The solo that Jimi Hendrix laid down for his debut single “Hey Joe” in November of 1966 is one of his most straightforward and accessible efforts. I’ve taught it to many of my students, yet each time I return to it, I hear something new. The solo comprises a substantial number of tasty licks that employ many of the basic blues and rock techniques like bending, pull-offs, double-stops, sliding and vibrato, and it therefore makes a great study or ‘etude’ for the budding rock or blues soloist. But underneath the surface lies something more – a strong sense of composition and an almost classical structure that never cease to amaze me. Let’s take a look at this compact gem to see what it reveals to us about Jimi’s improvisational/compositional genius.
Six Distinct Phrases
The solo can be broken down into six distinct phrases (see transcription below), which in turn can also be broken into smaller melodic fragments (designated by phrase marks). Phrase One starts with a whole-step bend with a smooth, fairly wide vibrato on the target note, E, which is repeated on the string above before the melodic fragment falls through the pentatonic minor scale to the note B. This fragment begins three of the phrases, and gives the solo a feeling of a mini, “theme and variations,” if you will. Phrase One finishes with the classic, bend-release-pull-off figure, the same lick that opens Jimmy Page’s “Heartbreaker” solo, but not before we are treated to a nice melodic change of direction that ends with an upward minor third beginning on the tonic. The total range of the phrase is one octave.
Phrase Two begins with the same four note figure. Phrase Two can be broken down into three parts, with the middle lick another whole-step bend, but this time to the dominant, B. Again, the target note of the bend is followed by the same note on the string above. This lick is the same as the repeated figure that runs over the middle section of the intro to Johnny B. Goode. This fragment ends abruptly, however, with a nice finger vibrato on A, and then continues to descend through the third fragment, with a slide up and down with the first finger that is characteristic of Hendrix. Finally, Phrase Two comes to a close on the tonic, E, which creates a ‘question and answer’ relationship between it and Phrase One. The way the first two phrases begin the same but end differently keeps our attention, yet we never feel lost or that the solo is meandering.
Phrase Three, with two melodic fragments, would seemingly be a bit of punctuation or emphasis, or a bridge to the next section. The first one is a three note, rhythmical figure from G to E and back again, followed by a longer fragment that begins below from B and then reverses the order, E to G and back to E. Another albeit brief question and answer, yes. But Phrase Three/Fragment Two also introduces what I like to think of as the ‘second theme,’ (the first theme being the opening bend and descent from E to B) which we will see more of later. Jimi’s development of this and the opening idea are what makes the solo so logical, grounded, and balanced.
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