Guitarists: What's the hardest VH song to play and why?

[neuralfraud]

As a guitarist having been turned on to the playing of EVH when I was 11, I was always fascinated by his playing... even during the "dark age" as we shall call it.

Nowadays I spend a lot of time playing VH songs as my interest has been (in the last 4 years) renewed and even though I can only play a small handfull of songs by VH, I wondered "What's the hardest one to play?"

I've witnessed wannabe's murder Hot for teacher and seen countless kids trying to pull of eddie licks in the music store, and I chuckle knowing that I can play Hot For Teacher or Aint Talkin' Bout Love, but then I listen to Sinners Swing and that fucking solo is just killer, and it's probably just organic random noodling to boot. I think to myself "Fuck I cant learn that shit"

So with that having been said, I'll put the question out there to YOU: What's the hardest VH song you've tried to play or know how to play and why? What makes it difficult?

Just curious

peace

[VAiN]

If you want a real challenge try 'Hang 'em High'.. the picking on that intro is no joke. It really shows Ed's amazing timing and right hand. Same with 'I'm the One'.. Ed's picking attack and style is way underrated. The timing on those 2, IMO, is next to impossible to nail - at least for a hack like me.

[dazzlindino]

there is alot of the vh catalog that is difficult because of the eddie timing aspects and not just straight eighth note patterns etc.
also the music books are all over the map as far as fretboard position/note clusters...not the efficient ed way
also all of his whammy dives...dive to particular note...not just wild drops....
what is the hardest one....hmmm.....probably getting eruption down......

[Matt White]

MEAN STREETS.....and not just the intro

THe verses kick major ass as does the solo.....and outro

Learn that one & NOBODY will kick sand in your face ever again

[dazzlindino]

there is alot of the vh catalog that is difficult because of the eddie timing aspects and not just straight eighth note patterns etc.
also the music books are all over the map as far as fretboard position/note clusters...not the efficient ed way
also all of his whammy dives...dive to particular note...not just wild drops....
what is the hardest one....hmmm.....probably getting eruption down......

uhh hmmm...replying to my own post....http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11390324 this is eruption section 1 vh on one side my tracks on the other, then my tracks alone repeated....

[Terry]

MEAN STREETS.....and not just the intro

THe verses kick major ass as does the solo.....and outro

Learn that one & NOBODY will kick sand in your face ever again

The intro is a bitch.

The Hot For Teacher intro is tough to get flowing smoothly, and is a hell of a stretch between the index and ring fingers on the fretboard.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Great question NF.

The hardest one for me is the part of the solo in One Foot Out the Door that descends.. at 1:28



I've seen the tab and it doesn't make sense. I know logically it's a descending chromatic run. I just have to sit down with it at half speed .
Slowing it to half speed demystifies what's going on. If you want to sound like him you just have to focus on what notes are accented, whether he is playing slightly ahead or behind the beat, where to pick to get the right pitched false harmonic, etc.
The repetition is tough but doing it that way , once you get it , it engrained in your marrow.

The Ice Cream Man solo's a challenge because of the reach and if appears that it's a four-note per string pattern but it's a 3 note per string pattern. Once you get the aha moment it's the easiest thing in the world. If you don't get which notes are accented then it falls short.

That said there is a section in Eruption I've never heard anybody do accurately. (studio version) That is the part after the three chords and he goes high with the overbends and the triplets. I've heard a lot of talented people get real close. To answer what makes it difficult I would say in all cases is understanding the nuances of what makes him sound so phenomenal.

I can't say that the hardest one to play for me is the hardest one for VAiN, you, Matt, dazz, or anyone. That depends on what picking exercises you do.

If you're having challenges by using video lessons of picking exercises, (like the one in gear street of the guitar player from Steel Panther) and any of the Paul Gilbert or Vinnie Moore lesson vids, you can grow to the point where if you listen at half speed you don't get overwhelmed.

I hope this makes sense. It's hard to explain this kind of stuff. Anybody can do it, they just have to REALLY want to.
That means the passion has to over-ride the "oh shit I could never do that" which everybody has experienced.

[Seshmeister]

I'm surprised by you saying that.

[JJtheVagPounder]

If you want a real challenge try 'Hang 'em High'.. the picking on that intro is no joke. It really shows Ed's amazing timing and right hand. Same with 'I'm the One'.. Ed's picking attack and style is way underrated. The timing on those 2, IMO, is next to impossible to nail - at least for a hack like me.

Shut up....

[sadaist]

As a full tablature reading/butchering hack...Aint Talkin Bout Love isn't too hard. The intro was the very first thing I ever learned on the guitar. Once you have that down you pretty much have the whole song.

Not including the solo of course. I never graduated from rhythm to solos.

