How would you pick this Jimi Hendrix riff from the song FREEDOM?
In the video, it’s from 2:50 to 3:18:
Here’s an Image of it:
All down strokes, till the C# chord, there you do you try to do a down and up to return to the low E on the 12th. You can even hammer on the third (E#) on the C# at the G string.
That tab doesn’t seem right to me, but with Hendrix there is no one way, just get the feel and grove.
This guys tab is much better, I wouldn’t be watching guitar hero for much anything.
1 Like
The key to this particular “rhythm-lead” style of Hendrix’s playing (and many others who use a similar system) is that his picking hand is synced to the tempo of the song. So: every downbeat and upbeat gets a downstroke, and every “a” and “e” sixteenth note between those gets an upstroke. It’s also worth knowing and noting that Hendrix’s actual picking is imprecise by design here; if you’re worried about actually picking only the strings in the notation, you’re setting yourself up for a very hard time. Hendrix (et al.) are able to get controlled and accurate tempo-locked funky rhythm-lead by virtue of comprehensive muting control via the fretting hand.
So, as a representation of what’s actually happening in just the first three notes of the phrase, a more “real” tab might look like:
| 9 - 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
| 9 - 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
| X - x - -x - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
| x - - - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
| - - - - - -X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
| - - - - - 12 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
That’s down-up-down, where the Xs represent likely accidental muted strings that are inaudible in the actual song.
For me, personally, I would describe the feel of the picking as less like picking and more like “brushing” targeted groups of strings with a shallow, bouncy motion, like if your pick was a cotton ball and you were trying to quickly but gently dust the strings off.
2 Likes