Poll: Be honest, who else cheats at playing Little Wing?

[NobodyReally]

Then watch the same video twice.

What a novel concept bro! Lol

 

[davidKOS]

Let's check this out again

and notice how big his thumb was

 

[92 Fiesta Red 62]

Does it *sound* right?

Then it *is* right.

Screw technique.

 

[Dadocaster]

I declare solidarity with the cheaters. For me, a song is a set of changes and a melody, sometimes with enough of a recognizable solo that it is important to the song. I care jack nothing about playing any song exactly as some other player played it. I do like to tip my hat to the original version by using some things close to the original, but not always.

Who cares if it's done with a precise imitation of technique or not?? In many cases, it was a technical limitation by the original player that caused the unique approach.

Little Wing is a kick ass song and is rightly revered and often played and it's usually great. That's it.

 

[Boneman68]

Oh come on, just play it your own way, that’s rock and roll. The idea is to entertain, not play note for note. (Well unless you need to for your own idiosyncrasies) but plenty of covers that are bigger hits than the original are not note for note copies. Just to get the feel of the melody and have fun playing is pretty satisfying.

 

[EC Strat]

As long as the note is fretted and played, it’s fine. I use barre chords on that song Thumb over requires you to really flex your index finger to fret notes on the B string and my finger doesn’t bend that far any longer

 

[crankmeister]

Elliott Smith once said:

“I don’t think that ‘not messing up’ is the point.”

Did I mention I love Elliott Smith?

 

[4pickupguy]

I cheat shamelessly. We still do Little Wing occasionally but its changed since we recorded this. Nowhere close to Jimi because simply can’t play like Jimi.

Little Wing

Our take on a classic by Jimi Hendrix. Turn it up Vocals by Chrissy Redwine Guitar (tele) Bass and Drum programming by Fletcher Redwine

on.soundcloud.com

 

[RaySachs]

I started trying to learn Little Wing when I was relatively new to playing way back when. I quickly realized I'd never do it any real justice, so I just learned the first maybe 10-12 measures of it, and just doing that, I understood what he was doing and how he got that sort of mellow combination of lead and rhythm sound, with all those hammer-ons, vibrato, slides, pull offs, etc. Which, as much as I love his screaming lead stuff, is really my favorite stuff that Hendrix did. And by the time I'd learned those first measure, I had enough of that style / technique under my fingers to be able to incorporate it into my own playing. And, by the time I'm done with it, it sounds like me anyway, NOTHING like Jimi, but it was a really valuable technique lesson for me.

At that point I wasn't really using my thumb much, but the more I played, the more I realized I had the reach to bring it in to play more, and so I do...

-Ray

 

[fretWalkr]

I think if Jimi walked into a club and heard someone copying him note for note, he would start looking for the exit

 

[CigBurn]

When I first learned Little Wing back in the 70's, I learned it like most people, by playing along with records until I got it sounding right. Of course, it was wrong, but it was plenty close enough. Tech has now provided us with tools to make it so much easier to learn things accurately, but I still revert to how I played it back then mostly. I do thumb-over on it but there's enough cheating everywhere else it just doesn't matter.

 

[Jimbo99]

Is it cheating if one plays a SRV track with the volume turned down on their guitar.

 

[amstratnut]

I learned it with thumb behind before I ever heard of thumb over. I cant really play thumb over anyway. I get by. I over play on the solo. Clear the room. And so on.

 

[Mohlman]

and notice how big his thumb was

Long as a horse's tail!

 

[davidKOS]

Long as a horse's tail!

Lots easier to use as a fretting finger!

I play balalaika and baglama saz...both use thumb-around as a basic technique - but the necks are a lot narrower than a 6 string guitar neck.

 

[davidKOS]

I think if Jimi walked into a club and heard someone copying him note for note, he would start looking for the exit

He had said that he heard people playing his material and even copying his mistakes!

 

[Stratafied]

What constitutes cheating?

Copying off the person next to you

 

[Stratafied]

I “cheat” on every song I play.

My philosophy is “Whatever works”.

I always had you pegged as a cheater

 

[Stratafied]

There’s a finger stretch in little wing that’s pretty difficult, I find SRV’s version easier.

 

[Nate D]

I don’t really play anything note for note. I like to put myself into tunes and just play the song. It’s gonna sound like me anyways.

I just sat down one day and figured out little wing and it’s miles off the Hendrix version but still sounds like the Hendrix version. The SRV version sounds like Hendrix, but it’s all SRV.

I like “inspired by” not “as played by” when it comes to a cover.