune down, The intro for this song is played in 3/4, beginning with a repeated triplet figure which refers lly (o A7, resolving in bar 3 to D with a major 3rd/high root doublestop. This shape then up a whole step to E, followed by an E7 voicing in IX position, which establishes the E {tonality of the rest of the piece. At the end of this intro, the song shifts to 4/4 in a slower lear My Train A’Comin”™ Peeters conagu ounce te 10 aa in cee Camel ns eed NG(AT) () waviness ®-c @-r O@-8 O-w O-c O-c en NCCE) 1HYTHM FIGURES readily acknowledged as one of the greatest improvisers—regardless of musical ever graced the planet, Jimi Hendrix was also a rhythm guitarist par excellance, peer, His many years on the “chitlin circuit,” backing r&b/soul acts such as Little ke, King Curtis, the Drifters and the Isley Brothers, schooled him in the complex jiment, setting the stage for what was soon to follow. His incredible sense of ination propelled the concept of rhythm guitar to new heights, and, combined prowess, Jimi became a guitarist that truely had all of the bases covered. ling of his own material, Jimi often carried the entire arrangement in a single ining bass lines, power chords, vocal melodies and backing fills, creating a richtexture of sounds that, though effortless in its presentation, required true mastery of the instrument to perform, Whether this formula was necessitated by the requirements of a three-piece unit or grew purely out of Jimi’s inventiveness is of no consequence; what does matter is that he re-wrote the book on rhythm guitar just as he was in the process of doing for lead guitar. The instrument grew up in his hands, as his contributions became the new standard. ‘The intention in this section is to present the entire range of Jimi’s shythm guitar techniques in a clearly defined, easily accessable manner, focusing on each element individually. These different aspects of chythm guitar are divided into twelve catagories: a) Chord/Riffs 2) Octaves b) Chord/Improy rifts h) Unison bends c) Thumb chords w/pinky movement —_i) Doublestops d) Ninth chords §) Chromatics ©) R&B k) Textures 8) Power chords 1) Overdubs (a) Chord/Riffs This section includes Power chords/Riffs and Small voicings/Riffs, as all three are tech- niques used frequently by Jimi in the creation of rhythm figures. ‘The first example of chordal and single-note behavior combined comes to us from the intro figure to “Spanish Castle Magic,” illustrated in Ex. 1. The figure begins with doublestop fourths in bar 1, moving into the main figure made up of a single-note riff for three beats and a heavy chord hit on beat 4, The use of open strings in the Cfm7 chord is a Hendrix trademark, borrowed by Robin Trower for his tune “Day of the Eagle,” and Steve Vai for “Sex and Religion.” The entire figure is diatonic to C# minor pentatonic; use of the open low E for the '3 makes the lick sound especially heavy. This song is named after the Spanish Castle, a music club located in Jimi’s hometown of Seattle. Ex. I: “Spanish Castle Magic” Worsted Intro (0:00) ‘Rigs Comat ated y es We Ailipwe ese cnnAlso taking advantage of the low E '3 in the key of C# minor is the intro to “Freedom,” in Ex, 2a, The C#5 power chord on beat 1 is followed by an 8th-note riff based on Chminor nie, followed by more power chords on the upbeat of 3 and beat 4. Similar in shape is the figure to “Long Hot Summer Night” (Electric Ladyland), though that figure is based on E ‘pentatonic, the relative major to C* minor pentatonic. Ex, 2b illustrates the bridge figure, which begins with ES and F#5 power chords, followed doublestop bend, “Freedom” ad and any ew (0:00-0:09) ARs Cnr ed Md Dem Va crs ‘Riitgueve! Incas capi Seed oO NG. CH Bs ch_Nc. os BS cs NC cts of the coolest examples of chords combined with single-note riffs is heard on the main Child (Slight Return),” shown in Ex. 3. In this figure, Jimi moves deftly between doublestops and single-note lines, with all material based on E minor pentatonic, lusion of the major 3rd, G#. This highly inventive part should be played very 0 be recreated properly. loo Child (Slight Return)” vooupo cup scr eu 05) senercneo SUS eam eae od Eepes ek Also combining power chords with single notes is the break lick to “Midnight,” shown in Ex. 4. In the first bar, Jimi plays single notes on beats 2 and 4, followed in the next bar with a doublestop figure on beat 4, based on éths, relative to D Mixolydian (over the D chord). In the next two bars, he continues to incorporate the interval of 6ths for all of the changes. Ex, 4: “Midnight” Break (1:59-2:11) ES as Gs ze: iss Face Ex. § illustrates “Beginning,” as ascending and descending 9th chords are played against riffs based on E major pentatonic. Ex. 5: “Beginning” od ei (0:44-0:53) vik Conte sce brie ‘steak tou i Poo =‘Though the single-note bit doesn’t appear till the end of the figure, the opening to “The Cries Mary” combines the two beautifully, as power chords (with the Sth in the bass) are by first inversion chords (rds in the bass), ending with a single-note figure based on F rpentatonic, See Ex. 6 ‘Wind Cries Mary” waxy et ee 1) All Rigs Conta dee y Bon ios Mt oa ‘ANpu Ree mormon Cp re BS ES FS BYG EGE FA BS OBS FS EYG E/GH F/ANC. of Jimi’s greatest masterpieces of rhythm guitar is his verse figure to “Wait Until ? illustrated in Ex, 7. Here, highly mobile chordal fragments are used to describe the A- changes. The end of the figure is similar to the end of the “Wind Cries Mary” intro. this methodology can be traced to the rhythm guitar work of Curtis Mayfield and .” Nolen, among others, Jimi blasted the technique into the stratosphere, and, to this provide a great challenge for aspiring guitarists. Also of note is the incredible guitar ga Stratocaster of an “out of phase” pickup setting, which means that the toggle between the neck and middle, or the middle and bridge, pickups. Until Tomorrow” sneYRZy wet Tonouwoe ony 01958 ELTA CODIVA MUSIC INC Aig coos iy Doe ns Mane re ‘Aliipbe kere Ieee Cpr >Em?sust_ A Em?sust Nc.