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2015, Experience Hendrix, L.L.C.
Copyright 2015 by HAL LEONARD CORPORATION
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Contents
INTRODUCTION
Hal Leonards Play Like Jimi Hendrix offers a complete in-depth examination of the revolutionary, one-of-a-kind playing style of the incomparable Jimi Hendrix, who by all accounts deserves recognition as the greatest and most influential rock guitarist of all time. Jimi Hendrixs genius as a guitar player has fascinated countless guitaristsincluding the likes of rockers Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, and Johnny Winter, and jazz players John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Mike Stern, and Eric Johnson, as well as his acolyte Stevie Ray Vaughanever since he first burst onto the worldwide music scene in the fall of 1966. Along with the technical brilliance he possessed as a player, Hendrix was able to transcend the medium as well as the instrument like no other guitarist before or since. It is a certainty that he will continue to intrigue and inspire legions of guitarists for many generations to come. Through the inclusion of complete transcriptions and essential musical excerpts, this book is designed to clearly illuminate all of the many aspects that make up Jimi Hendrixs incredible guitar style.
The book is organized into several chapters, each of which focuses on different aspects of Jimis total guitar mastery:
Tale of the Tone
This section delves into the gear that Jimi Hendrix relied upon to create his distinct and wholly original sound. Though Jimi moved through different pieces of gear at the very start of his career, upon his arrival in England in the fall of 1966, he soon settled on the few very specific tools that would serve him throughout his career.
Songs
This chapter includes complete transcriptions of five essential Jimi Hendrix songs and offers detailed instructional examination of his rhythm and lead guitar work on each. Each of these songs is also demonstrated with an audio track featuring full band accompaniment.
Essential Licks
Jimi Hendrix developed his wide-ranging signature style through the intense study of just about every guitarist he ever heardincluding the soul/R&B stylings of Curtis Mayfield, Steve Cropper, and Ike Turner, the blues genius of B.B. King, Albert King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Howlin Wolf, the rockabilly of Scotty Moore and James Burton, and the jazz sounds of Wes Montgomery. This section breaks down his soloing style with a collection of the essential licks he relied upon most often, with audio demonstrations of each lick included in this presentation.
Essential Riffs
The fact that Jimi Hendrix is rocks greatest guitarist in no way overshadows his undeniable strength and originality as a composer, and part of his unique genius lies in his ability to place his brilliant playing within equally brilliant and wholly original songs. This section details essential riffs from ten of his greatest recordings.
Integral Techniques
Hendrix relied on a great variety of essential techniques with which he forged his timeless riffs and solos, and in this section of the book well examine the intricacies of both his pick- and fret-hand technique.
Stylistic DNA
The greatest instrumentalists have the ability to channel all that they have learned about music and their instruments into a style that is unique and immediately recognizable. In this section of the book, well dig into that aspect of Jimis approach and sound on the guitar.
Must Hear
This section includes the vast array of essential recordings for investigation by anyone with a serious and dedicated interest in Jimi Hendrixs incredible recorded legacy.
Must See
Though unavailable for many years, today one can easily find a great variety of DVDs illustrating the brilliance of Jimi Hendrix in live performance. This section also details the rarer videos that can be found on YouTube. Along with dedicated study of the transcriptions and musical examples in this book, watching these performance videos of Jimi will provide you with the most complete picture possible of his incredible gifts as a master guitarist and performer.