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GMC Forum _ Student Instructor Lessons _ Ac/vh Rock Lesson

Posted by: ezravdb Aug 22 2007, 03:06 AM

Hello GMC,

First I want to thank all the people who checked out my previous lesson, I can't believe it has almost 5000 views. And thanks Kris for putting my lesson on the front page, it was an great honor.
And thanks for all the nice comments.

Welcome to my second lesson as an Aspiring Instructor!

This lesson is built on a riff with lots of power chords and some harmonics.
The riff has a AC/DC and Van Halen vibe to it to me and I really wanna head bang to it when I hear it

( I didn't in the Main Video of course!)

The lesson starts with an "Intro Riff" and when the drums, bass and rhythm guitar kick in the Main Riff starts.
For the drums a made a standard Rock Beat, I find that it really suits this riff.
The bass guitar and rhythm guitar play about the same, except for that the bass guitar plays some octaves on the G chord.

The lesson is not specifically in any style (except for the riff) but there are some licks who are reminiscent of a few players.

The lesson contains string skipping, double stops, open string licks, pentatonic runs and funky octaves.

The music is on full speed at 140 BPM, the time signature is 4/4 and the key is Am.

Scale Charts:

Here we go!

(don't forget to bang your head from 0:16 till 1:14 hehe)

AC_VH___Ezravdb.wmv ( 9.86MB ) : 1599

Slow Videos:

[b]The Main Riff

Video_1_Main_Riff.wmv ( 7.7MB ) : 1284

E||-------------------------------|------------------------|
B||-------------------------------|------------------------|
G||*--2-----2------2-----5-----7--|--L--7--7---------------|
D||*--2-----2------2-----5-----7--|--L--7--7--0--5----5----|
A||---0-----0------0-----3-----5--|--L--5--5-----5----5----|
E||------------3b-----------------|--------------3----3----|

---------------------------|---------------------------||
---------------------------|---------------------------||
--2--2------2-----5-----7--|--L--7--7-----12----12----*||
--2--2------2-----5-----7--|--L--7--7--0--12----12----*||
--0--0------0-----3-----5--|--L--5--5-----10----10-----||
--------3b-----------------|---------------------------||

--------------------------|------------------------------------------|
--------------------------|------------------------------------------|
--2--2------2-----5----L--|-------<>7--<>5---------------------------|
--2--2------2-----5----L--|--<>7------------<>5-------<>7--<>5-------|
--0--0------0-----3----L--|----------------------<>7------------<>5--|
--------3b----------------|------------------------------------------|

----------------------|
----------------------|
--7-------------------|
--7-------------------|
--5-------------------|
---------------10\----|

------------------------|---------------------------|--------------------------|
------------------------|---------------------------|--------------------------|
--L--7--7---------------|--2--2------2-----5-----7--|--L--7--7-----12----12----|
--L--7--7--0--5----5----|--2--2------2-----5-----7--|--L--7--7--0--12----12----|
--L--5--5-----5----5----|--0--0------0-----3-----5--|--L--5--5-----10----10----|
--------------3----3----|--------3b-----------------|--------------------------|

---------------------------|------------------------|
---------------------------|------------------------|
--2--2------2-----5-----7--|--L--7--7---------------|
--2--2------2-----5-----7--|--L--7--7--0--5----5----|
--0--0------0-----3-----5--|--L--5--5-----5----5----|
--------3b-----------------|--------------3----3----|

---------------------------|----------------------------------|
---------------------------|----------------------------------|
--2--2------2-----5-----7--|--L--7--7--7-------<>5-------<>5--|
--2--2------2-----5-----7--|--L--7--7--7--<>5-------<>5-------|
--0--0------0-----3-----5--|--L--5--5--5----------------------|
--------3b-----------------|----------------------------------|

This riff is inspired by AC/DC and Van Halen.
As you can hear most of the riff is played with power chords.
I also play a quarter bend on the seventh which creates a cool sound because it leans towards the tonic.
There are also some natural harmonics like Eddie Van Halen does in his riffs.
At the end of the Main Riff I play 4 harmonics, these are actually 2 G notes in 2 different octaves.
When the Backing kicks in I scrape my pick against the strings.

Play it like you mean it !!

Lick 1

Video_2_Lick_1.wmv ( 1.74MB ) : 814

|----------------------------------|--10p--8----------------------|
|--10p--8--10-8h--10p---8--10p--8--|----------10p--8s--13---------|
|----------------------------------|------------------------------|
|----------------------------------|------------------------------|
|----------------------------------|------------------------------|
|----------------------------------|------------------------------|

This lick is the melody and this groove will come back later in this lesson.
This melody has to flow, play it with legato.

