How did you learn Eruption?

[turnbuckle]

Learned it from Pete Thorn probably 8 years ago.

All these years later and I still don't have it down. I've got everything fairly good except the picking part before the tapping. My picking hand just isn't in sync with that yet.

Pay close attention to all those open notes in the pull offs at the beginning of part 4 in garbeaj's tab.
When you get them in there, it will feel like it just flows out of the hand, you'll feel the climbing triplets, almost naturally

I'll second the Pete Thorn videos.

I originally learned it with the Hal Leonard tab book when I was a kid, but I got really rusty, so a few years ago I used the Pete Thorn videos as a refresher. I'd highly recommend them, and he does a great job explaining the 8-5-0 section (and if that video existed in the early 90's, it would have saved me a ton of aggravation).

Pete does not have that 8-5-0 part down. His series was a good effort, but he is way off on a lot of it.

As garbeaj pointed out, Thorn is close, but not quite. Check out garb's tab, he did an excellent job!
Again, pay close attention to that open string note in the 8-5-0 part, that Thorn leaves out at the beginning.

Edward would throw open notes in a lot, much like Gary Moore did.

BTW garbeaj, I really like how you printed that tab out, it looks very professional, compared to your regular chicken scratch
Nice job dude!

[sinners__swing]

Pete does not have that 8-5-0 part down. His series was a good effort, but he is way off on a lot of it.

I looked over your Eruption transcription. Most of it is the same exact Eruption transcription by I believe Andy Aledort from the early 90's. It's in the Van Halen A to Z book. Which by the way has, in my opinion, a few inaccuracies right in the beginning right after the open string pull offs. The biggest being there's no G# played on the D string. I revisited Eruption a few years ago with fresh ears and used VLC player to slow it down and bring it up to standard A 440 (yep you can do all of the in VLC) and I corrected a few things that I felt I learned the wrong way 30 years ago. I focused on the section right after the pulls offs and I don't hear a G#. Also the Andy Aledort transcription has a few other notes right in the beginning that I'm not hearing. I used to transcribe a lot of music.

I see you did modify the section right before the taps which is basically the same way I play it. That looks fairly accurate, most books fuck that part up. It's also played that way by this guy who made a decent video 9 years ago:



Plus Jacob's rendition. I think Jacob has made it his mission to learn every single Van Halen song ever written. lol. God bless the guy.




As for the open string pull offs in the beginning, there's been some debate which way Ed played it. If he hit the open E (the same lick he does in I'm the One, but in B and somebody Get me a Doctor, again in B, and 5150 but in B again) or the 5th fret on the B string. Yes they do have a different feel, depending which way you play it. I can make either work. I learned it both ways back in the day.

I noticed you made a few very minor changes to the middle section after the bends as well. If I have time maybe I will eventually tab the way I play it.

Cheers

[garbeaj]

Pay close attention to all those open notes in the pull offs at the beginning of part 4 in garbeaj's tab.
When you get them in there, it will feel like it just flows out of the hand, you'll feel the climbing triplets, almost naturally





As garbeaj pointed out, Thorn is close, but not quite. Check out garb's tab, he did an excellent job!
Again, pay close attention to that open string note in the 8-5-0 part, that Thorn leaves out at the beginning.

Edward would throw open notes in a lot, much like Gary Moore did.

BTW garbeaj, I really like how you printed that tab out, it looks very professional, compared to your regular chicken scratch
Nice job dude!

Thanks! I worked with former Guitar World transcription editor Matt Scharfglass on the score...I know zero music theory, so I had to work back and forth with him over several months to help him get everything right. He’s the music engraver on the project and he did an excellent job.

[garbeaj]

I looked over your Eruption transcription. Most of it is the same exact Eruption transcription by I believe Andy Aledort from the early 90's. It's in the Van Halen A to Z book. Which by the way has, in my opinion, a few inaccuracies right in the beginning right after the open string pull offs. The biggest being there's no G# played on the D string. I revisited Eruption a few years ago with fresh ears and used VLC player to slow it down and bring it up to standard A 440 (yep you can do all of the in VLC) and I corrected a few things that I felt I learned the wrong way 30 years ago. I focused on the section right after the pulls offs and I don't hear a G#. Also the Andy Aledort transcription has a few other notes right in the beginning that I'm not hearing. I used to transcribe a lot of music.