(act) Another complete gem—and a rite of passage for all rock guitarisis—is the intro to “Little Wing,” shown in Ex. 8. It begins with @ double octave (plus the Sth) on E, borrowed from Wes Montgomery, and moves into chordal fragments and single-note figures that outline the chord progression, Inherent is the technique of “oblique motion,” as one note of a two-note chord remains stationary while the other moves, as in bars 2, 3 and 4. There is a slight triplet feel throughout, as Jimi tended to “swing” most of his rhythm parts. The last verse of “Wait Until Tomorrow” features some of the same voicings used here. Ex. 8: “Little Wing” ect na Mat al Intro ARs Cnatel nase Ba en ae ‘intoed oun Neem ey.Asus? Gsus? ous? T (Fo tse Verse) S T ing the best for last, Ex. 9 illustrates the totally mind-boggling verse figure to “Have Bren (lo Electric Ladyland).” This part is not only chythmically deceptive—the feeling of one?” abounds—but is also a bit hard to decifer on the recording. This is certainly some complicated stuff. Notice in particular the quick shift on beat 3 of the second bar; it is of importance (o nail this if you want to phrase the part properly. Your Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)” sav You nvam nna ro nternctamy.an om 3) vaneaecon a nngegsh it SORTER ctl ety ea pi cin?al " x For more insight into this piece, check out the solo guitar version heard on Loose Ends. Here are some other great examples of chord)riff tunes: “May This Be Love,” with the r&b- like small chord voicings joined with major pentatonic licks; the shifting small voicings in “Third Stone from the Sun;” and the power chords to single-note licks during the “Stepping Stone” verse sections. (b) Chord/Improv Riffs Along the same lines as Chord/Riffs, this section illustrates rhythm parts of a more improvised nature (as the name implies), but are built on the same basic principle. Ex. 1 illustrates the first verse rhythm part to “Are You Experienced,” which moves from a st inversion chord, A/C, to an A major pentatonic lick in bar 1, followed by a Gsus2 voicing in bar 2, picked in an alternating low string/high string pattern. A little more A major pentatonic brings you back to fragmented picking on the A/C# in bars 3 and 4, In bars 5-8, the figures are slightly different. Listen closely to each verse to check out how Jimi improvised within the form. Also check out the live version from Jimi’s Winterland show of 10/10/68, included on The Jimi Hendrix Concerts. Ex. 1: “Are Your Experienced?” ss tou Ast Verse ‘Rigi Coates el ened y Wh Ma Gsust = = ea £ a 4 58thythm part that Jimi used as 2 vehicle for improvisation is the verse part to “The -? Ex, 2. illustrates what he plays on the 3rd verse. Here, he combines a variety of with Floyd Cramer-ish hammer-ons, plus occasional single-note action. (Floyd sa very successful country music pianist during the early "60s, who popularized small articulated with abundant grace notes.) Though the part is quite busy, it never loses mic quality; this part also has a bit of a swing to it. features a little “thumb chord w/pinky movement,” as D, on the high E string, is ‘reate Cadd9 briefly, and C is added to Bb to create Bradd? briefly. This is a favorite imi’, and is the focus of our next catagory. find Cries Mary” Pears F c 2 BD yg, B/D ray(c) Thumb Chords With Pinky Movement Jimi Hendrix’s large hands afforded him the ability to fret root notes on the sixth string with his thumb while using his other fingers to fret mobile chord voicings. Though this technique is not individual to Jimi—Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Ron Wood and many others use the technique often— ‘Hendrix mastered it, taking the possibilities further than anyone else, before or since. The most obvious example of thumb chord/pinky movement is found on the intro and verse figure to “Purple Haze,” shown in Bx. 1. In bars 2 and 4, Jimi adds his pinky to sound the A6 chord, all the while keeping the low A fretted with the thumb. Ex. 1: “Purple Haze” ere nl Intro, bars 11-14 (0:23) ‘ipa Canal Meee be En G A ASAEx, 2 illustrates the “Fire” chorus figure, for which Jimi adds his pinky on the high E to the 9th in the Dadd9 and Cadd9 chords. Notice the slight differences between each two-bar Within the eight-bar section. “Fire” ordain (0:26-0:39) ‘Mie Cone td Mc nln MG ‘Mga tain Cpe D Dad? D Cad? D Dadi? D Cada? T 7-10 of “The Wind Cries Mary,” behind the vocal “...footprints dressed in red,” Jimi the pinky on the G and B» chords. See Ex. 3, bars 1 and 3. ‘Tue win cates waRy fee Mary” _Weede nud Music by Hal Hendrix sexo sei at ce Ame gan 03) tg co Aa a ipeeand notte een BIS OBS BSEx. 4 illustrates the last four bars of the “Highway Chile” verse figure, for which Jimi adds his pinky on the high E, in bars 1 and 2, for A(add9), and adds the pinky on the B string, in bars 3 and 4, to sound B(6). For each chord, the pinky is added and removed in an 8th-note pattern, Ex. 4: “Highway Chile” seer lt Ist Verse, bars 17-20 corr ony a gn gin one Ar on i Jas saitgateecea” aut Alea) 6) Pa Spteses “Little Wing,” built on the concept of small, mobile chord fragments, features some pinky action in bars 7 and 8 of the first verse (“...fairy tales...”), shown in Ex. 5. In the first bar, the pinky is added to the G chord, on the G string, 4th fret, to sound Gsus4 briefly, and in the second bar, its added to the F chord, high B, 3rd fret, to sound Fadd9, Ex, 5: “Little Wing” Ast Verse, bars 7 and 8 Wan so Ripe Conted ol easy oe aa . ‘Ae eer! ental a c osEx. 6 shows one bar from the “Have You Ever Been...” chorus (behind the vocal “...the love sea") where the pinky is hammered and pulled off on the high E, referring briefly to Gadd, added and removed on the G string, making brief reference to Gsus4, “Haye You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)” AVE YOU EVER BEEN (10 ELECTRIC LADYLAND) as ae 9) ta omen he cy G we Ainge Reel! ween Copy Sed lar pinky hammers and pulls are found on the bridge section of “May This Be Love,” lytic, “..1o see me through...,” refering briefly to Aadd9 and Badd9. See Ex. 7. fo keep all of the notes fretted throughout the entire figure. ‘This Be Love” = 100 A example is from the solo section of “Drifting,” where the pinky is added and ‘6ths to sound G6 and Gadd9 voicings in bar 1, and Badd9 and B6 voicings in Be sure to keep your thumb well-wrapped on this figure, fretting all of the notes, it, 61 9-13 (1:22-1:33) o 1srhy BELA COBRA MONE cone AD ish Conta ab nist Ba ae Ma Gr ‘Ai tig Reseed asranenl CprEx. 