Van Halen for beginners?

I was in a Van Halen (DLR era) cover band and continue to play Van Halen with my current band.
Here is a short list what I found "easier" to play.

Ain't Talkin Bout Love
You Really Got Me
Dance the Night Away
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Everybody Wants Some
Cradle Will Rock
Take Your Whiskey Home
Pretty Woman
Where Have All the Good Times Gone
Panama
 
giannishreds said:
I was in a Van Halen (DLR era) cover band and continue to play Van Halen with my current band.
Here is a short list what I found "easier" to play.

Ain't Talkin Bout Love
You Really Got Me
Dance the Night Away
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Everybody Wants Some
Cradle Will Rock
Take Your Whiskey Home
Pretty Woman
Where Have All the Good Times Gone
Panama
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any presets youd recommend checking out or care to share? so far, i think i like Rocco's the best.
 
Unchained is not a super hard song. The solo is too bad, but like someone mentioned it’s Eddie’s swing that is what makes even the more simple stuff hard. Ain’t Talking About Love is a great song that’s attainable.
 
As so many have said….Ain’t Talkin’Bout Love is a perfect way to enter the blistering world of EVH. Today you also have YouTube so you can see exactly how it’s played. Start there then branch out. And have fun!
 
Corey5150 said:
As a huge Van Halen fan, I'd suggest:

RWTD
You Really Got Me
Ain't Talkin Bout Love
Little Dreamer
Light Up the Sky
Everybody Wants Some
Hear About it Later
Unchained
Panama

Those are all decently simple
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Little Dreamer is a great song to start with rhythm wise. It’s also same chord progression as Hotel California. Don’t tell Don Henley. Lol.
 
AtomicJeff said:
I never noticed the similarity -- or heard of it, either. Great observation.
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Lol. Well it escaped me too. Until about a month ago. I’ve played hotel California a billion times and just so happened to be jamming on some VH. Little Dreamer came up and said “what???” Same progression for the most part. Lol. Could be a cool mashup if you get creative. Lol
 
AtomicJeff said:
I never noticed the similarity -- or heard of it, either. Great observation.
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Speaking of VH chord progressions: When you really start to dig in and analyze Ed's writing you are going to find the same 5-6 chord shapes throughout every song. He just grabs 'em and slides 'em around up and down the neck. He plays these shapes in bits and pieces and he does it in a way that, when you put it together with video, you can really see the pattens to his thinking and understand much better how he developed his writing and technique for getting around the fretboard - which in turn allowed him to be the unique thing he was.

David Brewster (who I don't think I've ever seen mentioned around here) really breaks it down better and this is gonna be easier than I can google chord diagram images:









 
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USMC_Trev said:
Speaking of VH chord progressions: When you really start to dig in and analyze Ed's writing you are going to find the same 5-6 chord shapes throughout every song. He just grabs 'em and slides 'em around up and down the neck. He plays these shapes in bits and pieces and he does it in a way that, when you put it together with video you can really see the pattens to his thinking and understand much better how he developed his writing and technique for getting around the fretboard - which in turn allowed him to be the unique thing he was.

David Brewster (who I don't think I've ever seen mentioned around here) really breaks it down better and this is gonna be easier than I can google chord diagram images:
Click to expand...
Love David's channel! Great player and cool guy.
 
USMC_Trev said:
Speaking of VH chord progressions: When you really start to dig in and analyze Ed's writing you are going to find the same 5-6 chord shapes throughout every song. He just grabs 'em and slides 'em around up and down the neck. He plays these shapes in bits and pieces and he does it in a way that, when you put it together with video you can really see the pattens to his thinking and understand much better how he developed his writing and technique for getting around the fretboard - which in turn allowed him to be the unique thing he was.

David Brewster (who I don't think I've ever seen mentioned around here) really breaks it down better and this is gonna be easier than I can google chord diagram images:









Click to expand...

Nice resource. Thanks!!
 
OK, so it's been a bit for this thread, but I'll resurrect it.

I think "Dance the Night Away" is a great contender for a beginner. It's very approachable, it's iconic, it's not all that difficult, and most importantly it's almost immediately rewarding.

Here's a great break down by Marty5150 (who is somewhat of a VH freak). Love his handwritten tabs onscreen! :p

 
With VH it all starts with tuning to Eb, add the Marshall sprinkel the right amount of effects then comes the inspiration! After that practice practice practice!
 
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