I see you did modify the section right before the taps which is basically the same way I play it. That looks fairly accurate, most books fuck that part up. It's also played that way by this guy who made a decent video 9 years ago:

Plus Jacob's rendition. I think Jacob has made it his mission to learn every single Van Halen song ever written. lol. God bless the guy.


As for the open string pull offs in the beginning, there's been some debate which way Ed played it. If he hit the open E (the same lick he does in I'm the One, but in B and somebody Get me a Doctor, again in B, and 5150 but in B again) or the 5th fret on the B string. Yes they do have a different feel, depending which way you play it. I can make either work. I learned it both ways back in the day.

I noticed you made a few very minor changes to the middle section after the bends as well. If I have time maybe I will eventually tab the way I play it.

Cheers

I will write more extensively about every section and how I arrived at every note and articulation in it. If it is in any way like the transcription in the A-Z book it is purely accidental. I’ve looked at every available official transcription that I could find and many online lessons and demos, but I didn’t look at whatever transcription was in the A-Z book. I don’t believe Andy did that one anyway. He’s a friend, so I’ll ask him, but we’ve already talked about Van Halen before...he told me that he just doesn’t care for Eddie’s playing so he never really worked super hard on figuring it out. Andy LOVES Hendrix and he has worked extremely hard on transcribing Hendrix...as a result, his Hendrix transcriptions are second to none. He had done some Van Halen transcriptions, many of which were horribly wrong. In fact it was Andy who transcribed the opening lick of the “Ice Cream Man” solo as being played with right hand tapping in an issue of Guitar For The Practicing Musician the late 80s...which most people now know was not the case.

Jacob has some of the piece correct, but he is definitely not playing the opening repeated lick correctly (it is played exactly as I have it notated and I can prove it with several clear video examples of Eddie playing the lick) and he is off on some of the rest of the opening phrases. One thing I will absolutely give Jacob credit for...he is an AMAZING singer and show business performer and I am astounded at how well he sings and plays the complicated Van Halen music on guitar at the same time. Really amazing facility.

Back to that first opening repeated lick...to my knowledge it has never been transcribed in the way I have it notated anywhere in print or online before. You might look more closely at it.

One thing that I did not make any effort to transcribe correctly was the tapping section at the end. There are several mistakes in that section and I was too lazy to get them all in the transcription. I just don’t care as much about getting all the mistakes in the tapping section notated.

I like that guy from the Wampler videos...he’s got a lot of things down better than most when it comes to Van Halen.

But stay tuned to my sticky thread for the piece...I have logical answers and evidence to back up everything in the transcription.

[fudd]

Is your eruption thread stickied?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[garbeaj]

Is your eruption thread stickied?

Yep, in the ‘Guitar Room’ part of the forum along with my Tuning thread.

[DJ Work'in Hard]

Never learned the whole thing, and then there was Spanish Fly. Decided to stick with learning the songs. I gave up on The Clap a Yes tune for the same reason.

[sinners__swing]

I will write more extensively about every section and how I arrived at every note and articulation in it. If it is in any way like the transcription in the A-Z book it is purely accidental. I’ve looked at every available official transcription that I could find and many online lessons and demos, but I didn’t look at whatever transcription was in the A-Z book. I don’t believe Andy did that one anyway. He’s a friend, so I’ll ask him, but we’ve already talked about Van Halen before...he told me that he just doesn’t care for Eddie’s playing so he never really worked super hard on figuring it out. Andy LOVES Hendrix and he has worked extremely hard on transcribing Hendrix...as a result, his Hendrix transcriptions are second to none. He had done some Van Halen transcriptions, many of which were horribly wrong. In fact it was Andy who transcribed the opening lick of the “Ice Cream Man” solo as being played with right hand tapping in an issue of Guitar For The Practicing Musician the late 80s...which most people now know was not the case.

Jacob has some of the piece correct, but he is definitely not playing the opening repeated lick correctly (it is played exactly as I have it notated and I can prove it with several clear video examples of Eddie playing the lick) and he is off on some of the rest of the opening phrases. One thing I will absolutely give Jacob credit for...he is an AMAZING singer and show business performer and I am astounded at how well he sings and plays the complicated Van Halen music on guitar at the same time. Really amazing facility.

Back to that first opening repeated lick...to my knowledge it has never been transcribed in the way I have it notated anywhere in print or online before. You might look more closely at it.