[VAiN]

IMO, trying to sound like Eddie is pretty much an impossible task.. I've taken the 'spirit' of VH-style playing.. saying fuck it, having a good time and going for it. Sometimes it's grate, sometimes.. ehhh.. not so much. But whatever. They tell me I have a good time. I think the in end that's what it's all about.

[Nitro Express]

Panama is probably one of the easier VH tunes. Mean Streets is a killer. The intro is basically bass slap funk applied to the guitar but trying to get it to sound like Ed is one hell of a bitch.

[Nitro Express]

If you want a real challenge try 'Hang 'em High'.. the picking on that intro is no joke. It really shows Ed's amazing timing and right hand. Same with 'I'm the One'.. Ed's picking attack and style is way underrated. The timing on those 2, IMO, is next to impossible to nail - at least for a hack like me.

That song always reminded me of some fast banjo playing for some reason. It's one of those rip snortin yee haawww songs!

[VAiN]

That song always reminded me of some fast banjo playing for some reason. It's one of those rip snortin yee haawww songs!

I totally get that!

[Hardrock69]

Well, the thing about Ed and Al is that they have syncopation down to a fine art.

I had a fucking bitch of a time trying to learn "I'm The One", but then, when it first came out, I had only been playing guitar for a year and a half or so.

Took me a few years to become a competent guitarist, much less be able to play radical shit like that.

Still one of the most difficult songs in my opinion. Also, Loss Of Control is a mother to play, but the licks are not that hard....just that the song itself is the fastest song they ever recorded.

[hain23x]

I haven't learned a new VH song in ages. The solo run to "On Fire" for me was always a challenge to get it real smooth. Maybe some day i'll get back in there and learn some more of his stuff. I never did get around to learning the Mean Street intro so maybe that one! lol

I don't think anything his playing is really "hard' but rather it's his attack that makes it sound like it's over the top IMO.

[neuralfraud]

wow! great responses. fuckin a. I tend to synthesize my own way of getting the notes i hear out o fthe guitar.. for example the intro to mean street - I know he's doing something with his pinky at some point but it doesn't make sense to me and I can get the same note without having to do the extra work, so fuck who knows.

If you want a real challenge try 'Hang 'em High'.. the picking on that intro is no joke. It really shows Ed's amazing timing and right hand. Same with 'I'm the One'.. Ed's picking attack and style is way underrated. The timing on those 2, IMO, is next to impossible to nail - at least for a hack like me.

I just started to learn Hang em High about a month ago. .The beginning was very difficult but I figured it out finally. The guitar work on that song is just amazing it's all just organic and doesn't sound at all rehearsed or polished from a giutar playing standpoint.

To do the intro I basically played 7th fret 6th string and 7th fret 4th string and then open 5th string 7th fret 4th string - least amount of hand movement

Still trying to figure out the noodling right before the first verse kicks in, but I can finally get through it, it's a ride man.

[neuralfraud]

Well, the thing about Ed and Al is that they have syncopation down to a fine art.

I had a fucking bitch of a time trying to learn "I'm The One", but then, when it first came out, I had only been playing guitar for a year and a half or so.

Took me a few years to become a competent guitarist, much less be able to play radical shit like that.

Still one of the most difficult songs in my opinion. Also, Loss Of Control is a mother to play, but the licks are not that hard....just that the song itself is the fastest song they ever recorded.

Yea, loss of control. I love that song because it's just insanity. If that doesnt get you fired up, you're probably dead.

I've tried to figure that one out but Ive never put too much time into it.

Shit.. tried playing the drums to that once though... ONCE.

(fuck that!)

[neuralfraud]

Difficult for me:

Hang Em High:
the intro took some practice to get the timing right and finding a comfortable position to play the damn thing on.. the pace of the song is quick and there's very dramatic changes in neck position so accuracy needs to be spot on-even ed slopped it up!

I probably sound competent playing it but I know it's way off, and so will you guys ;p

Hot For Teacher
I've been able to play this for years now and finally figured out the solo with exception of some of the timing but I realize I'm not EVH and it's better to just play it "good enough" - at least the notes are there. The tapping is difficult because of the stretch for sure... but also the clean parts with the finger picking are a nice challenge. it doesnt seem like a big deal but for me it is tough to get the notes articulated on that part.. also timing the volume knob.

if i were to list all i could play, lets see:

• Runnin with the devil
• eruption (good enough damnit!)
• aint talkin bout love
• somebody get me a doctor - still working on the solo getting everything tight
• romeo delight - god i love that song.
• mean street - I know im not playing the intro right because everyone can see how ed plays it, but the notes sound about the same so that works for me ;0 the percussive tapping on the 12th fret is challenging because my finger rolls off the fretboard on the 1st string and it sounds all fucked up.. d'oh
• unchained - a simple vh song but one of the most ass kicking for sure.
• Hang em High - that song just jams. lots of changes, alternating picking, all kinds of shit
• Panama
• Hot for Teacher

you know what though? give me shit or not, one of his most interesting solos has to be on humans being.. he makes it sound like he's just able to bend the string forever and it's really intense, but in reality its pretty f'n tough to move up the fret board with the b string constantly bent and maintaining pitch between moves..

me wise magic is fun to play.