8: “Drifting” ord Mae al Solo Section (1:50) Alles Contre damned by Des Wo a ‘Aisa iene Cp G BoA G b. ‘This 9th/6th movement is also found on the outro to “One Rainy Wish” (Axis...). (d) Ninth Chords Ninth chords, most notably the 7#9, are found all over the Hendrix catalogue. As a matter of fact, his use of E7#9 in “Purple Haze” has eamed that chord the nickname. “the ‘Purple Haze’ chord.” To old timers like Johnny Winter, however, 7#9 is known as the “Hold It” chord, named after the Bill Doggett tune of the same name. It’s safe to say that the chord has earned more noteriety for “Purple Haze.” Ex. 1 illustrates the Ist verse figure to “Purple...,” which features the infamous E7#9 voicing in bars 1 and 3, In live versions of this tune from later years, Jimi often played 749"s for the G and Achords, too. Ex. 1; “Purple Haze” oa HL Vics ETM) niga Comntel al ey a a ‘Aifiguetecened Inertial v9cool example of 749 is found on the verse sections of “Little Miss Lover,” the first irated in Ex, 2. After starting with a straight 9th voicing, Jimi alludes to F#7#9 in bars 2- only the 7th, E, and the '3, A. When fretting this chord, fret the second finger on the root along with the other two notes, even though the root note is not sounded. Also, jof the dead string “chugs” around the ninth fret F7#9 chord position. bar 6, A749 is played, in bar 9, Cém7 is played (same as C#7#9 but without the major 3rd fing), and in bars 10 to 11, E9 moves up chromatically to F9 and then F#7(#9), el age 110) (Coys cine emia merc eee Seana oo N.c(A78) ryEx, 3 illustrates the “Ezy Rider” bridge rhythm part, as the pinky is laid across the B and high E strings to sound 7#9(no 3rd) chords, which can also be analyzed as m7 (as in the “Little Miss Lover” example). In both, the dominant tonality is only implied, as no major 3rd is sounded, This voicing is also used for “Foxey Lady,” and the single-note lick in bar 2 is virtually identical to the “Purple Haze” intro riff. Ex.3: “Ezy Rider” Bridge (1:47) Gum on is Soa G79 (no 3a) AT (00300) BII(o030) > pec € & eee — ae ze =e bo oo, ot ToT 4 = = a i + + 7? 7 | t + One of the coolest rhythm parts Jimi ever played is heard on “House Burning Down,” used for the intro and chorus sections. See Ex. 4a. The use of open high strings here is similar to “Spanish Castle Magic,” and the hardest thing is keeping the thumb in there for all of the voicings, This figure returns at 1:34 and 2:55, played slightly differently each time. Ex, 4b illustrates the overdubbed doublestop, which accentuates the +7, B, and the '3, A. Ex. 4: “House Burning Down” Intro (0:30-0:38) now a) Rhythm Guitar an ‘Ripe Coates neces Da a 2120 oc Pe s 7 ie 3 cs : + $ 3 i Ae fe = = i sey — T 7 r T <2 b) Qverdub (ove gs) - (over) Br a Ze a Pa aN BS BS 64Funk 9th chords in the tradition of James Brown guitarists Jimmy Nolen and Alphonso ? Kellum are heard on “Crash Landing,” in the section following the solo (behind the “All lovey dovey when you’re messin’ ‘round with that needle”). See Ex. 5. In bar 2, the F49 les up a whole step to sound a major 6th voicing, F6, *Crash Landing” or and ey end \Following Solo (2:27) ‘AL Rigs Conse ef ely Den Winns Mase oro me a ini ad mp ee = 5 is 4 ; on ia Y Z | Gap” features a variety of beautiful minor 9th chords, outlined in Ex. 6a and b. In Bx. ascend, and then descend, and in Ex. 6b, they first descend and then acsend, giving fon an incredible sense of freedom. eee Mine rene eeacaeats ieeteinegee ) Variation IL (a) Em! Gn? Bn? Emad?) Gn? Bn? Em G5 BmG@d®) Em GS. an WA pn i a = slated earlier, Jimi learned the evasive art of r&b rhythm guitar on the front lines, r&b greats early in his career. This gave him a significant edge over his con- to this day, no one has so successfully combined so many different stylistic 65In the early days of Motown, Nashville and Muscle Shoals soul/r&b recordings, three guitarists would often appear on the date: one would play chords, one would support the bass line, and one would supply dead string “chugs"—muted strings attacked in a sharp, staccato fashion with the picking hand—on 2 & 4, accentuating the snare drum accents. Jimi used this and similar tech- niques early in his career; one of the earliest examples is heard on “Purple Haze,” shown in Ex. 1 Ex, Verse “Purple Haze” Word nd Matra ann oneal ect echsieepcaiacia=in Jimi would also integrate the “2 & 4” accents into a rhythm part, as he did on “The Wind Cries Mary,” shown in Ex, 2. The chords played on the top three strings at these beats are attacked in a sharp, staccato manner. Ex.2: “The Wind Cries Mary” ue wi Ast Verse (0:14) Copy ery eta con snipe comand ison aoe a ‘Aine! Peni c r= ~ =F x4 i For “Remember,” Jimi overdubbed a rhythm guitar for similar accents on all four beats, and caried the technique through the entire chord progression. See Ex. 3a. Ex. 3b ilustrates the outro fills, where Jimi plays a variety of diads articulated with more “Floyd Cramer” grace notes, another staple of r&b rhythm guitar. Ex. 3: “Remember” wae a) Ist Verse (0:05) copie 20 5 m Ain onnl Tie Deal ttt tei 348 Sa Ree SeYY light twist on the “Remember” concept is heard on the first verse of “Little Miss ‘staccato high-string major triads are played primarily on beats 2, 3 & 4 only. See Ex. 4. the G triad is played on all beats, just like “Remember.” Miss Strange” urns sance ee gales iia tek ceet sania Mtecucet Gaye manana ih Reed “V eae ea eee ee ‘aspect of r&b rhythm guitar that Jimi incorporated was the favoring of small chord 4rds, lending an air of harmonic ambiguity to the music. An example of this is to “Rock Me Baby,” shown in Ex. 5, as Jimi moves his pinky back and forth on ling alternating B7 and B6 voicings, with no 3rds. The intro to “I Don’t Live ‘exact same voicings.Bab) Boek MO Bate ord ant Maly ne a Outro (2:13) (Copyrgh © 1964 Pwerore uae te Se Ati Administ Aung teered es BS BT Keeping his thumb on the sixth-string root note, Jimi often shifted between alternating diads on the D, G and/or B strings. One such example is the “Power to Love” intro figure, used also during the verses. See Ex. 6. He moves here between B7 and E/B voicings, strummed in a 16th rhythm, “bouncing” off of the low B root note. Ex, 6: “Power To Love” ode a Intro, 2 bars before Ist Verse (1:33) AU Highe Conte Nm Bo i iste? Ret BT EB BI EB. BT A similar figure, but without the thumb root, is heard on the “Freedom” second verse figure, shown in Ex.7. Here, I-IV voicings are alternating, C#7 to F4/C#, with F4/AF substituted in bars 2 and 4, Ex. 7: “Freedom” 2nd Verse (1:01) anew onc ‘hited ce Fiyct.figures is heard on the “Crash Landing” single notes that ring into each other, a ‘between a rhythm part, a single-note of Jimi’s coolest and most unique rhythm Wwn in Ex, 8. Here, the whole part is made up o ih 7 to minor 7 environment is laid out. Somewhere solo this is yet another example of Jimi’s inventiveness. ts ma cy Hott conyih © 197809 BELLA GODIVA SUSIE ‘A Righs Cots gpd Nabseed by Don Wain Muse