One thing that I did not make any effort to transcribe correctly was the tapping section at the end. There are several mistakes in that section and I was too lazy to get them all in the transcription. I just don’t care as much about getting all the mistakes in the tapping section notated.

I like that guy from the Wampler videos...he’s got a lot of things down better than most when it comes to Van Halen.

But stay tuned to my sticky thread for the piece...I have logical answers and evidence to back up everything in the transcription.

I knew Andy back in the day as well and I know he loves Hendrix.

But yeah, your transcription is for the most part identical is to the transcription in the A to Z book, except for the part you modified before the tapping and you added fingering notation, i, m, r, p. Not just the notes and positioning but the notation for pull offs and hammers are the same as well as what's in the book.

Oh and yes your transcription of the opening pull offs is identical to what's in the A to Z book. I did look closely at it. It's the same. My copy is copyrighted 2007 Alfred Publishing Co. But the transcription is a reprint, I recall seeing the same transcription in the early 90's and I'm pretty sure Aledort did it. If not, either way it was transcribed that way 30 years ago by somebody.

Maybe I scan the version in the 2007 book and post it. I'm not trying to argue with you or have a debate, it is what it is I'm looking at the book and looking at your transcription and making an observation. I used to transcribe a lot of tunes so I notice this stuff and I have looked at a lot of other transcriptions over the last 30+ years. This one stands out because it was the first time I saw somebody transcribe the opening pull offs like that, and was the reason I tried it that way back in the day. When I saw it reprinted in the A to Z book I was like, hey that's the transcription I saw back in the early 90's. In fact most of the book is reprinted transcriptions from magazines I believe.

Either way at least people have a PDF form of it now with the modified ending and finger notation.

This is the book I'm referring to. I'm pretty sure it's out of print but you can buy a used copy. I have two of them. Not every transcription is on point but it's still a good book.

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Song.../dp/0739044931

[sinners__swing]

Just so people don't think I'm hallucinating or trying to pick on the guy.






I don't want to post the whole piece, not sure if it's breaking copyright law.

[garbeaj]

Just so people don't think I'm hallucinating or trying to pick on the guy.






I don't want to post the whole piece, not sure if it's breaking copyright law.

I think you haven't seen my transcription or you haven't taken the time to look closely enough at it, otherwise you wouldn't be saying this. The pages you posted are almost totally different in nearly every phrase.

Let me break down just the first few phrases and how mine (I'll call it "mine" here for the sake of brevity, but I had important collaborators) are different and very obviously NOT copied from the Alfred Publishing A-Z book, which is itself essentially a reprint of the Cherry Lane Publishing official transcription book which was transcribed by Wolf Marshall in 1990. In the following examples, the Wolf Marshall/Cherry Lane Publishing/Alfred Publishing version will appear first followed by corresponding excerpts from "my" transcription.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wolf Marshall/Cherry Lane Publishing-1990 reprinted by in 2007 by Alfred Publishing in 'The Ultimate Song Pages-Van Halen: A to Z: Complete'




First, I have notated the tuning...this is obviously something that I have studied many years and I don't believe anyone else has ever even attempted to get exact pitches as I have. The Wolf Marshall/Cherry Lane/Alfred Publishing transcription simply notes the tuning as "Tune down 1/2 step". This is not accurate. The Wolf Marshall/Cherry Lane Publishing/Alfred Publishing version does have the "Drum Fill" notated and they have that right...I didn't include that in "my" transcription and I should have. I have also included time signatures at various points which were not included in the Wolf Marshall transcription which simply noted the time as "Free Time". I have noted the time with the description "Freely"-it is not without actual timing and bars as the phrase "Free Time" would indicate.

Also, this has an asterisk (*) with a notation saying "w/ slight flanging and tape echo delay". I have no idea where they got the term "flanging" since there is no flanger present in the recording. I can only assume they meant to say "phasing" since it is well know that the MXR Phase 90 was used on the recording. Even if we give them the benefit of the doubt for this mistake, the MXR Phase 90 is not engaged until the G power chord in Bar 10, so I believe they made the common mistake of assuming that the Phase 90 was on for the entire track. They mention only "tape echo delay" here as well--in "my" transcription, I have noted the Echoplex delay time specifically as "500 milliseconds". I'll explain how I arrived at that in the thread that my transcription is posted in later. Also, "my" transcription also notes specific left hand fingers (I=Index, M=Middle, R=Ring, P=Pinky, T=Thumb) and specific right hand picking directions (U=Up, D=Down). No other transcription has done this and these details are quite obviously absent from the Wolf Marshall/Cherry Lane Publishing/Alfred Publishing version.

