{"id":121779,"date":"2021-12-10T08:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T16:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=121779"},"modified":"2023-06-01T14:58:07","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T21:58:07","slug":"video-lesson-exploring-rock-legend-eddie-van-halens-acoustic-guitar-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/video-lesson-exploring-rock-legend-eddie-van-halens-acoustic-guitar-side\/","title":{"rendered":"Video Lesson: Exploring Rock Legend Eddie Van Halen\u2019s Acoustic Guitar Side"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From the March\/April 2021 issue<\/a> of Acoustic Guitar<\/em> |<\/strong> By Chris Buono<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a career spanning more than four decades, Eddie Van Halen made an indelible mark on the guitar world. Van Halen, who succumbed to cancer in October 2020 at age 65, was the quintessential guitar hero, not to mention a skilled songwriter, arranger, engineer, and producer. He gave us music that was loved all over the world and which will continue to inspire rock musicians and listeners alike for generations to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With his striped \u201cFrankenstein\u201d guitars and his elusive \u201cbrown sound,\u201d Van Halen is celebrated as a purveyor of all things electric guitar. But the truth is he was a nimble and inspired multi-instrumentalist. As early as his namesake band\u2019s third album, Women and Children First<\/a><\/em> (1980), Van Halen was recording parts with assorted keyboards. In fact, it was the mega-hit \u201cJump\u201d<\/a> from 1984<\/a><\/em>, built around a riff played on an Oberheim OB-Xa <\/a>synthesizer, that solidified Van Halen as a household name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Eddie
Eddie Van Halen is celebrated as a purveyor of all things electric guitar, but he was a nimble and inspired multi-instrumentalist.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Van Halen also applied his virtuosity, inventiveness, and rhythmic swagger to the acoustic guitar throughout his recorded output. In this lesson we\u2019ll look at selections spanning nearly the entire Van Halen catalog, ranging from 1979\u2019s Van Halen II<\/em> <\/a>through the group\u2019s 1995 release, Balance<\/a><\/em>. From the deep swing in \u201cTake Your Whiskey Home\u201d<\/a> to scorching solo pieces like the flamenco-influenced \u201cLittle Guitars (Intro)\u201d <\/a>to the touching tribute to his son Wolfgang, \u201c316,\u201d <\/a>you\u2019ll find unplugged Van Halen has plenty of gold to uncover, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Triadic Madness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the gaggle of songs Van Halen composed for his band, there\u2019s a hefty dose of bright progressions consisting of major and sus4 chords. One application that never failed Van Halen was playing triads on three adjacent strings. That approach translates well on acoustic, as evidenced throughout \u201cTake Me Back (Deja Vu),\u201d<\/a> from Balance<\/a><\/em>. Check out Example 1<\/strong> (below), patterned after the song\u2019s intro, in which a I\u2013V\u2013bVII\u2013IV (D\u2013A\u2013C\u2013G) progression in D major unfolds on the top three strings against the ringing open D. Make an effort to avoid playing the fifth and sixth strings as you use a 16th-note strumming motion. At the same time, apply a medium attack with only a slight accent on the chords that fall on the downbeat of one and the upbeat of two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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