Unchained is easy and fun to play plus it's a rhythm you can really sink your teeth into! "Feel your love tonight" on the first album is pretty accessible too. Don't limit yourself to just one guitarist when learning riffs and solos. Learn from them all.
Van Halen - Top 5 easy Guitar Songs ?
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G
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·well I first learned panama,then jump, then hot for teacher,eruption, and now mean street. Its pretty tough but if your motivated to get it right, youll get it.
Come on guys don't take this so seriously, Evergrey took a swipe at Eruption and I just had to respond. After all this thread was about easy VH riffs to learn. Now Evergrey is banned!?!? As for my tastes, the only guitarist worth arguing for is Holdsworth so, forget my Satch and Vai comments above. Though there are some pretty damn good guitarist on this site!
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Evergrey was another eternal clone that's why he was banned ...
vai and satch are indeed off this planet , but i don't know i still wouldn't consider eruption something for a beginner .... that crazy picking style is impossible to emulate i don't care what anyone says !
as for holdsworth .. i don't even wanna think about learning some of his tunes lol i just dont have the technique for that hehe
vai and satch are indeed off this planet , but i don't know i still wouldn't consider eruption something for a beginner .... that crazy picking style is impossible to emulate i don't care what anyone says !
as for holdsworth .. i don't even wanna think about learning some of his tunes lol i just dont have the technique for that hehe
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170 Posts
Van Halen is all about timing and feel. No VH song is easy. If you want easy, try some Judas Priest, AC/DC, or Scorpions. They are EASIER anyway.
For VH: RWTD, Dance The Night Away, SGMAD, ATBL, YRGM are all a good place to start. The solo for RWTD is one of EVH's easier to get under your fingers, so I'd recommend that song first. Good luck!
If you want to sound like Eddie, you've got to play like him.
For VH: RWTD, Dance The Night Away, SGMAD, ATBL, YRGM are all a good place to start. The solo for RWTD is one of EVH's easier to get under your fingers, so I'd recommend that song first. Good luck!
If you want to sound like Eddie, you've got to play like him.
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Guest
·1. Don't Tell Me
2. Beautiful Girls
3. And the Cradle Will Rock
4. Hear About It Later
5. Best of Both Worlds
and some honourable mentions - because they are really fun to learn and play:
Source of Infection
Black and Blue
Poundcake
The Dream Is Over
Baluchitherium
Humans Being
Without You
It's About Time
2. Beautiful Girls
3. And the Cradle Will Rock
4. Hear About It Later
5. Best of Both Worlds
and some honourable mentions - because they are really fun to learn and play:
Source of Infection
Black and Blue
Poundcake
The Dream Is Over
Baluchitherium
Humans Being
Without You
It's About Time
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1,064 Posts
Yep, EVHs timing is the key to making some of his stuff sound good. The riffs themselves aren't hard, it's getting them there in that weird timing that eddie has all to himself.Stiglar said:
Even "Dance the Night Away" has some of that key Eddie timing that is difficult to get at first. I have heard tons of bands cover that song and they do it ok, but nobody has got that feel down for it like EVH.
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68 Posts
Remember EVH is all about the sound he get's!
It's one thing to learn the notes But I've yet to really hear many people on this Planet get a sound close to his.
My point is there are some songs by EVH that are not very hard to learn but you will soon find out that it's his sound and feel that everyone gets off on not so much the notes he plays.
This is why people like Steve Vai may be faster and more Technical than Eddie, But VH is much more interesting to listen to.
John. :afro:
It's one thing to learn the notes But I've yet to really hear many people on this Planet get a sound close to his.
My point is there are some songs by EVH that are not very hard to learn but you will soon find out that it's his sound and feel that everyone gets off on not so much the notes he plays.
This is why people like Steve Vai may be faster and more Technical than Eddie, But VH is much more interesting to listen to.
John. :afro:
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278 Posts
To each his own, but...
Like Strat 78 said, ATBL is an easier song to PLAY but to get to SOUND like Ed on the album is another thing. WIth the reverb, the echo, and the Flanger all working on the same page is one thing....the chorus riff that he goes into right after the intro and again in the the chorus is very hard to get that bounce back of the A chord. Ive seen tons of people play it just downpicking, chunking awaay on a muted open A, hitting it again and then hitting the G chord, but if you listen, this is not how Ed plays it, especially if you listen closely to the notes hes hitting and what is the delay. And the solo is impossible b/c he sounds like he used a sitar over the top of it. You can get **close** using a Phase 90 but it is not exactly what is there.
As far as Unchained goes, the pre-chorus, you know the "THought youd never miss me till I got a Fat City address" is hard to pull off b/c he is not just sliding G-F and then A-G; he is hitting chords on the E-A strings as well and then to time it right with the descending chromatic thing that he does right before the chorus is tough to time as well.
As far as EVH, Vai, Satch, etc. Each has there strong points. Lynch is probably faster than all of them and then maybe Gilbert or someone like that is even faster than Lynch, etc. Each guitarist has their niche or whatnot; like Strat said, try and learn from everyone. EVH didnt just lock himself in a closet and listen to Clapton and no one else. I will say however, that like the one dude on here who has Zakk Wylde claiming that EVH is the complete package - i will agree - Eddie can write a riff, sing, write a song, play some killer licks and he definitely doesnt "Copy" his shit - he was original not only playing but how to use an amp, build a guitar, etc. He is original, which is pretty rare, especially nowadays when it seems like 90% of new music is in dropped tuning with a guy screaming his head off for vocals and the drummer doing double bass. I wish music was more "original" like EVH was back in the day.
