How to do Eddie Van Halen's Tremolo Picking Technique

[@Ardvthe]

Holy shit didn't know johnny sins was this good at guitar

[@fazefusion2220]

He is good at everything including being my doctor

[@vanya3624]

I search this comment😂😂😂

[@elianimations4569]

He's a doctor teacher and musician!

[@ClifHaley]

I've been an Eddie fan since the age of 14 and I'm now 48 and I've been continually astonished over the years - as a guitarist myself - at how little attention, talk and analysis his trem picking has received. For me, it's right up there with all the tapping stuff in terms of unique and highly-effective Eddie "creations". So cool you covered it hear with a lesson.

[@Zezo99287]

hello I am very happy that you are back and I hope to see you again doing a lot of video Good evening

[@aaroncicanese]

Eddie’s the absolute prime example of someone who can be emulated but never truely captured, his secrets and knowledge were kept to himself until the EVH brand went public, only then was when we all got a real slice of Eddie, and to this day generations of guitarists are chasing that crispy brown sound still trying to figure out the first 20 seconds of eruption, or pulling apart and modifying their guitars,

[@Interglacial_optimist]

Originally a violinist, I had to learn to do a similar action with the right wrist for the bow to bounce a passage of staccato notes on the strings. I was never very good at it. Thanks for the hint. I'll give it a shot.

[@Nickbaldeagle02]

Pebber Brown did a good explanation of this. Someone asked "How do you stop from hitting the other strings?" Pebber replied "Just don't hit them".

[@FrostyRhyssssHD]

Good to see you back again and hopefully more of you! Something I found cool the other day - searching Crazy Train will find your cover as the 3rd or 4th result, that’s quite an accomplishment in my eyes!

[@xniyazi]

Thanks

[@AndreaAustoni]

Just perfect! Thanks.

[@kevdmiller5150]

Nice, thanks for sharing!

[@earbook]

Thks for your tutorial!

[@SonOvLaw]

Pretty sure Eddy held his pick between his thumb and middle finger when he did that. Just for observation's sake.

[@mattrg470]

He did! I sometimes alternate between index and middle, but the same general mechanics apply. I wonder if he adopted the middle finger grip to allow easier transitions to tapping...?

[@gibsonfan159]

​@@mattrg470would definitely make it easier, but maybe for efficiency in wrist movement also since there's less movement since the pick is closer to the strings.

[@colinoneill-hz9cb]

​@@mattrg470when you do this tremelo picking do you keep the thumb straight down on the pick or curved

[@mattrg470]

@@colinoneill-hz9cb I'm not quite sure what you mean by curved. There is no change in how I hold it to when I'm to picking regularly. It's just a change in wrist angle.

[@Cherry_Sunburst]

EXCELLENT - That's it.

[@jz4901]

Super sound, it has that real aggressive bite that Eddie had with the tremolo. Few people get that sound, great stuff! I've tried this a few times without success. I play acoustic gypsy jazz, and one of the licks I'm working on has a tremolo picked held note. I'd love to get your attack on that note, but it's tough. Whenever I try, my arm just seems to lock up, and my pick hits the string really inconsistently, either too low or totally misses the string. I'll keep trying. The guitar body and my arm position doesn't lend itself to the kind of "single point of contact" you're using as the support for your picking. Is your pick hitting the string mainly flat, i.e. not slicing at an angle through the string? Cheers again and great stuff! Thanks for the video.

[@mattrg470]

Thanks, I don't think people realise that the tone of Eddie's tremolo picking can only be achieved by doing it the same way. The trick is there can't be any tension in you arm. Which is easier said than done, because you want to try and force the speed. It's tricky to explain without video or pictures, but the angle is a downward pickslant and a pick angle like Paul Gilbert would use.

[@jz4901]

@@mattrg470 Right, thanks. I have a feel for the fast rotation motion, like you're shaking out a burning match. My currenty blocking problem occurs when I try to do that on the guitar: the motion is out of control, so there's no pick precision. During the picking, if the pick's not in the right spot -- which is most of the time -- I try to change the motion to make the pick contact the string, but that correction causes tension, which means that the technique stops working. Since I'm on an acoustic I don't have that single point fulcrum at the top of the guitar like you have with your electric, I'll need to find a different anchor. Any tips for the precision, or is it just a matter of starting bit by bit, and continual hacking at it? That's a fine approach too. Cheers!

[@mattrg470]

@@jz4901 could you upload a video and I can have a look?

[@jz4901]

@@mattrg470 Thanks very much for the offer! I uploaded a private video, kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKemf6Gni8ihrZY -- hopefully KZbin doesn't delete this comment :-) Whenever you have a sec, any feedback would be appreciated. For myself, I can see that the pick isn't slanted _much_ downwards, that's really due to the size of the guitar. When I gypsy pick, I do have a downward slant and do rest strokes that end up on the next higher (thinner) string. I'll see if I can get more of a downward slant on that top string. As you might see from the video, my forearm rotational shake is currently a bit wild. That may be due to the muscles not being properly toned/activated. I also may be altering the motion unconsciously when I start contacting the string with the pick, i.e. that the forearm starts flexing a bit more -- hard to say, will check. Cheers @mattrg470 !

