
Understanding Hendrix’s rhythm guitar style will help you create new, exciting guitar parts that add momentum to the song.
Intermediate
Intermediate
● Unlock secret Hendrix chord shapes.
● Discover essential tools Hendrix used to create inventive guitar parts.
● Never get bored playing simple chord progressions by blurring the boundaries of lead and rhythm guitar.
Jimi Hendrix is often remembered as a wild, bluesy, lead guitarist who left audiences awestruck with his mind-blowing solos and use of feedback. Still, he had another overshadowed ability that was just as integral to his sound: rhythm guitar playing. When it comes to playing rhythm and blues, soul, and elements of funk, the influence of Hendrix's rhythm style can be heard in clubs, arenas, and recording studios every day.
This rhythm style was really the backbone of his playing, and it was honed through years of working as a professional guitarist backing up Little Richard, the Isley Brothers, and King Curtis. While in these bands, Hendrix developed an ability to create inventive guitar parts that would not only meld into the rhythm section with a deep groove but also push along the energy of the song.
Hendrix had to play behind singers in these settings, and this is where he really developed his unique rhythm approach of ornamenting chord progressions in between the vocals. While Hendrix didn't create this style, he adapted and evolved it out of the popular contemporary soul music of the day. Hendrix was influenced by players like Cornell Dupree, Curtis Mayfield, and Steve Cropper, to name a few. He borrowed ideas from the way Mayfield would play lyrical melodies off the chord shapes. Hendrix adapted the Mayfield approach but made it more about the inventiveness of the rhythm rather than subtle embellishments to the chords. Along the way, Hendrix took it to a whole other level.
Throughout Hendrix's rhythm you can also hear borrowed ideas from Cropper, specifically his use of double-stops, bass lines, and sliding sixths within a rhythm part. Cropper, of course, demonstrated this type of rhythm style all over the classic Stax band recordings out of Memphis. Check out Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Eddie Floyd and you'll hear this.
Convert to Thumb
To get started playing in this style, the first thing you have to do is free up fretting-hand fingers within your chord shapes if you want to play the embellishments and ornament the chords the way Hendrix did. Unfortunately, this is where traditional electric guitar barre-chord shapes fall short. So, you'll want to start by converting these major and minor bar chord shapes to thumb chords.
Hendrix would wrap his fretting-hand thumb around the top of the guitar neck and, at times, play the 6thand even 5th string with his thumb. This may seem tough at first, but your hands will adapt over time to these chord formations. You never want to force a chord shape. Lightly go for the shape and then relax your hand. I would recommend starting with a smaller-necked guitar. Hendrix was known for his use of the Fender Stratocaster. These guitars typically have pretty slim necks, which definitely helps make these thumb chord shapes easier to reach.
Ex. 1 starts with a typical "E" shape barre chord that has a root on the 6th string. The first chord shape is the traditional fingering, while the second is Hendrix-style with the thumb on the root note.
With the Hendrix thumb-chord shape you have your 4th finger free on your fretting-hand. Now, you are ready to try some embellishments off of the chord shape like Ex. 2. This example uses a classic Hendrix-style hammer-on/pull-off combination with a bass-note pattern that plays independently of the upper melody. This was a key feature in Hendrix's style that, at times, made him sound almost like a piano player. As you play it, try to keep as many notes sustaining and ringing out over each other as possible.
Ex. 2
Now, let's see how this can apply to a minor barre chord with a root on the 6th string. We'll start with a minor "E" shape at the 5th fret before converting to a Hendrix style in Ex. 3.
Ex. 4 shows the same concept as Ex. 2 but uses the notes Hendrix would typically gravitate toward over a minor chord shape.
Ex. 4
With Ex. 2 and Ex. 4 you have a small melody using hammer-on and pull-off combinations. However, using your own personal taste, you may decide to use just one or two of these string embellishments at a time within a musical phrase. The point here is give you as many options as possible that are easily accessible off the chord shape. Hendrix would often reach up from any note in the chord and use the next scale degree for ornamenting. Sometimes the scales he would derive the melody notes from were typical major and minor scales, but he would often rely heavily on the use of pentatonic scales and, of course, the blues scale.
Chords with Roots On The 5th String
Now that we have major and minor Hendrix-style moveable chord shapes with roots on the 6th string, let's take a look at a few other must-know Hendrix chord shapes with roots on the 5thstring.
Ex. 5 shows a standard C major barre chord shape with a root on the 5th string. Hendrix used this shape frequently. Often, in context, he would quickly invert the chord up the neck placing the 3 in the bass.
The 3 in the bass creates an optimal fingering for playing double-stop licks off the shape. Ex. 6 demonstrates this idea.
Ex. 6
Slides, Hammer-ons, and Pull-offs
Ex. 7 shows how Hendrix might embellish a standard minor 7 barre chord shape with a root on the 5th string. Notice the same concept of reaching up from a note within the chord shape and using the next scale degree for ornamenting. In this example, the scale of choice is E minor pentatonic (E–G–A–B–D).