Still have a lot to learn

[DLR Bridge]

Only those who "have it" can get Girl Gone Bad down. After decades of tinkering with bits and pieces of that song, I clearly do not "have it". I'll stick to tasty rhythm guitar.

[ELVIS]

Top Jimmy is so difficult I never even tried it...

[Matt White]

Top Jimmy is so difficult I never even tried it...

Never been into all that "Re-tune your guitar" jazz....unless its the RAIN SONG

[Seshmeister]

I'm surprised by you saying that.

I was speaking to the Hot for Teacher intro which I always thought was one of those things that looks and sounds harder than it is IMHO.

[Panamark]

I wonder if we will all have a "Different Kind of Answer" in a week.......

[vandeleur]

obsessing over the solo in jump ....it was the start of me playing lots more ....even now when i solo i slip into it almost as the path of least resistance ...... but for a long time it was me or it .... and the fact it took me nearly all day to play the 15 seconds of the solo never put me off lol

[VAiN]

Only those who "have it" can get Girl Gone Bad down. After decades of tinkering with bits and pieces of that song, I clearly do not "have it". I'll stick to tasty rhythm guitar.

Oh, Girl Gone Bad! I didn't even think of that one... yes - awesome riffage going on in that one.. Such a killer tune. I love the 82/83 Somebody Get Me a Doctor jams with the early workings of the tune in the middle... just brilliant!

[Seshmeister]

I wonder if we will all have a "Different Kind of Answer" in a week.......

I doubt it, I'm pretty sure Eddie's best years are behind him.

[DLR Bridge]

I doubt it, I'm pretty sure Eddie's best years are behind him.

Ye of little faith! Don't count him out. He displayed some fancy flash in the solo to She's The Woman at Cafe Wha? I'm willing to bet he's upped his game a bit from the days of using the sustainer as a crutch.

[vandeleur]

I doubt it, I'm pretty sure Eddie's best years are behind him.

Your probabley right but BIG BUT ..... all bets are off at the moment ... who would have thought 6 months ago :
we would have a cd( nearly) , a single a club gig that we had an army member at . the weekly updates the total push with a genuine record label, ed looking like he could even be happy , wolf showing that he is the real deal acoustic videos ....... am waiting for a dallas come out of the shower moment and this is all a dream.
At the moment nothing would surprise me in van halen land .... and that an exciting feeling to have

[jhale667]

If you want a real challenge try 'Hang 'em High'.. the picking on that intro is no joke. It really shows Ed's amazing timing and right hand. Same with 'I'm the One'.. Ed's picking attack and style is way underrated. The timing on those 2, IMO, is next to impossible to nail - at least for a hack like me.

IMO, "I'm the One" is way more difficult rhythmically than "Hang 'em High"...maybe that's just me...

MEAN STREETS.....and not just the intro

THe verses kick major ass as does the solo.....and outro

Learn that one & NOBODY will kick sand in your face ever again

Yeah, not only does that one get you mad props from the other guitarists in the audience, bar crowds go completely batty when you launch into it...

But as the saying goes, 80% of your tone is in your fingers, and since none of us has 'em but Ed, the best you could hope for would be to be an accurate clone (even if you have the correct gear), which IS cool if you're in a tribute band, but... I'd rather get the licks as close to right as I can but still sound like ME playin' 'em...much like VH never did letter-perfect versions of the songs THEY covered...

[Coyote]

"Beautiful Girls" was a challenge back in the day. Couldn't get that feel going, no matter how I tried.
Had to get into funk/soul to get it "right", LOL...

"Girl Gone Bad" and "Mean Streets" (intro on both), the tap harmonics are still a bitch to nail. Especially on the high E-string...

"I'm The One", "Eruption", "Fools" (intro), ... Let's not go there.

[indeedido]

I can not get that swing down on I'm the One.

[Seshmeister]

Going back to the Mean Street intro I'm not bad at tapped harmonics but I've never spent the time to learn it properly.

I talked to Brian Young about it and he said it took him a couple of weeks on and off to master it.

If I had 2 weeks to spend on my playing I don't think I would use it for this now although I would love to be able to do it. Maybe once I retire...

Anyhoo for those of you with the time or super natural ability this is an excellent and kind of fun on line lesson.

http://www.vanderbilly.com/Guitar-Le...t,12127,1.html

I always wonder if that guy comes to this site, he seems the type...

[ELVIS]

Brian Young never mastered any Van Halen song...

[VanHalenI]

a fucking killer that ed's having trouble nailing it is ICE CREAM MAN fucking solo almost impossible!