Gra I: ‘Ain piaenvel Case Capi Seon i sh Landing” SS ee 4 Teeedon Aan ‘ibe age (Fa 1st Verse) A“ iy,‘The final r&b example is the piece de resistance, the “Wait Until Tomorrow” intro figure, shown in Ex. 9. The figure is first made up of an E major triad on the D, G and B strings, barred with the first finger, immediately hammering up with the second and third fingers, to sound A/C#. ‘These fingers are lifted and hammered in an alternating pattern, and then moved down one whole step in bar 2, sounding G/B and D. The verse rhythm figure is illustrated in the “Chord/Riff” section. Ex. 9: “Wait Until Tomorrow” WAIT UNTIL Intro (0:00) copie oi At gas Cored et hse by bor Wier ae ees ee ee $ BACHE GB DG/BD > Jt = eq oy (f) Power Chords “Pure” power chords—chords made up of root/fifth or root/fifth/root voicings only—are not that common in Hendrix’s music, as he usually favored major chords for creating the same effect. Like so many other things about Jimi’s style, he can never be nailed down to one way of doing something. ‘Along the lines of typical power chording—and serving the same purpose—is the intro thythm part to “All Along the Watchtower” (Electric Ladyland), shown in Ex. 1. Fully-barted ‘minor and major chords are played here, hit very hard to create a powerful effect. These chords are played on a 12-string acoustic guitar, and the prevailing assumption is that this part was actually played by former Traffic guitarist Dave Mason. ‘This part is also rhythmically deceptive; remember that the first Cém chord hit falls on the upbeat of 4, not on 1, as people have often erroneously interpreted it. Ex. 1: “All Along The Watchtower” au aun Intro (0:00) coon Inert Capri secede Chm B A B 12g. acon, “4 = Se = ee = eT aris ames r $ it = fi = ; a +—+ 70Another slightly unusual power chord example come from the bridge of “Fire,” ( Ex. 2) as ys a “5” chord, D5, for the first chord, but all of the other chords included major thirds. power” comes from the heavily overdriven Fuzz Face distortion pedal. mae. Word a ey teat Wy) Aa ip Comal Rms bee Was a ‘Aiiiga neice Wenateed Cope ced Ds Cade? A C (To Solo) > —. > — —— ———" soo ——— ei _—— Foce ing power chords are used for the bridge of “Drivin’ South,” shown in Ex. 3, as Jimi ofith and major chords with burning single-note lines. es ives sour 288) seach aay ae Nc(F) G AS chords with the fifth in the bass, used also on “The Wind Cries Mary,” are used € to “Spanish Castle Magic.” See Ex. 4. On beat 3 of bar 2, Jimi plays an A ly frets a D on the Sth fret of the A string, sounding an unintentional DS/A briefly. nmEx. 4: “Spanish Castle Magic” wat pee gEe Oe) ‘Ais Cond ad arenes bon ens Na aidgar nae Coen Si Bs NciAd, ats cs Bs aa Ex, 5 illustrates the first four bars of the “She’s So Fine” verse figure, which is made up of Pete Townshend/The Who power chords with a descending bass line. It is probable that Noel wrote this shythm part. Ex, 5: “She's So Fine” Norte Ast Verse (0:15) Avg adnate Inna Cpa Soe AS ASG ASF! ASE AS AIG AYER ASE a i T T A more mobile variety of power chords is heard on the “May This Be Love” bridge, shown in Ex. 6. Notice also the chordal arpeggiations and single-note riffs, based on E minor pentatonic, in bars 4 and 5, Ex. 6: “May This Be Love” Bridge, bars 1-5 (0:59-1:12) Gl olome on Sor 6The last example is from the outro to “Rock Me Baby,” shown in Ex. 7. Major chords are forjust about the whole figure, but Jimi beats them into submission, making them as powerful power chord could ever be. This phrase actually ends with B9, one fret lower than the C9 shown. “Rock Me Baby” ore ana Mascty neato ne 131)

octave, or 5, away from the bass figure, which is playing an E octave. As the song is in Bis the root note, iarists play this figure incorrectly, playing both the E and B> octaves simultan- jpatt correctly, play the Br octave only, and allow the bass to play the EB octave. 73Ex, 1: “Purple Haze” onda tail Intro paige cane TR IT BEA CO Baw n. agenda as” NC ; 5 5 Another immediately recognizable intro figure comprised of octaves is “Fire,” shown in Ex. 2. This one is also often misconstrued; the first hit is on beat 4 of the pickup bar, not beat 1, as it is often mistaken. This octave figure is based on is the D Blues scale. Ex, 2: “Fire” eve Ma Intro A is Canoe ef Airy Donel Ne. "ALR Reed Ineaon Based on E Mixolydian and played in octaves is the beautiful melody to “Third Stone from the Sun,” shown in Ex. 3. At this point of the tune, the guitar tone is very clean, and the vibrato bar manipulation is subtle; when the melody is recapped later in the tune, the tone is heavily distorted, and the figure is given a full vibrato bar workout. Ex. 3: “Third Stone From The Sun” Brey Melody (0:43) opie ows gE AU Rphis Coolie Atmce) Da ‘Aitigar Roce baron EES ere, Ne. clean tone (wlreverb) WYN OW YY YY YY IS.The last 3:35 of Woodstock’s “Instrumental Solo” (a.k.a. “Villanova Junction”) feature a ful A minor blues, similar to B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone.” Ex. 4 illustrates the melody, in octaves and based primarily on A minor pentatonic; A Acolian is alluded to with the n of the b6th, F, in bar 10. ‘This is a 13-bar blues, comprised of a 12-bar form with a one-bar tag added. “Instrumental Solo” illanova Junction”) 16 NeBased on E Dorian and played in octaves is the intro figure to “Ezy Rider,” shown in Ex. 5. Notice the abundant use of the open low B, which adds “glue” to the figure. Ex. 5: “Ezy Rider” ino 08 somouagggaschierall N.C.(B5) “All Rights Reserved fnteriatonal Capyigel ‘The next three examples all feature chromatically-ascending octave figures, beginning with the “Power to Love” verse figure that appears at bar 12 (2:10). See Ex. 6. Ex. 6: “Power To Love” Wards and Muse Ist Verse, bar 12 (2:10) ‘anpecaneStt heim ae ss =Very similar is the verse figure from bars 21 & 22 of “Stepping Stone,” shown in Ex. 7. i: “Stepping Stone” ena TTI STONE ars 21 and 22 (0:52) neha a Vfl Righs Reserved Were CpyrigSeaed Ne, Serving the same function is Ex, 8, from the 1:41 point of “Crash Landing” (behind the sleave my faith outside”). Landing” Word ang Mest Sn rng Comoe a Abeta om Mt ‘Al is esvel Incrmaend Cp ed Ne. —— illustrates the final example of octaves, from the “Drifting” intro. This part can be being based on E Mixolydian; the rhythm guitar plays major chords for each octave panne e” Warden Msc by unt Hendte Senpign oro tynectA vODWAMMSIC TNE Aig Concedes ‘At fila Rcd acral Conger D oFF Abeemeae ~(h) Unison Bends ‘Though primarily of