Voodoo Child
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Voodoo Child by Stevie Ray Vaughan
Voodoo Child (Slight Return) is Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's blistering studio tribute to Jimi Hendrix, released on the 1984 album Couldn't Stand the Weather. The recording captures Vaughan's iconic Stratocaster tone, ferocious pick attack, and a drum-and-bass groove that crackles with live-energy intensity, translating Hendrix's fire into a Texas-blues roar. The track became a signature moment in the 1980s blues-rock revival and helped launch Vaughan into the pantheon of guitar heroes.
The song's enduring impact lies in its fearless blending of technical precision and raw emotion. Vaughan's extended solos, aggressive bends, and use of a wah pedal pushed blues-rock guitar into a new era, influencing countless players and cementing SRV's status as a contemporary icon.
🎸 Want to know the techniques, practice tips, and lesson details? Scroll below the lesson!
What You'll Learn
In this lesson, you will learn the core riff and lead-work that drive Voodoo Child, a blues-rock piece built around tight, ringing power-chord sections and fast single-note licks. We'll break down the main riff in an E-based blues context, explore the right-hand dynamics with heavy pick attack and wah-toned embellishments, and cover practical techniques such as string bends, hammer-ons and pull-offs, and careful muting to keep unwanted strings quiet. You’ll also work on phrasing and tone shaping to replicate Vaughans’s searing lead lines, plus a tricky turnaround that transitions back into the groove section with confidence.
Advanced — having solid string bending control, precise muting, and confident alternate picking will help you master this track.
🎸 Techniques Used
Practice Tips
- 💡Break the riff into small sections, loop each at a slow tempo with a metronome, and gradually increase speed while preserving clean muting and tone.
- 💡Work on muting with both hands to prevent sympathetic strings from ringing during fast runs; focus on tight palm muting for the rhythm parts and clean, expressive bends for the lead lines.
- 💡Dial in your tone: start with a strat-style setup with moderate overdrive, then add wah at the apex of key bends to mimic Vaughan's vocal-like phrasing.
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