ERUPTION! Eddie Van Halen's Insane Rock Guitar Skills - Guitar Tab Included

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Eddie Van Halen Eruption Live Solo
Original video - • Van Halen Eruption Gui...

[@holtrain81]

Legend for transcribing this, I watched a million times over growing up and learning to play and was my go to reference for anyone who never really understood how great Eddie really was.

[@FrostbearPlushies]

Yeah, I do have to say. It’s really hard to find the notes by ear.

[@AugieDog6]

you forgot *seamlessly throws pick into crowd* but other than that, flawless transcription.

[@periachi4961]

Live Without A Net will forever be my favorite live guitar performance. Eddie was, is, and always will be the king.

[@DragonBiscuit]

While there have been a host of players with a more “perfect” technique, none of them have ever touched my heart the way Eddie’s playing did… His spirit came through every note - I saw him on that tour live and it was an amazing experience - RIP GOAT EVH

[@brivington2011]

So true. While they're may be players that are arguably technically better than Eddie, those players don't connect emotionally with the audience in the scale that Eddie did. For example, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson are all amazing technical players with their own styles, but people have not connected to their playing in the same way that they connected to Ed's playing. Ed's playing has a feel that we emotionally connected with right away. As soon as you hear it there's a jaw dropping moment (Eruption, etc.) There's a magic to Eddie's playing. As soon as you hear it, you feel it and that never goes away. Proof is in the pudding in the way that people that have never heard Eddie before, once they hear him for the first time (which happens somewhere everyday), the reaction is the same. As new fans connect with Eddie today and hear him for the first time they are experiencing the same emotions as if they were in 1978 and heard "Eruption" for the first time. Who else does that? Name one other guitar player who had that impact and held it for so long? The legacy that EVH has left behind is huge, and when the current and future generations come into their youth and hear him for the first time, they will share the same emotional experience as the previous generations experienced. Who else does that? No one. Eddie was a one of a kind player, and will be remembered as such for many years to come.

[@saltydog9914]

Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, and Eddie Van Halen. Three most influential rock guitarist.

[@janezimmerman7987]

Those are precisely the three. The triumvirate.

[@harrisbeatsfrankou6304]

100% agree and wrote the same. Guitar Techniques editors broke down everything. And I think back then Guthrie Govan was part of the Editors Team who voted.

[@travisjohnson6358]

T bone walker too chuck berry used a lot of his licks

[@ericfurst6091]

I would include Eric Clapton

[@andyj845]

I agree. After those 3, I'd go with Page, Blackmore, and Gilmour.

[@tombstoneharrystudios584]

A tireless innovator…technical genius…superlative rhythm guitarist…charismatic stage presence…great songs…boy next door looks Eddie had it all and then some! The sheer joy and relaxed vibe he has when soloing makes him so much more palatable than other guitar heroes before or since

[@thatsamazin-]

If you haven’t seen Max Ostro, I HIGHLY recommend. Imo, He’s my favorite lead guitarist of all time and I’m the biggest EVH fan ever. I discovered him when I was 8 years old in 84. Max has the EVH/Jeff Beck magic. Start with Kiesel solos, Rhumba, and JTC sessions but ALL of his stuff is excellent. “No feel, only pain” is one of my favorite solos of his. “Out for blood” is also absolutely insane. I love most all of them and watched them all hundreds of times already. 🤟🏻

[@coolcool8651]

yo ive seen u comenting on jimi wolf solos

[@janezimmerman7987]

Eddie van Halen was by far the greatest of the great rock guitarists. Van Halen and Eddie were rock's proudest moments. All one needs for verification is the video of the concert when that solo was played.

[@cliveshalice8490]

I saw Van Halen a couple of time in the early 80's and they were relatively poor live compared to their peers of the time. Having said that the first time I heard Eruption in '78 was mind blowing, it was hard to believe it was coming from a guitar!!

[@janezimmerman7987]

@@cliveshalice8490 listen to the concert. They were tremendous live. Even before they were signed.

[@coldwinter5710]

​​@@cliveshalice8490You are probably one of the few people to have this opinion of their live performances. Everyone can have an off night, certainly, but most people will say they were one of the greatest live bands they have ever seen.

