Lesson
Notes by Jeff Fiorentino
At first listen it would seem I only used
pieces of "Over the Rainbow" from the Wizard of Oz to "Halenize" for
this lesson... However the reality is despite what you hear, or think
you hear, EVERY RIFF on this track, and EVERY CHORD on this track was taken from
sections of "Over the Rainbow." Granted I've done some chord
substitutions and some riffing exaggerations of various parts but
it's all
"Over the Rainbow" through and through...
Non Van Halen fans often write in and ask why I use Van Halen as lesson
examples, they cite that VH isn't a good example of proper theory from a
teaching perspective.. While I agree with them about the theory I
don't agree about the teaching perspective.. Van Halen gets people
excited about playing guitar, and willing to try new things.. Van Halen always made re-makes all their own...
In fact as I've often said Van Halen's
remakes were sometimes so remote from the original song that if not for the lyrics you
would never know it was a remake of anything.. You have to respect
that, it's what music and being a musician is all about in my opinion..
And that kind of remaking and creativity makes for a great guitar lesson
especially when injected with enough theory so that you the student/lesson
taker understands what's making it all tick...
The first thing I did for this lesson was learn a standard version of "Over
the Rainbow".. The original song is transcribed in many different keys but regardless
of that I figured "A" would work best for Van Halen-style purposes, so that's what I
chose to work with.. I then skimmed the original song for things that
looked VH'y in the sheet music, or things I could riff out and morph into a
VH'y style riff.. What I mean by
that statement is players like VH are riffers.. I too am a riff player.
I'll take a guitar hook over just about anything, I love riffs and hooks..
So does VH, and VH would often try to hear a riff in a cover song that Van
Halen was planning to do, if he couldn't hear a riff, they didn't do the
song.. The point is, no matter what style you want
to work in, hearing your version of something or a way to riff something out
to make it all your own in your head is really a key
element to making a given cover song your own and a true "remake".. A remake of something be it
your style or you just having fun with someone else's as we do here with
these lessons is not about you
turning on distortion where there was none before.. It's about chord
substitutions / embellishments as well as clever manipulation of vocal
melodies with short guitar riffing a.k.a. phrasing...
On the video lesson I'll walk you through the actual "Over the
Rainbow" track and show you what makes it tick, and more importantly
what I did to transform the song's melody and chord patterns into this Van
Halen'ized monster of a guitar lesson... And I do mean MONSTER..
There's a lot to take in here and some pretty classic VH techniques to mess
with too.. This lesson and its song track are without a doubt the
largest musical and lesson undertaking thus far in the "VH'izing cover
songs" online series..
I really am a firm believer in, and teacher of, creativity.. It's not easy
to teach creativity but hopefully with my lessons I can give you some ways
or ideas of where you can pull creative help from when you need it... I've made my
living out here in Los Angeles having to be creative and work fast at the same time..
What I'm going to attempt with this lesson is to help you to not only learn a
few cool Van Halen style licks and tricks, but also I hope to have a light
bulb go off for you on how you can take ideas from any song, by any artist,
in any genre of music and use those ideas as a springboard to create what
ever you want. Granted we created a Van Halen sounding thing here but
that's because I did this for a VH style lesson.. The reality is
whether you create a Van Halen sounding thing, or a Journey sounding thing,
or IDEALLY (emphasis on ideally) something all your
own really doesn't matter.. The concepts for looking at a given
piece, seeing and hearing what makes it tick, and running with it are always the same...
Be sure and listen to the song example a few times before diving into the
video lesson in order to get the most out of it... These VH'izing
lessons are getting more and more difficult as we move forward.. But
please remember that in reality any skill level can work with the fundamentals
of the lessons being given here.. The riffs are a by-product of the
lesson, my song example is nothing more than just that, an example for you
to hear and see the lesson in motion.. It's not whether or not you can
play it, or even want to play it, it's about whether or not you understand
the lesson behind it all so that
you can apply those concepts to what ever it is you do want to play or create.
-- Jeff Fiorentino,
JFRocks.com
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Over the Rainbow
TAB Transcription
Song Intro
 
*Nothing fancy used here, Just Guitar, amp and a little
reverb...
