jimi hendrix and others

7/27/2019 Jimi Hendrix and Others

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Jimi Hendrix

Chordal Style Jimi Hendrix needs no introduction. In all likelihood, there are many comprehensive studies of Jimi's

style available in books and on the web, but I write this mini-series at the request of several students.

Most of those students were born long after Jimi was dead, thus are unsure of why his playing was

considered so revolutionary by so many from such a diverse array of musical genres. This discussion will cover some of Jimi's chordal stylings as used on songs like "Angel", "Castles Made

of Sand", and "Little Wing". I once was told that "Little Wing" was one of the most recorded songs in

history (Sting, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Rolling Stones, Otmar Leibert, Tuck Andress, Lawrence Juber,

and many others have performed this piece). While I find this claim somewhat doubtful (especially

considering all those recordings of "Yesterday" and "White Christmas"), there is no doubt that Jimi'schordal work has been a major influence on guitarists far and wide. So, let's take a look at some

examples in this style. Example one is a simple progression (Am-G-C-Em-D7-G-C) that utilizes full barre chords,

arpeggiations, and embellishments (including those cool quasi-modulations).

Example two is another look at this style. I used a standard 1950s pop & gospel sort of progression

(which sounds more than a tad like Prince's "Purple Rain", as well as some famous 50s & 60s pop tunes)



and kept the rhythmic ideas as close to example one as possible for comparative purposes. Note the A-

F#m-E-D(sus2) progression and try out some of your own quasi-modulations (turn that ambiguous "E"

into an E7 on one pass and an E pentatonic minor on the next, for example, or change my "D sus2" into

a Dm7).

Jimi Hendrix

Blues Fire Here are some burning blues runs similar to what Jimi utilized in songs like "Purple Haze" and "Foxy

Lady". They are all based on the pentatonic minor and these sorts of blues-rock licks set the pace for

guitar players to follow. Example one uses a rapid-fire bend & pull simile followed by some quick descending pull-offs. Notice the

"blue note" (flatted 5 in bars 3 & 4) and the quick shift from the 12th position to the 5th position at the

end of bar 3. Finally, be sure to play the opening licks freely, rather than perfectly as written.



Example two: The beginning of this example is notated to imply the speed changes Hendrix was noted

for. That is, he'd play in free-time over the band, then jet back in and play in perfect time. Don't play bar

one as notated, then, but with a free feel. Just be sure to hit bar #2 right in the pocket. Bar 4 can be

played either as written or freely, depending on how close you want the call & response effect. Note in the

final bar that you can almost hear how Jimi would start calling up the feedback and bashing on the

whammy bar!

Jimi Hendrix Heavy Delta

In songs like "Voodoo Child (slight return)", Jimi calls on more than just pentatonic burning by adding

the oh-so-cool "blue" note (the flatted 5th) to his sweat-drenched rhythms and burning leads.

Example one is similar to "Voodoo Chile (slight return)". Notice the use of open strings, slides, and

bends, plus the use of the triplets in bar 4.



In example two, note the pulsing rhythm and the double stops with one note bending up 1/2 step to the

blue note. This is similar to the pulsing rhythms found in "Foxy Lady" and other Hendrix classics.



Steve Vai It's always difficult to write a guitar lesson that covers a player's stylistic tendencies. Often it is extremely

difficult and other times, when a player has a firm grasp on so many elements of music and technique, it

is nearly impossible. Steve Vai, who I am sure needs no introduction, is definitely one of those players

where the task of distilling stylistic elements into a cohesive study is so daunting that I am tempted to

write nothing at all.

. "What are three elements that make up the Steve Vai guitar style?",

"A roller-coaster, the Tazmanian Devil, and the breath of an angel."

Our study, then, will revolve all too briefly around these headings. The study will leave out much of what

makes Steve great, but check out the Hendrix article for insight into Steve's clean rhythm styles and use

of blues-based licks (which is very similar in several regards to Hendrix, who Steve cites as a major

influence on his stylistic development), as well as the Jennifer Batten lesson for a look at

touchstyle/tapping technique (which Steve uses very effectively). Depending on the reaction to this piece,

I may expand this into a series (more on that below).

Roller-coaster

As an example of Steve's "roller-coaster" mentality, let's take a look at his swept arpeggio work. Unlike

the straight triads employed by most speed-demons, Steve often utilizes complex extended chords and

rapid movement from one chord voicing to another, combined with legato scale fragments, slides, and

the like, to achieve stellar effects.

Here is an example from "Shy Boy", originally released by Billy Sheehan's band Talas, later released

when Billy & Steve teamed up with David Lee Roth ("Eat 'em & Smile" 1986), and finally featured on

"Steve Vai: Live at the Astoria" DVD (2003). Be sure to employ sweep picking (rake the pick across the

strings in one direction) and keep the timing tight. This is moving quite fast, so you'll want to get the

hang of it at slower speeds first.



Tazmanian Devil

Barring bizarre works like "Alien Water Kiss" (from "Passion & Warfare"), "Chronic Insomnia" (from

"Flex-able Leftovers), and the like, how does one demonstrate the Tazmanian Devil (hahaha!!!)? Well,

let's take a look at this excerpt from the song "Lighter Shade of Green" from his work with Alcatrazz

(1985). Again, this is moving very fast, so try it out at slower speeds first. Get it perfect, then increase

speed until you can match this.

