honestly his rhythm playing and song structure is what we most love about Eddie whether we realize it or not. The leads are just the icing on the cake, but the chords are really what we feel! RIP Eddie.
I'd agree with this. I like his rhythm playing better than his leads. The little bend / slide trick in Drop Dead Legs is something I never get tired of hearing.
A lot of the chords are implied, and the bass is giving so much to the harmony. Things like an A major chord against a G. The whole chord progression relies on the band picking up the pieces, from bass to vocals.
The Intro to mean Street ...Uuughh so KILLER !! Diver Down ...i( i learned this spanish Piece ...) Eddie Van Halen is the Greatest Rock Guitar Player of ALL Times ...He is The Chief !!
@@ThrashRoC hey Jimi I hasten to add while a true original Eddie Van Halen has a lot of shit material where as JIMI HENDRIX has most remarkable and creative compositions and lyrics. Different level really.
Ive been playing for 45 yrs and come from a family of famous musicians...I just wanna say Great job and attitude! Keep humble and on top of the game. Peace
@@IAmKillEveryone lol..ya, he's a humble guy. Never really seen him down or anything except for when Duck passed away. That was tuff but Steve doesn't stop. Angel is amazing too!!! She keeps him in line lolol
It sounds and feels unlike anything else they released or recorded. It's so dark and angry. Hand-down it's their best album. Eddie's leads and licks are simply on fire! Thanks for watching and rock on! : )
When he kicks in the rhythm on Dirty Movies - OMG. It's Godzilla heavy. And what's up with those two weird-sounding snare beats in the intro?? And that volume thing on the beginning of So This is Love? Got FW on my birthday, summer 1981.
@@countvond233 And was listening to "When Push Comes to Shove" the other day. Another great one from that album. Quirky. Great Holdswoth-inspired solo and killer lyrics from DLR.
Ive been playing since i was 17 and I am now 58, and seeing your videos and love for Van Halen as I do, makes me think, I have too many habits of being stuck in the simple stuff and to learn Van Halen I would suggest that Van Halen as a music course for a beginner would be the way to go for any child picking up a guitar so they dont get stuck in playing the simple basics. I know I'll never be able to play 99% of Van Halen because I have the habits of playing simple rhythms. Van Halen should be a course on its own , like Jazz , or like Country. Teachers always ask, what do you like and what would you like to learn. You go to a Jazz teacher to learn Jazz and it's styling, and such. so Van Halen should be noted as being a style on it's own. Great job explaining those chords and how he plays them and fingers them and makes me believe even more Eddie is a bona-fide musical Genius, like Mozart and Beethoven
This is the way I see it....picture yourself a pie graph, divide it in half and you have Eddie Van Halen on one half and everyone else on the other half.
It really is and that's awesome to hear. Both of those tunes (and albums) kick butt. Fair Warning is great, but I'm a big fan of VH II too. Thanks and take care!
Really great video and insight, not just into EVH but a lot of classic players in your series. I was wondering if you give private guitar lessons? You seem like a really great teacher 🤘
@@commentfreely5443 Yes. So is the picture frame, the amplifier and everything else in the room. It's caused by playing Van Halen. It's melts things. (Ok not really. It's a fish-eye camera lens.)
EPIC doesn't even do it! Eddie has said in multiple interviews that he's a better rhythm player than a lead player, and that's probably true. But it's not just what he plays -- it's how he plays it. And don't even get me started about the stuff he writes. My lord. His stuff gives me chills...and the way he creates tension. Holy bugeezuz!
this is why Eddie Van Halen is my favorite and I built my own frankenstrat, I was 18 when I first heard him in 78 and I've never stopped learning his stuff, I like other guitarist but Eddie's my basic go to guitar player.
VERY nice. You've a positive, easy way about you. Absolutely beautiful guitar. Completely utilitarian fine art; played as easy as breathing it would seem. Good thing breathing didn't take as many thousands of hours to become as natural. Thank you for sharing / teaching.
I think I was one of the 7th thousand subscribers. Every time I see a video, I wish this dude lived down the street from me. I don't like people, and I don't have too many friends. But I'd love to hang with this dude and talk shop.
Idk about tapping "nonsense" - I mean it was revolutionary at the time - but I agree with the overall sentiment that Eddie was always kind of overlooked for his incredible rhythmic chops. All of those little perfectly-timed harmonic pinches and squeals couched so perfectly into that percussive rhythm slap n' groove... just pure magic. Although my style of playing ended up drastically different from his, Eddie's definitely the reason that I originally picked up a guitar in the first place for sure. And although I play much heavier music I still find myself tone-chasing his elusive "Brown sound" from time to time with the help of modeling software like Amplitube, Bias, etc. Oh how I wish IK Media would work with his estate to release an EVH package for Amplitube 5!
I share your sentiments about EVH being a permanent influence on you. Most people wanted to learn how to play Eruption etc. Me too but I was into his rhythm playing and chords he used. I'm a few years older than you because I first saw VH in April 1978 in Houston and again that same year in November. When they played the Music Hall in April, the sound was awesome because that's where they have musicals and the place had great acoustics. Our seats were on the side of the stage, not very good view but I had a perfect view of Eddie and Alex sharing a joint just before going on, ha.
