Thanks John. Your post inspired me to get to know Jimi’s early career a little better. I knew he’d played with the Isleys, Little Richard and Ike & Tina, toured the chitlin’ circuit, but I didn’t know the half of it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix

So many bands, recordings, musical acquaintances it makes your head spin trying to imagine what it must have been like for him. Mix all that with Jimi’s natural talents, and a weird early interlude of enforced discipline in the Army (he was a paratrooper) and you’ve got something very unique.

I’ve never believed the old sore the “Jimi didn’t know theory”. That never made any sense to me. He learned informally, on the job.

I think that Mark’s point – He learned informally, on the job – is so true for most players of that era yet I somehow wonder and doubt those guys pondered on things in the way that some do today.

Take Duane Allman for example – before the Allman Brothers Band came about, Duane was a studio musician at Muscle Shoals and soon became one of the most sought after session players. Duane, in his own words, said that he played by feel and “heard” parts that needed to be played in his sessions. I don’t think that he was pondering on the circle of 5ths or whether he could use a sub-dominant. His ear told him what was needed. He listened and analyzed John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, many great harmonica players (which was the basis for his great slide playing) – his analysis & retention of what he heard became part of him and he would recall it as he would play.

I think that while knowledge is great, allowing that knowledge to become 2nd nature is the more important aspect of it all. Guess it goes back to allowing the right side of the brain to gain ascendancy so we hear it and play it. I once read a statement by Clapton that he heard what he was going to play a few seconds before he came to that place in the solo that it was needed.

OK – rant over

I’m fascinated by this discussion. I can only dream of the day when I have the sounds of intervals in my head and can anticipate the next notes I want to play. I’m sure that it will just take time to learn that and to understand the theory. Right now I know enough to be dangerous but I like reading these discussions to further my learning. Thanks folks!

sunjamr wrote:

I reckon your analysis is spot on. It took me quite a few years to figure out that I have to “hear” in my head what I need to play next. Looking back, I can’t really remember how I arrived at the ability to do that. I think it might have something to do with what some teachers call “interval training”, where you subconsciously know where to put your finger to get the next note you want. Or maybe not.

Steve

I think that whether it’s called Interval Training or Ear Training, that it has to be part our training. Players like Jimi, SRV, Duane Allman, Alvin Lee, Clapton, etc etc, they were blessed to have this develop within themselves early on – we call that having natural talent.

For the rest of us, we have to look at training such as what Justin Sandercoe & others have on You Tube and also look at Justin’s transcribing course in conjunction with ear training.

Truefire has a 6 part ear training course that I caught on sale that is more than just interval training. Brad Carlton will play short chord sequences in various keys that is part of the training. I’m taking time to learn to play each one of those examples. It will take more time but I think it will be worth the effort

It had always baffled me how all those great untrained young players emerged in the late Sixties / early Seventies with nothing more than their ears and Mel Bay’s books to guide them. I found it to be nothing short of miraculous as I clawed my way up the learning curve like a desperate mountaineer lost in the fog to, hopefully, the next plateau. Well, maybe I exaggerate slightly.

I can speak from experience that being in a band concentrates the mind immediately. It doesn’t matter if you hit bum notes at home, there’s nothing at stake.

Playing with a band live, and even just rehearsing/practicing, is a different ball of wax. The more gigs you get to play the harder you’re going to work on your playing, and the better you will get, whether you like it or not 🙂 Same applies to doing solo gigs and duos at open mics.

Personal- and musical differences are always lurking and are probably the hardest part of the deal unless you have a particularly bizarre sense of humor. But if you can hang in there it’s the fastest way to get good, or at least good _enough_.

Jimi was able to hang in there to the point he found himself king of the hill. Talent – check, experience – check, and personality – check. I’d add intelligence to that list of attributes.

Also, check out Jimi’s spider-like fingers. They always remind me of the dime store Robert Johnson photos. The few players I’ve met with fingers like that have all been top notch musicians, so far as I can recall.