Feedback on “Eruption” transcription

General Music Discussion
#41

So I’ve worked a little on playing the bar 3-5 lick with the Up picked open E and the hammers and pulls as you suggested…BINGO!

I think this should now be correct?

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Takes some work to mute properly and make it work, but the US Festival example is right on the money…I don’t see him making the note on the G string in that US Festival clip, but he is doing it on the “Eruption” 5th position version and I would bet he does hammer the G string note in the record versions of “Doctor” and “I’m The One”, etc…

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#42

And the “A Blues” picking should now be corrected thusly (if I’m following Troy’s post and the live clip correctly)?

#43

Anyone? I’m trying to nail down these edits and send them to Matt to have him change the score and I was hoping to confirm these observations as soon as possible :slight_smile:

#44

I’ll look closely at this and give my 2 cents - just give me a few days, weekends are a little more random for me in terms of free time. I think your effort to transcribe this rather important piece is really great…and long overdue for the guitar shred community in general. Keep it up!

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#45

That is so immensely appreciated!

Troy has given us (another) real breakthrough with identifying the “Upstroke pick and hammer-on from nowhere” nature of that first lick…to the best of my knowledge, no one had ever caught this. Certainly no publication ever caught this. I have even waded pretty deeply into the muddy waters of YouTube covers/tutorials and nothing there has yielded this discovery. And since it is one of Eddie’s favorite licks in other solos it really makes a big dent in understanding his style as a whole.

And his “A blues” observations on the picking are really enlightening. EXACTLY why I needed the help of CTC and the forum members!

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#46

The ‘A blues’ section sounds right to me - I slowed it down to 1/4 speed and played along. One detail I think is that the the last note (20 on the b string) sounds bent a little farther than the ‘1’ step indicated - almost 1 1/2 (just shy of that extra 1/2 step). As for the picking - I could never say…I don’t have the ears for that, however the updated picking feels good to me…I’m sure it’ll be different for everyone.

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#47

Thanks very much! I’ll listen to that last bend again and see what I come up with :slight_smile: That’s another example of the thoughtful listening I’m seeking here…these details matter to me and I want to get different perspectives to inform my own…Thank you!

#48

Have you seen this interview with Eddie, in which he describes inventing his technique?

It looks to me as though the hammer on from nowhere came about from his taking the Jimmy Page lick, which in the above video he starts the lick by using a picked note, but when he talks about his technique of moving that lick using his finger as the nut he uses the hammer on from nowhere technique.

#49

I would say that could have been an influence, but Eddie has mentioned this experience of seeing Page playing the unaccompanied “Heartbreaker” solo at the LA Forum in 1971 for years as being how he was first inspired to come up with the “moveable nut” technique that later evolved into right hand tapping.

Page’s solo actually didn’t involve “hammer-ons from nowhere” because he usually began the sequence by picking the note at 2nd fret of the G string and then doing standard hammer-ons and pull-offs for the remaining legato triplets. I don’t think Eddie got the “hammer-on from nowhere” thing from Page, but it certainly could have inspired it in some way.

For giggles, you can hear the very Page solo that Eddie describes at the 8:08 mark. Eddie would have been 16 years old at the time and Alex would have been 18.

#50

In the video Eddie doesn’t say he got the hammer on from nowhere from Jimmy Page but that it was Eddie’s attempt to outdo that Jimmy Page lick that led Eddie to that technique.

#51

Yes, we agree to some extent. As I said above, Eddie said that he got the inspiration for the moveable nut thing after seeing Page at the Forum in ‘71. I wouldn’t necessarily say “outdo”, but yes Eddie probably got the idea to “extend” the concept that Page was working with to create the moveable nut trick.

#52

While relistening to the Steve Rosen interview with Ed, he shows Steve another lick at about 5:20 and says, “you only need to pick it once.” The notes are a little different but similar concept of picking only the first note.

#53

That’s the “Ice Cream Man” ending solo lick that I posted above…Eddie does sound like he is only picking the 5th fret notes in the Rosen interview and I think that’s exactly what he does on the record:

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I’ve veered off a few times, but can we try to keep this thread to suggestions/observations on my transcription? Thanks :slight_smile:

#54

Hi everyone! I had Matt add Troy’s suggestions to the transcription (to the best of my understanding) and I have updated the download link in the first post to include the new version as of today, 04-03-20.

If anyone can look at it and tell me if I got those parts correct now I’d appreciate it greatly! It’s been a real gas to get that particular incredible lick concept right after all these years!

Cheers!
Allen

#55

In light of Troy’s “Upstroke on the high E/silent hammer-on/hammer-ons and pull-offs for the rest” observation (wish I had a less cumbersome way to say that!) for “Somebody Get Me A Doctor” and “Eruption” it’s been great fun going back and adding those articulations to some of the solos that use it.

First, “Somebody Get Me A Doctor”…here’s how I now play it, thanks to Troy:

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And I’ve also incorporated it into “Girl Gone Bad” after Troy’s explanation and after confirming it with this clip starting at around the 2:41 mark:


Here’s how I’m now playing that segment from the ‘1984’ album version:
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This is also basically the same pattern in “Romeo Delight” and I’ll make a TAB for that as well…but you get the idea. This lick is everywhere in Eddie’s playing and it’s exactly as Troy described it!
#56

To Troy and the team…please message me here or in reply to the e-mail I just sent at your earliest convenience. Thanks!

#57

Dredging this up again, but just trying to make sure I understand your take on this fast part from “When It’s Love”…are you saying that the note on the 13th fret of the G string is a “hammer-on from nowhere”. I’m not sure I’m following…I’m thinking that Ab note might be a silent-hammer on. I’m not getting it quite as legato as Eddie does and I’m wondering if that is what I’m missing?

#58

Did you try slowing down the video and looking at the hands? It looks like the G string is picked with a downstroke and the B string is picked with a single upstroke, then the other two notes on that string are hammer-pull.

I think I mentioned this before but the index finger note is not hit twice. If you’re adding that, that may be why it sounds less smooth. Ed plays this lick in the Rosen interview around 4:15 and even slows it down to demonstration speed, super easy to hear. There is no doubled note.

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#59

Are there any silent hammer-ons in this lick?

#60

I started a thread about this…I posted a TAB of how I’m playing it, maybe that can help? I think I’m still missing something…