White Lion Wait guitar solo lesson! Weekend Wankshop 122

[@Kylora2112]

This is the solo that elevated the perception of tapping from mindless wankery to an incredible melodic technique. One of the best solos ever cut to tape!

[@sandrosadhukhan]

True, the tapping in this solo serves the melody, not just there for the show!

[@michaelmaier7262]

I say this is the best composed guitar solo ever made. Seeing Mr. Eller here dissect it and show how it's done, I was even more amazed.

[@zackvanhalen]

I wouldn't call EVH's tapping mindless wankery. Just listen to his solo on Push Comes to Shove from 1981's Fair Warning. I'm not saying Vito wasn't great; I'm just saying there were many melodic tappers before him.

[@stonecold9132]

Not one of the best but the best . Vito solo on wait made everyone pay attention to his greatness

[@vitobratta_WL]

@@zackvanhalen except vito was the best player :)

[@DonMarco727]

Vito was most definitely underrated for his generation! He had some monster licks that still resonate for me today!

[@keendeesjarlais3636]

there's that under rated crapola term again----- are you stupid

[@bestboy897]

Hair metal was ridiculed a lot by metal elitists but this solo just proves how most of the hair metal bands were so ahead of their time and brilliant bunch of musicians

[@kkarx]

It was not about how they played but what they played. Some of those party songs were pure cringe.

[@zachary_attackery]

@@kkarx yeah I mean, who the hell wants to hear songs about having sex and partying? I want to hear about how much life sucks and being depressed

[@kkarx]

@@zachary_attackery If I wanted to hear lame songs about sex I'd listen to pop and not metal.

[@jakenogard9667]

fazeel ashraf yes that’s right bro. But here’s why, hairmetal fuck a lot of fresh and beautiful women than metal elitists. I even tried myself to fuck somebody’s wife even im not a recording artist. I cover a lot of hair metal bands songs like Journey, skid row, bad english, White snake, winger, Scorpions, Aerosmith, Firehouse and more of 80’s bands. Young and fresh women love those those kind of music so i fucked them all. Those women listen to metal elitists are those women has already got fucked by hairmetal. Cheers motherfuckers🤘

[@stratman103]

I agree. Reb Beach is a shred master. But Winger had a bad rep.

[@ethanwagner5603]

I remember hearing this for the first time, absolutely blew my mind. I think it's safe to say if you were an EVH fan, you loved this solo.

[@ModernDayWarrior2112]

One of greatest solos ever laid down to tape. Just the perfect melding of technique and emotion I’ve ever heard in a solo. Vito definitely doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He took what EVH created and made it his own. I miss the guy tremendously. I hope Vito knows how much he’s missed.

[@TheAgentAssassin]

Genius level solo. One of my favorite solos of all time.

[@stumacd]

I remember an interview with Vito Bratta and Michael Wagner who produced Wait and he said that Vito did the solo in one take. Amazing guitar player, never really got the credit he deserves.

[@MusicWithMarky]

He was a super tasteful player, agreed!

[@axelrodnaga2509]

I'm not surprised coz that's his styles/techniques he's known for those unigue tappings

[@jenniferbeatty7545]

Yeah, Vito said he was playing what he thought was just a rehearsal but Mike was recording it...

[@bluematrix5001]

I hated the mixes on that Record, WAYYYY too much reverb, applied in a bad way..... I said that to Michael Wagener and he said, h got this new digital reverb and he abused it too much!! LOL!

[@ninofunka1106]

UNREAL

[@daviddennis2075]

I’ve watched many many video explanations and cover play through of Vito Bratta’s artistry (he’s my favorite of all time) and you’ve provided the most comprehensive interpretation of his nuances. I applaud you for your thoughtfulness and expert eyes and ears. Thank you.

[@DesBloke]

Hey Ben, I've been teaching for about 27 years and I'd just like to say not only are you are a great player but best of all for videos like this, your teaching is impeccable. Attention to detail is perfect and you walk through the lesson so well. 10/10!

[@gavilanABI90]

100% agree. Different camera angles, possible mistakes, finger positioning, amazing solo, but this is a master class lesson. Thanks. Now our work is play at tempo.

[@BenEller]

Thank you so much dude!!!!

[@BenEller]

Rafael Campos and thank you, sir!!!