This Wolf Marshall/Cherry Lane Publishing/Alfred Publishing version shows an unknown muted noise as the beginning of the recording and it shows the slide down starting at the 14th fret all of which is incorrect or at best incomplete. "My" transcription (I'll stop putting "my" in quotes-you get the idea, I had collaborators as I said) actually notates the pitches starting with the notes at the 7th fret of the A and D strings sliding up to the 13th fret of the same strings before beginning the slide down which starts at the G note (15th fret of the low E string) and not the F# note at the 14th fret of the low E string as it is shown in the Wolf Marshall transcription (I'll start calling it the "Wolf Marshall transcription" for the sake of brevity).

Then, the Wolf Marshall transcription shows a bend at the 7th fret of the A string as the first note of the sequence that follows the A power chord and it notates this as two bends up one whole step with no final release as if the whole step bend is to be held. This is at best incomplete and it really is incorrect in my opinion.


I have actually transcribed the first note of the sequence as beginning with a slide from the 4th fret of the A string up to the 7th fret of the A string which is then bent up one whole step, released, then bent up 1 1/2 steps, released and then bent up 1 1/2 steps again and then released.


I have then notated the walk-up from the 5th fret of the A string to the 7th fret of the A string and to the 5th fret of the D string is the same as the Wolf Marshall transcription, except, again, I have notated the left hand fingering (I=Index, M=Middle, etc) and the right hand picking directions (U=Up, D=Down).

It should be obvious at this point that I didn't "copy" the Wolf Marshall transcription, but I have indeed referred to it and I am totally aware of it...so much so that I felt compelled to correct it and the many other inaccurate transcriptions that have been done previously.

Now the next section is probably more interesting to you than the many small details that I have included in my transcription that is not in the Wolf Marshall transcription:
The Wolf Marshall transcription and my transcription are essentially identical for Bar 3, except I have the barred notes at the 5th fret of the B and high E strings as being the 5th fret of the high E sounded with a Downstroke and the note at the 5th fret of the B string as being held over from the previous strike of that note immediately previous...the Wolf Marshall transcription has that as simply a a two-note chord at the 5th fret of the B and high E strings.




Now the following sequence which you seemed certain I had specifically copied from the Wolf Marshall transcription is at first glance at least "similar" but on closer examination, I think you will agree that I have presented something completely different.

In the Wolf Marshall transcription and in many attempts at transcribing this piece in print and online articles as well as online demo/lesson videos, the first repeating sequence is show as involving playing the open high E string followed by picking the 8th fret of the B string and then pulling off to the 5th fret of the B string, then pulling off to the open B string, followed by picking the 8th fret of the G string and then repeating this sequence.

I had long believed that this was how Eddie played the sequence. I even thought it could have been played in any number of ways (which I will show in another forum post at another time). But with the help of my collaborator Troy Grady of the 'Cracking The Code' guitar technique website and YouTube video series, I have finally and I think conclusively zeroed in on exactly how Eddie played this sequence. Again, I have many video clips as evidence which back this up, but I will save that for another forum post at another time where I can go more in-depth to my transcription. Troy shared some of these clips and I have found even more which back up his observation, but I implore you to look again closely at my transcription to see the difference between how Troy and I have observed and how it was presented in the Wolf Marshall attempt.

I have the lick beginning with a specific Upstroke of the pick on the open high E string. The rest of the sequence is performed ENTIRELY with the left hand, beginning with the key to the lick...the "silent hammer-on" or "hammer-on from nowhere" at the 8th fret of the B string. This is then followed by a pull-off to the 5th fret of the B string, another pull-off to the open B string and then another "silent hammer-on" to the 8th fret of the G string. This lick is present in many of Eddie's greatest solos in different keys and sometimes the same keys in solos from "Somebody Get Me A Doctor", "I'm The One" (in B), "Romeo Delight", "5150" and others. This was a controversial lick and it has been transcribed in many different ways, but I believe Troy and myself have put the controversy to rest. There are just too many clips of Eddie playing the lick this way that back up how I have it notated and a total absence of any clips backing up Eddie playing the lick as Wolf Marshall has it transcribed.