 The Tabs
are split for this track between guitar 1 and guitar 2.
Guitar 1 = Black Tab, and is the main rhythm part
Guitar 2 = Blue Tab, and is the lead
accompaniment
Guitar 1: Chords done under the
intro taps.. These chords are lightly picked through (with the
exception of the F#5), only the chord
shapes are tabbed below..
See video for more..
Fm9 E9
F#5
E__8_____7__________________________________
B__8_____7__________________________________
G__8_____7__________________________________
D__6_____6__________________________________
A__8_____7_____4____________________________
E______________2____________________________
Guitar 2:
Tap intro portions..
These are a little
stretchy and a little tricky in spots.. Some left hand strength is
required due to the 2 strings being tapped a once...
Fm9
E__8-(13)-4-8__(13)-4-8__(13)-4-8__(13)-4-8__(13)-4-8__(13)-4-8__(13)-4-(13)^1/2_____
B_______________________________________________________________________
G__8-(13)-4-8__(13)-4-8__(13)-4-8__(13)-4-8__(13)-4-8__(13)-4-8__(13)-4-(13)^1/2_____
D_______________________________________________________________________
A_______________________________________________________________________
E_______________________________________________________________________
E9
E______________________________________________________________________________
B__(9)-4-6-8__(9)-4-6-8__(9)-4-6-8__(9)-4-6-8__(9)^1/2-8^1/2>release_8_^bend_8^1/2>release_8-7~____
G______________________________________________________________________________
D______________________________________________________________________________
A______________________________________________________________________________
E______________________________________________________________________________
*Random Dirty Movies style phone
dialing taps... See video for tips...
E__7__(19)______(17)________(15)________(19)________(18)_______________________________
B_________________________________________________________etc. etc.. see
video for tips____
G__7______(19)_______(17)_______(15)_________(19)_____________________________________
D___________________________________________________________________________________
A___________________________________________________________________________________
E___________________________________________________________________________________
*Stagger the taps below..
Fm9
F#5 (chord hit)
E________________________________________________________________
B__(9)-8-6-4___(9)-8-6-4____(9)-8-6-4-9^1_(17)>apply
a slight release to fade out_________
G________________________________________________________________
D________________________________________________________________
A________________________________________________________________
E________________________________________________________________
Guitar 1 Chord riffing stand alone intro portion
For this I used a sound similar to 316, and I also used my fingers for this
part... I suggest doing the same to get the proper sound and vibe out
of it...
A5
F#m7
C#m7
E_________5______________________________________________________
B_________5_________________________0-5-0______7--9_______10_______
G______2______________2__________________________________________
D____2________________2-4-2_______6_______6--7______9__11__________
A__0_______________4_______4_2--4_________________________________
E________________2_______________________________________________
D D sus4 D
D sus2 D sus4 D sus2
A
E_______________________________________________
B_______7-8-7____5_____8_5____5_5--___2___________
G____________0x_7_0x__7_7_0x_7_7---__2_*stop hit chord___
D____7______________________________2___________
A__5________________________________0___________
E_______________________________________________
A/C#
D5
D# dim
E________________________________________________________________________
B____2-3-2________2_______________________________________________________
G______________2__________7________________________8 h(20)^1>release_(20)~____
D____________2__________7_7_________________7 h(19)_______________________
A__0_______4_______4__5______4^1/2>release_4__6______________________________
E________________________________________________________________________
A
F#m7
Bm
E (chord implied by bass scale up)
E_________________________________________________________________________________________________
B________2_______________________3_________9--11_____11--13____13--14____14--16___16--19____19--21_21~_
G________2_________2___________4__________________________________________________________________
D_____2__2_________2-4-2______4_______2---9~_______11_______13________14______16_______19______
21~_
A___0__________ 4_______4___2_____________________________________________________________________
E___________4-3_2_________________________________________________________________________________
Main Song Kick in - All Guitar 1 Rhythm Parts
Now the fun begins... I've combined the basic chord riffing of guitar
1 with VH style melody riffing in guitar 2... The two sections are
separated.. Guitar 1 is in Black and the Guitar 2 melody is in Blue below
the guitar 1 portions of the song.. Do yourself the lesson favor, of
learning and understanding each part.. Not just the fun one.. .. The
two are clearly separated on this page for ease of reading...