[@pabloflores2663]

Ben, you are so Olympically-gifted, yet humble enough to share your talent with other guitarists. Very rare back in the '80s when all we had to help us learn solos were our ears and a cassette tape player. THANK YOU, brother! 🤟😎👍🙏🎸🎼

[@garythomas4431]

I've been playing at this song for decades. I remember seeing this on MTV and my mouth dropping open. I'd seen The Mighty Van Halen live numerous times and love how Ed usually kept his tapping structured in the melody. Vito was the first to my ears to take it on a journey. The "Wait" solo, although totally first take by Vito, is so dimensional. You did an awesome job going through this. Looks like a fun challenge for my 64 year old brain and fingers. ( still rocking after all these decades).

[@PowerChucker]

possibly the best solo I have ever heard

[@TheDouglasSeth]

Good accurate lesson. I'm old, but not a stepdad. I have been playing this since 1988! This is the greatest rock guitar solo no one talks about. Extremely nuanced, encompassing most rock soloing techniques. Vito was a god.

[@joelantler6660]

I have to chime in and say that I too am super impressed with how you play and break things down. Always awesome Ben.

[@trekuhl3966]

WOW Vito is oh so incredibly talented. His sense of melody is absolutely incredible.

[@LucasLeCompteMusic]

My old guitar teacher, god rest his soul, said that this one one of the best solos out there because it used pretty much all the different solo techniques. Also nice 80s suhr you got there.

[@leehacker6001]

Man that was well done. You sure are smooth at what you do. It amazing how someone can spend half there life attempting to play like this and someone like you just rips it out. Freaking amazing

[@Xcorgi]

The best instructional guitar video I’ve ever ver seen. You communicate what is going on the whole time while giving us audible tablature to follow with. You made an almost impossible solo to learn “almost” easy!!!! You are awesome 😎 👍👍👍👍

[@stevewoodard8073]

This is excellent! Vito is one of my all time favorite players, and you nailed it. You have an admirable level of respect to detail and nuance. Thank you, sir.

[@MrRMB1]

One of my favorite solos of the 80's and you nailed it! Thank you sir, for taking the time to show us how it's done.

[@ericnickel3280]

I couldn't agree more. Vito did an amazing job composing and you did and incredible job teaching one of the best 80's solo's in the world.

[@vitobrattaforever402]

Great video. Thanks for keeping Vito's music alive. Cheers.🙏

[@willd4731]

I think this is the greatest guitar solo ever written. By anyone. Just pure melodic genius on a level of Mozart and Beethoven, how vito first came up with this sweet melody in his head - and translated it with his fingers on the guitar.... It's beyond awe inspiring. It's also better than anything evh ever did...

[@cristianlopez_8486]

From what I heard somewhere, this was originally just a warm-up solo Vito was doing while the tape was rolling. Talk about catching lightning in a bottle if that was the case.

[@metalboy5150]

"better than anything EVH ever did..." You guys kill me with this crap. Without EVH, this solo doesn't exist. You can compare Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, but without Hendrix, SRV doesn't exist. It's ridiculous. I don't know what's up with all this Eddie Van Halen hate I'm seeing lately, but your perspective is bullshit.

[@metalboy5150]

@@cristianlopez_8486Yeah, it's awesome when that happens. The song "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas was like that. It was literally just a finger exercise Kerry Livgren used to warm up with, and one of the other band members (Steve Walsh, maybe) was like, "What is that?" "I dunno, just this thing..." Rest is history.

[@cainm8808]

You are a phenomenal player.Thank you for sharing your talent and knowledge

[@Thedesertguy75]

For me one of the absolute best melodic solos ive ever heard. its genius

[@dvrapant]

Crazy. This solo made me want to learn guitar back in the day. Vito brought so much melody into his solos and playing. I didn’t know you could hold down a tap and bend behind the note like that.🤷‍♂️ I’m 55 and learning to play just for the joy of playing these awesome songs. Thanks for showing these to everyone. 😃

[@MantisTobagganGaming1]

I want to thank you Ben. At 37 years old, this is the first time I've heard vito and it makes me feel so great to keep finding amazing music and guitarists. Thanks to you my right hand fingers are now sore 🙃

[@tonynotaro4607]

What a freaking awesome solo. Where vitto got the idea of that solo...that's insane

[@UserNameWasCensored]

Oh man - what an awesome instructional video. After 20 years of playing this solo waaay more difficultly than needed, I decided to check out this video and I'm so glad I did. I can't say I've seen anything better on You Tube.