Very cool Eddie educational video my brother. Fair Warning is also my favorite album. Hear About it later has such dynamics and emotion in it. Mean Street, Dirty Movies, wow, album should’ve got more recognition. And I am really glad to hear someone else agree that Eddies playing developed a lot when Sammy joined the band. Chemistry with a great great singer couldn’t have hurt. Judgement Day, Pleasure Dome, are really different than anything with DLR. I’d pay good $$ to just go see the Van Halen’s without vocals if they’d just jam as they probably do at home. Love to see Ed play cello too. 🤘 I’m sure he whips it’s ass too. Again Great EDDIE education my friend.
Great videos Dave. I was fortunate enough to see Van Halen many times starting with the Women & Children First tour. I've been playing guitar since I was 16 and I'm still learning Van Halen songs and leads. It's my favorite hobby. I'm a professional noodler and EVH is my main inspiration, but not my first guitar hero. Thanks for doing these videos. Very cool.
You display deep knowledge of the neck. I love how you always know where you are, and the notes that make up chords, no matter where on the neck you’re playing! You’re a super guitar teacher! I’m an teacher by profession, and a working musician...not everybody ( even some really good guitar players I know possess your mastery. Thank you for sharing your knowledge
This is SUCH a brilliant breakdown and tutorial... my son is just starting out playing, and I got him a Bumblebee for his bidet, but he's getting so frustrated and trying to do WAAAY to much advanced stuff and blowing his own teenage mind as a result. I told him to just focus on Eddie's rhtyhm playing and how tight, edgy and melodic all that stuff is on its own merit... I was looking for a vid to highlight that ... and look what I found! Thank you for joining the dots ... or stripes! x
Dude!!! As a forty plus year old, been playing since my 20’s, no one has ever explained “ SUS” chords as well as you did right here in this video. I’ve known what it means, and applied it to my playing, but I wish someone 20-some years ago would have explained it just like that! I’m not only going to send this to someone who is just starting off. But I’ll share this video with some of my other people who have less the grasp on music theory than I do! Hey, great content man. I’ve always enjoyed your videos. Rock on
Really liked the straight talk and examples. I always had the feeling (even in the late 70's or early 1980is era) that Ed Van Halen, was really and he has admitted as such, that it was not being perfectly musically correct, but about creating sounds, that he liked, and it was not necessary to follow the "rules," exactly, but to get the sounds he liked out of the amp, and just playing with chords and not worrying about correct "musical theory," to create sounds that are cool and unique. I always get the feeling that many of Ed's songs start out with or simple sound (or he would see a chord in Guitar magazine, like, he is just practicing. And he always seems to have one chord (and then he diddles with it) and moves it up and down the neck. There are video interviews with Ed were he talks about practice tapes. That he has hundreds of practice tapes. And the implication is that he just hits record, and then starts noodling around. No restrictions. Then later plays the tape back and if there is some thing unique that sounds melodic he grabs that tiny little thing and creates an entire song out of that. Which is really smart to stay on one chord and then expand on it using sus and building scales from that progression.
I’m 100% on board with you brother. Van Halen has always been my musical mainstay - even though I’ve ventured into other genres over the years. And yes - Eddies rhythm playing is what truly moves me, greatest riffs ever! But the transcription books aren’t always correct! Some of those “standard” chords we talk about are actually played somewhere else on the neck and Eddie uses some very unorthodox methods. And believe me - I was fooled! Because just when I thought I had something figured out, I’d hear those isolated VH guitar tracks on RUclips and was not only COMPLETELY FLOORED by how wrong I was, but also just how much of a genius EVH is!
My goodness. What a great episode! Dude man, your playing just puts a smile on my face...AND THEN I JUST HAVE TO GO PLAY🤘 Thank you, and please keep it coming!
@@LateNightLessons your teaching gift can make Lacan sound simple dude! Hell make 10 episodes for VH, I won't skip your Church. First ever 'Catholic & Protestant' under one fucking roof there :-)
I'm so glad to hear someone give VHII it's flowers. I love Fair Warning as well... hell, I love all of the original VH albums. But for ME, VHII has always been my favorite. I remember saving up my allowance as a kid to buy 1984 when Jump was all over MTV. I got to the local store to find it sold out, so the store clerk talked me into VHII. Dude, I must've played that record to absolute death - to the point where I even caught my Mom humming Dance the Night Away while doing some chores around the house lol. That album's vibe was so infectious - there was something there for just about everyone. DOA, Beautiful Girls, Women in Love... from the opening cover of You're No Good that record just cooks all the way through! RIP EVH!
Eddie is a Monster. He was a Total Game Changer. He shredded, but made-it Melodic and Commercial - not just alot of fast notes . . . " Without saying anything" ( like many guitar players ). I Love Eddie Van Halen. Major influence on me, and Everyone that I know who plays guitar.
I wore the cassette of Fair warning out it was such an awesome album the first time I heard V.H was at a party back when The cradle will rock came out and that song blew me away and I was a fan for life from then on :-)
The vibe I got from your video was like sitting with a really cool guitar teacher who has a similar appreciation for Eddie and you're just talking like a couple of buds with guitars.
Interesting stuff. I too thought EVH was a god when i was a kid but didn't play guitar. But in my mid 40s I just decided to start trying to play guitar and I find your video very interesting. Thanks
David I agree! I’ve always considered Fair Warning a tier or two above all of the other VH releases. From the tapping intro to Mean Streets all the way to the over the top outro fade out solo to One Foot out the Door--its one heck of a guitar ride all the way through! 🎸🎸🎸🎸
I feel that way too. : ) I've always put that one in another "place" in my head. It's unlike any of the other releases and so dark and moody. Eddie's on fire the entire time. I also really like Van Halen II. I think it really samples a lot of Eddie's influences and he's all over the place on that one.