Guitar 1:
Rhythm guitar part in your LEFT
speaker... CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE GUITAR 2 LEAD
PORTIONS
A5
F#m add11 C#5
C#m7/G# D5
A5
E______5--______________________4_______________________________________________
B______5--____________0_________5_______________________________________________
G__2_______________2___________4_____7_______7--9_--7__ 7-- 6__2____________________
D__2_____________4________6____6_____7_____________________2____________________
A__0______________________4__________5___5_5_5--7_--5__5--4__0___0_2_0__2a.h--4~____
E_____________2_________________________________________________________________
D5
D# dim
A5
F#m7
E_________________________________________ 2_________
B_________________________________________ 2_________
G______7___________8--7--8_______2__________2_________
D____7___7______7__7--6--7_____2____________2_________
A__5__________6_____________0_____________4_________
E__________________________________4-3_2~___________
Bm7
E (chord implied by bass)
A5
E__________________________________________________________________________
B________0_________________________________________________________________
G______2_____2^1a.h___2^1/2a.h_0_________________________2_____________________
D____4________________________2^1/2a.h_0_______________
2_____________________
A__2___________________________________2^1/2a.h>release_2__0___>go
right into the bridge__
E___________________________________________________________________________
Bridge
This is the Guitar 1 Bridge part.. It's a chord riff loosely based on the
Fm9 to E9 that began the song... It's a tension riff that in the
original song, was done on a Harp to create a dream effect...
A5 from end of kick in
carries over for the line below
E______________________________________________________
B______________________________________________________
G______________________________________________________
D______________________________________________________
A__1--3__(8)-0-3__(8)-0-3__(8)-0-3___(7)-0-3__(8)-0-3__(7)-0-3___
E______________________________________________________
Fm9
E___________________________________________________
B_____8_________8________8________8_______ 8_____8___
G__10____10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10__
D___________________________________________________
A___________________________________________________
E___________________________________________________
E9
E_________________________________________
B____7______7_____7_____7_____7___7_______
G__9____9_9_9_9_9_9_9_9_9_9_9_9_9_9_______
D_________________________________________
A_________________________________________
E_________________________________________
Fm9
E___________________________________________________
B_____8_________8________8________8_______ 8_____8___
G__10____10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10_10__
D___________________________________________________
A___________________________________________________
E___________________________________________________
E
E5
(*Guitar 3 does E9 riff as laid out
in this section)
E____________________________________________________________
B___9__9______9__9___________________________________________
G___9__9______9__9________9_9________________________________
D___9__9______9__9________9_9____>Guitar 1 does
Flanger Interlude next..___
A___7__7______7__7________7_7________________________________
E___0__0______0__0________0_0________________________________
Flanged Riff Interlude
This is a riffed out sectional concept from an actual section of the
original "Over the Rainbow"... On the video I'll show you where this came
from.. Note that it's not designed to have vocals over it, although I
think DLR could work with it if he wanted to or had to if VH actually did this
back in the day....
Take special note of how the Bass moves through chords yet the guitar riff never
changes...
*Uses Flanger setting
number 1 from the settings page...
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Portion of the actual melody from "Somewhere Over
the rainbow" that our Flanged riff was created from...