[@TheToneLounge]

You should do the solo for Little Fighter, it is equally awesome.

[@guitaraholic83]

Arksolva Studio one of my favorite songs off of Big Game!

[@zackvanhalen]

I would say it's about a thousand times more awesome.

[@BenEller]

Arksolva Studio just uploaded a cover!

[@BenEller]

zackvanhalen you’re in luck, cover is up now and full lesson coming this Friday!

[@zackvanhalen]

@@BenEller I'll have to check that out asap.

[@johnmarquez333]

I love how the bird chirped right when you said "peck" at 11:10! I've loved this song and solo for ages and you did an amazing job with it. That must've taken a sh!t load of work to nail it!

[@kevinwebster3385]

I've been playing for 40 years but I've been learning so much from you since I discovered you when the Pandemic began. Your ear is flawless, as well as your chops but the piecing together of this melodic masterpiece puts you in diety status. Thank you for all you do!

[@royavis]

Vito Bratta wrote some of my all time favorite solos ...... they always fit the songs so well. Great video!

[@timoraymo]

My god. This has been one of my favorite solos ever. Thank you for this. Was amazing and very satisfying.

[@zenatty1]

it's a shame that some one with so much talent and so much to offer, just basically dropped off the musical map...very awesome player...and you sir (Ben) are the man!

[@DeadShred9]

Something happened to his right hand and he cant play long enough to tour . Mike Tramp has pissed him off as well by Touring without him under the White Lion moniker . I had heard something about a Vitto solo CD but it never materialized ? I think its mostly his hand problem that has been the problem . He works in a Music store in New Jersey from what I found. Fantastic guitarist took something old and took it where EVH and others never did .

[@scott917]

I heard the same. That he has problems with his hand(s). He teaches guitar, but cant tour. Be thankful for your health.

[@mg43472]

You make us realize how good he is.. I always loved that solo.. way beyond my capabilities but it makes me appreciate it even more

[@just4kicks950]

Vito deserves entirely more credit 🎸🤘. I learned this & little fighter on my less Paul custom & S.G, both have bigsby's, my old man left me 😔. Got it pretty close on those & later finished it off on my fender.Vito Bratta was inspired by the best to ever put fingers to strings🎸 king Edward Ludwig Van halen RIP 🎶🎵 & that's not a bad thing, so was I 80s baby ( proud of it ) what a time to be alive. Salute Ben 🤘

[@50-Fifty-Vintage]

I just heard this song for the first time in 20+ years and I forgot how awesome this solo is. Definitely one of the best of that entire era. Thanks for this lesson!

[@skylarmay1670]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do a little fighter solo lesson. After I get home from my class today I am devoting the entire rest of the day to learning this solo.

[@bestboy897]

skylar may its gonna take a lot more than a whole day to learn this beast

[@skylarmay1670]

I take that as a challenge!!! (you're probably right)

[@jeffmceachern456]

I USED to know Little Fighter note for note.... but that was LONG ago =( Great song!

[@skylarmay1670]

lol, I got halfway through it. Ill work on it more tomorrow. Ugh, I can't even imagine how anyone could compose such a melodic masterpiece.

[@dustzza123]

skylar may the little fighter solo is hard as fuck !!!!!

[@johngulotta7951]

got to be one of the best Rock '80s solos

[@c.j.robert5350]

Wow!! That was a great tutorial right there!! Sounds exactly like the original solo and brought down to bite-size chunk! Thanks for taking the time to show it to us!!!

[@calmnsense]

This solo is one of the best! Very elegant, refined and measured. And your lesson is appreciated. Thank you.

[@cleavey100]

One of my favourite solo, thanks Ben.

[@s8nlx661]

This guy never gets the recognition he deserves. Probably one the most creative writing approaches of all time. He and Dimebag would have been cool as shit to collaborate something. Their solos are so similar with crazy weird parts no mortal man could conceive lol

[@tomjulian7226]

Been playing guitar for over 40 years and I have to compliment you on your videos...you're spot on on everything you do. Now I want a Suhr strat….damnit!

[@cerclesvicieux]

This is really great. I don't know if I will ever be able to play it fully, but I'm sure going to learn a lot trying. Thanks dude!