Breath of an Angel

I asked several people what songs they felt epitomized this heading. Titles like "For the Love of God","Blue Powder" (from "Passion & Warfare"), and "Touching Tongues" (from "Sex & Religion") came



up immediately, but then I was swamped with loads of other examples too numerous to cite. So, let's take

a look at "Ballerina 12/24" from his break-through solo release "Passion & Warfare" (1990). A quick

note on the notation/tab: I intended at first to just post the guitar Steve played (GTR-2 of the

transcription) and explain his use of delay & harmonizing effects, but was directed by a reader to this

transcription (available at the Power-Tab Archives). This amazing transcription was done by a guy

called "Doetje2". It's so fabulous that I couldn't use my original transcription, because his lays it all outnice & neat. My hat is off the Doetje2 for his incredible work on this piece!

Remember that Steve used his Eventide harmonizer with a stereo delay to achieve this cool, multi-part

effect. So you'll want to practice the GTR-2 part with either fingers or pick.

New Acoustic Concepts



This article will cover examples from several players, and there are many exceptionally talented

guitarists whose work could have been used to illustrate the examples (a look at either of the "Muriel

Anderson's All-Star Guitar Night" video/DVD releases will open your eyes if you are new to this sort of

thing, or check out the amazing Ani DiFranco for funky percussive guitar with vocals), I must point to

the dozens of requests from fans of Justin King for this lesson.

Another relatively unknown but astonsihingly good guitarists is POM, who mixes traditional flamenco

stylings with contemporary techniques and achieves an adrenaline pumping result.

First, however, here's a clip from Michael Hedges' "Aerial Boundaries". Note the hammer-on ostinato

and the ringing bass melody, plus the percussive element invloved. Note also how the ostinato mutates

slightly on the melodic front, but maintains it's general integrity rhythmically, creating a lush illusion as

a backdrop to the primary melodic theme. Learn this as written (note the tuning!), then incorporate

some of it's elements into your own playing.



Here is a segment that can whip you into shape for songs like Preston Reed's "Blasting Cap". Note the

use of harmonics, 2-hand slapping (denoted with the "mutes"), and altered tuning (DADGAD). The key

point here is the integration of "golpe" (flamenco-speak for percussive slaps on the body of the guitar)

into the overall theme, rather than using the percussive elements as an add-on. Easier said than done,

folks, and Reed is a master of this. I also borrowed Vai's opening theme from "Damn Good" (which was

borrowed from Zeppelin) to integrate the duplettes and triplettes into one piece - a trademark of moreadvanced pieces by Reed, Hedges, King, and others. Be sure to play the galloping hammers smoothly.

Between this and some steady bongo work, you'll be ready to tackle tough pieces.



Here is a blip from my song "D.I." which features melodic lines beneath an ostinato, plus some

percussive elements which utilize finger articulations rather than just slapping. I wrote this around 1990,trying to meld several ideas (multi-voices, integrated percussive & melodic ideas, and a healthy dose of

deep blues.



Greg Howe style

Greg Howe may be most famous as the hired gun for mega-stars like Justin Timberlake and Michael

Jackson, but he's known in the guitar world as a player with impeccable chops, extraordinary

knowledge, and unique musical vision. He always demonstrates clean lines with both fire and grace, and

his ability to weave together tapestries of sound from often disparate genres make him a paragon of

fusion.

I am assuming the fingerings below are correct, but only Greg can say for sure.

The first two samples are taken from Greg's debut solo release (1988's "Greg Howe") - example one is

from the song "Kick It All Over" and example two from "Bad Racket". These show tidbits of the

stylistic roots of Greg's development.



The last example is from 1996's "5". Titled "Bach Mock", this demonstrates Greg's passion for classical

lines and picture perfect articulation.

Mr. Scary

George Lynch burst on to the scene back in 1982 with the band Dokken and quickly became one of the

most admired guitarists of the decade by demonstrating extreme technical capabilities coupled with

uber-aggression, a unique approach, and lots of soulful style. With a Grammy nomination, countless

tours & guitar clinics, 9 Dokken albums, 6 Lynch Mod albums, and 5 solo offerings (from EPs to full-

length albums), George is firmly established as one of the true Guitar Gods.

If you've never heard George play, try out the song "Mr. Scary" from Dokken's 1987 release (or the 1988

live release) "Back for the Attack", which is a veritable lexicon of Lynchisms. Like all of the style lessons,

it's impossible to give a proper treatment of George in a single lesson, so we'll simply highlight some of



his signature licks as examples of a few of the prime features of his playing. In the first example, we see

George's passion for "out' notes, like the spooky b5.

Example 2 touches on the wide intervals George uses so fluidly (the so-called "Gothic Octave") as well ashis use of a quick sliding vibrato and touch or tapped harmonics.

Example 3 is a classic George lick...shifting slides, out notes, harmonics. Have fun with this one!

Jennifer Batten



Jennifer is currently on tour with guitar legend Jeff Beck, and has recorded and toured with the King of

Pop: Michael Jackson. She has also released several solo albums and two books, and was for a time an

instructor at the famed GIT.

Jennifer is probably most famous in guitar circles for her fabulous two-hand tapping technique. For a

primer in tapping, see the IG "Master Class" section. The examples below take a familiarity withfretboard tapping, though be sure to take it slowly at first to avoid injury. This first example is a classic

Jennifer Batten trick - playing a basic scale with both hands, an octave apart. Be sure to play this with

extreme clarity so it doesn't sound like mush - and notice that those last 4 notes are tapped harmonics.

This next lick is a bit quirky and a bit more difficult, as it incorporates slides and some tricky rhythm,

plus it requires you to hold a tapped note while using the fret hand to add vibrato.

jimi hendrix and others

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