E__0____0____0____0______0____0____0____0_________
B____2____2____2____2______3____3____3____3_______
G_________________________________________________
D_________________________________________________
A_________________________________________________
E_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Flanged Riff
E (implied by bass)
E_________________________________0_________0_______
B___________________________________0_____0___0_____
G_____________________________________1_2___________
D_____________________ 7___7_________________________
A______________4~__4x_4___5_________________________
E__0_2_3_4_5--7__________0___0_0__________________0__
F#m (implied by bass)
E______________________0_________0________________
B________________________0_____0__________________
G__________________________1_2____________________
D_________ 7___7__________________________________
A__4~__4x_4___5__________________________________
E___________0____0_0_________________0____________
G#5 (implied by bass)
E______________________0_________0_______________________
B________________________0_____0_________________________
G__________________________1_2___________________________
D_________ 7___7__________________________________________
A__4~__4x_4___5__________________________________________
E___________0____0_0_________________14---random hand slide down--___
B5
E___________________________________________
B___________________________________________
G___________________________________________
D________________________7~~___4___________
A_______________5_6_7--9________ 2___________
E__0_2_3_4_5--7_____________________________
From here the guitar solo enters...
The Solo is part of the guitar 2 lead sections of the
tabs..
Guitar 1 Post Solo Kick in
This is the final verse of the song and it comes in
right after the solo... It differs slightly
from the first kick in verse and it leads us into the guitar 1 Flanged outro of
the song..
Take special note of what happens at the end of the guitar 1 part.. I did
a classic VH style thing with the chord ending.. Taking a lesson from
Little Dreamer and Atomic Punk sort of...
*Nothing fancy used here, Just Guitar, amp and a little
reverb...
A5
F#m add11
C#5
E_________5________________________________________________
B_________5___________0_________5_____7_____ 9_____ 10______
G______2____________2___________7^1___9^1___11^1___12^1____
D____2____________4_________6______________________________
A__0________________________4______________________________
E______________2___________________________________________
D5
A5
E______________________________________________
B______________________________________________
G___7_______7--9_--7__ 7-- 6__2____________________
D___7_____________________2____________________
A___5___5_5_5--7_--5__5--4__0___0-2-0__2a.h--4~_____
E______________________________________________
D5
D# dim
A5
F#m7
E_________________________________________ 2_________
B_________________________________________ 2_________
G______7___________8--7--8_______2__________2_________
D____7___7______7__7--6--7_____2____________2_________
A__5__________6_____________0_____________4_________
E__________________________________4-3_2~____________
B7 sus4
E (chord implied by bass)
A5
(Bass plays "F" see notes in
guitar 2's tabs section)
E________________________________________________________________________________________________
B________0_______________________________________________________________________________________
G______2_____2^1a.h___2^1/2a.h_0_________________________2___________________________________________
D____4________________________2^1/2a.h_0_______________
2___________________________________________
A__2___________________________________2^1/2a.h>release_2__0____(8)-0-3_(8)-0-3_(8)-0-3_(8)^1>rel_(8)-3~__(12)~_
E_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Guitar 1 Flanged Outro
Similar to our opening finger picked piece.. This one is done with the
pick, and Flanger setting number 2 from the settings page... A light Hear
about it later setting...
*Uses Flanger setting
number 2 from the settings page...
A5
F#m7
C#m7
E_________5__________________________________________________________
B_________5____________________________0-5-0______7--9__9--slide
downward--___
G______2______________2______________________________________________
D____2________________2-4-2________6--_______6--7-------9________________
A__0_______________4_______4_2--4_____________________________________
E________________2____________________________________________________
D
D sus4 D sus2 D sus4 D sus2
A
E_______________________________________________
B_______7-8-7____5_____8_5____5_5--___2___________
G____________0x_7_0x__7_7_0x_7_7---__2_*stop hit chord___
D____7______________________________2___________
A__5________________________________0___________
E_______________________________________________
A/C#
D5
D# dim
E________________________________________________________________________________________
B____2-3-2________2_______________________________________________________________________
G______________2__________7_____________________8 h(20)^1 hold
bend___h(15)_h(13)__h(13)>release bend__
D____________2__________7_7_________________7____________________________________________
A__0_______4_______4__5______4^1/2>release_4__6______________________________________________
E________________________________________________________________________________________
*Do
the ending part starting with the "B" on the 2nd fret 5th string with your
fingers lightly....
A
F#m7
B7 sus4
E___________________________________0___________0___________0__________________
B_______2_____________________________0_______0___0_______0___0________________
G_______2________________________2______2___2_______2___2_______2____ etc._etc.___
D____2__2____________2-4-2______4__________4___________4___________4____________
A__0_______________4______4__2_________________________________________________
E___________4-3_2~______________________________________________________________
*Ending
harmonics..