[@mattrg470]

@@jz4901 So I checked out your video. I think this is all pick angle related. You need to get yourself into a position into which you can get an agressive downward slant. Also if you look at your pick and its relation to how parallel to the string it is, you need about a 30 - 45 degree angle to allow the pick to scrape by the string and not get caught. Also pick depth needs to be as high as possible. The rotation mechanics are wrist driven not forearm. Hope that helps!

[@AlMarrero]

Awesome! Question- is your pick angle right on so it’s pointing right at the guitar or is it slightly angled so that the pick strikes slightly with the side of the pick?

[@mattrg470]

Good question! Its angled between 45 and 30 degrees.

[@robertoiurato6655]

Awesome video! Which plectrum do you use?

[@mattrg470]

A Jazz III XL

[@robertoiurato6655]

Ok, tysm

[@dorpho55]

I've been practicing this picking technique for a while... currently, even more so, I'm playing intro little guitar, but it's very difficult to keep the picking clean and flawless... I think the nylon strings make it a little difficult.

[@Cherry_Sunburst]

Please do more videos! Just watching you playing songs...

[@mikkidisco]

Ezzz back 👍

[@mattrg470]

Yeah!! Wish you well dude!

[@craigcampbell837]

Except Eddie held the pick between his thumb and middle finger not the index finger. That made the angle of the hand flatter to the strings which allowed easier and better sounding palm muting of the strings, especially the higher 3 strings

[@mattrg470]

Yes he did, the mechanics of the technique are the same whether its index or middle finger. This tremolo picking technique could not be used for muting strings, but I know what you're getting at.

[@IamJimDalton]

When you were learning this did you focus on the wrist motion at speed and then focus on the accuracy, or did you go slow focusing on accuracy then increase speed?

[@mattrg470]

Its hard to say. The speed is mostly fixed, so you cant really work up to speed. The speed is just there to start with. Accuracy wise, it was just about getting the plectrum to be at the right depth and angle so that it doesn't choke against the string or miss it completely. The main trick is to not force it. Stay relaxed, otherwise you wont be able to maintain it for very long. Hope that helps.

[@LeroyJenkins-nb4uk]

@@mattrg470 So do you mean to say you were this fast the first time you tried it? You didnt work up the speed from slower at all?

[@mattrg470]

​@@LeroyJenkins-nb4uk For me, the way I realised how to do it, it started at this speed and I just finessed the accuracy, angle and relaxation. Teaching a beginner or someone who cannot already pick fast might not get the same result, but I was already fairly experienced when I did it.

[@venrakdrake]

Okay but how do you prevent sympathetic vibrations from happening? You can exactly use your right hand to mute the other strings like you would in other shred techniques?

[@mattrg470]

Left hand. It's not supposed to be a fast picking technique, just a tremolo picking technique.

[@venrakdrake]

@@mattrg470 Yes even on a single string, my other 5 strings will ring out just via sympathetic vibrations, like the low E and A especially.

[@Alex-ey7wl]

"maximum velocity" 🤣

[@keithsmith756]

When I attempt the tremolo, I can’t really get my wrist to shake side to side like that, my whole arm just goes stiff when playing, how would I be able to change that?

[@mattrg470]

As tricky as it is to explain, if there is any tension in your arm/wrist, you're doing it wrong. It shouldn't require "effort" to perform.

[@keithsmith756]

@@mattrg470So should it really only be my wrist moving side to side with no effort?

[@mattrg470]

Yes, of course your forearm moves with you wrist, but from the elbow upwards there should be nothing. What are you finding that happens?

[@GhostRider-il8en]

You're an amazing guitarist brother. I love listening and watching. 👊🏼😁

[@mattrg470]

Thanks man!

[@louie8604]

very similar to matt bellamy’s tremolo technique but a lot cleaner

[@Islamov_1991]

Guitar name and series???

[@jonahtompke5210]

I've been trying to do it for so long and I still cant. I always get the motion down but I just cant put it onto the guitar:/

[@mattrg470]

What part of it breaks down when you apply it to guitar?

[@LeGeeked.]

What riff is in the beginning? And what guitar

[@mattrg470]

I did a bit of "Eruption" and "On Fire" both by Van Halen. The guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Custom

[@dorpho55]

which pick are you using?

[@mattrg470]

Its a Dunlop Jazz III Max Grip

[@punishr36]

WHAT? No Floyd,,,, go to your room!

[@danfors1333]

But Halen holds the pick with his middle finger rather than the indexfinger when doing the fast picking.

[@mattrg470]

Do it with your middle finger then.

[@jalv1330]

johnny sins??

[@sovietcommunist3557]

I get it perfectly and then get tired after 5 seconds

[@mattrg470]

You are either tensing too much, or you just need to get used to the movement. Try it everyday for a couple of weeks and it'll get a lot easier.

[@sovietcommunist3557]

@@mattrg470 thanks

[@sovietcommunist3557]

@@mattrg470 I can do it pretty well now but not that clean I spent hours practicing yesterday and today

[@mattrg470]

@@sovietcommunist3557 What's not clean about it?

[@sovietcommunist3557]

@@mattrg470 my pick gets caught or like I miss a string picking

[@eldorado9255]

It's spelled 'tremolo' btw

[@mattrg470]

Oh yeah. Thanks for that.