Legendary guitar virtuoso for all time - did Jimi Hendrix really know music theory?

Jimi Hendrix is a name that is forever etched in the pages of world music... A true virtuoso, Hendrix realised his ideas spontaneously but confidently. His career lasted only four years, but even that was enough to leave behind a legacy that epitomised the era of an entire generation....

Before answering the question "Did Jimi Hendrix know notes and music theory?", we suggest to remember: how the legendary virtuoso's formation took place!

Jimi Hendrix and the introduction to music ...

Now a legend of the 20th century, Jimi Hendrix was one of the first to contribute to the explosive growth in popularity of the electric guitar!

Hendrix bought his first acoustic guitar for $5. And immediately he started playing like a man possessed... Jimi mastered playing with his right and left hands to perfection. Music was his only salvation: at the age of 9 Hendrix's parents divorced, and at 15 his mother died. The road to fame was full of trials...

Formation of The Jimi Hendrix Experience

After the army, Jimi begins his journey as a concert artist. He tours, accompanying such stars as The Impressions, The Valentinos, Sam Cooke,...

In the autumn of 1966, Hendrix met The Animals bassist Ches Chandler, who helped him put together the band The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

They started rehearsing, touring, recording... First the debut single "Hey, Joe", then "Purple Haze". They were followed by the album Are You Experienced?, which was second only to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band!

In 1967, every show of the band was a real thrill for the audience, largely because of Jimi's extravagant outfits and spectacular stunts on stage, so unfamiliar to British audiences. Is it worth reminding how in March 1967 he set fire to a guitar on stage for the first time?

Already in the middle of 1968, Hendrix's performances became less extravagant. However, the music never ceased to delight and surprise the fans! Today, after many years, it has become clear: Electric Ladyland is the pinnacle not only of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but also of world rock music....

But soon everything changed... Because of the growing hysteria around the band, Hendrix was not himself: more and more often the performances of The Jimi Hendrix Experience turned out to be a disappointment for the fans... And yet the guitarist's final appearance on stage in the UK at The Isle of Wight festival was a truly spectacular spectacle....

The death of a legend

On the morning of 18 September 1970, Jimi Hendrix was found dead in his room at the Samarkand Hotel in London. One of the greatest guitarists of all time left this world ...

Later, Monica Dannemann - Hendrix's girlfriend who was with him that fateful night - would say that she was "afraid to call an ambulance because of the drugs scattered all over the room..."

Jimi died at the age of 27, choking on vomit after taking 9 sleeping pills. He didn't get to be a father, but he left behind music that, like his memory, will live on forever.

So did Jimi Hendrix know sheet music and music theory?

Jimi Hendrix was a virtuoso and essentially self-taught. He only learnt by listening to records or attending concerts. In his youth he liked to chat with blues musicians who taught him many tricks! But if you compare Jimi Hendrix and modern guitarists - Jimi had very little skill... But clearly not talent!

Despite his apparent lack of training, Hendrix played some truly incredible music... He may have lacked the knowledge to describe what he did with a guitar. But that didn't stop him from creating something amazing, incendiary....

It really surprises and delights me, but in modern music theory textbooks you can find the dominant chord of 7-dieu 9 called the Hendrix chord!

And yes: you only have to listen to "Villanova Junction" to realise: Jimi may not have known the theory, but he understood it perfectly... He plays in a minor key, and the beginning sounds like you've walked into a 1940s jazz club! Hendrix wasn't just repeating the tricks of blues musicians, he was opening up new territory...

"I believe Jimi Hendrix 'revisited' music theory," Eric Clapton once commented.