Jimmy Hendrix
On his first album in 1967, Jimi Hendrix showed the world what an electric guitar can really do. Taking new and radical elements of the guitar such as feedback and distortion to newer and more radical heights, Hendrix was breaking some serious ground. He discovered that the electric guitar can take on as many textures and colors as the guitarist is willing and able to play. The amazing aspect of the his music was that no one but Hendrix was able to produce these sounds at this time. Some argue that no one since his death in 1970 has been able to play the guitar at Hendrix's level. The title track "Are You Experienced?" is groundbreaking as it starts with Hendrix turning the k
Halfway through the piece, the drums fade out as Hendrix shows his guitar skills with a guitar solo lead. The notes have no steady rhythm, and the high pitched distorted notes distinguish it from a bass or acoustic guitar. The fact that he did this without the existence of metal or rap at the time is what makes is mind boggling. Natural coinciding of rhythm of music and speech to shape a melody is called prosody. I personally can not argue against this, but I do know that his innovative approach to guitar was definitely different from the rest which has made him a legend in music history. This sound is widely popular in a modern genre of music today called rap. This song sets such a fantasy land atmosphere, that many would accuse him of being on drugs at the time. Everything sounds as if it fits which separated him from the rest. Hendrix slides right into a confident groove punctuated by a guitar chord at the end of each rhythm. The music in "Are You Experienced?" is pretty basic, consisting of just drums, bass guitar and electric guitar. The instruments drive the structure of the piece and the lyrics/singing conforms to this. Good song writing usually requires the artist to set music to form. His recording device consisted of only using tape, and furthermore playing it back through to create some of his sounds. Hendrix somehow manages to combine elements of rock, blues, jazz, funk, metal, and rap without sounding ridiculous.
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