E______5h___________________________________
B__5h_______________________________________
G___________________________________________
D___________________________________________
A___________________________________________
E___________________________________________
End Guitar 1...... See Guitar 2 (lead
part) below...
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
All Guitar 2 Lead Parts..
(Click here to return to the
guitar 1 part)
These are sectioned off the same as guitar 1 is.. Guitar 2 for
the most part is in your right speaker.. With the minor exception being
the solo which is also tabbed below as part of guitar 2...
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Actual Melody from "Somewhere Over the rainbow"
E____________________________________________________
B____________________________________________________
G________14~___13~__9_11_13~__14~________11~__9____
D____________________________________12~____________
A__12~______________________________________________
E___________________________________________________
E____________________________________________________________
B____________________________________________________________
G____________________________________________________________
D_______12~___13~__7_9_11~__12~_____9~__6_7_9__11~_________
A__9~________________________________________________12~____
E____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Guitar 2's Main Song Kick in
This part plays over the guitar 1
main song kick in and is the melody section..
*Nothing fancy used here, Just Guitar, amp and a little
reverb...
A5
F#m7 C#m7
E__5_____________________________________________
B__8^1~w.b~~ _9_______5_____7______9______10______
G___________ 11^1~___7^1~__9^1~__11^1~__
12^1~___
D________________________________________________
A________________________________________________
E________________________________________________
D
A5
E_________________________12~w.b~~~___________________
B_______________7~w.b~_________________________________
G_____________7_______________________2----9-0>w.b
dive>>>___
D___________7_________________________________________
A__5h~w.b~_____________________________________________
E______________________________________________________
/////
= Trem or speed picking..
D5
D# dim
A
F#m7
E_____________16///__17///__19///____11-- 10--11--10--11________________________________
B__7________________________________10---9---10---9---10___14____10____12___14___15_____
G__9^1_///____________________________________________16^1__12^1__14^1_16^1_17^1___
D__________________________________________________________________________________
A__________________________________________________________________________________
E__________________________________________________________________________________
B5
E
A5
E____________________________________________________________________
B____________________________________________________________________
G_____________________________________________________2a.h
scream>>w.b down>_
D__4______________________________________________ 2__________________
A__2_____0__2~---_7-0_6-0_5-0_4-0_3-0_2-0_2^1/2>release_2_0_________________
E_____2______________________________________________________________
Guitar 2 Bridge Leads
/////
= Trem or speed picking..
Fm9
E_____________________________________________________________
B_____________________________________________________________
G__5///_6///_7///_8///_7///_6///__5///_6///_7///_8///_7///_6///___
D_____________________________________________________________
A_____________________________________________________________
E_____________________________________________________________
E9
E_____________________________________________________________
B_____________________________________________________________
G__4///_5///_6///_7///_6///_5///__4///_5///_6///_7///_6///_5///___
D_____________________________________________________________
A_____________________________________________________________
E_____________________________________________________________
Fm9
E_______________________________________________________________
B__(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13___
G_______________________________________________________________
D_______________________________________________________________
A_______________________________________________________________
E_______________________________________________________________
E_______________________________________________________________
B__(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13_(18)-9-13___
G_______________________________________________________________
D_______________________________________________________________
A_______________________________________________________________
E_______________________________________________________________
E
E__________________________________________________________
B__(9)-5--8--5__(10)-6--9--6__etc. etc. upward
semi-chromatically...____
G__________________________________________________________
D__________________________________________________________
A__________________________________________________________
E__________________________________________________________
Guitar 1 does the "Flanged Interlude" here.
Guitar 2
comes back in after that with the Phase 90 Solo below...
SOLO
This is a real tension building riffed out VH Diver Down era sort of solo
thing... This solo is done over the song's main verse chord pattern...
Make note of the chords above the solo tabs, and also take note that as with
most VH style stuff we don't conform to any rules, and that means the key too..
The solo is tense in part because it's in A minor and A Mixolydian while the rhythm is in A
Major..