the soloing provence, Jimi did use unison bends within rhythm parts on occassion. One of the best examples of this is the intro and chorus figure to “Highway Chile,” shown in Ex. 1. (Here, Jimi is not quite tuned down a half step; it’s more like a quarter step.) This figure is based on F# minor pentatonic, with the inclusion of the 9th, Gt. On the outro, at 2:46, Jimi improvises around this figure. Ex. 1: “Highway Chile” sca te Intro 3 1 coe ipla Feet U1=13) eas oo NC, Fs Sees whee Aele _Ne poe = fon PF an Yow a EE tt 4 2 Es eee WES + fa mt ‘a eat * ple ae Prann i pe Fonan et 4B 4 Wee yi More familiar to most people is the unison figure that appears on the second verse of “Manic Depression,” shown in Ex. 2a. Keep in mind that this is played with a triplet feel. Jimi plays a variation on this on the third verse, at 2:05, Ex, 2: “Manic Depression” a) 2nd Verse, bars 4-7 (0:48) com ‘sing Comoe intro (1-153 43% age Ne ae Pipe Pe tall fut = fo full 4 fall SS 7 - 7 ¢ 78Unisons are also used for the beginning of the solo section on “Manic,” shown in Ex. 2b. e-appears at the tunes end, at 2:43. inning of Solo Section (1:18) Bc ARAARAARA Dann ann a a a Ne iblestops et staple of the blues, soul and r&b idiom, doublestops were used in a variety of W Jimi. A classic example of doublestop usage is heard on the chorus figure to “Wait i” illustrated in Ex. 1. The doublestops that appear in bars 2 & 4 are based on 6ths, E Mixolydian. (“Diatonic” means to stay within the same scale structure, using notes ific scale only.) ‘Until Tomorrow” » cmt pea EO) Gsus? @ of doublestop usage was made popular by Steve Cropper, one example being the i, “Soul Man.” Jimi paraphrased the “Soul Man” intro on his own tune, “Night 79More E Mixolydian 6ths are heard on the turnarounds in “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” shown in Ex. 2a. These are played behind the vocal, “...pick up all the pieces and make an island...” Ex. 2: “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” wove Mac Saran 25) niga cna a ‘iinigatneca’ tore NAB) (arch) E gs FR SS eae SSS = oe we be = } ae 2 e Es 5555 55 5. = 2a $ Ex. 2b illustrates the doublestop dominant 7th voicings that Jimi uses behind the vocal, “I’m @ Voodoo Child...” Notice the brief C9 on beat 3 of bar 1, as Jimi adds D to the C-BF doublestop. b) “I'm a Voodoo Child” (1:43) c pI SSS a oa Similar to the E Mixolydian 6ths in Ex. 2a are those used on “Machine Gun,” shown in Ex. 3. These occur behind the vocal, “Your cheap talk won’t even cause you pain...” Ex.3: “Machine Gun” edna ‘rd Verse (7:59) AL Righs Consol Am lated Doe a NCE?) "AIL Rights Reserved Inteatoal \ See ce ‘ ees aa 2 A K + SS ee pct tok ¥ = S55 55 Ex. 4 illustrates the descending minor doublestop lick from the intro to “House Burning Down,” which is based on 3rds, diatonic to Fa Dorian. Ex. 4: “House Burning Down” Intro Oe ae) ani coment pit Boers ie 4 8. = - 4 i t—# re 80Virtually identical, but in a major key, is the intro lick to “Little Miss Strange,” shown in Here, descending diatonic Mixolydian 3rds are in the key of D, played against the open D drone, “Little Miss Strange” sro aTTEMSEsTECE - waptiacuaesiisS. bi op sera es wane ‘Ascending Dorian 3rds are used for the verse rhythm part to “Gypsy Eyes,” shown in Ex. 6, of the '5, E¥, in the doublestop bend on beat 3 of the first bar, alludes to the A »,and the subtle C to C# bend pulls the tonality towards A Mixolydian. iypsy Eyes” cds nd Macc tHe (0:44) ‘Auigs Conrted eles) es tebe rep We.7 dg eer? incon Cyan doublestop bends, 3rds apart, are heard on the turnaround to “Spanish Castle Magic,” ie, “Hear it’s a really groovy place.” See Ex. 7. In bar 1, the doublestop bends allude to in bar 2, they allude to the CH Blues scale. sh Castle Magic” werner ic) is of “She’s So Fine” features an overdubbed guitar that plays interesting the G chord. See Ex. 8, where the doublestops are based on 3rds and 4ths within 81Ex, 8 “She’s So Fine” oes ord a Chorus, bars 1 and 2 (0:36 sania esac Gap Cy arm Sg a G A ‘The intro rhythm figure to “Freedom” is made up entirely of doublestops, in intervals of ths and 6ths, diatonic to C# Dorian. Notice the reference to the IV chord, F#/C#, on beat 4 of bar 2. Ex, 9: “Freedom” ‘Words and Muse Intro Rhythm (0:09) ‘A Re Conmated ld mses a ei eta Fick Nc.(Chm?) Mixolydian 6ths are again used for the last part of “Midnight””s break lick, shown in Ex. 10, Here, the doublestop 6ths carry through all of the changes, beginning with B Mixolydian 6ths, and moving to A and then G Mixolydian 6ths. Over the D chord, Jimi curiously uses A Mixolydian 6ths, but it sounds cool, anyway. Ex, 10; “Midnight” Break (2:12) E D oe wuz Face More examples of doublestops will be examined in the soloing section of the book. (j) Chromatics “Chromatic” movement can be described as moving from one note up or down one half step, or to the next nearest note. Chromatic movement was not used greatly by Hendrix, but he did use it occassionally, and used it very effectively.‘An example of chromatic movement that many are familiar with comes from the intro to ic Depression,” shown in Ex. 1. In bar 1, three chromatically ascending notes are played, D, Dt and in bar 3, three more chromatically ascending notes are played, G, G4 and A, leading into sated figure shown in bar 4, which is based on A minor pentatonic. Here, the 5/4 (DF) and jor 7 (G4) are added to A minor pentatonic. “Manic Depression” or an nb int Hel aig AU ups Corea nea dy Ba as Mle eis eee NG. The next three examples feature very similar usages of chromatics within a rhythm part, ing with Ex. 2 and the “Gypsy Eyes” bridge figure. This is also based primarily on A minor io, With the inclusion of the major 7, G#, on beat 4 of each bar, ‘Byes ‘Wort aa mou ne (1:31) Av igh Cone el Ane Don San Me an fi.) eRe Incite iret eet illustrates the verse rhythm figure to “Crash Landing,” based on B minor pentatonic ielusion of the major 7, Af, which in this case falls on the upbeat of 2. Landing” Wordeman we hm (0:25) ‘sins Contes ad Msc oy Den lan a rp ne a Thangs Recnel Ince CptAgain adding the major 7 to minor pentatonic is the bridge figure to “Ezy Rider,” behind the words, “How long do you think he’s gonna last?” See Ex. 4, based primarily on B minor pentatonic, with the inclusion of Dt, the major 7. This figure is doubled one octave higher. Ex. 4: “Ezy Rider” ‘ord Meet Bridge (1:40) At Rie Conia Rady Bn ian a ‘Ainigws red Iron NCE) The next two examples illustrate chromatic chord movement, beginning with Ex. 5 and the verse progression to “1983...” Across these six bars is a chromatically descending chord pattern, one chord to a bat: D-Cém(7)-C(6)-Bm(7)-B}(6)-A. Bach chord is either arpeggiated or played as an evolving fill, with totally cool sliding bass notes at the start of bars 2, 3 and 4. This part is incredibly unique, even for Jimi. Ex. 5: “1983...” sea ey sons ‘Verse Chord Progression (0:34) rn confers ee D m3 Along the same lines, and equally out-of-sight, is the verse chord progression to “Drifting,” which also incorporates chromatically descending movement, one chord to a bar. See Ex. 6, as B moves down to Dfm7 and then D(6), followed by Gtm. Notice that the 6th chord usage is nearly identical to “1983...” 