[@philfrank5601]

Ben, please consider looking into that tap harmonic once again...you know the one. Listening to it, there's gotta be five notes vs four. It sounds good wth four, but...it really sounds like five. And the only way I've been able to get it is to do a hammer on with the left hand, third or fourth finger on the B string...and quickly bang out the tap harmonic afterwards. It matches the five notes from the first part of the sequence on the A string.

[@StricklandAssistantManager]

H'wite Lion? I love them!

[@BenEller]

Hank Hill HHHHHHHWISKY

[@pwman]

Excellent video Ben. Really well laid out structured. Vito's solos always had such a nice legato feel using the tapping to achieve. Nice job!!!

[@darkinertia2]

im gonna keep it a buck with you, im a millenial so ive never heard of this band before but i found them out from playing clone hero (a freeware guitar hero) and ive been obsessed with this song and learning this solo lol it actually sounds super modern, like something youd see a neosoul guitarist playing or something and i love it

[@algreen266]

Vito is one of the greatest and you made it look so easy, my hat to you, for the top ten guitarist of all time.

[@nikospaleologos3907]

A solo that defined the 80s... Vito's phrasing was unique, and beautiful.

[@AXPena]

You ARE a majestic white lion, Uncle Ben!

[@ninjakforlife]

Great video. Thank you

[@clumhain]

Great video, i have been raving to anyone who will listen for years about vito's melodic solos! Excellent channel, subscribed!

[@PurpleDreki]

I had the privilege of seeing them live back in the eighties! They opened for Aerosmith, if I remember correctly. They were quite good live!

[@rickysare4286]

Hi Ben! Just wanted to drop a note and say a huge "THANK YOU" for this tutorial. Thanks to you, I was FINALLY able to play this amazing solo by the great Vito Bratta. The way you broke the solo down, the pacing, and the well-articulated explanation made it easier to understand for a couch player like myself. Learning "Wait" was a challenge of Biblical proportions but made the lockdown more bearable and productive. Thanks again and more power to your channel!

[@garrettcarroll5808]

That harmonic is impossible to replicaTE! damn you vito!

[@hazor777]

I agree : VITO BRATTA took the 80's EVH trend and made it his own , very musical / stylistic player . Great lesson, Uncle Ben , awesome RICE as well !! Nice Suhr ....... UNCLE TED would be/is proud !! Cheers !

[@leonjulca]

It's always awesome when I search how to play a guitar solo on youtube and by chance it turns out there's a lesson from Stepdad Ben!

[@Claimjumper55]

Wow, you really outdid yourself on this one Ben. I'd love to see more famous solos broken down like this.

[@Mark-um5hc]

This is very inspiring. Thank you for taking time to show us this. Man, I haven't played serious in years. But, I do play every now and then. This makes me want to get serious again. I think if anyone could get this down. You should be able to play any lead, in any song. It would definitely open doors.

[@Aljoshaaa]

Hats down one of the bestest guitar lessons channel on yt, great explanation and awesome playing ...

[@guitardavepdx]

Awesome upload! The very first solo I learned was When the Children Cry. Took me an entire summer to get it down. This was my era if cutting my teeth, 15 years old with a pawn shop special National and a Peavey Rage. Totally agree with you about Vito, great player

[@sahlomonic]

In regards to the end of the solo - to me it sounds like the album version is tapped, but live he's picking it for sure. Thanks for the breakdown! I've been too intimidated to try and learn that solo for years, but after watching this it makes it a lot easier to learn.

[@michaeldomschot6391]

Vito is the man....nice job Ben!

[@culleykaufman2295]

Vito is in my top 10! Amazing guitarist

[@MaSa-st7pj]

White lion cover with 80's white bengal tiger design suhr. Juicy ! Cool playing, nice teachering !

[@JimmyRadloff]

White Lion was one of my favorite hair bands. Vito and George Lynch were my favorite guitar players from that era.

[@mikegrady5669]

Man! Vito's playing was so tasty

[@claytonblakey2722]

Man, this was the best ever and just enough to let me know it is waaay out of my league. Thanks for sharing. Yeah, Vito is the greatest, IMO.. not to disparage EVH, but anyone can tap like a madman. Orchestrating it into wicked bends and such is another story.

[@tocleora]

perfect. and looked so effortless.

