The Best Thing To Learn In Order To Play Like Ed

[jnew]

Waaaay off bro. It's Baum ba deeda.

[garbeaj]

G , Sorry I missed the Q . That was a while ago . Yeah , I really think you can find enough mojo and vibe in Cream with Clapton , and Journey with Niel Schon burning as well as the soul of David Gilmour . Should really just say Steve Lukather too . That's the implication with the soul and feel . From that point I find that within Eruption you find a lot . Forget the tapping . That to me is childs play . I say that the solo played slower to get the just of the nuances is really , really quite materfull . Then you tag along closely putting down the electric and pick up your flamenco guitar and rip out Spanish Fly . Here you realize its really hard to go from A to B . And you realize that the technique transfers from flamenco guitar to electric . That's where the gritty staccato ripping takes place . And to appreciate it , slowed down is even better . Just a bit not much . You will feel it when you get the second and third phrasings that stand alone . Then you realize the roadmap on the fretboard . Spanish fly mapped out on the fretboard is a harmonic minor . Its just taking a scale and build octave upon octave until you fill up the entire fretboard with the notes on that scale . Here you will find fingerings that allow you to rip flash breaks like in Im the One . The Eruption non tapping component is how Ed worked hard to find his own sound and get his way around the fretboard . Some is Holdsworth , Some is just theory from his Dad . The swing in Eruption is evident and the cadence upon notes is a signature . But Spanish Fly can take you from Ed to Malmsteen very easily if you map the scale . Throw in some chromatic relief and your cool hand Luke . Some Humor and paint your self gold , BOOM Vai . See what I mean ? Maybe ? Boom ba deeda Boom ba deeda , Happy Traillsss........ you get it .

Hmm...If I am following you...

Eddie's playing really is built largely on Clapton. I don't think Gilmour was a factor and especially not Neil Schon and Lukather who are contemporaries of Ed. If you are saying that one can get a feel for Ed from Gilmour, Schon and Lukather?!

[jnew]

I don't think he was trying to say that Gilmore, Schon and Lukather were influences to Ed. I THINK he meant that breaking down the nuances in their styles sort of layout a roadmap to how they think and feel their way around the fretboard. Or sort of trains the thought process to better understand their individual approach. Or I'm completely full of SH*&^T.

[rgorke]

Or sort of trains the thought process to better understand their individual approach. Or I'm completely full of SH*&^T.

Well, that's beside the point....

[jnew]

Ha. I guess I axed for that.

[RR1417]

http://jasobrecht.com/eddie-van-halen-c ... nterviews/

Eddie said this but long ago-

What guitar players were you most influenced by?

Uh, that’s a toughie, really. But I’d say the main one, believe it or not, was Eric Clapton. I mean, I know I don’t sound like him . . . .

You’re more like Hendrix or Blackmore.

Yeah, I know. I don’t know why, because Hendrix I like, but I was never into him like I was Clapton. And Clapton, man, I know every fuckin’ solo he ever played, note-for-note, still to this day.

You memorized them?

Oh, yeah! I used to sit down and learn that stuff note-for-note.

Off the record?

Yeah. The live stuff, like “Spoonful,” “I’m So Glad” live – all that stuff.

[garbeaj]

Yeah that is the first of many, many quotes about Clapton from Ed. But most people really don't "get" the connection. I made this thread to try to help point out that Ed was really giving us the most explicit clue ever about how to play his licks in the quote you posted and many others that came later.

I really don't think that anyone will have a prayer of really understanding Ed's playing unless the live Cream material is learned...it really was a "magic key" for me when I learned the live Cream stuff and then applied what I learned to Ed's playing...Voila...the speed and feel was there and it wasn't there before I learned the live Cream material.

[plexified]

Hey G , I got what your saying . And you are correct . You gotta go for the cream . But to do so is a long time playing until you can actually feel it . To give an example of it . You could not understand my previous post including players that have nothing to do with ED . Or so everyone thought . If you can feel it you can vibe it . Think of Lukather with his tri stereo chorus mumbo jumbo speak . The guy felt what he delivered . That was the point . If you can connect , like Gilmore and give me some comfortably numb , well your in the game . Give me some Clapton , ok , your in the game . The Spanish Fly and the Eruption components give you enough to work on . Especially fuck the tapping shit . Loose it . The second and third cadence for Eruption should leave you speechless or fretless . WTF ? what just happened . Steve Vai didn't when he tried to transcribe it in Guitar Player Magazine . High hopes = steep slopes . So get a grip . Holdsworth was a total wet dream for Ed . Ever see Alan play . His hands morph to 17 inch stretches and he creates his own language . That's where Ed was at come Fair Warning . Fair Warning was a total Wild Turkey consuming three pack a day Marlboro consuming chaser . He put it on the table , Fair Warning , I am coming after you Alen , Push come shove . In conclusion , he was too drunk to record Alen and although he had his own studio and managed to do a drunk special ops of re recording all he wanted when all was gone . Well , he fell off the stoop . So learn to be a drunk . Ramp it up and among the journey , you will find the magic feeling . Hey Zak Wylde , my friend I grew up with is this same dung example . Now they both are just a mess . A wise man once said , If I knew I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself . Boom , Scale system - Spanish Fly , Eruption . Done . Oh and start drinking to find your sphwinng . Sucks but true . To finalize this rant . The most alcoholic will find themselves physically addicted to the drug . And in amidst the fog they hear things . Like albums worth of music . Yeah , I said it . Wake up , their is a lot going on here .

