OK, I think it is safe to say I can't play any Van Halen song all the way through.

So I was looking for some tips from you guys that have nailed some of the tunes.

More importantly, the solos. What should I be working on in order to be able to tackle these tunes ?

I find that I can get the rhythm down enough for someone to recognise the tune I am trying to emulate, but when it comes to the solo, I am at a complete loss.

Any tips on what helps in order to approach his solos a little better ? Or is it just a case of trying and hopefully succeeding before my fingers drop off ???

:maddance:

Easy, I don't:)
I'm also interested in hearing how you guys approach an EVH solo. Seems to me, so much is dependant on technique with Eds stuff as opposed to speed. I mean, I can get the notes down usually, but they just don't sound right to me after playing it back. Tone has alot to do with it too I guess.

Easy, I don't:)
I'm also interested in hearing how you guys approach an EVH solo. Seems to me, so much is dependant on technique with Eds stuff as opposed to speed. I mean, I can get the notes down usually, but they just don't sound right to me after playing it back. Tone has alot to do with it too I guess.

Aye, I mean, lets take a rhythm part for example. 5150. It takes me years to play the intro to that one.

And that's nowhere near as fast as a solo.

So I just wonder what little bit of magic it is that's required in order to play the solos.

I remember a thread that was started asking, "what are the easiest van Halen solos to play ?" and I found even the easiest ones people were throwing out there were difficult for me to tackle...

Wild bends over blues scale with a lot of luck. Eat an onion before you play and put a pair of stars and stripes undercrackers on...by this time, you won't care how it sounds! :tard:

Wild bends over blues scale with a lot of luck. Eat an onion before you play and put a pair of stars and stripes undercrackers on...by this time, you won't care how it sounds! :tard:

do you speak from experience?!?:lol:

i would just really dig in for that sound. also, kick up the treble. use heavy picks. and use .009's. just rip the crap out of the guitar.

It's the way Ed glues his phrases together that stands out to me. Wahwah is right about those wiled bends (and the onion too). Take this simple solo in Running with the Devil: If you just play the notes (first part of clip) it sounds pretty stupid, however when you add those little slides and color the notes with slight pinches and mutes, it comes alive! Listen how far Ed took that bend on the B string 17th fret: He bends it all the way up to the 22 fret note and shakes real good (I just learned that this summer)! This solo does not have that loos abandon that allot of his solos have, but it is a good place to start, plus it's a fun solo to play in all it's simplicity.

listen to the stratman. he is the vh authority.

Cool info! When do we discuss Rhodes?

Cool info! When do we discuss Rhodes?
Go for it.

i'm with you mondy. i have been playing a long time and can play just about anything except that i can not play eddie van halen solo's either. i can play some parts but it never sounds like him thats for sure.

I think its fair to say its like anything music related, you just have to sit down and practice at it m8:thumb: :thumb:

now on Mr. Rhoads's technique... hrmm... minor pentatonic, blues, dorian, phrygian? likes doing runs like these-


e|-12-15-14-15----12---------------------------------------|
B|--------------15----15-13-12----12-----------------------|
G|------------------------------14----14-12-11----11-------|
D|----------------------------------------------14----etc.-|
A|---------------------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------|


but like with everything else, it's a feel thang.:thumb:

Well, I don't actually. I've tried but Ed's style is extremely unique and my fingers just can't move like his. I tried to cover Panama and it sounded like Eddie "Ass" Halen. :lol: I can cover alot of other guitarists but not Ed. The guys who can play like Ed have put in countless years and hours of practice so don't expect to play like Ed in a couple weeks. We can't all be Dweezil Zappa or Strat78 and other guys that are experienced enough to play like Ed.