84aurrinc ‘erent Ma y Jn Mendee cyto syity BETA SODA Mose Aenisety Dox Wes Me Gp ‘Ait Resmed lara Copy Seed eae D© tm a a Ss os Se atc, fextures ‘As if Jimi’s total mastery of the guitar in “conventional” terms wasn’t enough, he was also Fonsible for creating entirely new sounds, pushing the boundries of what the electric guitar was of into regions previously unknown, Some of the things he did accentuated the percussive of the instrument, while his more adventurous forays, such as “Third Stone from the Sun” Machine Gun,” found him creating massive walls masterfully-manipulated feedback. Since his many have experimented with the techniques he either introduced or brought to new feedback, tremolo bat abuse and an array of effects—but no one has come anywhere near slevel of expertise at harnessing these evasive techniques. What follows is a look at some of Ex, la-f illustrate six examples of Jimi’s use of dead string “chugs,” previously discussed fy in the NINTH CHORD section of the book, in the “Little Miss Lover” example. Ex. 1a the “Are You Experienced?” intro, which is backwards; while recording, the tape was cover, and Jimi added dead string chugs along with an open A string. The tape was then foyer again, so that all that was recorded would sound backwards. Though this might not seem wich a starling idea, the effect is startling, witnessed by the incredible sounds on this tune. In a fofarrangemental genius, this tune features two bands—one backwards and one forwards—and ie mixed in and out and on top of one another throughout the piece. Amazingly, it all works, overall effec is dazzling. Alo intrinsic to the tune are the dead string chugs played as part of the main figure in Gun,” shown in Ex. 1b. The 32nd-note chugs are treated with Fuzz Face and Univibe, an E Blues scale lick. 85b) “Machine Gun” Primary ‘Theme (0:36) Nee) wiPsaz Face and Unite “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” opens with dead string chugs, similar to the “Are You Experienced?” intro. See Ex. 1c. Here, Jimi is using the wah in conjunction with the muted strumming, creating the signature sound of this opening figure. Be sure to follow the wah notation carefully to recreate this intro properly; essentially, the wah is pushed to the treble position on beats 2and 4. The muted figure is then followed by the E minor pentatonic main lick. ¢) “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” Intro (0:00) = ipl Feel F< 1373) eee eat so ee ee = Watt maniplaton: «= In Ex. 1d, from the outro of “Still Raining, Still Dreaming,” Jimi simultaneously strums 16ths and rocks the wah from bass to treble in 16ths, moving from double- and triplestops to descending chugs, creating a fantastic, textural effect. You'll need a good, fast ankle for this one; similar wah action is heard on “Burning of the Midnight Lamp” (Blectrie Ladyland). 4) “Still Raining, Still Dreaming” Outro (3:54) Free Time tocro ——— ‘a __ In this last example, Ex. 5, which shows bars 9-12 of the “Highway Chile” solo, the +3 is tuted for the 9th, and the figure is based on F# minor pentatonic. Note the deceptive phrasing in 3,as Jimi rushes a bit through the figure. 105Ex. 5: “Highway Chile” agua ends nt ai i Solo, bars 9-12 (2:00-2:06) ‘Ris Cone nc on Ss Oa ae ‘Aiisetecre? Taso ‘Triplet Feel ST =1) N.C.(F#5) Le &. (d) The Blues Scale As described in the “Overview” section, the Blues scale is the same as minor pentatonic but with the inclusion of the #5 (flatted fifth), and this scale was used beautifully by Jimi in many classic tunes. Ex. | illustrates the first four bars of the “Spanish Castle Magic” solo, based on the C# Blues scale. Jimi incorporates the *5, G, into a cool ascending/descending riff in bar 2, beat 3. Ex, 1: “Spanish Castle Magic” ocean ase Solo I, bars 1-4 (1:31-1:42) ‘A Rit Cane oo Rite Don a Nc(Chn?) roe Ata Ex, 2 illustrates one bar from the first verse of “Red House,” where Jimi utilizes chromaticism all over beats 3 and 4, including the #5, F, into B minor pentatonic. Like the previous “Red House” example, this phrasing is “in the cracks.” 1062: “Red House” It Verse, bar 4 into 5 (2:43-2:49) aati Sura lace ue cs By T.8 ed 2 B = ee we Pes St aoe T | tn 2 7 te. L J f ae ae - <7 ia | Another killer Band of Gypsys solo is heard on “Power of Love,” and in bar 11, shown along Henn A2 it Bx. 3, Jimi plays the +5 within a descending A Blues seale lek vnc phrase ends with a ily vibratoed D-to-E bend on the D string, Notice also the intense wea supplied by the Fuzz Face Octavia working together. 3: “Power To Love” rowrnt0 Love rane ee a a22(:25.3:30) i cn oe a eas Mie tocred eta anes tee > = Ree “ MPaneceand Oxia Bs et y yw Pit ae 5 ee 119-43 2— (15 —3— + ers lajor Pentatonic Though used less frequently than the Previously covered scales, major pentatonic was ad masterfully by Jimi on three of his Sreatest ballads, “The Wind Cries Mary,” “Little Wing” Wy This Be Love,” By 1 ilustrates the fist six bars of the “Wind Cries Mary” solo, which is based on the F tonic scale. “Floyd Cramer” hammered doublestops are used in bars 1, 3 and 5, followed rng lick in XV position in bars 2, 4 and 6, ie Wind Cries Mary” a HE IND CES 16 (1:22-1:39) ARs Coe ot Nant borne Sigel leat eee, > » Ss te 2 = _£#,,% Et 3 eRe hS SaaS Sit[ In “Little Wing,” Jimi follows the chord changes closely, using major pentatonic licks over each chord: in bar 1, over the G chord on beats 1 and 2, he uses G major pentatonic in a “countrified” ‘manner, bending the 9th, A, up to the 3rd, B, and adding the high root, G, on the high E string, This same shape is used for the F chord, within F major pentatonic, on beats 3 and 4. Hammered doublestops appear again in bars 2 and 3, featuring a shape used a few other places in the Hendrix catalogue, such as on the third verse of “Wait Until Tomorrow.” In