Eddie Van Halen grew up in Nijmegen, Netherlands, with his younger brother Alex. Music was in the blood, as their father was a multi-instrumentalist.

Eddie was a self-taught musician, and he never really learned to read music. He started playing the piano like his father but would mostly improvise throughout performances.

The family moved from Europe to Pasadena, California, in 1962.

Eddie and Alex Van Halen formed their first band at elementary school called “The Broken Combs.” Eddie would frequently confess that this early band gave him the desire to become a professional guitar player.

The brother's first official band was called “Genesis; after a while, they changed to “Mammoth,” and later to “Van Halen.”

Signature two-handed tapping.

Eddie revolutionized electric guitar playing with a unique approach to the instrument and introduced innovative techniques that have inspired generations.

Some of the more relevant innovations can be linked to the Floyd Rose locking tremolo system, effects pedals, and amplification.

Countless guitar players worldwide have followed Eddie’s style, primarily influenced by how he solidified the two-handed tapping technique.

The guitar virtuoso can also be considered one of the founding fathers of Heavy Metal as we know it.

I want to invite everybody reading this to write a lesson learned from Eddy. After, please share it hereunder as a reply to build a network of meaningful lessons learned from an amazing musician.

Dear Eddy, now that your fight is over, we salute you!

“I am the ruler of these nether worlds The underground, whoa yes On every wall and place my fearsome name is heard” — Atomic Punk, by Van Halen

P.S.

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Lessons We Learned From Guitar Virtuoso Eddie Van Halen

Lessons We Learned From Guitar Virtuoso Eddie Van Halen