Van Halen Tabs

This page contains links to guitar and bass tabs as well as instructional videos for the band Van Halen.

Fast Facts

1. Genre: Rock
2. Formed: 1974
3. Origin: Pasadena, California
4. Studio Albums: 11
5. Albums Sold: 80 Million
6. Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen replaced Michael Anthony as the band's Bass player

Playing Style

One of America's quintessential hard rock bands, Van Halen shot to fame in the late 1970s with their gritty, high-energy anthems and dazzling musical virtuosity.

Eddie Van Halen's playing is characterized by two distinct techniques. His use of harmonics and his groundbreaking two-handed tapping technique, which Van Halen mastered by atypically holding his pick between the thumb and middle finger and tapping with his index finger while using his left hand as a mobile nut. The best example of this is the song "Eruption".

Van Halen's inclusion of harmonics coupled with the Floyd Rose tremolo helped create the lowered-pitch "dive bombs" which became prominent staples for heavy metal guitarists throughout the 1980s and beyond.

Studio Albums

• 1978: Van Halen
• 1979: Van Halen II
• 1980: Women and Children First
• 1981: Fair Warning
• 1982: Diver Down
• 1984: 1984
• 1986: 5150
• 1988: OU812
• 1991: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
• 1995: Balance
• 1998: Van Halen III

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