I want to say thank you for all these years breaking down the actual theory behind these guitar legends, you explain it all so well and I love your content keep it up!
My thought exactly thats why I picked up a guitar.I remember being on the school bus and every day I would bring an 8 track..yes an 8 track! for the bus driver to play.I remember the first time I brought Fair Warning (best album they did) one day.The kids faces went blank..what is this!??? they said.Well I didn't know if they liked it or were scared...I think most were scared especially when "one for out the door" played...even the female bus driver... I think she had a bunch of KC and the sunshine band tape on board...Gotta love it.VH forever
1978 was the first time I heard them. They're one of my favorite bands of all time. Back then Eddie was guitar player of the year and was featured on the cover of guitar magazines.
Great video man. I totally connect with you. We’re the same age I’m sure lol I just got my Kramer American restored and this video got me pumped back up to start playing more from my VH roots!!! You rock!! Thank you!!
I´ve only seen Van Halen (Van Hagar) 1 Time ..but it was a GREAT Show , in Frankfurt Germany .. And YES ! Eddie Van Halen is also to me THE Big Guitar Hero after Hendrix (Page , Clapton, Blackmore).. Discovered Eddie and his guitar playing late, just as late as I started playing the guitar (I was 21 years old) First Time i heard "Van Halen I" it HIT me hard ...This SUPERCOOL Guitar Sound ..The Drums ..the crazyness of Roth ..
Thank you and I did create a VH part two, but it focused on music from the Sammy era. I'll be sure to add some more EVH ideas to the content soon! Thanks again and rock on!
There’s no question that Van Halen is one of the most influential guitarists! The first player I really started listening to when I first heard their album 1884. A great lead, and also rhythm player. Thanks for sharing his work David! I love all Van Halen music with David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar.
Eddys rhythm guitar is some of the best of all time in RnR. He lends an edge and an aggressive attack to every rhythm he plays that stands out no matter what genre or style he's playing. Playing same chords but he changes up the "routine" to become something new and visionary.
Have to agree, eddie's rhythm work is over looked by all his other fretboard pyrotechnics. Awesome player, and like plenty playing today, a big inspiration for me to pick up a guitar and give it a go. Top Eddie, he's the king!!!!!!!
Lots of vids out there about VH, but this is BY FAR THE BEST EVH video I've ever seen!!! Thank you Brother a million times over!!!! More chord play episodes... per favor!!!
Eddie’s playing is unbelievably complex and I’ve been playing his songs 30 years and am still nowhere near where I’d like to be with it. You see loads of people playing on the Tube that don’t play the chords correctly and it makes a huge difference to the way it sounds but you’ve obviously studied his music for years too and got it right. Nice playing, nice tone, nice guitar and well explained.👍
Fantastic video with all the chord definitions and that last Eddie progression you played, now I've got to learn it. If you told Eddie he was a master of sus chords he'd probably say " Huh? What's a sus chord? I just put my fingers where it sounds good and roll with it."
Just stumbled upon this. I'm a drummer who has hated the sounds I've heard from 90% of the guitar players I've played with, and your sound is delicious. Rich, thick, and creamy...but articulate. Would love to hear a little more "dirt" in it, but very, very nice! :) Also, you're one of the very, very few players I've listened to on RUclips whose guitar is actually in tune! LOL
rich, thick, and creamy? jesus christ. idk what the hell you're talking about with youtubers being "out of tune". it's 2019, tuning a guitar is painfully easy, and i rarely hear players that are noticeably out of tune. you're insanely critical of an instrument that you don't even play.
Very nice work brother, I was blown away back in the day when a friend shared for the first time, "Eruption" with me, it changed my approach towards guitar forever too !!!
AGREED - FAIR WARNING AND VH ll are my favorite VH records. However - from start to finish, I'M THE ONE is the song I consider to be the BIBLE of rock guitar playing, still to this day. His ability to swing that riff the way he does, along with all of the riffs and leads in between the chords set a new level of technical guitar ability. The difference is - the song is JAM-PACKED with music! Not just mindless shred! Anyway - another great lesson, Dave!
