“DON’T BACK DOWN”

Mammoth WVH

GIFTED AND

TALENTED multiinstrumentalist Wolfgang Van Halen shines on this well-conceived and -produced modern rock song that features his myriad talents and sole duties as songwriter, arranger, singer, bassist, drummer and, of course, guitar player.

Set to a head-banging hard rock shuffle groove — based on an undercurrent of eighth-note triplets and swinging eighth notes — the song is built around a suite of catchy drop-D-style riffs, with easily fretted and quickly shiftable one-finger power chords and single notes played high up on the neck. Many of the riffs “bounce” off the open 6th string, with notes fretted as high as the 18th fret, such as during sections G and H, which creates interestingly angular wide intervallic jumps between the open low D and the fretted notes. Combined with a liberal use of pull-offs and hammer-ons, these riffs are fun and for the most part delightfully easy to play.

There are, however, some quick and potentially tricky position shifts in certain parts, such as in bar 12, where you need to move from the 10th fret on the 6th string down to the 5th fret. While it’s tempting to grab the low G note with your index finger, as it’s the closest digit, moving in that direction, you’re better off using your middle finger to fret that note and also barre it across the 5th string. Doing so will then enable you to hammer-on to the 6th fret with your ring finger then reach down to the 3rd-fret F with your index finger without having to shift again. This needed fingering becomes obvious later in the song, during the outro, in bars 83-86, where Wolfgang repeats the melodic idea a bunch of times.

Another quick, precise shift is required for the cascading triplets lick in bar 51, where you need to go from the 10th-position D blues-scale box shape down to the 8th fret on the 5th string to grab the F note. After playing the second 12th-fret D on the 4th string at the end of beat 3, you’ll want to displace the middle finger at the 11th fret on the 5th string with the ring finger. Then, on the following downbeat (bar 52), shift back up, then drop down again.