[garbeaj]

I don't know what the fuck you are talking about man.

[JiMB]

I think it's about the booze.

[rdodson]

Plexified hints at the somewhat tortured and chemically-hindered relationship Eddie and Allan had. Both were a bit of a mess at times.

[Strat78]

Ah, Plexifield. Sending us messages from the outer parameters, yet getting down to the protein plasma of the matter, unfurling maps that only a life stained artist can decipher. Still, I think the booze was Ed's muse and kept him company in his room during his most productive youthful years. As we get older, it's not the same trick.

[fivecoyote]

P-fied! Totally makes sense to me brother. Toss Jimi in there too, Page, etc.

For Ed, I'd toss in thousands of hours of jazz baked into his conscious and subconscious along with Al's, and everything gets baked with that recipe.

[plexified]

Garbaej , To play like Ed you have to morph a mindset so to speak . You can copy his stuff , never all of it but a good portion . I was trying to say guys like Steve Vai tried to transcribe eruption and when you look at it since it was on paper it was a far cry from what went down . Guys like Pete Thorn got closer with his how to series . I suggest you forget about the tapping part , because the meat of the event happened with a pick . Ed was a big drinker . I was too a long time ago . I had a long life of being a chameleon where I could play everyone elses music but had really no soulful voice of my own . So a few things happened . I got in major tune with my chameleon self and began to vibe every player that ever lived . I could play it all and still said to myself , why do I not have a voice . At the same time as I drank a lot from a painful divorce a death really I had one day where I was to go shopping for some groceries . I paused because something pulled me into my studio and I plugged in . It was a song called the thrill is gone by BB King that I started playing with . Well my ol 12 series Plexi started to pur , dance around on the floor atop the cabinet and I got lost . I was being played . You heard Clapton talk of it , You have heard of SRV talk of it , its like a radio station you are tuned into and it flows through you . This is what I am getting at . To further the lore of how to , alcohol is capable of taking a man down a road to a dark place and in this place you are addicted physically . Here you have withdrawls . Its that severe . I had albums worth of music flow my way during this dance and that is another factor here . I know that many a record was written in this state of mind . Not proud of it these days , actually proud to have walked away intact . When I talk of Lukather or Gilmore or Schon , these guys have danced the same dance and found a voice and in that voice is a feel that is undeniable . The feel is what Ed really conveys . Its not a Clapton like feel , although he knows it note for note . But Eric is a huge alcoholic and drug addict although in recovery . Recovery is forever , like me . When you step away and are dry your still in recovery , forever . It touched your life and in these cases it left an imprint and a growth ring on the tree . Many an artist is a recovering or dead user . Those are the two options here . When it comes to my comment regarding a road map . Draw a fretboard for yourself . Now take the idea of climbing the fretboard low to high like in Spanish Fly . Index finger , middle and pinky and go to frets 135 on the E and 135 on the A string and now plot the entire same notes on your drawn fretboard . You now have a map . This roadmap is a starting point to get around and you can see the three finger patterns going up the board and you have a chance . The Eruption component is in the non tapping parts as well . Listen to the first , second and third cadence in his playing it is so unique that you have to pause and get it note for note to understand how far off the chain this is . Gilmore is a great blues player like Clapton was and the feel is the idea of what I was commenting on .Not that Gilmore , Schon and Lukather were influenced by ED . They could have been inspired by him for sure , especially Lukather who is a chameleon . He can play anything . But even a guy like Malmsteen gets a groove on with his own feel and its amazing . So I hope that helps clear up a few things . My drinking days are over . A bike wreck had me loopy on the pain meds a bit these past few months , but that's because broken ribs are no joke , especially when all your friends become comedians trying to make you laugh . Its hard to just breathe let alone deal with them knuckleheads . Use the fretboard mapping technique a lot . It helps you see scale systems in a new light . I think the fretlight guitar would be awesome to get one day as it does it in a real time way . Sometimes just a pencil and paper yield some amazing results . I would say especially for Yngwie stuff . He is a tall glass of water to digest and well worth the time if you got it . Get it on bro ! Cheers , David

[plexified]

I hope I got through with that one . I don't write as clearly as I used to . The roadmap is important for this . I want to re iterate the drawing of the fretboard thing . Its a real map . Let me try to push it a bit . Low E string frets 135 A string 135 D string 235 G string 235 B string 245 and E string 245 . Now map it on the entire fretboard for full effect . That is a scale system for Spanish Fly and a lot of Malmsteen materials . The pattern that is . Let me know what you all think .