[@cliveshalice8490]

@@janezimmerman7987 I saw them a few times at their height and they were sloppy live. Great band and arguably one of the greatest guitarists of all time but DLR let them down a little live.

[@cliveshalice8490]

@@coldwinter5710 I don't dispute that and I'm not knocking them. My opinion when I saw them in 1980 and 83 was they were sloppy live, particularly DLR. Great band and amazing guitarist but compared to the likes of Rush, AC/DC and even Kiss of the time they were...loose!!

[@TheLochs]

I was never a HUGE Eddie fan, of course I recognized his genius. However, there's a video of him in the very early years doing a live guitar solo and its absolutely ferocious, lol. It totally changed my mind on him. Such a monster.

[@torreshl76]

Live in Fresno I bet.

[@gregalon]

The club recordings from their early days before he starting tapping are a revelation too. Before he had the bag of tricks we all know and love he had this whole other library of gonzo ideas.

[@torreshl76]

@gregalon Cool, I love this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3e1cpigjqyGgLs

[@coldwinter5710]

​​@@gregalonI read this recently from a well known guitarist (sorry, can't remember their name off hand), who followed them very early on. Said even in the early backyard party days, Ed was simply tremendous!

[@JayGuitars1]

I could watch this all day. In fact I probably will. God bless Edward Van Halen.

[@timsellsted521]

I saw EVH in Seattle in the 70's. It was f&@king LOUD! Great transcription!

[@guthrie_1]

My father saw them in 1979 at the Beacon Theater. He said the same thing.

[@celeryshredder]

Saw Van Halen live in ‘93 on the ‘Right Here, Right Now’ tour. They were absolutely incredible and Eddie didn’t put a note wrong all night. Even to this day, it remains one of the best rock concerts I’ve ever seen.

[@briandietrich1373]

Amen...

[@fabiencourtoistapping]

lucky man to have seen him live bro !!!!!!!!!!!

[@guthrie_1]

Back in 2001 when I was 12 I ordered this Van Halen concert on VHS from the back of a catalog. I watched it everyday after school for a year straight. I was obsessed with Eddie.

[@nicholasglennon5555]

As if from a cartoon, I am sitting here with my jaw wide open and eyes bulging as I watch this for possibly the 1,978,000 time in my life. Incredible, Eddie - there'll never, ever be another.

[@michaelblankenau3129]

Bulging eyes could be a sign of a hormonal imbalance . Might want to get that looked at .

[@axeslinger8434]

I had this on VHS in the 90’s and would rewind/rewatch this part back 3 or 4 times whenever I put LWAN on.

[@johnwmcmahon]

I hereby declare this Levi Clay Day. Great job mate! Long live the King of six strings and ten fingers, EVH.

[@dtrammell]

Live Without A Net - New Haven Connecticut. Still have this concert on VHS recorded from HBO or Showtime back in the day!

[@jasonkeith9317]

New Halen lol!!

[@geoffreyanderson2285]

Just a beast.

[@bobmartino8073]

The transcription is almost as amazing as Edward's playing. We miss you Ed.

[@superdave7241]

Eddie Van Halen literally reinvented rock guitar... Before him, there were so many Hendrix clones everywhere. Not to say there's anything wrong with Hendrix, but Eddie Van Halen turned everything upside down💥👍👍👍

[@LeeMcDaidDonegal]

Bought the video in Denmark street back in 1988/89 (Rose Morris, probably - they had a huge book and video department in the basement back then and I practically lived in it!) Over the years I must have played that video a thousand times, maybe more ... no exaggeration Thanks for this, Levi

[@davidyates8880]

I'm so glad I got to see him play.

[@JDsLiveMusic]

Me too. 32 times from Van Halen’s first headlining tour in 1980 through their last tour in 2015, never missing a tour. I was in amazement every time I witnessed his playing. Nobody will ever surpass him as long as I live and most likely after as well.

[@jasonbrandtcomposer]

I miss EVH so much! Great job Levi!!

[@Stephen_Lafferty]

The apex Guitar Hero!

[@brivington2011]

Thank you! Truly this is the greatest rock guitar solo ever performed and recorded. Hands down. In its entirety, its an amazing composition. RIP EVH. We miss you.

