As Thomas makes clear at the start of the video, this is one of the best guitar pieces ever written! It's beautifully played, it's melodic and it's basically just the E minor pentatonic (with a few additions of course!). There is so much to learn!
The solo is mainly based around the Eb minor pentatonic scale shape 1, but we also hint at a few other sounds along the way. Here are the main scale shapes that you will hear in the main part of the solo:
Towards the end of the solo, you will start to hear a more chordal based approach from Jimi Hendrix. This is the idea that Hendrix is assigning a pentatonic shape with the chord, and allows him to follow the chord changes more closely (rather than just play over the track using the minor pentatonic). There are 4 clear chords with 4 clear licks. We use the Gb major to E major, then B major to Db major. Below we have shown clearly the chords shapes and pentatonics used underneath them.
This intro is the perfect example of just how good Hendrix was. For every single chord we have a new lick and a new rhythm, and it is a very hard intro to master. In fact, if you find yourself going through learning it 'parrot fashion', ie just learning the notes like a tab, without understanding how they relate to the chord... We would highly recommend tackling this course first: Learn The Hendrix Way. It's a 3 part course that will build up your skills to get you ready to tackle this intro properly, and fully understand it.
Below are some of the main chords that are being played with the scales attached to them for the licks. We've also drawn out the basic chord shapes that you can use without the licks if you want to just strum along to the song. The order of chords are Em, G, Am, Em. Then Bm, Bb, Am, C, Gsus2, Fsus2, C, D. The loop! Good luck!
All done?
Congratulations
You've now completed Song Jukebox: Jimi Hendrix and taken a huge step forwards in your guitar playing journey.
Feel free to bask in glory for a while, or go ahead and try another course if you're hungry for more.