Again, based on your taste, you may choose to use just one of these hammer-on/pull-off combinations within your own musical phrase. However, you'll find there are quite a few creative possibilities, especially as you start experimenting with re-ordering them or changing the rhythm.
Ex. 7
Now, let's mix a number of these concepts and chord shapes together with Ex. 8 as we play over a simple three chord progression. Notice also one new chord shape, the Bb(add9) that comes in halfway through the first measure.
Ex. 8
Now that you have unlocked a few of Hendrix's go-to thumb chord shapes, and have played some examples using his typical embellishments, find songs in your repertoire where you can start using these concepts to play more inventive rhythm guitar. Have fun!
This article was updated on August 30, 2021.
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Celestion introduces a low-sensitivity, dual voice coil, attenuating speaker.
The Peacekeeper offers guitarists and other amplified musicians a simple and effective way to dial in the coveted "sweet spot" on their amplifiers while still performing at modest volume levels. The Peacekeeper will be on display, alongside a range of Celestion’s key guitar and PA products at the company’s NAMM 2025 booth (Hall C, #6602).
The Peacekeeper is designed to work seamlessly with almost any amplifier, like a conventional guitar speaker, but it’s in-built attenuating technology will significantly reduce output sensitivity. This enables musicians to drive their amplifiers harder while maintaining manageable volume levels.
Key features of the Peacekeeper include:
- Attenuation Technology: The Peacekeeper’s innovative design effectively attenuates the amplifier’s output, compared with conventional speakers, allowing players to achieve their desired sound at lower volumes.
- Uncompromising Tone: Attenuation is achieved “organically” through the natural operation of the loudspeaker, enabling the Peacekeeper to preserve the Celestion tone that musicians love: the attenuation process adds no colouration or compromise.
- Seamless Integration: With its 12” diameter, the Peacekeeper seamlessly integrates with any standard cabinet, offering a hassle-free solution for volume control.
- Widely Compatible: Offering 8Ω impedance and a maximum power rating of 50W, the Peacekeeper is suitable for pairing with a wide range of amplifiers.
- Precision Built in the UK: Peacekeeper drivers are assembled at Celestion’s UK-based loudspeaker research and manufacturing facility, and rigorously tested to meet exacting performance criteria.
For more information on the Peacekeeper, visit: https://celestion.com/product/peacekeeper/
Visit Celestion at The NAMM Show, January 23-25,2025 in Hall C, Booth #6602.
An all-new line of solid body electric guitars, rooted in Eastman’s D’Ambrosio Series.
The FullerTone SC '52 and DC '62 represent the fusion of Eastman’s old-world craftsmanship and modular versatility, featuring their FullerTone two-bolt, long-tenon neck design first pioneered in the highly acclaimed D'Ambrosio Series. This innovative neck-to-body construction delivers more tone, sustain, and stability.
Through collaboration with renowned pickup builders ToneRider, both models deliver pure, pristine tone while maintaining exceptional warmth and projection. The SC '52 single-cutaway and DC '62 double-cutaway models draw inspiration from California's natural beauty, coming in three distinctive colors—Moss Black, Desert Sand, and Ice Blue Metallic—each complemented by industrial anodized aluminum pickguards and Eatman’s signature Truetone Satin Gloss finish, delivering a gust of modern refinement and graceful mojo.
Key features of the Eastman FullerTone Series:
- Eastman’s highly coveted FullerTone two-bolt, long-tenon neck system with three times greater neck-to-body contact, delivering more tone, sustain, and stability
- Custom ToneRider soapbar humbuckers with gold-foil covers and noiseless stacked single coils
- Premium-grade electronics
- Roasted black limba bodies with custom-designed staggered tuners for optimal string pull
“My challenge for this design was simple: to create a modular bolt-on neck system that performed, looked, and felt better than what is commonly seen on the solid body bolt-on market. This led me to explore three-dimensional neck joints in solid-body guitars. The FullerTone neck system integrates a small structural heel and tenon hidden underneath the neck pickup. The matching geometry of the neck and body securely locks the two pieces into place and is mechanically fastened together. This design utilizes the best qualities of its main components,” said Otto D’Ambrosio, Eastman’s master luthier and designer.
"With these guitars we have managed to break through various barriers without cutting any corners. Again, everything is top notch, as we always offer nothing but the best. This one is for everyone, we feel," said Pepijn 't Hart, Eastman’s director of fretted instruments.
The FullerTone Series is available through Eastman Authorized Dealers worldwide, offering unlimited possibilities for players ready to take their creative expression to new levels.
Cort Guitars debuts the latest evolution of their X series electric guitars, the Mutility II.
Named for its “multiple utility”, the Mutility II brings multi-scale performance, ergonomic design, and improved features. Those improvements include new scale lengths and swapping out the old 3-way selector switch to a 5-way for increased sonic versatility.
