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I don't really know what inspires me to write the music I do, but usually, the music will set the tone for the lyrics.

Eddie Van Halen

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Eddie Van Halen
Age: 65 †
Born: 1955
Born: January 26
Died: 2020
Died: October 6
Composer
Guitarist
Musician
Record Producer
Singer
Songwriter
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Edward Van Halen
EVH
Edward Lodewijk van Halen
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen
Writing
Really
Inspires
Lyrics
Tone
Inspire
Usually
Write
Music

More quotes by Eddie Van Halen

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Music is for people. The word 'pop' is simply short for popular. It means that people like it. I'm just a normal jerk who happens to make music. As long as my brain and fingers work, I'm cool.
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When I'm home on a break, I lock myself in my room and play guitar. After two or three hours, I start getting into this total meditation. It's a feeling few people experience, and that's usually when I come up with weird stuff. It just flows. I can't force myself. I don't sit down and say I've got to practice.
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Rock stars come and go. Musicians play until they die.
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I just consider myself slightly left-of-center. I'm not your average bear. I - what's the word? I'm not - normal.
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Some people think a song without words isn't a real song. Tell that to Beethoven and he'll kick your ass!
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When Van Halen started out, there was no path to fame. We just played what we liked. Even today it always comes down to the simplicity of rock and roll.
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My son, Wolfgang, plays drums, guitars and bass.
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Before the operation on my left hand I wasn't able to stretch my fingers open all the way. I've never had very big hands, but I could do the splits with them. Eventually I couldn't any more. I had a twisted tendon in my little finger that prevented me from being able to stretch.
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Holdsworth is so damned good that I can't cop anything. I can't understand what he's doing. I've got to do this [does two-hand tapping], whereas he'll do it with one hand.
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We make music for a living. Like I've always said, if you like what you're doing, you're halfway there if someone else likes it, that's even better. If they don't like it, at least you like it. Not to be selfish, but you kind of have to be.
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It makes me feel kind of weird, but obviously the Man Upstairs gave me something and it touches people, and I'm just so blessed.
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I wanted a Gibson type sound, but with a Strat vibrato ... I bought a body from Charvel for $50.00 and a neck for $80.00 - I slapped it together, put an old Gibson PAF in it and painted it up with the stripes
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I'm just a normal schmo like anyone else.
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Imagine if Beethoven had a tape recorder. Then you'd know exactly what he meant. Maybe he meant 'Da da da da' instead of 'Boom boom boom boom!' Who knows?
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And if I would have taken lessons I probably wouldn't have done it, and what forced me to do all this weird stuff on the guitar was I couldn't afford effects pedals, I didn't have all this stuff when I was a kid so I just tried to squeeze all the weird noises I could out of the guitar, which brings me to building guitars.
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I took classical piano lessons from the age of five.
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I'm not a drunk anymore, but since they cut out my tongue, I sound drunk.
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It's always about the music, never about anything else.
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Most beginners want to learn lead because they think it's cool .. consequently, they never really develop good rhythm skills .. since most of a rock guitarists time is spent playing rhythm, it's important to learn to do it well .. learning lead should come after you can play solid backup and have the sound of the chords in your head
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A good producer brings out the best in the artist he's working with. You shouldn't be able to listen to something and say, 'So-and-so produced this album.
Eddie Van Halen