A5 F#m7
C#m7
E____________________5_______________________________________________
B__10^1~~~~___8^1~___8__5-8-5___5-8-5___5-8-5___5-8-5___5______________
G_____________________________8______8______8_______8___8_7_6>w.b
dwn>__
D____________________________________________________________________
A____________________________________________________________________
E____________________________________________________________________
D
A
A/C#
E__10^1~~~___10^1_10_8_______________________8________8________7____
B_______________________10_8_10^1~~~___10^1~___10^1~____10^1~______
G____________________________________________________________________
D____________________________________________________________________
A____________________________________________________________________
E____________________________________________________________________
*Next
sections of tab are played quickly...
D5
D# dim
E_____7__8_10_8__7-8-7___7_____________________________
B___x________________10___10_8---5_5-6-5__5_____________
G__x rake_______________________________7___7_7~~______
D_____________________________________________________
A_____________________________________________________
E_____________________________________________________
A5
F#m7
E________________________________________________10_________10__________________
B___________________________________________________13^1~______13_10____________
G_________________11_12___________11_12~---2----12______________________12_12~~___
D__2---11_11_12_14________11_12_14_______________________________________________
A_______________________________________________________________________________
E_______________________________________________________________________________
*Slight under bends are OK
in the section below...
B5
E5
A5
E______________5_______________5_________5___________________________________
B____________5___8^1~~______5____8^1~~____8_5-8-5___5-8-5___5_________________
G__<w.b into<7^1______________7^1_____________________8_______8___8_7_5>w.b
down>>___
D____________________________________________________________________________
A____________________________________________________________________________
E____________________________________________________________________________
E_______________________________5////__7////__9////-----17~~~~____
B__________________________5-7-9_________________________________
G_____________7-9-11__6-7-9_______________________________________
D__2---7_7-9-11___________________________________________________
A_______________________________________________________________
E_______________________________________________________________
Guitar 2 Post Solo Kick in
These of course are the leads that go over the
"Guitar 1 Post Solo Kick in"..
A5
F#m7
C#m7
E_____________17______________________________________
B__10_________20^1~___________________________________
G__12^1~________________13--___9__11__13__14~_________
D_____________________________________________________
A_______________________ 11--___7__ 9__ 11__12~_________
E______________________________________________________
D
A
E__________________________________________________
B__________________________________________________
G___________11--9__9--11~__9~----___---14--13__11---9___
D__7~______________________________________________
A___________ 9---7__7-- 9~__7~----___---12-- 11__9----7___
E__5~___x_x________________________________________
D5
D# dim
A5
F#m7
E_________________________________________________________________
B__7////_____9///__10///__12///__14///__15~~_______________________
G__9^1_////___________________________________ 14~__ 13--12__11~____
D_____________________________________________14~_________________
A___________________________________________________11--10__ 9~____
E_________________________________________________________________
B5 E
A
E_____________________________________________________
B_____________________________________________________
G__4~____2^1a.h___2^1/2a.h_0_____________________________
D_________________________2^1/2a.h_0____________________
A__2~______________________________2^1/2a.h>release_2__5h__
E_____________________________________________________
*Take
note of Guitar 2's Ending Power Chord hits below.. While Guitar 1 is on an
A5 chord Guitar 2 is actually on an F#5/C#, and the song actually ends with the
Bass and Guitar 2 doing an "F" while guitar 1 as can be seen in the guitar 1
tabs section is doing a tap sequence off of an "F"... This is a fairly
typical VH style ending although not exactly like one they've done, the theory
is similar to many VH songs.. It's a good 2 guitar dynamic lesson, but
even without guitar 2's power chord hits, the Bass playing an F# to F pattern
over guitar 1's A5 power chord delivers an unmistakably VH-style sound...
F#5/C# F5/C
E____________________________________________
B____________________________________________
G____________________________________________
D____________________________________________
A___9___9____8_______________________________
E___9___9____8_______________________________
Guitar 2 Ends here.. Guitar 1 comes in with its "Flanged Outro"..
See of course the guitar 1 tab sections for that..
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