Van Halen Tabs

Eddie Van Halen is arguably the most influential rock and roll guitarist of the last thirty years, and all guitar players who are fans of his incomparable style will be interested in Van Halen tabs.

When Van Halen's self-titled debut record was released in 1978, the world of rock guitar was changed overnight. It was the album's second track, an instrumental solo guitar piece appropriately named Eruption, that took this unknown guitarist from Pasadena, California and instantly catapulted him to the highest echelons of guitar royalty. Eddie's playing is the complete package of tasteful phrasing, an innovative two-handed tapping technique, swinging rhythm playing and an unmistakable sound, all delivered with a passion and joy that only the true greats possess.

The following list highlights some of the most definitive songs from Eddie Van Halen's illustrious catalogue and will show you where on the web to find Van Halen guitar tabs. So tune up and get ready to try your hand at playing some of these marvelous compositions.

The Essential Van Halen Tabs

No guitar player with a love for Van Halen should be without tabs for the following standards. While you're at the sites that are linked to below, be sure to look around the Van Halen section, as versions of many of their other songs are also available.

Eruption: This is the song that started it all. Just under two minutes long, Eruption climaxes with a tapping solo at the end that introduced the world to this incredible new technique. In many ways, the entire 1980s' metal movement owes its existence to this solo. See the sites Guitare Tab and FretPlay for excellent transcriptions of this essential Van Halen track.

Spanish Fly: From Van Halen's second album, appropriately named Van Halen II, Spanish Fly is often thought of as the acoustic Eruption. Played on a nylon string guitar, this solo also highlights Van Halen's signature tapping technique. Played on the nylon string, the real beauty and emotion of Van Halen's playing comes across. FretPlay, Guitare Tab, and AZChords all offer good tabs for this song.

Everybody Wants Some!: This pure rock anthem from Women and Children First features a classic Van Halen breakdown in the middle where the vocals and the guitar trade riffs back and forth. Make sure you have your whammy bar ready to play some of these excellent dive bomb licks. See the transcriptions at Ultimate Guitar and xGuitar.

Unchained: The first track on the second side of the band's fourth album Fair Warning is pure rock and roll. Featuring a dropped D tuning, this riff is heavy, dark and full of groove. If you have a garage rock and roll band, learn this song! Check out AZChords and Guitare Tab for great tabs of this great track.

Oh, Pretty Woman: This Roy Orbison cover from the band's fifth album Diver Down features an extended introduction called Intruder that consists of large amounts of guitar feedback and noise. Van Halen uses the long, dark introduction to build tension to a near breaking point before they kick into the famous Oh, Pretty Woman riff. Tabs for Intruder are unfortunately unavailable (it's just too abstract), but try to improvise your own version and use these resources from xGuitar and FretPlay to learn Oh, Pretty Woman.

'Jump: Isn't Jump a keyboard song? Yes, it is, but it also features one of the most famous guitar solos in rock and roll history. Besides, it was the band's biggest hit, and any true fan should know how to play the guitar solo. Check out MyGuitarSolo (where you can download a Word document of the solo) and FretPlay.

Beat It: You might have noticed a rather incredible solo in the middle of Michael Jackson's Beat It. That great solo was played by none other than Eddie Van Halen. Show your knowledge of rock and roll history by learning to play this ripping solo using Van Halen tabs from Ultimate Guitar and Guitare Tab.

Print Resources

If you are old school and like to have your tabs in book form where they are easier to read, check out the Van Halen Store for a complete line of Van Halen tabs in book form.

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