Customer Reviews

Learn to Play the Songs From Are You Experienced? DVD Jimi Hendrix

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Let me start by stating that I read tab pretty well, I've been studying with an excellent instructor for about a year, and I'm a real bug about getting the stuff I play to sound 'right'. By right, I mean that it needs to have at least the same feel and close phrasing - doesn't have to be mechanically note for note. But, sometimes, to capture the feel of a multitrack recording with a single guitar you have to make allowances for the exactness. Still, it has to sound right, and sound good.

Secondly, this deserves more than 5 stars.

I've got several different tab sources on Hendrix, a DVD by another (excellent) instructor, and have been working on a couple of Jimi tunes. Thought I had at least the scaled-back versions down pretty good. I've watched most of this set once-through now, and it left my jaw on the floor. The richness of the detail blew me a-way. By the time you're through the 2nd or 3rd song in the set, you'll be glad they chopped them up into measure and gave you half-speed demos so you wouldn't miss any detail. Even the rhythm parts need to be slowed down so you can see what is going on. As for not having tab - heck, go get it. Then you'll have the best of both worlds (but this world is better, trust me!).

I grew up with Hendrix music; I know the stuff in my head, almost by heart. But the theory explanations by Velvert Turner combined with the dead-on normal and half-speed split-screen demos by Andy are a goldmine for what they reveal.

How the music is phrased is a HUGE part of the sound, and you're not going to get that from just the tab. Seeing it performed here, with close-up fretwork and the split inset screen for the picking and strumming gives you that. That's hard to find, and heaven knows why anyone would knock it.

The delivery in the set feels choppy at times because of breaking the songs down a few measures at a time. But the sonic landscape of Jimi's work is so rich and thick that I don't see how else they could do it and still keep our heads from exploding! Bear in mind that many tab sources you're going to get are essentially going to be the "easy guitar" version of these songs, not the real deal details with full and half-speed demos in digestible pieces.

As for getting it from a concert - fuggedaboudit! Besides the period quality problems with most Hendrix footage, you have to realize that there are problems with the directorial idea of what makes for good entertainment. That usually conflicts with what makes for a good instructional source. For comparison, go rent SRV's Live at the El Macambo and see how much you can glean of how to play Stevie from that, even though it was capture with much better technology and much more recently. Or, get "Lightning in a Bottle" and see if you can figure out much about the masterful acoustic version of "Can't Be Satisfied" that Buddy Guy plays. Concert footage was not shot to teach you how to play, and there is NO freakin' way this should dismissed in favor of old concert footage as a training aid. You'd need your head examined if you did that.

I'd strongly recommend the DVD version of this set so that you can go directly to your favorite section. Also, some DVD players will let you step through at varying speeds and loop a given segment over and over. Trust me - on some of those Jimi solos you're going to want to have those extra tech tools handy!

I simply am AMAZED that anyone panned this set. It is a gem of source material for anyone that truly wants to play Hendrix so it will should like it should. Can't imagine WHAT they were expecting to be so dissappointed by it. So far as I know there isn't anything else out there like it. If there is - Axis or Ladyland - I WANT it.

Let me start saying that I had used Instructional VHS/DVDs for a couple of years including the "MVP In The Style Of" series and some other ones featuring modern guitar virtuosos like Al DiMeola, Paul Gilbert and Eric Johnson. The MVP series is crap, but was one of the first ones available. The others are good but follow a presentation that only acomplished guitarrist will benifit the most. Imagine going to a one Day workshop with your favorite guitarrist.

This DVD is the Best one yet. You have two great instructors, one playing the tunes, one explaining the tunes. They cover all the songs from the are you experience album and all the parts of the songs: Intros, Verses, Chorus, Solo, etc. The explanations included some basic theoric explanitions of the scales and roots of the songs or passages inside the songs as well as right hand, left hand techniques need to acomplish the sounds.

If you are an advanced beginner, know some basic theory, right/left hand techniques and understand the minor and major pentatonic scales you will benefit greatly from this DVD.

Those Hendrix fans who are intermidate and advanced guitarrist can probably incorporate some of these songs to their gigs in little time!