bar 2, C major pentatonic is used, and in bar 3, the shape is moved up to D major pentatonic. He ends the phrase with an entirely cool harmonic lick, played by lightly laying the ring finger across the top four strings above the 12th fret, and then slowly depressing the tremolo bar. (Check out the live “Little Wing” from Hendrix In The West to hear some variations on this technique.) Ex. 2: “Little Wing” Solo, Bars 7-10 (2:00-2:08) 6 oar c de EEN x. et Qodedsre # Jara see = p ll i t rt One of Jimi’s greatest solos is surely the one he plays on “May This Be Love,” the first 16 bars of which are illustrated in Ex. 3. E major pentatonic is employed for the most part, with the occasional appearance of the 4th, A, and the #7, D, making brief reference to E Mixolydian (which will be our next catagory). The entire solo is played in legato fashion—articulated with hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides—on the B string, and the tone is amazing—rystal clear with beautiful, wide vibrato. Notice also the “hammer-ons from nowhere” in bars 5 and 6 (and throughout), as Jimi kicks off a given phrase by hammering down on the string without picking, Similar legato phrases can be heard on “1983...”3: “May This Be Love” max rus aecove z plo, bars 1-16 (1:53-2:37) _Alnigh Contos ed alter bea Wea ence oe Sang tne Kael Conse aed Bann Pentadae/E pees Cee ——(f) The Mixolydian Mode Mixolydian is the sound most closely associated with dominant 7th chords (E7, A7, C7, etc.), as this is the scale upon which dominant 7th chords are based. Mixolydian is identical to the major scale, but the 7th degree of major is lowered one fret to sound the $7. Though the majority of Hendrix’s music alludes to Mixolydian, he didn’t employ it as a scale within his improvisations all that often; there are usually only passing references to this scale within lines based primarily on minor pentatonic or the Blues scale. Ex. 1 illustrates bars 15-18 of Jimi’s first solo on “Machine Gun,” within which Jimi alludes to E Mixolydian with G to G? (3 to major 3rd) hammers, followed by high E to D, the #7 of E, This shape evolves slightly as it is repeated, incorporating major 3rd-to-4th and $3-to-4th hammers. A bit reckless, this rhythmically-complex phrasing need not be emulated exactly; feel free to take the basic idea and weave your own rhythmic syncopations. Ex, l: “Machine Gun” Solo I, bars 15-18 (4:42. NqtE) secu Wace a dl ‘rico ®Ex, 2a-d illustrate four examples from “Red House” that feature the use of B Mixolydian, Peginning with the stunning legato lick shown in Ex. 2s, This triplet figure is built on descending offs mixed with ascending hammer-ons, as the same chromatic shape is played on the G, Band igh E strings. The lick ends with the arrival of the IV chord, E, a Jimi moves into an E Mixolydian- sed figure, Ex. 2b shows a one-bar lick taken from the ‘second chorus of the intro, also over the IV. chord, here Jimi begins the figure with E major pentatonic and moves into E Mixolydian : “Red House” Init, 2nd Chorus, bars 4 into 5 (1:37-1:; tng ROE nin conan ee 7 a A . Riscornty Bete eee TERA CEE te orvpac tees == = oe Tenssres) — >. —. 1895-14 115 16-165 15) “4 4 eas t6 ae Hos toe = nn I ee, 2 an =r = Again using E Mixolydian and played over the E chord isthe lick shown in Ex. 2c, beginning E biusual bending lick in bar 1, which makes brief reference to F¥ minor pentatonic, followed ‘Go G# hammer in bar 2, and the rest of the E Mixolydian phrase. tse bar 9 into 10 (3:15-3:20) i" E? Pay “bbind he bea.” : 2d illustrates a really great lick played in bar 4 of the second verse, based on B and featuring hard-driving 16th-note triplets. Notice also the “T-Bone” shape at the end of Hends the phrase with a return to B minor pentatonic and the fast D-to-E trill, m14d) 2nd Verse, bar 4 into 5 (3:49-3:56) BI ‘The last Mixolydian example comes from “Who Knows,” shown in Ex. 3. Based mostly on D minor pentatonic, Jimi makes reference to D Mixolydian in bar 2 with the presence of the 6th, B, and the major 3rd, F#, Ex.3: “Who Knows” a Solo I, bars 7 and 8 (1:57-2:02) Siiscrrauns ie nigta Peel CFD «TTT vm cline Dr a © © @ ® © aw) (g) The Dorian Mode Our look at modal usage concludes with examples of Jimi’s use of the Dorian mode, which is) the same as minor pentatonic but with the inclusion of the 9th and the major 6th. One of the best examples of Dorian is heard on the “Purple Haze” solo, shown in its entirety in Ex. 1. This solo is based on E Dorian, though E Mixolydian is referred to very briefly in bars 1 and) 2 with the presence of G#, the major 3rd. Jimi’s use of this scale, along with the “in the cracks” phrasing, creates a bit of an Indian feel (as in India, not American Indian, which was a part of Jimi’s heritage). The Octavia also sounds phenomenal here. Ex. 1: “Purple Haze” orl ea Solo (1:19-1:36) _avvghs Comte te Soe Dri Midget tert Noe) wy) © ) > ea < = 2e2 SEx, 2 illustrates another wildly off-the-cuff riff from “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” which, ‘on E minor pentatonic for the most part, makes reference to E Dorian with the inclusion of the F, in bar 1, and the 6th, C4, in bar 2. Notice how Jimi alternates between hammering from the 3B, to the '7th, D, followed by hammers from B to the Cf. 2; “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” voonoo cup sci meray bars 5 and 6 (2:05-2:10) cooren wsshy HELTA GODIVA MOEN ‘A Righe Casteed Rem) ea lies Gg = NE tetscars jonas ots ‘Ex. 32 and b both come from “Machine Gun,” Ex. 3a from the intro solo, and Ex. 3b from the io. Both feature magnificent use of E Dorian almost exclusively. In Ex. 3a, Jimi plays a descending figure on the G string, fretting virtually all of the notes with his index finger. other example of “in the cracks” phrasing, built on dotted 16ths and 32nds. The phrase ends ich of the E Blues scale and subtle feedback.