[@dpduke69]

I love how this solo performance continues to blow young guitar player's minds with every new generation. I remember being a beginner guitarist and thinking how the heck is he getting some of those harmonics!

[@daflepail]

thank you Levi! I wish we had this kind of tutorials back in 96.

[@kojam1]

As a kid growing up I mostly concentrated on the fireworks of his playing. Mind-blowing! But as I got older I realized that his rhythm guitar is even more so. It sounds simple but the "vide" and "feel" cannot be duplicated. To this day, some 40 years later, I listen to the songs I've listened to for eons and still am in awe at how he vibes ALL THE TIME! I was a Roth-era fan mostly. After he passed away I gave the Hagar stuff more of a listen and again marvelled at how "NOBODY" writes guitar parts like him. I really don't think we'll see somebody do it again. Sure, there'll be dudes who can burn the frets, but there will not be another player who has that vibe.

[@JonBloomer]

I wish some of the haters in these comments would actually listen to his rhythm playing and understand he was not just all about tapping. How many rock bands from the same era would write a riff like the pre-chorus section from "Unchained"?!

[@kojam1]

@@JonBloomer The thing is that ALL the top guitarists have commented the same about his "in the pocket" all around. playing. Govan, Mancuso, Vai, Wylde, Lukather, Eric Johnston, for example...

[@ulyx9804]

It's a shame he didn't pursue a solo career in Van Halen's downtime, but Eddie was burdened with other issues. It's such a shame we didn't get more, but I have to marvel at what he DID give us.

[@yoshi5788]

THANK UUUU this live solo is so memorable, thank you for the tabs for it ive wanted to b able to leanr this for so long, thank you for the great content and your work🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@JuniorSantos-qf6uw]

Hows it going ?

[@crunch_amp9282]

greatest guitarist ever..

[@Annihilation_0f_The_Wicked9066]

What's so great about him?

[@i5150v1]

This solo from live without a net is bad ass and will most likely never be topped.

[@Loud-Juice]

OMG THANKS I HAVE WANTED TO LEARN THIS FOR YEARS

[@onlyj610]

I was looking to learn this.. it made me put everything away and just watch 😭

[@daviddonaldson5908]

Thanks for doing this Levi 👍

[@dwalks637]

Nice work 🤟

[@hearpalhere]

So many cool sounds and what a killer feel! Awesome job, you rock Levi!

[@crunch_amp9282]

What a los outstanding guy every time I watch this video it makes me sad watching him play😢now that he's not with us grow up watching and listening to he's music his smile while he's playing his guitars just amazing his body like glows he's just such a natural.✝️

[@nedlong5631]

Wow thanks for tab on this solo

[@GooseGumlizzard]

you said it Levi. The greatest.

[@jomamma1750]

Thanks!

[@jeffdafonte]

This brings back some good memories. I’ll never forget the first time I heard this.

[@gregorysleeth1792]

Thanks Levi for all the great guitar tabs.

[@ryanwalker3015]

That’s badass Levi. Thanks for taking the time to do it right. Badass man.

[@Igoya972]

Unlimited energy and sooooo... precise! A M A Z I N G ! - And we all know what's coming next. : )

[@martinlehfeldt5514]

Amazing guitar solo. You picked a great piece of music to transcribe. Good job!

[@btdtorch7943]

Thank you sir👏

[@LinkySlinky]

Thanks for putting the tabs on this version. I wanted to learn this one a lot

[@MaxLagoon-rf2ky]

I have wanted this for years.

[@jessemitchell4618]

The greatest ❤

[@AllenGarberGuitarFun]

Nice work Levi! I transcribed the complete solo in the summer of 1997 and you and I have it TAB’ed pretty well identically with only a very few small exceptions. Very good work on the score!

[@mickeyjohn2442]

I saw your transcription on-line years ago...You did an excellent job...In my opinion I think yours is the best out there...I was wondering if you had a clearer copy or a re-done clearer version...My eyes are really terrible (from diabetes)..The version online looks like it's in pencil...If you do have a clearer version...could I buy it from you or could I have a copy ? Thank you.

[@mickeyjohn2442]

I saw your transcription on-line years ago...You did an excellent job...In my opinion I think yours is the best out there...I was wondering if you had a clearer copy or a re-done clearer version...My eyes are really terrible (from diabetes)..The version online looks like it's in pencil...If you do have a clearer version...could I buy it from you or could I have a copy ? Thank you.