I only saw Van Halen live twice, but my first time was 1979, their first headliner tour with VHII. This is the best guitar rock concert I ever attended! At first I was irate that they dared to charge $7.50, when I had never seen higher than $4.50 at this minor league hockey venue, Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. They quickly sold out without me. We all heard how they blew away Black Sabbath in Cincinnati, then the radio kept playing VHII songs, I ended up paying my friend $12.50 for his ticket. Their show started with Light Up the Sky, with airborne David Lee Roth jumping off the drum riser, onto a small floor trampoline, to be mid-air as the lights came on and the song's first chord struck! Eddie and Roth looked very much like their VHII back cover photos. This tiny hockey rink sounded like we were inside Eddie's amplifier cabinet, every not crystal clear, faster than humanly possible, and loud and rowdy as heck! Every few songs one of them would do a solo, a bass solo, a drum solo, Roth ranting, and Eddie's manic guitar soloing. With hindsight, decades later, the setlist websites and RUclips videos show Eddie saving it up for one long Eruption solo, but it seemed from memory that he soloed a few times, including Eruption and Spanish Fly. Regardless, most VH songs have a jaw-dropping guitar lead that sounded incredible that night! Roth did the acoustic guitar intro solo for Ice Cream Man. Six years before Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Roth held up a plain white t-shirt with plain black bold letters with Disco F*ck*ng Sucks! written on it, (with vowels, no *). A girl from my junior high wore it to school the next day. Some say everyone who saw the Sex Pistols play went on to start their own band. I say most guys wanted to play guitar more than every after Eddie Van Halen changed the way an electric guitar is played. My first guitar shopping was for a Fender Strat, but the salesman showed me how to tap on the neck like Eruption, so I bought his Ibanez Strat copy. I learned how to play Sex Pistols, Cheap Trick, and AC/DC chords, but I never got a good look or understanding of VH chords until I saw your video channel, amazing, thanks! They say your first VH concert is the best, true for me. I saw them on their last tour for 1984 in Biloxi, Mississippi. In comparison to their first show that I saw, I guess the element of surprise was gone, I was expecting that big of a revelation again. Instead I thought they seemed like slow motion, drunken rock stars, compared to my first show of theirs. Hindsight on RUclips again, their 1984 shows were not as lethargic as I remembered, but to me the best was when they were still young and hungry, eager to prove their worth as headliners.
Eddie swings and grooves with the best. The walking chords are very James Taylor where he drops the root in just before the rest of the chord. Great video. Thanks
it would be great to see some Van hargar era chords/songs. you really do an awesome job explaining the use of his technique. thanks for your lessons. great job as always.
There are many videos that came after Eddie's passing away, but there are many more before that... Its a testament to how Great of a influence he was on modern rock music... RIP Eddie
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Fair Warning is the most abstract guitar work I have ever heard. It’s paramount for anyone who plays rock guitar to understand this!
Well done. Nobody talks about Eddie's rhythm playing. Thank you.
It is mentioned at 9:15
Thank you!!!
: )
He might be the most underrated rhythm player in history. His lead work gets all the attention, but his rhythm is on that same level.
Nuno Bettencourt talked about it all the time back in the day he said the same thing it always gets overlooked and its phenomenal .
Eric Redlefsen that’s what he’s saying
honestly his rhythm playing and song structure is what we most love about Eddie whether we realize it or not. The leads are just the icing on the cake, but the chords are really what we feel! RIP Eddie.
I'd agree with this. I like his rhythm playing better than his leads. The little bend / slide trick in Drop Dead Legs is something I never get tired of hearing.
A lot of the chords are implied, and the bass is giving so much to the harmony. Things like an A major chord against a G. The whole chord progression relies on the band picking up the pieces, from bass to vocals.
You are such a humble and nice man that speaks honesty. I just like you mate
Thank you and take care!
: )
Can you go ahead and make those 10 episodes on Van Halen's chord work, please? That'd be great, thanks....awesome work man.
Fair Warning kicks so much ass without even trying. His solo on Push Comes To Shove is brilliant!!
Creative Warrior777 Fair Warning the greatest guitar performance of all time
@@whatarefriends4 Yes, sir!
The Intro to mean Street ...Uuughh so KILLER !!
Diver Down ...i( i learned this spanish Piece ...)
Eddie Van Halen is the Greatest Rock Guitar Player of ALL Times ...He is The Chief !!
I know that damn solo is awesome and tricky kinda has the parts that appear on BEAT IT.
@@ThrashRoC hey Jimi I hasten to add while a true original Eddie Van Halen has a lot of shit material where as JIMI HENDRIX has most remarkable and creative compositions and lyrics. Different level really.
Ive been playing for 45 yrs and come from a family of famous musicians...I just wanna say Great job and attitude! Keep humble and on top of the game. Peace
I love getting messages and comments like this - THANK YOU!
No relation to Steve the Colonel, right?
@@IAmKillEveryone hey...hes my cousin. My buddy.
@@jamescropper pretty badass if true. The Colonel is a legend.
@@IAmKillEveryone lol..ya, he's a humble guy. Never really seen him down or anything except for when Duck passed away. That was tuff but Steve doesn't stop. Angel is amazing too!!! She keeps him in line lolol
"Fair Warning" is my favorite too. What an album. "Dirty Movies", "Mean Street". Wow.
It sounds and feels unlike anything else they released or recorded.
It's so dark and angry. Hand-down it's their best album.
Eddie's leads and licks are simply on fire!
Thanks for watching and rock on!
: )
When he kicks in the rhythm on Dirty Movies - OMG. It's Godzilla heavy. And what's up with those two weird-sounding snare beats in the intro?? And that volume thing on the beginning of So This is Love? Got FW on my birthday, summer 1981.
Those are two of my favorite Van Halen songs. Dirty Movies is one of their most underrated tunes.
@@countvond233 And was listening to "When Push Comes to Shove" the other day. Another great one from that album. Quirky. Great Holdswoth-inspired solo and killer lyrics from DLR.
@@countvond233 Those 2 weird sounding beats are actually an 8" and 10" toms tuned fairly high recorded with a lot of Reverb.
