Chordplay - The Chords Of Jimi Hendrix (Soul & R&B Chords)

Here's the next episode of Chordplay with another installment of The Chords Of Jimi Hendrix, but this time we're taking a closer look at his elusive and inspiring Soul and R&B chord moves and rhythm guitar ideas.

I've had a lot of requests to feature more of Hendrix's music and I've received lots of requests to focus on this area of Jimi's playing with students in private lessons over the years, so I figured it was time to dive into this unusual and very musical approach to playing chords/progressions using the slippery-smooth sounds found in Soul and R&B music, but using Jimi's unique twists to these chords and ideas. In numerous ways, he really did create his own signature stamp with this type of playing, as this episode reveals.

The ideas shared here include a brief overview of this concept, including plenty of nuggets of information surrounding this type of rhythm playing using fragments of basic minor and major triads/chords combined with notes from related (major or minor) pentatonic scales to the mix. This gives this concept a lot of motion and movement, as the partial and fragments of chords are manipulated and moved around. It really does make what you're playing jump out and "pop" for the listener.

Aside from the overview information and steering your fingers toward this slick chord-based concept, there are several classic Hendrix songs mentioned/performed in this episode that uses a number of these ideas, including timeless standards such as 'Castles Made Of Sand,' 'Wait Until Tomorrow,' 'The Wind Cries Mary,' 'Bold As Love,' and more.

Needless to say, if you're a Hendrix fan you'll find plenty to sink your teeth into in this lesson or for newcomers getting some of Jimi's unique/unusual chord world under their fingers - there's something for everyone hiding in this episode.

Dive in, have some fun, leave some comments/feedback, and please subscribe to Late Night Lessons - THANK YOU!