Does size really matter?

Does size really matter? Is bigger better?

What about when it comes to playing the guitar? Does size really matter?

Jimi Hendrix had large hands and long fingers from photos and recollections of the

people who worked side by side with him in the studio.

Eddie Kramer remarked that Jimi got so much sound out of the guitar. I think that

had something to do with his gear, sheer talent and vision. How much of a role did size

matter here?

Chas Chandler, Jimi’s first producer, once said it was incredible to watch him play up

close. The way he seamlessly switched between rhythm and lead. The man had big

hands.

Look at keyboard players. They employ 8 fingers and 2 thumbs and we guitar players

traditionally only use 4. (I’m sorry after 10 minutes of Stanley Jordan I’m done).

Jimi used 4 fingers and his thumb which he would hook around the top of the neck

to great effect. He was able to fret bass notes on his 6th string and play melodies on the

top ones. I think this is probably the single most beautiful aspect of his guitar technique.

Little Wing, The Wind cries Mary and Castles in the Sand are primary examples. A lot of

people simply associate him with screaming guitar solos, burning his guitar at Monterey

or The Star Spangled banner at Woodstock.

Fact is the man was a master at R&B rhythm guitar. He knew and played alongside the

pioneers of this style of music. He was right there from the ground up.

The Poet and the Hippie

One of Jimi's biggest influences was Bob Dylan. Hendrix kept a book of Dylan's lyrics in his travel bag, put curlers in his hair to mimic his idol’s look and wore a Bob Dylan button pinned to his jacket. Just the mere mention of Dylan’s name and the man got excited.

Listening to the original and Jimi's version back to back is an interesting exercise. I always found Bob Dylan an unlikely influence like what Clapton was to Van Halen.
His interpretation of this song is considered by many to be one of his greatest achievements. Coming off the third studio album, Electric Ladyland, by this point Hendrix had complete artist control over his music and how it would be translated from the studio floor to tape. Some of Jimi's main guitar influences show up here in the Watchtower solos. There’s a lot of Albert King’s influence on these solos.

There are many beautiful bends to work on here from the intro solo. The pickup in bar 4 bending up to the D# or the 9 sets it up. He grabs the listener’s attention right away by putting the emphasis on an extension. I like to play it unbent, in other words the D# on my high E string at the 11th fret as an exercise or actually play the whole thing unbent, even play it on the piano where you can't bend. Then I'll go back and play it with the bends. I see it in a different way. Jimi's vibrato is beautiful and his tone is killing. Each phase ends and it sparkles with that amazing vibrato. 4 bars of music, short and to the point. And playing A# over an A chord in bar 8? Works for me. When you play with this much conviction I guess you make a Dorian lick work over natural minor. I always wondered if he meant to do that.

I like to think he did and either way it's a great opening statement. That's the intro solo and it keeps getting better. I've listened to this song over and over and it still sounds fresh even today. The man had magic in his fingers, the way he touched the strings he must have had a direct link from his heart to his head and onto the guitar.