I think its fair to say its like anything music related, you just have to sit down and practice at it m8:thumb: :thumb:

You got it right man. You can play anyones style(or come real close) if you put the time in.

but don't get caught up in someone else's style, though - you aren't that person. you are yourself.:thumb:

but don't get caught up in someone else's style, though - you aren't that person. you are yourself.:thumb:

I would agree with Guitaral, but also everyone plays the guitar for different reasons. This is just my 2cents from someone who has spent the last 27 years getting caught up learning other peoples stuff. I totally get off on trying to nail someones style and chops. Its why I picked up a guitar in the first place. All I wanted to do since 74 was be Ace Frehley. 5 more years would go by before I learned my first chords. It was killing me that I couldnt play the guitar, that I could'nt make it scream, that I could'nt play those tunes I loved so much. Even if they were plastic toys to start out with, I had a guitar in my hands since I was in diapers. Im content with being a copy cat. Thats all Ive ever wanted to be. Someone real good at doing covers. To make you think your hearing the actual guitarist. Wish I had loftier asperations but thats it. I have written my own stuff and I have somehow, even with all the time I spent on covers, developed my own style. Ive been in a bunch of bands and quite a few studios and made an LP overseas back in the 80's (big deal, i know). but I have had as much fun in front of my computer jammin out to my favorite bands, as I used to playing in front of 500 people. A few players I get caught up with are: Ace F., Randy R, Dimebag D, EVH, Andy LaRoque. Pretty much obsessed with their sound and style. My dream was always to be able to copy my favorite bands music. So you can imagine how cool its been for me to hang out here and share my covers and hear other great players.

I think being part of great forums like this actually improves you aswell, hearing how talented some ppl are can be a reality check on how much you do really need to improve:thumb:
I also think its great playing like your hero's but then i think it can be your biggest downfall to if your not careful.
Ive said it so many times, you listen to ppl who can shred to hell and back , do inhuman tapping etc, but then they can't do the simplist of tasks, also they can be stuck into the same pattern of lead to.
To take someones style and play it is great, i think personally though it takes more skill to cover a wide range of ppl (who are diffrent style based), that to me is a sign of a decent guitarist.
Its something ive been learning to do more these last few months, i enjoy Joe Satriani , Steve Vai, Steve Morse, Brian May, Yngwie Malmsteen, those are some guitarists that im exploring more into playing, for me i want to improve as a all round musician.
Obviously Ritchie Blackmore is my biggest influence, but i want to learn more:thumb:
God forbid im also experimenting with vocals to lol, but in the end i think that the benifets are far greater doing the above then simply sticking to one style:thumb:

I think being part of great forums like this actually improves you aswell, hearing how talented some ppl are can be a reality check on how much you do really need to improve:thumb:
I also think its great playing like your hero's but then i think it can be your biggest downfall to if your not careful.
Ive said it so many times, you listen to ppl who can shred to hell and back , do inhuman tapping etc, but then they can't do the simplist of tasks, also they can be stuck into the same pattern of lead to.
To take someones style and play it is great, i think personally though it takes more skill to cover a wide range of ppl (who are diffrent style based), that to me is a sign of a decent guitarist.
Its something ive been learning to do more these last few months, i enjoy Joe Satriani , Steve Vai, Steve Morse, Brian May, Yngwie Malmsteen, those are some guitarists that im exploring more into playing, for me i want to improve as a all round musician.
Obviously Ritchie Blackmore is my biggest influence, but i want to learn more:thumb:
God forbid im also experimenting with vocals to lol, but in the end i think that the benifets are far greater doing the above then simply sticking to one style:thumb:

For sure it can be a downfall if you are hung up on one or two guitar players, and thats all you ever do. There wont be much growth. As you can tell from the covers I post (Foreigner, Lamb of God), I cover tunes from the 70's to now. A wide variety of guitarist but I stay in the rock/metal genre. The guys I mentioned are my all time favorites, but I like hundreds of guitarists.

For sure it can be a downfall if you are hung up on one or two guitar players, and thats all you ever do. There wont be much growth. As you can tell from the covers I post (Foreigner, Lamb of God), I cover tunes from the 70's to now. A wide variety of guitarist but I stay in the rock/metal genre. The guys I mentioned are my all time favorites, but I like hundreds of guitarists.

Exactly m8, its about enjoying yourself but learning in the process:rock: :thumb:

hearing how talented some ppl are can be a reality check on how much you do really need to improve:thumb:


heh, a big reality check. i feel like i've only been playing for a few months on these sites.:p :tard:

Well the way I go about it is saying fkkkkkkkk a lot and having to do another take a lot lmao!!! :lol: :lol:

Shit man just seen this! There could be many answers to this but they're all bullshit. There's 1 answer to this and 1 only - PRACTICE - To think otherwise is a fool! Sorry i've been spliffin:thumb:

Shit man just seen this! There could be many answers to this but they're all bullshit. There's 1 answer to this and 1 only - PRACTICE - To think otherwise is a fool! Sorry i've been spliffin:thumb:

Thats the answer I gave lol. You gotta put the time in. You have to play like EVH (ei. the way he picks, mutes,frets, bends etc) to sound like him. Getting all his gear wont help. You're going to sound like you on his stuff. Likewise, Eddie can play through your setup and will still sound like him.

