Advanced rhythm riffs

Beyond Van Halen’s fastest figures, some of Eddie’s trickiest rhythm moves involve pairing fretted notes with chord partials on higher strings, as heard in the intro to “Panama.” Similarly, in FIGURE 9, chord fragments are stated over a repeated 5th-string E.

FIGURE 9

In other instances, Eddie’s fret-hand thumb anchors a 6th-string root while double-stops dart in and out [ FIGURE 10 ], as heard in “Light Up the Sky.” Meanwhile, other exotic offerings like the reggae-flavored “Push Comes to Shove,” combine all of the above elements.

FIGURE 10

RHYTHM FILLS: PICK SCRAPES< DIVE BOMBS and HARMONIC SQUEALS

Michael Anthony’s minimalist bass style—for the most part root notes played in steady eighths—leaves plenty of sonic space for Eddie to experiment with. When the spirit moves him, the guitarist might insert a pick scrape, dive bomb or dramatic 6th-string slide punctuated with fierce vibrato—all demonstrated in FIGURES 11A–C (measures 1–3, respectively). (Note: For the dive bomb in FIGURE 11B, sound the 6th string with a “flick” of your fret-hand thumb then gradually depress the bar.)

FIGURE 11

As for other effects, Eddie unveiled his unique palm-swept harmonics on Van Halen II ’s “You’re No Good” and “Somebody Get Me a Doctor.” To pull off this tasty technique, first lightly touch the strings near the bridge with the blade-side edge of your pick-hand palm. Then, as you repeatedly perform pull-offs on the 3rd string, move your pick hand back and forth between the bridge and neck pickup to stimulate random artificial harmonics (FIGURE 12).

FIGURE 12

Eddie also created rhythmic fills by squeezing natural harmonics between available air pockets in his riffs, in a melodic fashion, as heard in songs like 5150 ’s “Good Enough.” See FIGURE 13 for an example of this technique.

FIGURE 13

DROP-D RIFFS

With the release of Fair Warning in 1981, Eddie staked more new territory with his use of drop-D tuning (low to high, D A D G B E) in a hard-rock context. Years later, the influence of drop-D cuts like “Unchained” and “Dirty Movies,” approximated in FIGURES 14–15, respectively, as well as “Sinners Swing,” would be felt in songs like Ozzy Osbourne’s “No More Tears,” Alice in Chains’ “Would?” and Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name.”

FIGURE 14

FIGURE 15

FINGERSTYLE/HYBRID-PICKING RIFFS

Shortly before the release of Diver Down, Eddie acquired a miniature Les Paul designed by Dave Petschulat. This ax inspired the signature fingerstyle riff of “Little Guitars’ [similar to FIGURE 16 ]—a passage Ed picked with his index and middle fingers. Each double-stop sounds staccato, or shortened, as the fingers are replanted on the strings immediately after each pick.

FIGURE 16

In later years, a number of notable fingerstyle riffs followed, including the verse riff of “Hot for Teacher,” which inspired FIGURE 17, and the quasi-country-rock plucking of OU812 ’s “Finish What Ya Started, which informs FIGURE 18.

FIGURE 17

FIGURE 18

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