Ive been playing since i was 17 and I am now 58, and seeing your videos and love for Van Halen as I do, makes me think, I have too many habits of being stuck in the simple stuff and to learn Van Halen I would suggest that Van Halen as a music course for a beginner would be the way to go for any child picking up a guitar so they dont get stuck in playing the simple basics. I know I'll never be able to play 99% of Van Halen because I have the habits of playing simple rhythms. Van Halen should be a course on its own , like Jazz , or like Country. Teachers always ask, what do you like and what would you like to learn. You go to a Jazz teacher to learn Jazz and it's styling, and such. so Van Halen should be noted as being a style on it's own. Great job explaining those chords and how he plays them and fingers them and makes me believe even more Eddie is a bona-fide musical Genius, like Mozart and Beethoven
I’m a drummer and Eddie is the center of my musical universe.......lol! But for real he is.
i started on drums, now i play bass more but my first guitar teacher is EVH.
Alex Van Halen is one of the most underrated drummers ever!!
RIP Eddie...
Never thought the last album would be the last album.
God bless you.
👑 LONG LIVE THE KING 👑
Just discovered Dave's channel; lost about two hours watching this brilliant teacher....Thank you, Dave!
This is the way I see it....picture yourself a pie graph, divide it in half and you have Eddie Van Halen on one half and everyone else on the other half.
Go ahead, make 10 episodes. We’ll watch every single one!
I saw the first 2 VH Tours in the late 70's Awesome as I recall. Those were the days.
Eddies rhythm playing is EPIC, currently learning beautiful girls and unchained.
It really is and that's awesome to hear.
Both of those tunes (and albums) kick butt. Fair Warning is great, but I'm a big fan of VH II too.
Thanks and take care!
Really great video and insight, not just into EVH but a lot of classic players in your series. I was wondering if you give private guitar lessons? You seem like a really great teacher 🤘
is that guitar friggin bent?
@@commentfreely5443 Yes. So is the picture frame, the amplifier and everything else in the room. It's caused by playing Van Halen. It's melts things. (Ok not really. It's a fish-eye camera lens.)
EPIC doesn't even do it! Eddie has said in multiple interviews that he's a better rhythm player than a lead player, and that's probably true. But it's not just what he plays -- it's how he plays it. And don't even get me started about the stuff he writes. My lord. His stuff gives me chills...and the way he creates tension. Holy bugeezuz!
Fair Warning is my favorite VH album too! And Hear About It Later is certainly a fave.
It's such a great album!
: )
Rock on\m/
Me Too - Fair Warning " Unchained " made me lose my mind
I love that Star Wars poster, makes me 70's nostalgic
I had that Star Wars wallpaper on my wall when I was a kid. Cool!!
this is why Eddie Van Halen is my favorite and I built my own frankenstrat, I was 18 when I first heard him in 78 and I've never stopped learning his stuff, I like other guitarist but Eddie's my basic go to guitar player.
Great lesson. I'm a huge VH fan, Hear About it Later is my #1 song.
Hear about it later gives me chill bumps to this day. I bought Fair Warning the day it dropped.
VERY nice.
You've a positive, easy way about you.
Absolutely beautiful guitar.
Completely utilitarian fine art;
played as easy as breathing it would seem.
Good thing breathing didn't take as many thousands of hours to become as natural.
Thank you for sharing / teaching.
I think I was one of the 7th thousand subscribers. Every time I see a video, I wish this dude lived down the street from me. I don't like people, and I don't have too many friends. But I'd love to hang with this dude and talk shop.
"No one knows who they were... or...what they were doing. But their legacy remains...."
How dare you be born WAAAAAY after me (1959)... LOL... Great lesson..... Great lesson professor... Cheers....
EVH is one of the great rhythm players, you can keep all of that tapping nonsense, it's his sense of rhythm that attracted me to VH...
Earl Brackett 100%. That's what I listen to on their records: Eddie's rhythm and Alex's drumming. Incredible stuff.
No one puts Eddie in the corner...
Man Eddie was a genius!
Been saying that for a long time.
Idk about tapping "nonsense" - I mean it was revolutionary at the time - but I agree with the overall sentiment that Eddie was always kind of overlooked for his incredible rhythmic chops. All of those little perfectly-timed harmonic pinches and squeals couched so perfectly into that percussive rhythm slap n' groove... just pure magic.
Although my style of playing ended up drastically different from his, Eddie's definitely the reason that I originally picked up a guitar in the first place for sure. And although I play much heavier music I still find myself tone-chasing his elusive "Brown sound" from time to time with the help of modeling software like Amplitube, Bias, etc. Oh how I wish IK Media would work with his estate to release an EVH package for Amplitube 5!
That first VH album is pure FIRE and still holds up very strong decades later.
Van Halen came out swinging and were truly relentless.
: )
His rhythm inside a song is incredible...how he fills space...it never takes away from the song
I share your sentiments about EVH being a permanent influence on you. Most people wanted to learn how to play Eruption etc. Me too but I was into his rhythm playing and chords he used. I'm a few years older than you because I first saw VH in April 1978 in Houston and again that same year in November. When they played the Music Hall in April, the sound was awesome because that's where they have musicals and the place had great acoustics. Our seats were on the side of the stage, not very good view but I had a perfect view of Eddie and Alex sharing a joint just before going on, ha.
I absolutely love Van Halen with Sammy !
If Eddie Van Halen is involved, you really can't go wrong.
: )
\m/ VAN HALEN \m/
Eddie...Eddie...Eddie...