Lick 2

Video_3_Lick_2.wmv ( 3.2MB ) : 944

--8-5-----------------------------|-------------------------------|
------8-5-----8-5-----------------|-------------------------------|
----------7-5-----7-5-----7-5-----|-------------------------------|
----------------------7-5-----7-5-|------7-5---------<>5~---------|
----------------------------------|--7-5-----7-5------------------|
----------------------------------|--------------8-5--------------|

This is a Paul Gilbert type of Pentatonic (speed) Run, but this one is in 16th notes and not 16th triplets.
It ends on an Artificial Harmonic.
The Artificial Harmonic note I play here is the same note as you hold with your fretting hand but 2 octaves higher.
(Pavel has an excellent lesson on Harmonics check it out)
(also see the video for little demo)

Lick 3

Video_4_Lick_3.wmv ( 4MB ) : 1026

|----------------------------|-------------------------|
|----------------------------|-------------------------|
|----------------------------|---------5----5----------|
|----------------------------|--5s--7----7-------------|
|---------3----5p---3--------|-------------------------|
|--3h--5----5----------5--3--|-------------------------|

----------8-----10p---8----------|--10p--7-----15p--10------13b~---------|
--8h--10----10-----------10p--8--|----------8-----------12---------------|
---------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
---------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
---------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
---------------------------------|---------------------------------------|

This lick is a bit longer.
The lick holds the groove of lick 1 but with different notes.
I end with 2 G Major Triads end a bend.

Lick 4

Video_5_Lick_4.wmv ( 4.64MB ) : 711

----------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------|
--3p-0-0-5p-0-0-6p-0-0-5p-0-0-6p-0-7p-0-|
----------------------------------------|

---------------------------------------------|
---------------------------------------------|
---------------------------------------------|
---------------------------------------------|
--10p-0-0-7p-0-0-10p-0-0-12p-0-0-10p-0-12p-0-|
---------------------------------------------|

----------------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------------|
--15p-0-0-12p-0-0-15p-0-0-17p-0-0-15p-0-17p-0-|
----------------------------------------------|

-----------------------------------|
-----------------------------------|
-----------------------------------|
-----------------------------------|
--18p-0-0-19p-0-0-21-0-22~---------|
-----------------------------------|

This lick is groovy!!!
This is an open string lick ala Joe Satriani.
I play the A minor Blues Pentatonic scale on the A string.
I go till the end of the fretboard and land on the note G.
Alternate picking all the way

Lick 5

Video_6_Lick_5.wmv ( 4.19MB ) : 809

|--8s--10--8-5--8---5--------|---------------------------|
|--8s--10--8-5--8---5--8--7--|---------7-----5-----------|
|----------------------7--7--|---------7-----5~------x-x-|
|----------------------------|--5h--7-----7----------x-x-|
|----------------------------|---------------------------|
|----------------------------|---------------------------|

Here I play a melody with double stops.
Pay attention to barring your ring finger on the G and B string.

Lick 6

Video_7_Lick_6.wmv ( 2.53MB ) : 658

|--------------------------------|--------------------------|
|--5---------------------5h-7-5--|--L------7--5h-7----------|
|--5---------------------5h-7-5--|--L------7--5h-7----------|
|-----7p-5h-7~------5h-7---------|-----7-5------------------|
|--------------------------------|--------------------------|
|--------------------------------|--------------------------|

This is the continuation of Lick 5 and this also is played with double stops.
When I play/hear this I have to think of Gustavo Guerra!

Pay really attention to barring your ring finger on the G and B string by this one.
Find the right spot on your ring finger where both strings are fretted.
You also want to bend your thumb over the neck so you can really grab the strings with your index and ring fingers.

Lick 7

Video_8_Lick_7.wmv ( 3.66MB ) : 648

|----------------------------|--------------------------|-----------------------------|----------------------------|
|----------------------------|--------------------------|-----10-------8-------8------|-----10----------13---------|
|----------------------------|--------------------------|-----------------------------|----------------------------|
|-----7-------5-------5------|-----7---------10---------|--7------7s-5------5-----5s--|--7------7s--10-------------|
|----------------------------|--------------------------|-----------------------------|----------------------------|
|--5-----5s-3------3-----3s--|--5-----5s--8-------------|-----------------------------|----------------------------|

This lick is played with Octaves.
The second half of the lick is one Octave higher than the beginning part.

The lick holds the groove of Lick 1 and I pluck the Octave with my ring finger.
Picking all the notes will do the job too.

Pay attention to the slides in this one.
The rhythm of this lick comes from the slides.

Lick 8

Video_9_Lick_8.wmv ( 2.97MB ) : 726

|---------------------------------|----------------------------|
|---------------------------------|----------------------------|
|-----------------7----5b---------|-----------------5~---------|
|--------5h-7--------7-----7-5h-7-|--------5h-7-----5~---------|
|---------------------------------|----------------------------|
|--5--5-------5-5-----------------|--5--5-------5-5------------|

This lick is funky!
The lick in played with string skipping and octaves.
The picking of this lick is kind of up to you.
You can alternate pick the whole thing but that can be hard with the string skips.
What you can also do is down strokes on the E string and alternate pick on the D and G string.
I don't really think when I play this lick.
My picking is kinda random on this lick, sorry.