[@AllenGarberGuitarFun]

@@mickeyjohn2442 Unfortunately I do not have a clearer copy. It was done in pencil back in 1997 and it is faded. I intend to overhaul my transcription and have an engraver get it into a proper score so that everyone can easily follow it…in fact I’ve reached out to Levi and his team via e-mail a few months ago to help work on it with me, but I haven’t heard back from them yet. It is a lengthy and expensive process for me to do this work, but if and when I get it done, I’ll probably post it here and other places online for free so everyone can learn it correctly if they want!

[@mickeyjohn2442]

@@AllenGarberGuitarFun Thank you so much for responding...It's a great gift you've given everyone with your transcription of one of the greatest guitar solos ever...I'm looking forward to the new version :-)

[@AllenGarberGuitarFun]

@@mickeyjohn2442 Levi has done a great job as well…I hope he can find time to collaborate with me, but if not I’ll make it happen anyway!

[@TheGazza83]

Rest in peace Eddie

[@faroutmayt]

Damn, Levi. This takes me back to being a kid. This concert dvd was my introduction to Van Halen. It blew my mind then, and still blows my mind to this day. Life was so simple back then, and now I'm getting all nostalgic hahaha. Hopeing you please transcribe the song he plays right after this one, CATHEDRAL!!

[@user-ou3jg8lc8f]

You are a legend posting this video. I easily looking out for this tabs of the Live Performance of eruption and now it is on my youtube for you page. Thank you a lot. God bless EVH

[@At0m1cPunk]

Thank you.

[@AlefSousa017]

The greatest of all time!

[@fabiencourtoistapping]

best feeling ! groove , sound extraordinary ! great van halen

[@kamillok3273]

Fantastic

[@MisterPoppy-sc1sj]

AWESOME

[@davidloveless9824]

I would love to see the entire solo transcribed. I’ve seen a couple others that are close . But by far this one the best I’ve seen . I just we could get our hands on it . I’ve written guitar world also with no response. This has to be one of the most requested solo tabs

[@vex7154]

Good copy!! Great TAB!!!!!

[@79blackbelt]

I watched him do this on this tour in NC, great times.

[@KevyNova]

I can’t imagine how many hours it took you to put this together. Great job!

[@tylerlachney1616]

Do the rest of it! I certainly want to see the cathedral part

[@edwardglyons]

Finally, someone did it! Woohoo! Thanks so much!

[@naxoBIT]

Maravilloso! 🎸🔥

[@harrisbeatsfrankou6304]

I agree with the Guitar Techniques Editors. Chuck Jimi Eddie Top 3 Rock Guitarists that changed history and made millions of guitarists play more or buy a guitar. Thanks Levi. I know a lot of this but your Tabs are the best!! Eddie The GOAT Van Halen. With respect to Clapton Page and a few legends Chuck Jimi and Eddie were utterly next level as far as making the World go "WTF?" Its great to see parts 5 and 6 of Eruption. I play those that way. Vai's transcription was quite..."wrong" Huge fan though had I Flexible on Vinyl. But Eddie is 🐐👑!!

[@mustafayetkin2847]

i watched this vid like 10 times but i get still so shocked when i watch him while doing his magic

[@marklarose8600]

thanks

[@jimmyc5498]

Amen

[@MrUmandMrEr]

Correct! And from the baggy trousers 5150 tour that I watched over and over as a teen.

[@mikeshanermusic]

I keep telling myself not to cry because he's gone, and to smile because he was here. So why am I crying?

[@eugenekrabs618]

holy shit thank you so much i need to learn how to play this

[@marklarose8600]

master

[@KevinToine]

is the intro part from another song? It's lovely!

[@thatsamazin-]

316 off of FUK album. He named it after Wolfies birthday. Although it appears on a later album, he had written it years before as you can see here. This is “5150” era. Pre Fuk. Lol

[@lukecueto3420]

100% no question

[@tactrix1h]

Eddie plays exactly the same way that all gifted inspiring guitar sound hunters play. You will play the same thing 10000x but it will sound different every time, because we're not looking for it to be the same way, we're searching for a specific sound, and until we find it, we will play that fucking riff to death.