Very cool Eddie educational video my brother. Fair Warning is also my favorite album. Hear About it later has such dynamics and emotion in it. Mean Street, Dirty Movies, wow, album should’ve got more recognition. And I am really glad to hear someone else agree that Eddies playing developed a lot when Sammy joined the band.
Chemistry with a great great singer couldn’t have hurt. Judgement Day, Pleasure Dome, are really different than anything with DLR.
I’d pay good $$ to just go see the Van Halen’s without vocals if they’d just jam as they probably do at home.
Love to see Ed play cello too. 🤘
I’m sure he whips it’s ass too. Again Great EDDIE education my friend.
That was excellent. Looking forward to the next 9 episodes. Subscribed.
Thank you so much!
Take care and rock on!
Learned more VH songs watching you once than any lesson on line. Thanks!
Great videos Dave. I was fortunate enough to see Van Halen many times starting with the Women & Children First tour. I've been playing guitar since I was 16 and I'm still learning Van Halen songs and leads. It's my favorite hobby. I'm a professional noodler and EVH is my main inspiration, but not my first guitar hero. Thanks for doing these videos. Very cool.
Dont forget about Michael Schenker~ 😎
“Or something like that 👋🏼” - plays it spot on
You display deep knowledge of the neck. I love how you always know where you are, and the notes that make up chords, no matter where on the neck you’re playing! You’re a super guitar teacher! I’m an teacher by profession, and a working musician...not everybody ( even some really good guitar players I know possess your mastery. Thank you for sharing your knowledge
"Fair Warning" is so great because it's awesomely weird. I thought I was about the only one that considered it my favorite VH record.
This is SUCH a brilliant breakdown and tutorial... my son is just starting out playing, and I got him a Bumblebee for his bidet, but he's getting so frustrated and trying to do WAAAY to much advanced stuff and blowing his own teenage mind as a result. I told him to just focus on Eddie's rhtyhm playing and how tight, edgy and melodic all that stuff is on its own merit... I was looking for a vid to highlight that ... and look what I found! Thank you for joining the dots ... or stripes! x
I love the sound of big, melodic chords from the 80s.
Dude!!! As a forty plus year old, been playing since my 20’s, no one has ever explained “ SUS” chords as well as you did right here in this video. I’ve known what it means, and applied it to my playing, but I wish someone 20-some years ago would have explained it just like that! I’m not only going to send this to someone who is just starting off. But I’ll share this video with some of my other people who have less the grasp on music theory than I do! Hey, great content man. I’ve always enjoyed your videos. Rock on
Really liked the straight talk and examples. I always had the feeling (even in the late 70's or early 1980is era) that Ed Van Halen, was really and he has admitted as such, that it was not being perfectly musically correct, but about creating sounds, that he liked, and it was not necessary to follow the "rules," exactly, but to get the sounds he liked out of the amp, and just playing with chords and not worrying about correct "musical theory," to create sounds that are cool and unique. I always get the feeling that many of Ed's songs start out with or simple sound (or he would see a chord in Guitar magazine, like, he is just practicing. And he always seems to have one chord (and then he diddles with it) and moves it up and down the neck. There are video interviews with Ed were he talks about practice tapes. That he has hundreds of practice tapes. And the implication is that he just hits record, and then starts noodling around. No restrictions. Then later plays the tape back and if there is some thing unique that sounds melodic he grabs that tiny little thing and creates an entire song out of that. Which is really smart to stay on one chord and then expand on it using sus and building scales from that progression.
I concur. His playing chord-wise back in those days was the best of the day. Most players then used barre chords, even Vai and Satrianni.
Heck yeah! EVH is a master rhythm player.
And I've heard his leads are pretty good too.
: ) hahaha
Take care!
I’m 100% on board with you brother. Van Halen has always been my musical mainstay - even though I’ve ventured into other genres over the years. And yes - Eddies rhythm playing is what truly moves me, greatest riffs ever!
But the transcription books aren’t always correct! Some of those “standard” chords we talk about are actually played somewhere else on the neck and Eddie uses some very unorthodox methods.
And believe me - I was fooled! Because just when I thought I had something figured out, I’d hear those isolated VH guitar tracks on RUclips and was not only COMPLETELY FLOORED by how wrong I was, but also just how much of a genius EVH is!
Dude you’re playing all my favorite songs. I love being able to finally put a name to so many of the chords Ed caught my ear with.
I his rythm playing more than them solos (I like the solos too). His sense of rythm is what grabbed my attention.
I feel like I'm in the Doctor's office. Your voice is soft and you are so sincere in your message!
"Turn your head and cough." - Dr. Dave.
: ) lmao
Rock on bro and thanks for watching!
My goodness. What a great episode! Dude man, your playing just puts a smile on my face...AND THEN I JUST HAVE TO GO PLAY🤘
Thank you, and please keep it coming!
Thank you so much and that's totally what this is ALL about!
Rock on and have some fun!
: )
@@LateNightLessons your teaching gift can make Lacan sound simple dude! Hell make 10 episodes for VH, I won't skip your Church. First ever 'Catholic & Protestant' under one fucking roof there :-)
I'm so glad to hear someone give VHII it's flowers. I love Fair Warning as well... hell, I love all of the original VH albums. But for ME, VHII has always been my favorite. I remember saving up my allowance as a kid to buy 1984 when Jump was all over MTV. I got to the local store to find it sold out, so the store clerk talked me into VHII. Dude, I must've played that record to absolute death - to the point where I even caught my Mom humming Dance the Night Away while doing some chores around the house lol. That album's vibe was so infectious - there was something there for just about everyone. DOA, Beautiful Girls, Women in Love... from the opening cover of You're No Good that record just cooks all the way through! RIP EVH!