I'm an old man at this game I guess(53) and I've been doing the band thing since 5th grade of school. No I can't do EV yet either. Having watched a lot of his vidios though I will say he seems to be useing a lot of harmonics. I've seen him using tap harmonics and pinched harmonics. Yet what makes him different is that he spends many hours reherseing or practice if you like. Valerie once said on a TV show that he plays guitar in his sleep. As for copying others I will say every guitar player who has developed their own style has copied and borrowed from others. I have been told I have a unique style but it isn't unique at all. I copied from Toy Caldwell, Stevie Ray,B.B.King and every Southern Rock Guitar player I've ever heard. That's why I love guitar so much there is so much out there for everone to enjoy. If you want to play like EV it will take work just remember there can only be just one. Kinda like being an emortal right! Hope I didn't come off as a know it all.

Nah,just like a wise old man! Post some of this unique music i'd love to hear it:thumb:

Ok I have a spot on myspace.com/sid53 with 2 songs we did on a cd we recorded. The 1st one River Of Time I rely on licks taken from TC and tip my hat to him. The second Highway Lulliby I reach back into my early blues bag of tricks and throw in a couple others you may notice. That's why I say learning licks from otheres is cool. I used some Arlene Roth licks the other night and people looked at me and said where did you come up with useing banjo rolls and claw hammer picking on guitar. I just smiled and shugged my shoulders,did my country boy foot shuffle and said "Ah shuks". Check out some of his learning cd's it can actually be used in rock too. by the way this is in reply to someone who wanted to hear something I've done. I do not do vocals on River Of time But yes that is me on vocals doing Highway Lulluby. These songs were written and published by the band I was in at the time. Lead guitar by me also on both.

first off, welcome to the site bro!

second, i have to agree with MuRpH. i play through anything - jackson, fender, gibson, the sears brands - but i still sound like me. i'll play through the computer, through tube amps, through solid states, whatever. a big part of tone is the person - not everybody is built the same (duh). humans can even give off different dynamics to the instrument. everything from the way you hold the guitar to the way you pick to even the way you stand can affect the guitar's sound. as for technique, again i'm with MuRpH. practice practice practice. my dad tells me that i have to respect everyone else's wishes in the house and that i'm not the only one living here, which is true.:lol: but i think i suck, and i am never satisfied with my playing, so i keep going back to the 'shed and begin to melt calluses.

at the end of the day, though, it's about what you want.:)

OK, I think it is safe to say I can't play any Van Halen song all the way through.

So I was looking for some tips from you guys that have nailed some of the tunes.

More importantly, the solos. What should I be working on in order to be able to tackle these tunes ?

I find that I can get the rhythm down enough for someone to recognize the tune I am trying to emulate, but when it comes to the solo, I am at a complete loss.

Any tips on what helps in order to approach his solos a little better ? Or is it just a case of trying and hopefully succeeding before my fingers drop off ???

:maddance:

A CD player that you can start and stop at certain points on a track will help a lot.

You play a small solo section, pause it - then try and play it on your guitar. Keep doing that until you get the solo half way down.

Or learn to read TAB and learn the solos that way.

I know when I want to learn a new solo - I have to keep on listening to it until it's second nature. Then from there I try and duplicate it on my guitar anyway I can.

But speaking to you straight Mondy, (This is NOT an attack!) why is it so important to play Van Halen? Is it a goal of yours to be able to WOW people with Van Halen guitar music? Or is it just something your striving for?

There are too many Van Halen clones as it is!

There are too many Van Halen clones as it is!

you can never have enough of a good thing!:woot:

you can never have enough of a good thing!:woot:

No arguement from me on that.

