Purple Haze...Did Jimi get it wrong?

[Blues Power]

im talking about the lead break. it just dosent seem to fit the song.

i dont want to start a flame fest but think about how the song is set up

After a massive opening in Em pents he does to either E Dorian or E maj pents for the lead. I cant figure out which as I just play it how I hear it.

to me it just dosent seem to fit the song.

wouldnt he have been better off soloing that song in a Heavy Em pent?

when I wank the whole thing in Em pents to me it sounds a lot more fliuid then when i play it the way he wrote it or the way I hear it.

just thinking of what could have been if he did it differently

[rideski]

You should never question Jimi! Right or wrong...

[StrangerNY]

He wrote it, he was right.

/thread

Edit - Nah, can't leave it there.

My friend Guitar Pete and I have had long discussions about how Jimi did solos. He once pointed out to me that Jimi often incorporated where the bass was going as the basis of his solos. Notice that Noel repeats E - F#/D in the solo. Take note of what notes Jimi builds the bulk of the solo around.

He could have just leaned on the pentatonic, but that would have been too easy.

- D

[gem12]

He can play the riff wherever he wanted to play it.
And you have no authority to question it.

[Blues Power]

to Stranger: im going to ingore the other responses b/c it was the narrow minded stupid, ignorant remarks that i expected to hear.

but what you mentioned makes some sense though. if he was harmonozing or playing from a bass point of view it would kinda fit. but its still a wierd lead for such a powerful song

[StrangerNY]

Originally Posted by Blues Power

to Stranger: im going to ingore the other responses b/c it was the narrow minded stupid, ignorant remarks that i expected to hear.

but what you mentioned makes some sense though. if he was harmonozing or playing from a bass point of view it would kinda fit. but its still a wierd lead for such a powerful song

But there were massive amounts of drugs around in those days, too.

But 'Are You Experienced' is chock-full of odd solos if you think about it. The opening to the solo in 'Manic Depression' is one of the most audacious lines ever, and 'May This Be Love's solo is completely unexpected.

I think it was that type of thing that clued people in that Jimi was operating on a completely different level than most of the blues-based guitarists on the scene at that time. IMO.

- D

[Blues Power]

well there are still massive amounts of drugs around nowadays and some i dont even know what they call anymore but the music today sucks for the most part. so i dunno if t was the dope

maybe the mesc was better in the 60's

[FLICKOFLASH]

Interesting post thanks

[Jason]

If everyone had this intense need to rationalize music, we'd all be trying to sound like Satriani or Vai... Dude, it's art... there is no "better"... It's not a competition and it's not straight mathematics.

And as for the crack at modern music, are you expecting the radio to bring you good music? There's more amazing music going on now than at any other point in the history of humanity, you just have to look for it.

[huw]

Originally Posted by Blues Power

...its still a wierd lead for such a powerful song

But weird is good!

Things seem weird if they are unusual, not what everyone else does, unique etc. These qualities are all often good in art, especially in music.

Hendrix was often unique, frequently did something different to what everyone else did, and a lot of the time he was unusual.

So yes, he was weird - that was (and still is) part of his appeal.

[lazz]

you better not let DRF see you question "THE HENDRIX" or he'll open a can of whoopass an yall

[b-squared]

Great post. That's one of the great things about the chords used, and the player using them.

The E7#9 ("Hendrix Chord") has a mixed third, so major or minor scales can be played over it to get some weird sounds. I love that jazzy chord, it's one of my favorites.

Add the Octavia, and then that quirky Dorian Mode solo gets even cooler. Very psychedelic.

Jimi was an innovator; rather than rip a classic blues solo he went for something else that better fitted the song's lyrics. You gotta love it!

BB

[Lampens]

I never thought of it as weird. Fits the song.

[Jason]

I didn't mean to come off harsh in my first post. What I meant was, theory is just theory. It can only take you so far. When you start getting into truly innovative music, you might as well toss your rules out the window. Jimi's music is far more interesting to me than the "academic" stuff that has come since.

You made a great observation, but it just goes to show you that you can disect music all you want, but never really have a rational explanation for it. The academic stuff though, sounds like it could have been a formula plugged into a computer and generated automatically. Art which lacks that predictablity is what inspires me and gives me faith in mankind.

[River]

A lot of my mistakes sound better than when I get it right, to the point I now practice them so I can make them consistently.

[Blues Power]

we're getting some great points of view now. this is what I was hoping to hear

speaking of mistakes i once read an interview with Otis Rush and he said "people want to play like me so bad theyre even copying my mistakes"

i found that to be very true

[specflec]

I find it interesting to "dissect" musical lines or harmonic changes just to see what's up with them. The "theory" doesn't mean anything if it's not pinned on something musical, but it is a great tool for figuring out how music works. It does help your thinking about what is going on and that can affect your playing in positive ways. I find, both theorists and those who completely disregard it to be missing the point.

Head down... Flame suit on!


Good thread!

[st.bede]

Originally Posted by b-squared

Great post. That's one of the great things about the chords used, and the player using them.

The E7#9 ("Hendrix Chord") has a mixed third, so major or minor scales can be played over it to get some weird sounds. I love that jazzy chord, it's one of my favorites.

Add the Octavia, and then that quirky Dorian Mode solo gets even cooler. Very psychedelic.

Jimi was an innovator; rather than rip a classic blues solo he went for something else that better fitted the song's lyrics. You gotta love it!

BB

after spending a little time dealing with jazz....I learned that pentatonic are so powerful, and very flexible...my jazz teacher said "that he performed using pentatonic when he played outside".....for me that really summed it up....

and given the #9 you can go into the jazz minor mode (melodic minor mode)

and, when you add in all the different blue notes...really all the notes become usable...

I7-IV-V...type of thing is very open progression

and eventually everything is about resolution...

[st.bede]

Originally Posted by specflec

I find it interesting to "dissect" musical lines or harmonic changes just to see what's up with them. The "theory" doesn't mean anything if it's not pinned on something musical, but it is a great tool for figuring out how music works. It does help your thinking about what is going on and that can affect your playing in positive ways. I find, both theorists and those who completely disregard it to be missing the point.

Head down... Flame suit on!


Good thread!

two good examples are:

1, theory is always created after to try and understand what someone did

2, Wagner took only one year of theory and still can not be codified

[Roman Rist]

there is an old joke;

How many guitar players does it take to do a perfect solo? 100

1 to do it and the other 99 talking about how they could have done it better.


the moral of the story is this;

Don't mess with JIMI

[BCRGreg]

I think the lead is the coolest thing about the song.

Jimi broke down barriers all the time.

[ojedad23]

y ou mean did he get it right,jimmy defied everything known to guitarist,and thats why hes so great.

[Roman Rist]

The fact that so many talk about him and even debate his talent is testament to Jimi having got it right!

[dork5002002]

I have wondered this same thing. when I was trying to learn the song I realized that it seemed wrong. Jimi can't really be wrong though. It was his song, and he could just bang on the strings for 20minutes and it would be right. The only problem would be would it sound good.

I sometimes play clashing notes in my solos; they are very helpful and add color, but you usually have to resolve them within the same bar to make them sound good.

I recently started taking a class about guitar, and the instructor hates me for those notes. When ever I hit one he instantly stops me. He says I'm not wrong over all, but in the context of the class I'm wrong.