Eddie is a Monster. He was a Total Game Changer. He shredded, but made-it Melodic and Commercial - not just alot of fast notes . . . " Without saying anything" ( like many guitar players ). I Love Eddie Van Halen. Major influence on me, and Everyone that I know who plays guitar.
\m/ VAN HALEN \m/
I wore the cassette of Fair warning out it was such an awesome album the first time I heard V.H was at a party back when The cradle will rock came out and that song blew me away and I was a fan for life from then on :-)
The vibe I got from your video was like sitting with a really cool guitar teacher who has a similar appreciation for Eddie and you're just talking like a couple of buds with guitars.
Thank you so much!
I look at it like a talk show, but the music and guitar are the stars.
Thanks for watching and take care!
: )
Interesting stuff. I too thought EVH was a god when i was a kid but didn't play guitar. But in my mid 40s I just decided to start trying to play guitar and I find your video very interesting. Thanks
This is great to hear and thank you so much!
Welcome to Guitarland and that's great that you've started playing!
\m/ ROCK ON \m/
Super vid. In total agreement on Fair Warning and (the most underrated album) Diver Down has some tasty chord structures. Thanks!
VHII was the first tape I was able to convince my parents to buy for me. I liked the look of the cover......... haven't looked back since 🤘
David I agree! I’ve always considered Fair Warning a tier or two above all of the other VH releases. From the tapping intro to Mean Streets all the way to the over the top outro fade out solo to One Foot out the Door--its one heck of a guitar ride all the way through! 🎸🎸🎸🎸
I feel that way too.
: )
I've always put that one in another "place" in my head.
It's unlike any of the other releases and so dark and moody.
Eddie's on fire the entire time.
I also really like Van Halen II. I think it really samples a lot of Eddie's influences and he's all over the place on that one.
I want to say thank you for all these years breaking down the actual theory behind these guitar legends, you explain it all so well and I love your content keep it up!
Nicely presented!
My thought exactly thats why I picked up a guitar.I remember being on the school bus and every day I would bring an 8 track..yes an 8 track! for the bus driver to play.I remember the first time I brought Fair Warning (best album they did) one day.The kids faces went blank..what is this!??? they said.Well I didn't know if they liked it or were scared...I think most were scared especially when "one for out the door" played...even the female bus driver... I think she had a bunch of KC and the sunshine band tape on board...Gotta love it.VH forever
1978 was the first time I heard them. They're one of my favorite bands of all time. Back then Eddie was guitar player of the year and was featured on the cover of guitar magazines.
Another great video....... please do more Van Halen videos please. Thanks for posting 👍👍👍
Awesome lesson!!
Totally awesome info! Thanks!
Great video, enjoyed it!
Great video. Fair Warning tour was my first concert. I remember it like it was yesterday. Charlotte, NC. I was 16.
Yes, do another Van Halen episode!!!
Great video man. I totally connect with you. We’re the same age I’m sure lol I just got my Kramer American restored and this video got me pumped back up to start playing more from my VH roots!!! You rock!! Thank you!!
the best channel in this matter
I´ve only seen Van Halen (Van Hagar) 1 Time ..but it was a GREAT Show , in Frankfurt Germany ..
And YES ! Eddie Van Halen is also to me THE Big Guitar Hero after Hendrix (Page , Clapton, Blackmore)..
Discovered Eddie and his guitar playing late, just as late as I started playing the guitar (I was 21 years old)
First Time i heard "Van Halen I" it HIT me hard ...This SUPERCOOL Guitar Sound ..The Drums ..the crazyness of Roth ..
This guy is one of the most brilliant and sensible analysis iv ever seen..thank u so much for sharing with us ur skills..
Great video. Thanks man!
Awesome video!!!
Great lesson,eds my favorite rythym guitarist,id like to see a part 2
Thank you and I did create a VH part two, but it focused on music from the Sammy era. I'll be sure to add some more EVH ideas to the content soon!
Thanks again and rock on!
Fantastic lesson bro! Learned more from this one lesson than the last 20 Van Halen lessons I've watched!
If you're going to do 10, I'm going to ask for 11 because your approach to this was flawless, great work bud
There’s no question that Van Halen is one of the most influential guitarists! The first player I really started listening to when I first heard their album 1884. A great lead, and also rhythm player. Thanks for sharing his work David! I love all Van Halen music with David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar.
Excellent video. Subscribed. More please. Peace.
great video!
Eddys rhythm guitar is some of the best of all time in RnR. He lends an edge and an aggressive attack to every rhythm he plays that stands out no matter what genre or style he's playing. Playing same chords but he changes up the "routine" to become something new and visionary.
Dave, love these lessons and studies. Watching in Ireland (Dublin) after work late on weeknights, they really are late night lessons for me!
Exelent video, thanks.
Have to agree, eddie's rhythm work is over looked by all his other fretboard pyrotechnics. Awesome player, and like plenty playing today, a big inspiration for me to pick up a guitar and give it a go. Top Eddie, he's the king!!!!!!!