[@takaorobinson8719]

That's tasty, melodic and so refreshing .

[@jeffmceachern456]

Great job! Little Fighter was always my fave White Lion song to play.

[@nickjohnson3622]

Very melodic and creative solo. However, Eddie rarely bent notes while tapping. Steve Lynch from Autograph really took tap bending into the realm Vito is doing here

[@_Suzuka_Joe]

Bump from the dead. This helps because when i learned this in the 90s as a kid I played that last fast part with tapping vs picking like Vito did. Thanks Uncle Ben!

[@andyedwards4162]

Great lesson!,Vito was an incredible guitarist,chops to die for and so melodic

[@chrisknight489]

Excellent job with this tutorial. You've broken down nicely. I like how you emphasize how tricky it is. That way I don't get too discouraged when I can't pull it off right away. Keep these tutorials coming!

[@devensaiz7039]

Thanks Ben I learned this from you about 3 years ago and completely forgot how to play it. I just relearned it form you again.

[@woodchuk1]

This solo showed what a force Vito Bratta was...he created a solo that was technical and yet still had melody. So much melody, in fact, that I can still "scat" the solo nearly note for note by memory alone 30 years later. It's been in my head ever since I first heard it at 8 years old. How many other hair metal bands can claim that feat?

[@ricomajestic]

Great playing and Lesson Ben! Would love to see a lesson on Little Fighter Solo too!

[@BenEller]

ricomajestic coming this week! Cover is up now!

[@drfishhead3333]

Vito was the best and you crushed it. That is a hard solo to keep clean and maintain control

[@durkar3791]

Outstanding Ben and couldn't agree more about Vito being criminally overlooked.

[@ParisblueCos]

This solo is really nutty. It's got a lot o' stuff like that in there. YUP! Fantastic job with this!

[@jimmydroid7838]

This is a fantastic lesson, Britto was a brilliant guitarist my favorite was his work on When the Children Cry. Just brilliant stuff too.

[@stumacd]

Cool solo and even cooler guitar.

[@2002turboz28]

Awesome lesson, you are really a great at these lessons. Vito was/is one of my favorite players back in the day. Between Vito, Lynch, Warren and Vai the 80's were inspiration overload.

[@ThePuertoricanBeastJonathan]

We need that juicy Cliffs Of Dover lesson, dont hold out on us Ben

[@cliffordamey4822]

Ben you have awesome teaching technique. The way you break it down makes anyone a le to play it.

[@Walamonga1313]

Finally I know how to do the harmonic at 11:05! I already knew the solo but I haven't played it in a long time so I checked this video out and I'm glad I did!

[@mikeholbrook8309]

You make everything look so easy I hate you and love you at the same time ( more love than hate) I wish I could play like you. I watch your vids and lessons but can't seem too reach your level of playing. You are my hero. I dont think there is anything you cant do on guitar.

[@asianzeusecannon5880]

He was pretty much on point n the sound of Vito is amazing,cool video n teaching.Vito was underrated guitarist.

[@roborracle]

Could not STAND White Lion, but that solo and Vito's playing was on another level.

[@bestboy897]

U rock uncle ben amazing cover

[@guitpizz]

Spot on Ben...Saw White Lion a looooooong time ago opening for AC-DC. (By the way Angus is a HELL of a player live...) ... back to Vito... Vito nailed it all night. He was playing his stuff looking almost asleep as his songs were pee-wee league stuff. A very great player. Full package: tone, vibrato, etc.

[@dirtart99warchild]

I’ve always wanted to learn this. I’ll be at it til I get it. I’ve had the rest of it down since 91. Thanks in advance

[@FireoftheGreeks]

Bro you are taking the magic out of Vito's licks, mere mortals shouldn't be able to play this LOL!

[@Ninjistic]

living on the edge has one of my favorite solos by him

[@jasonwinter5288]

Awesome...just awesome! Perfect tone too. I second the Little Fighter request, another one of his best. Thanks for posting this!

[@briannorman1989]

Fantastic job and description of everything going on!

[@BenEller]

Thanks Brian!

[@sunoclockoneday2576]

One of my favorite solos for sure . Defined the hair metal sound for me

[@robacdc1977]

Uncle Ben you're always teaching the good solos when I'm trying to learn them, thanks bubby

[@ronniecoffey9945]

Vito was very cool, good lesson thx, i gotta practice this one