04 EDDIE VAN HALEN

Eddie Van Halen talks technique

On rhythm playing

“I’m a very rhythmic player, out of necessity. Because believe it or not, we used to play without a bass player. It was just Alex and I. I also had a tendency to fill every f*cking hole possible, but I had to because there was no other instrument.”

On tremolo picking

“It’s just kind of a spasm. The guys who use [small plectrums] are the guys who pick the way I can’t!.”

On using a mix of picking techniques

“It’s just been part of my playing for so long that I don’t think about it. If you have to think about it, you’d better go home and practise some more, you know? I relate a lot of things to racing – things happen in a nanosecond so you’d better be ready to respond. But yeah, if I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t do it. The less thinking I do, the better. Get out of my own way!