Bro you have a groovy delivery in your instruction 👍
Lots of vids out there about VH, but this is BY FAR THE BEST EVH video I've ever seen!!! Thank you Brother a million times over!!!! More chord play episodes... per favor!!!
Eddie’s playing is unbelievably complex and I’ve been playing his songs 30 years and am still nowhere near where I’d like to be with it.
You see loads of people playing on the Tube that don’t play the chords correctly and it makes a huge difference to the way it sounds but you’ve obviously studied his music for years too and got it right.
Nice playing, nice tone, nice guitar and well explained.👍
Fantastic video with all the chord definitions and that last Eddie progression you played, now I've got to learn it. If you told Eddie he was a master of sus chords he'd probably say " Huh? What's a sus chord? I just put my fingers where it sounds good and roll with it."
Just stumbled upon this. I'm a drummer who has hated the sounds I've heard from 90% of the guitar players I've played with, and your sound is delicious. Rich, thick, and creamy...but articulate. Would love to hear a little more "dirt" in it, but very, very nice! :) Also, you're one of the very, very few players I've listened to on RUclips whose guitar is actually in tune! LOL
rich, thick, and creamy? jesus christ. idk what the hell you're talking about with youtubers being "out of tune". it's 2019, tuning a guitar is painfully easy, and i rarely hear players that are noticeably out of tune. you're insanely critical of an instrument that you don't even play.
Great stuff man...
Very nice work brother, I was blown away back in the day when a friend shared for the first time, "Eruption" with me, it changed my approach towards guitar forever too !!!
AGREED - FAIR WARNING AND VH ll are my favorite VH records. However - from start to finish, I'M THE ONE is the song I consider to be the BIBLE of rock guitar playing, still to this day. His ability to swing that riff the way he does, along with all of the riffs and leads in between the chords set a new level of technical guitar ability. The difference is - the song is JAM-PACKED with music! Not just mindless shred! Anyway - another great lesson, Dave!
I only saw Van Halen live twice, but my first time was 1979, their first headliner tour with VHII. This is the best guitar rock concert I ever attended!
At first I was irate that they dared to charge $7.50, when I had never seen higher than $4.50 at this minor league hockey venue, Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. They quickly sold out without me. We all heard how they blew away Black Sabbath in Cincinnati, then the radio kept playing VHII songs, I ended up paying my friend $12.50 for his ticket.
Their show started with Light Up the Sky, with airborne David Lee Roth jumping off the drum riser, onto a small floor trampoline, to be mid-air as the lights came on and the song's first chord struck! Eddie and Roth looked very much like their VHII back cover photos. This tiny hockey rink sounded like we were inside Eddie's amplifier cabinet, every not crystal clear, faster than humanly possible, and loud and rowdy as heck! Every few songs one of them would do a solo, a bass solo, a drum solo, Roth ranting, and Eddie's manic guitar soloing. With hindsight, decades later, the setlist websites and RUclips videos show Eddie saving it up for one long Eruption solo, but it seemed from memory that he soloed a few times, including Eruption and Spanish Fly. Regardless, most VH songs have a jaw-dropping guitar lead that sounded incredible that night! Roth did the acoustic guitar intro solo for Ice Cream Man. Six years before Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Roth held up a plain white t-shirt with plain black bold letters with Disco F*ck*ng Sucks! written on it, (with vowels, no *). A girl from my junior high wore it to school the next day.
Some say everyone who saw the Sex Pistols play went on to start their own band. I say most guys wanted to play guitar more than every after Eddie Van Halen changed the way an electric guitar is played. My first guitar shopping was for a Fender Strat, but the salesman showed me how to tap on the neck like Eruption, so I bought his Ibanez Strat copy. I learned how to play Sex Pistols, Cheap Trick, and AC/DC chords, but I never got a good look or understanding of VH chords until I saw your video channel, amazing, thanks!
They say your first VH concert is the best, true for me. I saw them on their last tour for 1984 in Biloxi, Mississippi. In comparison to their first show that I saw, I guess the element of surprise was gone, I was expecting that big of a revelation again. Instead I thought they seemed like slow motion, drunken rock stars, compared to my first show of theirs. Hindsight on RUclips again, their 1984 shows were not as lethargic as I remembered, but to me the best was when they were still young and hungry, eager to prove their worth as headliners.
Eddie swings and grooves with the best. The walking chords are very James Taylor where he drops the root in just before the rest of the chord. Great video. Thanks
it would be great to see some Van hargar era chords/songs. you really do an awesome job explaining the use of his technique. thanks for your lessons. great job as always.
Thank you!
I think I will create another VH episode and focus on the Hagar era.
There was a lot of great guitar work on those albums.
: )
First time I see someone explaining Eddie’s rhythm/chords styles so well. Very well done. So refreshing from all the ‘shred’ imitators. 👍👍👍👍👍
There are many videos that came after Eddie's passing away, but there are many more before that... Its a testament to how Great of a influence he was on modern rock music... RIP Eddie
Girl gone bad is a master piece! You can learn the chords, but then you learn he is tapping. The fills he constructs are magical. The solo is intense.
Really great stuff, thanx.
Even the most frenetic single note runs are really just reiterating the chord progression.
Man, I love King Edwards rhythm playing!! Thanks for posting, new subscriber.✌️
Awesome!! Thanks!!
Thank you!
: )
Late Night Lessons ! Nice talk !! Loved this -
This is a great lesson! VH is too much fun!