‘The 3b lick features a technique that appears here only in the entire Hendrix catalogue, based on the hammering-on of all of the notes while constantly vibratoing with the vibrato bar, creating an eerie, underwater-like effect, The originator of this unusual technique is uncertain; though Jimi’s use of it here is wonderous, Jeff Beck used the same technique earlier that same year on Beck-Ola’s “Plynth (Water Down the Drain).” This is another example of how two of rock’s greatest guitarists ‘were influencing each other at that point in time. In the last two bars, Jimi used the sustain on the D note to pump an odd, shifting shythm with the vibrato bar. Ex. 3: “Machine Gun” Words Mn Sl a) Intro Solo, bars 6-8 (1:29-1:37) vgs Cnt Med bx at ‘Aitige Revered. neal Conn f SBA nn a BN A DR £ eee: aL Oe ficuenan = Ea areas a ¥ tH64° tHE a = = ar ) Outro Solo, bars 9-14 (10:44-11:03) N.C{ES) ee oe Faas —— aa ” ele. 1 5 a 7 + Ye. a UY VEYSYY WHYTnyy: fae 2 G B25 % <= \. YY VHYoyy ate t : 12 aChi2 iz 48)-(5) BH BHSHS){S)S SHOE ‘The final Dorian example is another killer solo from Band of Gypsys, heard on the intro to “Power To Love.” See Ex. 4, which is based on A Dorian, combined with A minor pentatonic and the ‘ABlues scale. This is an intensely aggressive solo, even by Hendrix standards, beginning with heavy- duty one-and-a-half and two-step bends on the B string. At the end of bar 2 and into bar 3, he slowly releases a two-step bend while vibratoing, not the easiest thing to articulate clearly. The 9th, B, and the 6th, Fl, come into play in bars 5 and 6, respectively, and the lick ends with a line based on the A Blues scale. 114Powsn 0 Love Word am eb i Baer yt © 171 BELA GODIVA MSN ‘A igh Coed Ardy Ba a a oe Alighieri ineraton Copy Ss a fh p 2 geet eee gome ee SAS RAR TS Je Ls it h) Backwards Solos Recording “backwards” solos—flipping over the tape to record a guitar solo, and then flipping Pbick over to hear the backwards part along with the forward rhythm tracks—is another technique Hatly exclusive to Jimi, and he is certainly the man most closely associated with the technique. Three Imples of solos recorded in this way are: “Castles Made of Sand,” “Driftin’” and the mother of Himall, “Are You Experienced?” In the next two examples, we will closely examine the “Are You Hienced?” solo, looking at it as it was originally performed (forwards) as well as how it sounds on fbrecord (backwards), Ex. 1 illustrates the “Are You Experienced?” solo as it was originally played and recorded, and Way Lachieved hearing it—and transcribing it—as it was performed was by following this process: J) Record the song onto tracks 1 and 2 of a four-track tape machine (an eight-track can be also ofcourse); 2) With the tape positioned at the end of the song (do not rewind after recording it), flip over 8) Listen to the entire song backwards on tracks 3 and 4 (or tracks 7 and 8 of an eight-track), you get to hear is exactly what Jimi played for his “backwards” solo, which is a very exciting ipl hear; this is the only way to hear what was played as it was originally recorded, and it’s like 115,hearing the solo for the very first time! You also get to hear the entire track backwards, which is what ‘Jimi was listening to as he laid down the solo. This provides additional insight into how he related to the backwards chord progression, and why he played what he played. Provided also are the CD time indications, which go backwards in this example, Remember that the beginning of the forwards solo is the end of the backwards solo, so the first thing played here becomes the last thing heard when the tape is flipped. Got it? ‘Aside from the technical trickery, this really is an amazing solo, and in it Jimi incorporates a variety of scales: A minor pentatonic, A Dorian and A Mixolydian. If you really want to get the most ut of this experiment, record the forwards solo yourself, and then flip the tape over and listen to it backwards to see how close you can get to the original. Pretty cool, huh? Ex, 1: “Are You Experienced” nah ROUEN Solo as Jimi recorded it (forwards) nig coe Sis ne iki ented cp seo AS nan ge NAN ‘This is where "backers" solo ends GD time Hndieations wil go Backwards fom herein hi oxample Rn Rm wm 1B 1Blela a species ith. J. 2s a transcription of the solo as itis heard on the record, aranged for “forwards” guitar. Bsof course no way one can achieve the reverse envelope of a backwards part (though there are lel processors that approximate the effect, including the ancient Electro-Harmorox Memory yi modern Eventide Ultra-Harmonizer), CD time indications are included here as well ¢, losely compare each bar of the solo; you didn’t know you could read music backwards, did Tsao slight discrepancies between the two transcriptions, as the “perception” of the is different when listened to backwards. N= Neck play Mm Md pcky ick ogoe stich from neck ieEx. 2: “Are You Experienced” Solo as it sounds on recording (backwards) arranged for “forwards” guitar ® as ane You RxPERENCED Word Mec by Sn Het Conysgt erty BELA GODIVA MUSIC Ne AU igh Conn hf Anse ben Wan Mise rp MNS MNMNM ‘AIG Rtred ermal Cop SecAllyl era Dns ombining Scales ‘Our final musical example features the combining of a variety of scales within one chorus of a sing twelve bars of Jimi’s “Instrumental Solo” solo, excerpted from the slow A minor blues ears in the last three and a half minutes of the piece. (This song is also known as “Villanova ion”) __Ex, L begins at bar 5 of the second chorus, where the IV chord, Dm7, is present, and over this Jimi plays wild, legato three-bar phrase, based on A Acolian. The phrase is articulated with 419an abundance of hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides, the final bit (bar 2, beats 3 and 4) played at lightning speed. In bar 3, Jimi bends the G string behind the nut, pushing down on it and bending the note up to A, and then vibratoing it behind the nut as well. In bar 5, the progression moves to an F chord, over which Jimi plays an F minor pentatonic lick, followed in bar 6 by D Blues scale licks played over the Dm7 chord, On the last beat of this bar, Jimi utilizes the A Blues scale, setting up the next chord in the progression, the return to Am7. In bar 8 of the example, Jimi arpeggiates a BY7/13 chord, replacing the octave tag melody with this figure. Ex. 1: “Instrumental Solo” (a.k.a. “Villanova Junction”) 2nd Chorus, bars 5-12 (11:05-11:31) Dm() = —= witnivibe (lish) a a oe Ae re Am() ee = ce = # ce : : a Oe a ae OT ee % a =e 3 ‘Bend wtcuated by pushing ‘down onsrngbehitd mut = Ste A cS 4— + - = Am() a fe Bb Amd) eas tf de < oS * ve — a wo - T at we letring I * — = : : : = : = 2 ; ‘Well, guys and gals, that wraps it up. [hope you've found In Deep With... Jimi Hendrix to be valuable study tool, and that you’ve enjoyed the experience. Be sure to look for the next In Deep With... book due out soon. ‘Andy Aledort Senior Editor, Guitar World, Guitar School 120 aye eee op 1198(20047JIMI HENDRIX is by ag CHORD PROGRESSIONS SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES SONG STRUCTURES SCALES RHYTHM FIGures CHORDS BU wie to SOLOS PANDY Co) ta i fn