[@renaissanceman21c]

Great job on the tabs. Putting together hand written tabs of this solo is difficult enough alaready, let alone putting them into the form seen here at the bottom of the video. How did you manage to do that? Also, is there a part two of this videos with the remainder of the solo put to tabs the way you have done in the video?

[@bonscott6353]

As long as i live another 150 years i will nail, i will, i promise

[@Ebdim9th]

In some ways I see For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge era Eddie as peak Eddie, he seemed to be fitting the most diverse elements of lead into his playing than at nearly any time previous, tho of course as previews Fair Warning and 1984 seem to really stretch out where he went w his solos.

[@Ebdim9th]

That's from Live: Right Here, Right Now, isn't it?

[@thatsamazin-]

@@Ebdim9th yes that concert was shortly after release of Fork album. Lol

[@rockademia-jb4td]

his best guitar live solo at his prime in technique and sound

[@silentmadness8227]

Nice work brou very nice, have you transcribed the beat it solo?

[@3qu23yu5]

Best transcriber to ever walk the Planet

[@TheGhostOfGideon]

Levi Clay please make a video tab for the Studio version

[@chrissguitarshow206]

What is interesting is that he is playing eruption in standard tuning here. It sounds great like that.

[@nvr7188]

THANKS YOU!!!!!!! do you have the file (gp , pwt) any file) pls? also nice book thanks you

[@LeviClay]

All go on Patreon

[@Happycamper10]

These tabs look impossible lol

[@gazzeteboke3665]

one word, wow, HOW did u tab this, just WOW

[@LeviClay]

A lot of work!

[@gazzeteboke3665]

@@LeviClay Indeed, thank you greatly for such contribution :-)

[@rileywallace4886]

Don’t Evan have to say rock when it comes to Eddie his the greatest in everything

[@user-lp3gm9pr7k]

The fact that he could play eruption without making mistakes whilst being drunk and high amazes me every time 😅😅

[@stevejohn455]

And that's him drunk!the greatest, flashiest, humblist player of the modern electric guitar,listen to the swing and the scale of variety. Fucking brilliant and practised,I think he practised more hours than he didn't, like 12 hours a day, addicted to music .good looking mother took,loved life and it shows on stage😱

[@kwik2hear915]

Paganini on guitar, amazing 🤩🤩🤩

[@xxmegamuertexx69]

I wonder how the hell am i going to play this, and how many years is going to take to achieve this level at guitar

[@user-hv7xk6fi2l]

I just cam believe this man walker among us mortals

[@stefanoinno3920]

🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@levelquasar4322]

Yo Mr. Clay, do a transcription of the guitar battle in Crossroads 1986. Tried watching Ralph’s hands to learn it, you can guess how that went

[@alexjackson8841]

There's already so many transcriptions of it everywhere, also Ralph was just miming nonsense on it haha. Anything Steve played should be able to learn from his hands though!

[@levelquasar4322]

Yeah, i got most of the steve stuff down, it’s just the slide bit thats fucking me up. Couldn’t find any transcriptions of it though… link please?

[@LeviClay]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2bVmIp-jbKAa9U

[@michaelyaussi5481]

Unfathomable transcription!!!

[@bes5164]

I really do not understand how he played it so cleanly despite the fact he was not actually muting the string with his right palm.

[@raw2is2jose]

part 2?

[@rocketlee5234]

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG🙀🙀

[@kudakwashenyamunda8812]

Never been a much of a Van Halen fan, too much obsession on technique with less feel.... though he is probably the best ever at that.

[@renaissanceman21c]

I’ve got hand written tabs of this solo. How did you create the tabs shown along the bottom of this video?

[@LeviClay]

With a lot of work

[@renaissanceman21c]

@@LeviClay I could imagine! I was wondering more specifically how did you do it? The reason I ask is that I have hand written tabs of the entire solo. I am interested in putting them, or at least the second half of the solo, into the type of format that you have done here in the video. Is there a certain program or app that I could use? Any specific advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated!

[@LeviClay]

@@renaissanceman21c I notate stuff in guitar pro 8 - lots of livestreams of my transcribing in it on my channel with tutorials on how to best use it

[@renaissanceman21c]

@@LeviClay Thanks!