My guitar student thinks Jimi Hendrix is terrible!

Sorry, but I don't get these "he wasn't very good" comments or "it's subjective to say he wasn't very good." No it isn't. That's just stupid. As stated by an earlier poster, it's okay to not like his music, but if you think he wasn't very good, you probably know very little about music or musicianship. Just like singers.....I heard someone say Paul Rodgers was "nothing more than a bar room belter." If you think that, I can guarantee that you lack knowledge and / or are horrible yourself. No good singer would ever say that. Same goes for the Hendrix comments. No good musician would ever say that.

 

Accidentally posted twice and deleted.....

 

Nah... I can play them I'm just sick of the blues pentatonic scale... bores the **** out of me.

 

Lots of angst and arguments here. I'm rather particular about what I listen to and play. Jimi is on my list of things to attempt. I'm a wanna be more interested in playing than giging. I give all my faves a rest every now and again. Jimi blew every body away at that time. His interpretation of the SSB was his art and what he felt at the time. I didn't and still don't care for it. But Jimi got it recorded and released. There is a version of the SSB on You Tube played by a GI in Afghanistan, pointy guitar and Crate amp dimed. Oh did I say during the locals prayer hour. Dude roared thru it but played it straight. Jimi having served and been there had it his way, and played as such. Hats off to Jimi and the GI. Thank you for your service.
I routinely rotate what I'm listening to. One month it'll be Jimi, Stones, Beatles, and what ever is playing on the new music station or Pandora. Don't forget Brad Paisley, or other country or jazz pickers. Drop Kick Murphy's, Social Distortion. There's all sorts of players out there. Please don't discount or belittle Jimi's contributions as they arn't to your tastes.

 

By the by. Thanks for the vid of Jimi and and Cream.

 

My best guess is that "he wasn't very good" comes from adoration of automaton players who are measured by speed and precision.

Aside from the purely mechanical, how else can we as the masses collectively measure the artist?

 

OMG, I replied to the wrong post. I am so very, very sorry. I put up your post when I meant to reply to another person. I am truly sorry.

 

I wouldn't want to try to convince anyone of the merits of the music of Steve Vai, but only to say, he gives emphasis to the 7th track on his releases (long play cd or what have you), and on his latest, "Modern Primitive" that track is titled "And We Are One" which describes a kind of mystical union between himself and his wife. I'm not much of an avid listener of the guitar solo, but in this tune it portrays the feeling of the subject matter. It's moving, as they say.

I think what's special about Vai, among many things, is that later in life he has put away the pyrotechnics of youth and concentrated on composition. I find his musical language very quirky, almost eccentric. Live, he performs without compromise (wild stuff, self expression rather than technical display).

Long before visiting this thread, I noticed a lot of Hendrix influence in his playing; I'm in the process of collecting all of his music on cd. I don't do MP3: that compressed format is killing recorded music, in my opinion.

 

Steve Vai and Influences:

The Partridge Family – The Partridge Family Album (1970)

“I was maybe 10 or 11 years old, and at that time there were no videos or anything. If you liked rock music, there weren’t that many chances of seeing bands on TV. But suddenly, there was The Partridge Family show, and here was this sort-of rock band on TV each week. I was enamoured.

“Danny Bonaduce was the one I resonated with. He was about my age. He played an instrument with strings on it, and there was a curly white cord that went into his amp. It was all so incredible to me. I thought, ‘If this kid could do it, why can't I? Why can't I play the guitar?’ I got that record and I loved it. It's really catchy music, especially if you’re a young kid.”

 

Saw Vai with Zappa in 81' ir 82'. He was a completely different player then!! He was 22 and playing with Zappa.

 

Yes, Zappa was a mentor to Vai. Don't want to derail this thread, but I missed out completely on Frank. What was he like?

 

Thank you sir. May I please have another

 

Aaaaand full circle.....


Does anyone know who 14 year old student's favorite guitar player is?

 

I disagree...I believe it's the teachers responsibility to nurture whatever direction the student chooses to pursue.
When you were learning, if somebody tried to shove something down you're throat that you weren't interested in, I'll bet the 14 y/o you would have resisted with everything you had....the student needs to be exposed to a variety and then make his/her own choices as to the right path for them. IMO

 

So, it's been ten days since the OP told us about this - has there been another lesson since then and if so has the kid given any further insight into his views?

 

Nice. Sure miss Jimi's singing on that one

 

they guy from nickelback, and i hate him too.

 

Happy to agree to disagree here, but I think you are making some assumptions on what I'm suggesting. I'm not saying you need to teach students Hendrix or suggest they play like him if it's not their style, I'm saying a guitar student thinking "Hendrix is terrible" is akin to a physics student saying Newton sucked because he didn't understand quantum mechanics. You are misunderstanding / disrespecting the history of your instrument. Quantum mechanics came after Newton's time, but it could not have come about without him. If the subject of Hendrix comes up with a student learning electric guitar, they should at least understand what Jimi brought to the table and why it mattered. If it's not their bag of tea, that's fine, but they should understand the history. Again, happy to agree to disagree here, but thought it worth clarifying my point.

Also, and as a teacher, I'd warn them against outright/naive dismissal of anyone as "terrible". There's way too much of that among guitarists.

 

"A force of nature." Perfectly stated.

 

It's from the 'Where The Wild Things Are' DVD, which I have and play a lot.