The Jimi Hendrix Experience
VOODOO CHILD (SLIGHT RETURN)
It’s difficult for listeners born since 1970 to grasp how monumental this was, because we’ve grown up surrounded by Hendrixisms. Most of us can’t pinpoint exactly when we first heard a wah-wah. Hendrix’s whammy bar freakout at the end of Voodoochild sounds spectacular now! In 1970 it sounded like the work of someone who could literally chop down mountains with the edge of his hand.
On Voodoochild, Hendrix demonstrated that the wah pedal is not merely a tone modifier, but a musical instrument. Playing guitar-plus-wah is a different skill from playing guitar alone. It requires new co-ordination, and offers new expressive possibilities in return. Like any newly invented instrument, there were no how-to guides available for guitar-plus-wah. Sure, the inventors had an idea of how it would be used, but it was down to musicians to discover and exploit the creative potential. Jimi wasn’t the first or only wah pioneer (he bought his wah after watching Frank Zappa), but he mined its possibilities so thoroughly that his playing still provides the manual 50 years later.
There are two principal ways to use the wah: you can rock your foot in time, providing rhythmic emphasis, or you can use the wah expressively, giving each note the right tone quality and emphasis. Jimi mastered both. Voodoochile opens with muted rhythmic strumming, with the wah rocking forward on each beat. Because the guitar riff is syncopated, the last note of the second bar lands when the wah is back, and swells as the pedal travels forward. This scratching inspired Isaac Hayes’ Themefromshaft and is central to the funk guitar toolkit.
Jimi used a Vox Clyde Mccoy wah but the pedal you use is less important than the expression you put in. As he goes into the solo, Hendrix demonstrates the second type of wah use, making the guitar sing. In particular, he exploited the wah’s ability to change the tone of a note after it has been played, recalling the way great vocalists manipulate the resonance of sustained notes. The pedal also allowed him to zero in on the precise frequency to create harmonic feedback, a trick not featured on the studio version but used triumphantly live.
Hendrix also exploded the distinction between the rhythmic and expressive varieties of wah. At 0:42 where he pumps the pedal in a triplet rhythm while gradually releasing a string bend. At 2:22 he repeats this triplet rhythm while mashing a chord, accentuated by Eddie Kramer’s mix panning it between the speakers. This was wah for both groove and emotion at the same time.
To nail Hendrix’s wah mastery, you’ll need to develop your limb independence. First of all, learn to tap a constant quarter note rhythm with your foot, regardless of what rhythm your hands play. It might help to start by vocalising the guitar part so you can work out which notes coincide with your foot taps. Once this is second nature, you can try other rhythms, like Hendrix’s triplets. After you’ve developed that independence, accentuating particular notes for expression should feel relatively easy.