Available in either Tactical Gray or Military Beige finishes, the sleek double cutaway body is the first sign that this guitar is built for ease of play, performance, and comfort. The deep, ergonomic contours make for an extremely comfortable playing experience. Made of American basswood, the body provides the ideal warmth and fullness needed for a wide variety of musical genres. The second sign of this being one serious guitar is the multi-scale bolt-on neck. The new 25.0” – 25.5”, multi-scale neck is made of a 5pc roasted maple and walnut laminate for improved resonance and durability. A much more comfortable improvement over the previous 24.75” – 25.2” layout. The 15.75” radius, roasted maple fretboard has 24 stainless steel frets, a 1 11/16” Graph Tech® Black TUSQ nut, and Luminlay side dots for easy play and navigation. A six inline, tilt back headstock improves the guitars sustain and completes the overall, aero look and feel of the guitar.
The heart of this guitar is the Fishman Fluence Open Core Modern humbuckers. Featuring black nickel blades, these humbuckers deliver powerful, precise tones suitable for any genre. A single master volume knob controls overall output while a push/pull tone control combines with an upgraded 5-way selector switch to provide players with a variety of tones to accommodate most any musical endeavor. Each string has its own individual hardtail bridge and saddle which feeds through the body for precise intonation, improved sustain, and greater articulation. At the headstock, each string is anchored by the Cort staggered locking tuners.
A set of D’Addario EXL110 strings, a spoke nut hotrod truss rod, and a gig bag complete this guitar, making it suitable for all playing styles, at all playing levels, in any imaginable environment.
For more information, please visit the NAMM Booth 5102 or online at www.CortGuitars.com
Street Price: $1399.99 USD.
Think you’ve got what it takes to work on the Acoustic Music Works sales floor?
You’ve gotta have serious chops to toil in a music instrument store—but not the kind you’d think.
We’ve all heard those classic phrases: “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life!” or Elbert Hubbard’s “Work to become, not to acquire,” which is, I think, more zen than any of us have time to process these days. This column is about that little thing that every single guitarist has asked themselves: What if I worked in a guitar shop?
Here are some tips and insights from the first 13 years of a long career in the instrument game.
Home Base: If you live in an area with a great music store … congrats! You’re at an advantage! Big-box stores have muscled out a lot of brick-and-mortar shops over the last 20 years, and if you and your community have kept a small-to-large music business going, I applaud you! Even if you just go in for strings and picks, the folks at that shop know you, and they’re happier than you can imagine that you continue to choose them. This is, most likely, the shop that you are interested in working for.
Are You Guys Hiring? No. (Or Are We?): In 2010, I was a scrappy avant-folk fingerpicking guitarist who managed an art supply store about four blocks from Acoustic Music Works (now my forever home) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I would dip over on my lunch breaks, playing guitars from Collings and Huss & Dalton, instruments that I could only dream of owning. Steve Miklas, the store owner, acknowledged my used Larrivée OM as a solid purchase and encouraged me to play anything I wanted in the shop. He would occasionally ask me pointed questions about my art store gig, feeling out my retail chops—the chops that matter when the music instrument industry is how you make your living.
Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a great player! It’s about digging the instruments on a deep level, desperately wanting to know how they work. Let’s just call it “passion.” Steve could tell that I was way more into guitars than the average customer, plus we got along great and he knew that I could handle a retail environment. He hatched a plan to steal me from my art store job, and we’ve been at it together ever since!
Dealing with People: This is the worst and the best part. Customers are going to come at you from every direction and from all corners of the world. Having retail chops also means having a somewhat thick skin. When you get an email that just says “BEST PRICE?” you can’t spend a lot of time thinking, “Now that just sounds rude. Why didn’t they ask me about the guitar? Why didn’t they introduce themselves?” Tell them, and move on. There are more of these dispassionate interactions than ever, but you can’t let it break you, because you need to save up energy to answer the good questions, offer guidance, and transfer enthusiasm for the products that you’re selling.
Wearing All Those Hats: Some shops have bigger crews and a clear delineation of jobs, while many have smaller crews where employees do a number of jobs. My official title is shop manager but my jobs include lead luthier/tech, photographer, videographer, copywriter/copy editor, social media coordinator, web designer, shipping and receiving, graphic design, and lowly store clerk who rings up sales at the register. If you excel in any of those areas, let your skills be known to the powers that be. The majority of transactions occur online, and fan bases crop up around a shop's YouTube channel, so sharpen those Photoshop, Lightroom, and Premiere Pro skills and they will serve you very well.
“Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a great player! It’s about digging the instruments on a deep level, desperately wanting to know how they work.”
If you’re vying for a job on the tech/repair side of things, have a portfolio ready, including before/after pics, a log of the jobs you’ve done, instruments you’ve built, and whatever formal training you have. An applicant who says, “I’d love to learn to work on guitars,” means we have to devote a lot of attention to bringing them up to speed, versus getting an immediate contribution for the good of the shop. Like most jobs, the deeper the resume, the higher the paycheck.
That’s the crash course, but there’s so much more! This is a dream job in a lot of ways, but burnout is always over the horizon if one isn’t careful. Like any job, it’s important to keep a work/life balance and approach things with positivity. It definitely ain’t sitting around jamming with your buddies all day! Feel free to reach out with any questions, but sorry, we’re not hiring right now. Or are we?