Where to find this song - Electric Ladyland track #15
Release Date - October 1968
In his brief four-year reign, Jimi Hendrix expanded the electric guitar
more than anyone before or since. Hendrix was a master at merging all
manner of music into one precise art form, often with experiments that
produced high-quality feedback and roaring distortion. His frequent
hurricane blasts of noise and dazzling showmanship proved that he could
and would play behind his back and with his teeth and set his guitar
on fire, and everyone would HAVE to love it. He posessed such considerable
gifts as a songwriter, singer, and master of blues, R&B, and rock
styles.
Riff Overview
The Rhythm Guitar
This is the part of the riff that most people
are comfortable with because it deals with barre chords. The lead part
is much more difficult. Here is how to play the rhythm part: ( On the
rhythm part you will not need to change the arrangements of your fingers
at all. You will just simply be moving up and down the fret board.).
The Lead Guitar Part
The lead part includes (as always the case
with Hendrix) some excellent phrasing:
Take a listen to it all together:
How To Play It
Rhythm Guitar
Begin this riff by barring your 1st finger over the seventh fret on
all strings. Place your 2nd finger on the eighth fret on the "G"
string. Place your 3rd and 4th fingers in any order on the "A"
string and the "D" string. That is a barre chord. Play that
a few times and move to the ninth fret on the "low E" string
with all fingers still in the same arrangement. Play that a few times.
Then just move back to where you just were and play that a few times.
Last, go to the fifth fret on the "low E" string and keep
all fingers in the same arrangement. That is the rhythm guitar part.
Those progressions are based on E style barre chords (major and minor).
Here's what the patterns look like on a chord diagram:
Major
Minor
Lead Guitar
Part 1
Begin this riff by sliding from the nut end of the guitar down to the
thirteenth fret on the "G" string. Use your 2nd finger for
this. Then, use your 1st finger to play the twelfth note on the "B"
string. Next, you will be performing the bend. Use your 1st and 2nd
finger to do this. Perform that four times, and shake the string ( vibrato
- probably latin for "vibrate." ) Next you will just be letting
the full note bend back down and going back to the twelfth fret with
your 1st finger. Notice that the vertical line on the fourteenth fret
on the "B" string goes back down. That just signifies that
you are releasing the bend.
Next you will need to go to the "G" string on the eleventh
fret with your 1st finger. Slide to the thirteenth fret, and then move
to the eleventh fret. Play the eleventh fret a few times for accurate
timing.
Part 2:
The next part of the riff is much the same as the first part that
you just learned. There are no different "effects" that you
haven't already learned from the past, except for a pull-off. If you
can perform a hammer-on, you can perform a pull-off. Just think - they
are polar opposites of each other. Begin this part by doing EVERYTHING
BUT THE AMOUNT OF TIMES ON THE BEND the same way as before, until you
get to the eleventh fret on the "D" string ( use your 2nd
finger). ( The best bet here is just to listen over and over to get
the feel of it.)
Now that you are there, use your 1st finger on the ninth fret on the
"B" string. Hammer-on to the eleventh fret on the same string
with your 2nd or 3rd finger, basing the arrangement on comfort for you.
Then, WITHOUT picking again, simply use your 1st finger to go back to
the ninth fret on the same string. You just performed a pull-off WITHIN
a hammer-on. Good work! Now, you are almost finished. For the next note,
just use your 1st finger on the ninth fret on the "G" string,
and then bend the twelfth fret on the "B" string with your
3rd or 4th finger. Perform the same bend on the 12 fret, and perform
a slide on the fret toward the first fret of the neck. Don't forget
about the vibratos in between there. YOU ARE FINISHED!!!!!!
Lead Guitar Glossary:
Slide : playing a string and allowing your
finger to slide on the string lightly to the desired tabbed location.
Demonstrated with an "S" on the tablature and/or a horizontal
line IN the tablature above the strings.
Hammer-on : moving from a lower note to a
higher note, only striking the first note. Demonstrated with an "H"
on the tablature.
Full bend : this is when you will bend the
desired string equal to two frets from the tabbed note you are bending
from. Demonstrated with a "full" above the vertical line.
Pull-off : moving from a higher note to a
lower note, only striking the first note. Demonstrated with a "P"
on the tablature.
Vibrato : rapidly shaking the string(s) being
played. This "effect" looks like a ribbon above the
tablature.