The only con that ther is is that there is no tablature, but you can get the Tab Book from amazon for around $20. Yet I had the book before I got this DVD but was very diffucult to use as nothing compares to actualy seeing some one playing the songs to get a grasp of the right/left hand techniques which is somethig difficult to do from a Tab Book.

I've bought other Hendrix lessons that play "in the style" of Jimi and was greatly disappointed. Heck, I could have made better ones than those and those aren't approved by Jimi's estate. This DVD was sanctioned by the Experience Hendrix, LLC Company and for good reason. It is the greatest translation of Jimi's songs on the planet....bar none! I am now proud to say that as a direct result of this DVD I am starting my own Jimi Hendrix Tribute Band called Are You Experienced. This DVD nails every single note with unerring accuracy to the point it had me shaking in my boots to see that some human could actually ever duplicate Jimi's songs with such total exactness. For me, watching Andy Aledort play the notes fast and then slow was all I needed. That's the beauty of DVDs! Just hit pause, jump back a second or two and no tapes wearing out and rewinding. What's so difficult about that? If they were to go into an "analysis" of Jimi's rapid fire lightening solos for 17 songs as Lloyd mentions, it would take many DVDs at probably a cost of several thousand dollars. Even so, for me being a Hendrix fanatic, I would have gladly payed over a grand for this DVD alone because after 30 years of practicing these songs by ear I have never been able to duplicate these songs to this level and now I can! Every part, chord, intro, solo and outro is there note for note. There is also brief analysis before each song and part introduced by Velvert Turner and then played by Andy Aledort with fantastic brief footage of Jimi playing live in between that I've never seen before. That amazing footage was probably supplied by Jimi's estate but don't quote me on that. I went out and bought the tabs companion book as well, but having never learned tabs and playing by ear for the past 30 years it all looks Greek to me. Not knocking tabs and Andy himself encouraged me to learn them, but I'd rather watch and hear somebody play something any day than read tabs and not understand the feeling or intensity something is played at. That's right...Andy himself. I wrote to Guitar World where he is an editor and he immediately answered all my questions about equipment used etc. which was nothing out of the ordinary that is already plastered all over the net about equipment Jimi used such as a Fender Strat, a Marshall Plexi, an Octavia, Clyde McCoy Wah, Univibe, etc. The majority of the sound however, comes from the intensity, syntax and execution at which the notes are played and that's what this DVD nails down to the tee. Lloyd also mentioned that you might as well go out and buy a Hendrix concert DVD and watch Jimi playing the notes. Good luck! Almost every Hendrix concert ever filmed is poor quality, dark, grainy, focuses on his strumming hand instead of his neck playing fingers or his feet during his most killer solos, with the exception of Woodstock which shows a few great riffs in bits and pieces. If you want to learn Jimi's songs note for note, this is the factotum DVD to get. If tabs are your bag, get the companion book. However, get the DVD if you want to see and hear it being played firsthand, which is almost mandatory if you want to try and duplicate Hendrix exactly, this DVD will definitely show you how to get REALLY Experienced!

I am quite let down by advertising the inclusion of backing tracks to sell this DVD. It is also printed on the DVD back cover.

Quote: "There are backing tracks to each song so you can play along."

Uh....where are they?

I have written to Hal Leonard asking this very question and so far no response. The phrase; false advertising comes to the mind. As a consumer I find little to appreciate in being misled. Perhaps there is a good explanation, but I don't know what it is. A response from the publisher would be helpful. It should be rectified.

Based on this issue and since there is only one rating system in place I am giving this DVD one star.

Despite that, based on Andy Aledort's virtuosity and Velvet Turner's efforts, the attention to detail and accuracy, this is a remarkable DVD.

The song renditions include split screen for right hand. Rhythm parts for the solo work are also included. Want to learn how to play the backwards solo from Are You Experienced? Andy shows you how to emulate the backwards solo playing normally. Remarkable actually. Andy Aledort's work here is truly a treasure and this DVD is a must have for anyone interested in exploring Jimi's approach to guitar.

I have found only one small nitpicking complaint. The camera angle on the left hand is off just enough to make it difficult to pick up what is going on sometimes with the fingering. You can still get it but I found it requires more effort.

Andy Aledort is an old hand at transcribing, and his work is always of a very high standard. His knowledge of Hendrix's work (as exhibited in a range of published Hendrix articles) is exceptional indeed.