It's like reaching perfection on guitar :)

There are too many Van Halen clones as it is!
In 30 years I have yet to hear a Van Halen clone, actually despite the VH saturation, nobody really gets Ed at all! That's what makes his playing so fascinating! I work on his material now and then and when I'm self satisfied that I'm doing it right I discover that I'm doing it all wrong!:lol: The things that generally "wow" people are the things that are the most retarded and easy to fake: a little tap fumbling on the neck, some stiff mechanical dive bombing, YUCK. It's not about being a "hack" or trying to impress people, it's about really learning something about the electric guitar from one of many great talents on the scene.

Well firstoff, great posts Strat78.

As for copping Ed, most guys make the same mistake they do when trying to do an AC/DC tune.

Too much gain.

Gain kills all the little nuances that happen when picking and muting and somewhat compresses all the natural harmonics that your hands make.

Second, to me, what's been hardest to try to cop when doing an Ed tune is his sense of timing. He really doesn't have any hurry to his playing even though he may be ripping a run. It's got this freeform attitude of tiptoeing on the edge of disaster.

It's hard to practise with a metronome, and get used to the regimented timing it brings, and then try to play like Ed. If you played his stuff with the correct timing, half of it would be wrong. He lilts in and out of passages ignoring where he may be timewise, and then sings it back into perfection.

I think he likened it at one time to falling down the stairs and landing on his feet. For example, as good of a player as John Petrucci is, I think he would have a hard time playing like Ed. The timing attitude is all wrong.

EVH is probably one of the most lyrical players that has ever walked the earth, and is one of my all time faves. He brought the guitar alive. The big bend Strat78 was talking about (17 to 22) is a perfect example of how the guitar becomes almost vocal in quality, and sounds animated, when compared to a static note, or even a whole step bend.

And I'm not so sure Wahwah wasn't right on about the onions, and knickers either.

:P

J

A CD player that you can start and stop at certain points on a track will help a lot.

You play a small solo section, pause it - then try and play it on your guitar. Keep doing that until you get the solo half way down.

Or learn to read TAB and learn the solos that way.

I know when I want to learn a new solo - I have to keep on listening to it until it's second nature. Then from there I try and duplicate it on my guitar anyway I can.

But speaking to you straight Mondy, (This is NOT an attack!) why is it so important to play Van Halen? Is it a goal of yours to be able to WOW people with Van Halen guitar music? Or is it just something your striving for?

There are too many Van Halen clones as it is!

I don't want to wow anyone at all. I just love the Van Halen music. Nothing gets my blood pumping more than Eddie's playing. Therefore, I'd love to be able to play it as well.

I just wondered whether there was some secret formula to it or something.

I guess I'm just after some of the magic I get from hearing it, hoping the same magic will be experienced when playing it.

OK, maybe I lied, I am trying to wow someone, but that someone is me.

:toothless:

Thanks for all the other replies in the thread, I think a lot of the posts highlight where I keep stumbling, especially the loose timing issues.

I'm off to fall down the stairs with the guitar plugged in to see how it sounds...

:p

p.s. Happy Birthday Wood Tick !

:thumb:

Tang's right about timing...but that's to do with his brother on drums also. He's always said that if you play his stuff to a clicktrack it'll jump out of synche! Cue the 'I don't need no stinking clicktrack' line from Al himself but he always said it was just a feel thing they had. If it was out seperately they would worry.

Just listen to something like 'Little Guitars' or 'Hang 'Em High' to catch that in-out of time thing. Ed never seems rushed and his rhythm playing is as classy as his lead playing. Don't forget how he turned the world on it's head in a DISCO era!

Power to him cubed.

I guess what it is ,is that we allpiced up guitar for one reason or another. Me I was young the Beatles were here (had just stepped off the plane) and I said "why are the girls acting so crasy?" Even at a young age I saw guitar was a chick magnet. So I worked and worked and worked. Actually I'm still working on it (LOL). Do Ya thang and be happy. There's room for all.

p.s. Happy Birthday Wood Tick !

:thumb:

Thanks!

I guess what it is ,is that we allpiced up guitar for one reason or another. Me I was young the Beatles were here (had just stepped off the plane) and I said "why are the girls acting so crasy?" Even at a young age I saw guitar was a chick magnet. So I worked and worked and worked. Actually I'm still working on it (LOL). Do Ya thang and be happy. There's room for all.

Oh dear. Do I really have to mention that my main inspiration was Val Doonican ? If I don't get into a rather fetching v-neck sweater when I pick up a guitar, I find that the magic just doesn't flow.

:tard: