Chord Noodling “Little Wing” Style…
If you’ve ever been into a music store to try out a new guitar and wondered, “what the heck do I play?” I have the answer today.
I remember so well the first time I heard Hendrix play “Little Wing,” it just blew me away. I had never heard anything like it before and I absolutely knew that was going to be the coolest thing to learn.
But in “the good old days” there was no tab for the tune… I had to figure out the approach, not just the notes.
And that’s the most important thing about this style of playing – concentrate on choosing a chord progression and playing around it using pentatonic shapes. Do NOT concentrate on memorizing it note-for-note.
Heck, Jimi never played it the same way twice and there’s no reason you should either 
Downloads
This Video (MP4)Mac users should use the MP4 version to download the video
- This Video (WMV)
Windows users should use the WMV version to download this video.
The TAB for the example.This is the TAB for the example in the middle of the video
Awesome lesson Griff thank you so much have a great holiday.
I have the Little wing DVD. it was hard to learn. should have bought
BGU dvd before hand. i use to make my own eectric guitars from scratch. just bought the knecks. i see yoour playing an JAmMAn. good size head stock for more sustain. mine look like a dragons tail. there called DragonFire . use to seell them at hollywoog music. i would airbrush dragons and chinese charcters on them and used a laquer finish. i like the art work on your strat body. i only did 3 kits for a few people who wanted a strat body. thanks Griff for the recoup on the little wiing clip.
Have all the equipment that will keep me in,playing for a long time all I have 2. Is learn ,2 play it thanks Mr Hamblin this was phil.
They say there is no such thing as a stupid question but I might prove “they” wrong. Here goes: I see all these comments, I know how to respond. What I don’t know is how to log on to the forum and ask questions…of which I have many! Will someone please walk me through this process. I have ask questions before…not by logging onto the forum but by entering the question at someone’s unrelated response like this one. My email is jerrysrc37@gmail.com in case I don’t find my question on any of these pages. Help!!
Hay there Mr hambim. Like 2 know how 2 work the fingerings in on the neck need a lot of training there hope u can help me in this endeavor thanks for your time buddy this was phil of Kentucky p.s. please don’t take this litely thanks wish I could get video well thanks anyways .please. help. ME .
Great lesson Griff like the way the 2 string melodies attache to the boxes very informative !!!!
Yep Griff I have the same fear. Can’t play for people I know!
Hey Geoff thanks for the noodling update. I love this song and have been playing it as part of my warm ups. Noticed more in depth explanation of how to use it in different chords.
Bigrichaley@gmail
Hi excellent video, that was also used by the group the band in the song the weight.thanks again frank l.
Nice lesson. Starting to fall into place for me. Enjoying the journey with your help. Still working on other courses too. Great fun. Love the blues and little wing is killer of course!
say it ain’t so. by weezer is written in this exact manner some of the notes are even the same as griffs example. great song
Griff, This has to be the coolest download to date. I’ve played it over and over and haven’t even picked up my guitar yet. Outstanding, go to the top of the class. In fact, have the night off with a long cool beer.
I’m off to try it out. Ray (UK).
Damn Skippy…Thanks Griff….Always something new!
Hey Griff,
Beautiful melody, thanks again for unlocking the secret recipe.
Outstanding! Finally putting Hendrix thought process together. His use of chords and scales were so amazing! Thanks for your videos as really helps!!!
Excellent, Griff! I understand completely; used to play the Detroit-area coffee-houses, when such things existed, and am still self-conscious about just playing in front of a few friends in my living room.
Thanks Griff:
I am slowly moving from totally confounded to, I want to play that. Thanks for taking me from crawling to standing up. I am trying to take the first step.
I’ve always appreciated your lessons, this one is great. The smooth flow of that Hendrix-blue sound. Thanks for being here.
Thanks Griff, I have something new to play, I don’t have to play Last Train to Clarksville by the Monkees anymore. Seriously, thanks for your insight and tutelage.
“Jimi never played it the same way twice” Ha, Ha. I’ve been accused of “not playing it the same way once”
Awesome video. It’s just amazing how you can pick up on each chord and play fairly simple techniques. I never thought I could do this but I’m really trying. Thanks
I’ve watched this several times and found it good to learn from. However, I hate that guitar and it really puts me off. Irrelevant, of course, but it is a really ugly instrument.
Once again Griff a great lesson I’ve just come from a hour long practice session and my fingers have just about given up on me. I then read this email on little wing and I want to go back and have a crack at it. But it will have to wait till tomorrow now. I love the hammer-ons and grace notes. Brilliant.
Love the new guitar by the way. What makes is it?
Very frustrating watching you, I will never learn…your fingers block the strings and frets, why dont you use a chart system? and what is a hammer-on? are you going to build something? please keep in mind that I am a basi beginner
so if you want to play faster, go somewhere else.
Reg, if you don’t know what a hammer on is, you need to get griffs Beginner’s blues guitar unleashed course. It’s well worth the money and you won’t get a better guitar teacher than Griff.
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Great lesson Griff. Just getting into ABGU with a mate (I need a regular get together to focus my practise). This answers the question for me of how the boxes fit into a chord progression – just got to get those boxes under the fingers along with the heap of other techniques you give in the ABGU course. A bit slow with 67yr old fingers but worth the effort and the day I don’t learn something new is a sad one. Cheers from Oz. Dennis
Loved the lesson, has a great sound to it. I will be learning this. thanks
n/a——-that Griff is one of the nicest riffs I seen in 50 years of playing. who says you are too old to learn- especially on the guitar.
Griff that is one of the nicest and simplest riffs in50 years of playing as a pro. who says you are never too old to learn.
great job
@Paul and Saddler, it’s a James Tyler Variax.
Cheers Mark thanks for the info.
Love it. Can’t believe that its that simple to make a awesome sounding riff.
The people I know don’t wanna hear me play guitar. They want to sing “Last Kiss” and “Henry the VIII, I am”. (Except for the one stoner who keeps asking if I know “Free Bird”.)
I leave my guitar at home, these days.
I have ben working on this very thing as it is the opening riff for “The Weight” by the The Band. love these licks.
Very very nice. A year and a half ago I took one lesson that costed $ 20.00 for half hour. At the end I did not now what I learned.I thought it was crazy to have to pay so much. Then I discovered your site. It was a blessing. This particular video is more than one lesson. I can go back and forth as I please.(something I need to do more often). Thank you for the opportunity. Someday Ill get it. I have bought several dvds from you. I feel its sometimes hard to keep up. But they are so nice. I wonder if its a good idea to buy additional dvds until you learned what you bought. Please give me your opinion. I like your introduction to this video.I echo the feelings.Its even worse when it comes to try to sing. If I told someone to inititate a blue song, I’d like to be able to accompany with no problem. So much to learn. Thank you sooo much.
Nice riff and I have heard different forms of it a hundred times but it still turns out to be nice and worth keeping in your repertoire of riffs to use under duress…lol
I use all the stuff, hammer-ons, pull-offs, double stops, chord forms within scales, bends, and I work on this stuff at least an hour a day. Amazing things come from the guitar at times, but being highly concentrated two to four hours a day is a tall order at times that I just want to scream……Paul
I’m glad you recycle these quick lessons Griff. The first time I watched this I wasn’t ready to play this yet. Second time I had too many other pieces to work on and couldn’t bother. But his time it all made sense and I’m playing it in ten minutes. This one is a lot of fun. Keep them coming.
GRIFF, Just began your blues coarse, you are an excellent teacher, wish I would have found you forty years ago. You probably were not around then. Thank you for your teaching style, really helped my playing. It has given me a whole new attitude toward playing the blues.
I can not thank you enough for keeping me on my toes with your regular informative lessons by email.
I sometimes wonder if you sleep enough daily just for our (Your students’) sake.
God bless you Griff
Wow, several things just clicked for me. This lesson just made me see part of what the “CAGED” relationship is. Each of the 5 boxes correlates to one of the different CAGED chord forms. And the whole pattern shift 3 frets on the neck when you move to minor key because it is a half-step difference between Ionian mode (Major) and Locrian, and then a full-step from Locrian to Aeolian (Minor).
It helps if you’re aware that the notes being added to the underlyng chord are from the scale that is being used to create the chord itself.
For my own practice, I try to focus on the added note from the pov of its degree in the scale. And, I try keep aware of the other scale tones around the notes Im using for any given chord.
Playing a random barre chord and then working through the ‘natural minor’ that lies beneath chord, at that same fret position seems to be the simplest route to understanding this concept of relation.
Of course this relationship works across the totality of the audio spectrum.
Learning how Little Wing works and, for the same reasons, how Lenny – SRV works, was something like an epiphony.
To be able to ‘noodle’ along, with understanding of why certain others notes can be used to alter or add to an existing vibe. And to be able to anticipate the resulting new sound. This improved my understanding of all music more than anything else.
Great stuff here Griff! Lots of reasons to keep coming back for review.
Pardon my english.
thank you Griff
[…] you stick to pentatonic scales, there is an option of following the chord and playing a different pentatonic scale to match each chord. So for a G chord you play G major pentatonic but for a Bminor chord you play B minor pentatonic […]
Thank you ,for your lessons
been playing 50 years I’am still
learning.
Thank you
Dave
Very nice.You look relaxed while playing. Took a long time before I could relax. Like your style and still wondering what dvd would be best for me I play blues and Christian music with my band.
I remember this lesson from several months ago. Now I have the chops to give it a more cognizant attempt. Love that pseudo-Strat. Also really like to read all the feedback. I’m gonna listen to Little Wing, both versions, Riveria Paridise, Lenny, n The Wait, just to get a better grasp on the style. And Griff, not for nothing but that video from yesterday had conversation going all day. #Blues.
Droid me, boy! Have NO use for apple or windows.
Great Riff Griff. I lear alot from these videos. I still have not found the sound I am looking for. I’ve explored different possiblities, It may be my I have cheap pick ups but love those videos. Thanks
Loved the last few lessons, but could you do one on the beginning or the end of Steppin Out by John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. The version played by Clapton while with them was so clean as compared to all others including Cream.
Wow got into work put the head phones in and was listening to JH song Lover Man such a cool cool
Song then I get the email. Very cool thks. Can’t wait to get into it tonight.
I believe I have seen this before when I first started this study of guitar wth You. At that time I was having trouble getting the mix of major and minor .Seems crystal clear now . See You again in Your next video thanks alot .
Griff,Really appreciate your emails,you sure know how to teach.Len
Well it’s quite awhile since my first remarks regarding this riff, but it sounds just as good.So I might say that one of the biggest things I have learned this year is that two note chords have as good a sound under the right circumstances as the lush beautiful jazz chords that I love playing so much, and with the added embellishments as hammer-ons, pull offs, trills, bends and whatever else you can up with, the guitar can be made to sound so good and tasty.
Hard to understand how somebody wouldn’t like the looks of your guitar but I like the looks and the sound. .
Hey Griff tell me if I’m crazy…never mind I already know the answer…but this sounds like something you could tweak the sound and make it a little country…I see a bunch of different things you could do…
Hi Griff,
Great lesson to add to my BGU course that I’m still in the early stages of. How about a lesson on what boxes are related to what chords i.e. As in this video, Box 2 for the G and F chords; and box 1 for the Am chords etc. I know all the Pentatonic Boxes, but don’t know how they fit. I’m hoping the BGU will enlighten me later if it’s covered.
Many thanks
Jim
Hi Griff,
Another really great lesson, hits on exactly what I am working on now. I’ve been playing for 5 years, really want to learn to add fills/licks between chord changes, correct scales to play over given chords, Maj/Min chords and scales, variations on harmony/triads, etc.. It is a tricky business to understand and apply all of this. Which of your intermediate lessons would you recommend I purchase to progress down this road?
Griff, thank you so much for these lessons. I’m a beginner, accoustic, and your videos are so helpful and easy to follow.
Thank you.