Lick 9

Video_10_Lick_9.wmv ( 3MB ) : 639

|--8--5h-8p-5----------------------------------|
|-------------8--5h-8p-5-----------------------|
|------------------------7--5h-7p-5------------|
|-----------------------------------7--5h-7p-5-|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|

----------------------------|-------------------||
----------------------------|-------------------||
----------------------------|--2----------------||
----------------------------|--2----------------||
--7--5h-7p-5----------------|--0----------------||
-------------8--3-----------|-------------------||

Practice trills with your pinky and ring finger and you're going to nail this lick in no time.
Pentatonic, nice way to end your playing.

-----

That was the last lick!!

I hope you enjoyed it.

I want you to get comfortable with octaves, string skipping (both hybrid and alternate picking) and double
stops.
With the fast octave string skip technique you can create groovy licks but you can also use it as a note in the base.

The important thing to pay attention to with double stops is that you have to bar the strings really good.
It can be hard to bar with your ring finger on the G and B string (that was the first problem I encountered with this)
but with experimenting you will find the right place on your fingers.

I hope you will get some cool new ideas from this lesson and inspiration.

Have fun and Good Luck practicing!

Have questions? Ask me!!

regards, Ezra (vdB)

Backing Tracks:

Van_Halen_100_BPM.mp3 ( 1.58MB ) : 678

Van_Halen__140_BPM.mp3 ( 1.13MB ) : 735

Tone:

AC_VH___Ezravdb.l6t ( 2.08K ) : 523

Tabs:

AC_VH___Ezravdb.gp5 ( 11.38K ) : 517

PS: Practice!

haha...

I also added this for you:

Tablature Legend
----------------
L - tied note
x - dead note
g - grace note
(n) - ghost note
> - accentuded note
NH - natural harmonic
AH - artificial harmonic
TH - tapped harmonic
SH - semi harmonic
PH - pitch harmonic
h - hammer on
p - pull off
b - bend
br - bendRelease
pb - preBend
pbr - preBendRelease
brb - bendReleaseBend
\n/ - tremolo bar dip
\n - tremolo bar dive
-/n - tremolo bar Release up
/n\ - tremolo bar inverted dip
/n - tremolo bar return
-\n - tremolo bar Release down
S - shift slide
s - legato slide
/ - slide into from below or out of upwards
\ - slide into from above or out of downwards
~ - vibrato
W - wide vibrato
tr - trill
TP - tremolo picking
T - tapping
S - slap
P - pop
< - fade in
^ - brush up
v - brush down

Posted by: ezravdb Aug 22 2007, 03:20 AM

Doin' some lay out edits and one scale chart is coming up in a few mins.

edit: DONE!!!

Posted by: mattacuk Aug 22 2007, 09:14 PM

Very slick man, and very rocking! Excellent job!

Posted by: Bjoerne Aug 22 2007, 09:36 PM

You are really good man !
keep it up

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Aug 22 2007, 09:39 PM

QUOTE (Bjoerne @ Aug 22 2007, 04:36 PM)

You are really good man !
keep it up

Hey Ezra, really great lesson, better than your last

Posted by: ezravdb Aug 22 2007, 09:41 PM

QUOTE (Andrew Cockburn @ Aug 22 2007, 10:39 PM)

Hey Ezra, really great lesson, better than your last

Awesome, thanks, exactly what I wanted to hear

Posted by: mattacuk Aug 22 2007, 09:49 PM

I am going to do a buckethead lesson one day soon!

Posted by: ezravdb Aug 23 2007, 12:35 AM

QUOTE (mattacuk @ Aug 22 2007, 10:49 PM)

I am going to do a buckethead lesson one day soon!

I can't wait

Posted by: Nick325 Aug 23 2007, 12:51 AM

nice lesson

i might do a ac/dc lesson too

Posted by: JVM Aug 23 2007, 03:01 PM

Ezra, this is a rocking lesson \m/

Posted by: ezravdb Aug 23 2007, 07:46 PM

QUOTE (JVM @ Aug 23 2007, 04:01 PM)

Ezra, this is a rocking lesson \m/

Thanks

Posted by: Iluha Aug 25 2007, 07:44 PM

You keep on amazing me ezra, I love watching how with video you make you improve more and more, great job

Posted by: richgrafx Sep 3 2007, 06:53 AM

Good stuff. I will be spending some time with this. I like your analysis of the parts and including the line6 tone is icing on the cake. I am digging into the guitar pro file now. THANKS.

Posted by: Nick325 Sep 3 2007, 07:06 AM

since its part van halen style ill show a pic of my vh customized guitar

Posted by: ezravdb Sep 7 2007, 04:25 AM

QUOTE (Nick325 @ Sep 3 2007, 08:06 AM)

since its part van halen style ill show a pic of my vh customized guitar

Looks awesome

And thanks Richgrafx