Jimi Hendrix Purple Haze
Dave Bartleby
Joe Nelson
History of Rock
2 December 2012
Musical Structure Analysis
Jimi Hendrix “Purple Haze”
The three piece band that is the Jimi Hendrix Experience packed an explosive musical punch with “Purple Haze”, a track that is notable for its profound musical improvisation. Yet at the same time, the song does retain many supportive qualities that accompany the improvisation, such as a consistent bass groove, and a drum part which closely follows a pattern of cyclicity as it progresses throughout the song. It’s also worth noting that Jimi’s guitar always has that rough, edgy guitar sound to it and that the drums encompass a dry quality in sound both in the drums and cymbals used and the bass has that traditional classic rock sound that chugs along throughout the track.
The song itself begins by Jimi strumming alternating guitar chords with the drums shortly entering into the mix, followed by the entrance of the bass guitar. The instrumental intro is an enduring one in which all of the instruments kind of jam together in a sense, and this sense of jam (or groove) is primarily replicated throughout most of the song save for the solos. Soon, the group bridges into the first verse, which is where Jimmy’s first vocalizations can be heard, the drums maintain a cyclistic feel playing two a bar pattern that concludes with a fill, and the bass remains simple but funky. All of the verses end with a short break, then transition into the next iteration of the verse. After the second verse, the first demonstration of soloing is heard on the track as Jimi begins to fiddle around with the distortion and feedback of his guitar which culminate to produce a unique aura of sounds. After a short musical interlude in which Jimi will occasionally mutter ooh’s and aah’s, the band bridges to the third verse which is then followed by the second solo effort of the song. Jimi’s guitar gets a little bit wilder and the drums become more expressive but the bass remains
Joe Nelson
History of Rock
2 December 2012
Musical Structure Analysis
Jimi Hendrix “Purple Haze”
The three piece band that is the Jimi Hendrix Experience packed an explosive musical punch with “Purple Haze”, a track that is notable for its profound musical improvisation. Yet at the same time, the song does retain many supportive qualities that accompany the improvisation, such as a consistent bass groove, and a drum part which closely follows a pattern of cyclicity as it progresses throughout the song. It’s also worth noting that Jimi’s guitar always has that rough, edgy guitar sound to it and that the drums encompass a dry quality in sound both in the drums and cymbals used and the bass has that traditional classic rock sound that chugs along throughout the track.
The song itself begins by Jimi strumming alternating guitar chords with the drums shortly entering into the mix, followed by the entrance of the bass guitar. The instrumental intro is an enduring one in which all of the instruments kind of jam together in a sense, and this sense of jam (or groove) is primarily replicated throughout most of the song save for the solos. Soon, the group bridges into the first verse, which is where Jimmy’s first vocalizations can be heard, the drums maintain a cyclistic feel playing two a bar pattern that concludes with a fill, and the bass remains simple but funky. All of the verses end with a short break, then transition into the next iteration of the verse. After the second verse, the first demonstration of soloing is heard on the track as Jimi begins to fiddle around with the distortion and feedback of his guitar which culminate to produce a unique aura of sounds. After a short musical interlude in which Jimi will occasionally mutter ooh’s and aah’s, the band bridges to the third verse which is then followed by the second solo effort of the song. Jimi’s guitar gets a little bit wilder and the drums become more expressive but the bass remains