‘Jimi
Hendrix’ Style Lesson (Part 3)
By
David M. McLean
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. We touched
on this a tad in the second Hendrix installment, but let’s take
a closer look now.
Example one
is similar to "Voodoo Chile (slight return)". Notice
the use of open strings, slides, and bends, plus the use of the
triplettes in bar 4.
Example
1 Audio (midi file)
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.
Example
2 Audio (midi file)
Grok the
implications of this heavy grooving style and see what it can
do for your playing. You might also want to check out players
like acoustic bluesmen Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy, and Son House
as well as early electric blues shredders like Albert King, and
sure to listen a bit to those directly influenced by Hendrix like
Clapton and Vaughan (who does several excellent Hendrix covers).