As I said, I'll go into more detail in my own time in another forum post, but hopefully this will help disabuse you or anyone else of the notion that I "copied" the Wolf Marshall/Cherry Lane Publishing/Alfred Publishing transcription. These examples are only covering the many differences in the FIRST FOUR bars-there are many differences in the rest of the piece.

With that said, this transcription is also informed by every transcription that I have ever seen published in officially licensed magazines or books and every YouTube tutorial/demo I’ve ever seen. None are completely or even close to completely accurate, but I have learned as much as I could from them. Mostly I’ve learned what NOT to do from these sources.

[sinners__swing]

You know a lot about the transcription I posted. You knew it was Wolf Marshall's transcription from 1990. Outstanding.

I like your style. You stick to your guns buddy.

[Brett]

Most of us had that Van Halen 1 tab book back in the day. I actually bought mine at Dr. Music in Pasadena. That was like the only place I knew (anywhere in LA) that sold really good guitar tab books back then as they were fairly new. So I think that’s why everybody knows that tab.

[sinners__swing]

Most of us had that Van Halen 1 tab book back in the day. I actually bought mine at Dr. Music in Pasadena. That was like the only place I knew (anywhere in LA) that sold really good guitar tab books back then as they were fairly new. So I think that’s why everybody knows that tab.

Yeah I would think a lot of guitarists into VH would have saw that transcription, it's been around for 30 years. Wolf Marshall transcribed a lot of music.

Basically I figured Eruption out back in the day and I then I saw multiple transcriptions of it over the years and later on watched videos and I pieced together what I play now. But, the Wolf Marshall transcription was probably the most accurate (except for the part before the taps) and I just made some small alterations in the first third and tacked on the different way of playing the part in the final third before the taps, which is the way the dude in the Wampler video plays it and the same as shown in the pdf.

By the way I do agree that Ed is most liking doing a hammer-ons from nowhere in the opening pull off sequence, if you opt to play it that way. Although what I do is upstroke on the high open E, hammer from nowhere on the 8th fret B string pull to 5th fret pull to open B and then I use a downstroke on the D# 8th fret G string..and repeat. But in general I don't think he's hammering on from nowhere as much as shown in the pdf.

Either way you have an accurate transcription in the PDF garbeaj uploaded. I will still stay there's no G# on the D string and there's one other note I don't hear, and a few other questionable ones but I would have to tab it to show everybody.

Bottom line, it was played perfectly 42 years ago just have fun with it.

[turnbuckle]

Most of us had that Van Halen 1 tab book back in the day. I actually bought mine at Dr. Music in Pasadena. That was like the only place I knew (anywhere in LA) that sold really good guitar tab books back then as they were fairly new. So I think that’s why everybody knows that tab.

I still have the first VH music books that came out, VH and VH II are in the same book, and the WACF book...
They're from before they even started putting tab in them, LOL! SOB!
I had to translate all the notation into E,G,B,D,F and F,A,C,E, etc. And it was all screwed up anyway, LOL!
So I got to see what the lyrics were though, and lots of cool pictures. I even switched to smoking Winstons too, LOL!

Back to the slow turntable I went, LOL!

[turnbuckle]

Yeah I would think a lot of guitarists into VH would have saw that transcription, it's been around for 30 years. Wolf Marshall transcribed a lot of music.

Basically I figured Eruption out back in the day and I then I saw multiple transcriptions of it over the years and later on watched videos and I pieced together what I play now. But, the Wolf Marshall transcription was probably the most accurate (except for the part before the taps) and I just made some small alterations in the first third and tacked on the different way of playing the part in the final third before the taps, which is the way the dude in the Wampler video plays it and the same as shown in the pdf.

By the way I do agree that Ed is most liking doing a hammer-ons from nowhere in the opening pull off sequence, if you opt to play it that way. Although what I do is upstroke on the high open E, hammer from nowhere on the 8th fret B string pull to 5th fret pull to open B and then I use a downstroke on the D# 8th fret G string..and repeat. But in general I don't think he's hammering on from nowhere as much as shown in the pdf.

Either way you have an accurate transcription in the PDF garbeaj uploaded. I will still stay there's no G# on the D string and there's one other note I don't hear, and a few other questionable ones but I would have to tab it to show everybody.

Bottom line, it was played perfectly 42 years ago just have fun with it.

Um, check your notes sir, late '77 is 43 years ago!

And I couldn't agree more, even Edward would say STFU and have fun with it!
Well maybe not the young Ed

Let's put the guns away