Thus one wonders why he became involved in this DVD production. Only sections of the songs are taught, there is no notation (either standard or tablature), and Velvert Turner's stilted recitation of musical information from cue cards is annoying. Why is he even necessary? Great, he took instruction from Hendrix - but his name is rarely mentioned in Hendrix circles and he appears to be no musical authority on the man's music.

Aledort is an exceptionally talented guitar player, and the DVD would be of a much higher standard if he alone presented the material, as well as providing gear tips and notation. As it stands, large sections of the songs are left unexamined, leaving beginners entirely in the dark. The DVD also assumes one is adept at discerning complex finger placements from merely watching Aledort play each section. Even when played slowly, Hendrix's chord construction, rhythm stylings and solos require a good degree of musicianship from the student.

The material that IS presented is enjoyable to watch, but it falls far short in instructional terms. If you want to play the music of Hendrix, buy the transcription book to 'Are You Experienced?' and puzzle it out yourself. This DVD will only take you half way there, leaving you furiously disappointed in the end.

A shoddy release that Mr. Aledort should be somewhat ashamed of.

If you're looking to learn how to play songs from Are You Experienced, you're better off buying Andy Aledort's "Jimi Hendrix - A Step By Step Breakdown of His Guitar Styles and Techniques" book and CD for [PRICE]. The problem with this DVD is that while Andy obviously knows his stuff, he spends less than 5 minutes per song (they cram all 17 songs into 2 hours) and there's no real "analysis" of how to even play it. What's worse is that there's no on-screen transcription of what Andy is playing -- he just plays and you're expected to mimic what you see. You might as well get a Hendrix concert DVD and learn from that. A better idea would have been to package the book I mentioned above with this DVD.

I read the positive and negative reviews prior to ordering this DVD. I already own the Jimi Hendrix Experience tab book. What the tabs don't give you is the what I would call the "correct form".(Being a Novice Player). I have struggled with the lead to the Wind Cries Mary for a long time. Just getting this straightened out was woth the cost of this DVD. Hopefully Vekvert Turner is working on releasing another DVD with other Jimi Hendrix songs. I do highly recommend purchasing the Tabs in addition to this DVD. Between the book and the DVD you are sure to get it right. I am very glad I purchased this DVD.

It pains me to give only two stars to this slick dvd because in a lot of ways I really like it. The problem is the instruction style. I bought this to learn the solos. They spend next to zero time explaining what they are actually doing. For example, instead of saying "put your first finger on the seventh fret of the A string and slide down to the fifth fret of the A string", they simple play a portion of the song and then replay it again somewhat slower (which is still too fast for me.) During the solos, you can't tell exactly what the guitarist is doing. That got the rating to 3 stars in my opinion. I bumped it down to 2 stars because of the huge price tag.

On a more positive note, it is really cool to watch this guy play Hendrix (even if you can't ascertain everything he is doing.) Also, you can definitely pick up a few things that are very helpful. I eventually succeeded learning some Hendrix solos by using the Hal Leonard Hendrix Smash Hits book (comes with tabs and a CD.) I will say that after learning the solo by using the Leonard book tabs, and then returning to this dvd, I did find it more interesting for my purposes. However, trying to learn Hendrix solos using this dvd alone is very time consuming and frustrating.

I guess the bottom line is that this DVD is more of a refinement tool than anything else.

Though not as in depth and complete as Andy Aledort's coverage of the Axis:Bold as Love album, this Dvd does offer some insights and quick lessons to cover Hendrix's first LP. The narration by Velvet Turner sounds like he's reading it for the first time, but so what. The only real complaint is that this comparatively weak treatment is priced at 59.95. While Axis initially sold at 9.95, (now 14.95) it is quite complete and over 3 hours long. What's with dat? Anyway, you'll definitely glean some insight and learn a thing or two, even if you are.....er,Experienced...

It was a big mistake to include Velvert Turner in the release. He's a huge distraction who contributes little aside from awkwardly reading things obviously written for him. Andy Aledort is mute throughout the DVD but it's he who undoubtedly did all the work and he should have had the freedom to present this material as he saw fit. I guess Velvert is a family friend who knew Jimi at some point?

The DVD's really for entertainment and curiosity purposes.....