Just my $.02, FWIW.
Paul
Like Strat 78 said, ATBL is an easier song to PLAY but to get to SOUND like Ed on the album is another thing. WIth the reverb, the echo, and the Flanger all working on the same page is one thing....the chorus riff that he goes into right after the intro and again in the the chorus is very hard to get that bounce back of the A chord. Ive seen tons of people play it just downpicking, chunking awaay on a muted open A, hitting it again and then hitting the G chord, but if you listen, this is not how Ed plays it, especially if you listen closely to the notes hes hitting and what is the delay. And the solo is impossible b/c he sounds like he used a sitar over the top of it. You can get **close** using a Phase 90 but it is not exactly what is there.
As far as Unchained goes, the pre-chorus, you know the "THought youd never miss me till I got a Fat City address" is hard to pull off b/c he is not just sliding G-F and then A-G; he is hitting chords on the E-A strings as well and then to time it right with the descending chromatic thing that he does right before the chorus is tough to time as well.
As far as EVH, Vai, Satch, etc. Each has there strong points. Lynch is probably faster than all of them and then maybe Gilbert or someone like that is even faster than Lynch, etc. Each guitarist has their niche or whatnot; like Strat said, try and learn from everyone. EVH didnt just lock himself in a closet and listen to Clapton and no one else. I will say however, that like the one dude on here who has Zakk Wylde claiming that EVH is the complete package - i will agree - Eddie can write a riff, sing, write a song, play some killer licks and he definitely doesnt "Copy" his shit - he was original not only playing but how to use an amp, build a guitar, etc. He is original, which is pretty rare, especially nowadays when it seems like 90% of new music is in dropped tuning with a guy screaming his head off for vocals and the drummer doing double bass. I wish music was more "original" like EVH was back in the day.
Just my $.02, FWIW.
Paul
6 out of 10? -I agree, that is if you simply hit the same notes Edward hits (IF ONE CAN FIND THEM). However, to actually play the notes with the wonderful flair and aggression Edward employs is an entirely different story. It's called style which transcends any 1 to 10 rating nonsense!Stingray said:
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I myself wouldn't consider any Van Halen song easy. They all have some work involved with them. You all have to look at a beginner's point of view! When you all started out on guitar,, did you take "Ain't Talkin Bout Love" and learn it as your fist song? I dont think so.I can almost bet on that one.The beginning riff in Ain't talkin bout love has alot of finger movement in it,, and is not an eay one to execute,, especially from a beginner's aspect.. Sure,, it may be easy for all that have Yrs of playing under their belt,,, But take that riff and show it to a beginning guitarist,, who is learning,,, and you will know what I mean. I know this,, because I'm teaching some students guitar,, and one of the tunes im teaching him is "Ain't talkin Bout Love",,, and he is finding out that it isnt an easy riff to get down,, and he is one of my top learning students,, plus it helps him get his fingers to move more and open up on the fretboard. Calling Van Halen easy guitar is just insane,, and just like Strat78 said,,, to do his music with same as Ed with everything flawless,, and notes spot on and all,,with same emphasis as Ed,, Id like to hear that.. because for one thing you wont.. Everyone has different size fingers,, plays and touches the fretboard in every way shape or form differently,, cause we all are not the same,, and the amount of attack with the pick,, etc.. changes from one person to another. I do agree,, if you wanna start on a VH tune,, I'd work on aint talkin bout love,,, or the rhythm in "Where have all the good times gone" is a good starting point as well,, plus if you wanna learn some diatonic chords,, learn to play "Black and Blue" its a great tune,, but im gonna tell ya it isnt easy,, but then again ,, none of van halen's tunes are. as for people saying that panama is easy,, sure,, its easy riff wise if you been playing 2 to 3 yrs ,, but not for a beginner.everyone has to go back and look at these things from a beginniners point of view.:icon_thum
This is a pretty dead issue it seems everyone has commented, but I am a huge Eddie fan which is why I started playing guitar and feel I must add here. The second song I learned to play on the guitar was '316' by VH. There is a hammer-on pull-off combo in there that is really tricky for a beginner becuase it happens on the B and D strings at the same time, but I just would hammer on and off the B string until I got better. A great short song and repetative as well and you get to do a little tapping at the end.
The next song I learned was You Really Got Me, relatively easy minus the fills and solo, which after about a year of practicing it, you'll have em down. I dabbled with Ain't talkin bout Love and for me it wasn't that hard...of course my fingering that I use is very unorthadox and has stuck with me ever since...I use my thumb for 3 notes on two different strings one of them being the B string!! Weird I know, but it works. the solo I didn't find that hard at all, but the SOUND for that song is extremely original. I am still trying to nail it. I even went so far as to buy an original MXR Flanger and it is still not exact.
Anyhow, Runnin with the Devil is very very easy...even the solo is easy and I've seen the backing track for that on here I think. Good Luck...it all takes practice.
The next song I learned was You Really Got Me, relatively easy minus the fills and solo, which after about a year of practicing it, you'll have em down. I dabbled with Ain't talkin bout Love and for me it wasn't that hard...of course my fingering that I use is very unorthadox and has stuck with me ever since...I use my thumb for 3 notes on two different strings one of them being the B string!! Weird I know, but it works. the solo I didn't find that hard at all, but the SOUND for that song is extremely original. I am still trying to nail it. I even went so far as to buy an original MXR Flanger and it is still not exact.
Anyhow, Runnin with the Devil is very very easy...even the solo is easy and I've seen the backing track for that on here I think. Good Luck...it all takes practice.
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