The Wind Cries Mary Guitar Lesson

Before we even get into the video, I want to say congrats for even starting to learn this song. Any Jimi Hendrix song is tough to learn and tough to teach. This is because Jimi is an improviser. Even some of his greatest, most well-known riffs were complete improvised takes that just stuck!

Keep this in the back of your mind when learning any Jimi Hendrix track, including The Wind Cries Mary, as we don't necessarily want to learn it as Hendrix plays it note for note, simply learnt he key bits, the best licks and learn how to apply these to your own playing. This is how Dion approaches the lesson, so with that said, let's dive in…

The Wind Cries Mary Chords

So, let's kick off with the main opening riff, which is so recognisable! The whole tune is based around the key of F major, although in typical Hendrix style, this does tend to modulate. The whole intro is Jimi leading up chromatically the F, first as powerchords, then as major chord fragments.

So, those opening chords are known as "inverted powerchords", as they have the 5th on the lowest string, rather than the root. It adds an element of richness to the sound and works brilliantly here. We work up chromatically from Eb to F, and then we do the same again with the major chord fragments.

As you can see from the bottom line of chord shapes, the Eb, E and F are built from the G shape CAGED chord, but we only play the first inversion (starting from the A string). Dion talks about this in detail in the video, so be sure to check that out. There's then a very cool little lick based around that F major fragment, using the pentatonic box 1, like this:

The Verse Section

As we move into the verse, we will play these chords: | C Bb | F | (X3) | G | Bb | Intro | G | Bb | Intro | Licks |. Ok, so this may look a little confusing, but basically it's the first two bars round 3 times, then the next section, which includes us playing through the intro and opening licks again. We're going to play all of those shapes as E shape chords, and ideally with your thumb over the neck to make it the "Jimi way"! No worries if you can't, you don't have to do it like that!

Now, once you've strummed through these chords simply, following along with Dion in the video, we can talk a little about embellishments. The idea here is that you have the E shape, which is surrounded by the pentatonic box 2. You can do any embellishment you like/know, and apply it to any of these chords. Here is the example Dion gave in the video:

Finally, for the verse, it's important to note that when you get to the G and Bb section, you want to go to your 16th note strumming as shown here:

The Solo chords…

Before we get to the solo itself (see below) let's outline the chords for this part, as it's important to be able to play and identify those to understand the solo better. The chords are | F Eb | Bb Ab | F Eb | Bb Ab | F Eb | Bb Ab | G | Bb | Db | F | F | , so not exactly too few!

The Wind Cries Mary Solo

This solo is an absolute masterpiece! The way Hendrix plays is very considerate of the chord underneath, and is almost a jazz way to approach soloing. In this solo, you need to have memorised the chords above as only you will truly understand it. Dion takes you through it in the video, note for note, and my job here is to explain each lick theoretically for you.

Lick One-Three

The first three licks | F Eb | Bb Ab | F Eb | Bb Ab | F Eb | Bb Ab |, and as this fits perfectly into the key of F major, we are using the F major pentatonic scale. These are the shapes you need to visualise as you work through the lick with Dion:

Lick Four

The next lick is over | G | Bb |, and we're using the G major pentatonic over the G, and the Bb major over the Bb. This is classic Hendrix, to simply move the shapes and ideas alongside the chord movement. Here are those shapes:

Lick Five

The next lick is over | Db | and we're using the Db minor pentatonic here! This is where Jimi's blues influence really takes over, as we're very used to playing minor pentatonic over major chords in that genre. You have a bit of a free run here too… You can either copy exactly what Hendrix does here (which is very hard to hear) or insert your own minor pentatonic lick!

Lick Six

The next lick is over | F | F | and we return to the F major pentatonic, using pretty much the same shapes as before. You can see those here:

Conclusion

What an epic track this is! Please do take your time, and keep returning to it over and over, especially as your guitar skills continue to improve. Each time you return to the track, you will see that you have more understanding and more playability. You will be able to add more licks and make the whole song come alive. What I'm saying is… This is not a learn once and done, this is a song that will evolve with you as your playing improves. Good luck, and speak soon!