{"id":455612,"date":"2020-10-07T16:32:51","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T20:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=455612"},"modified":"2020-10-07T16:32:51","modified_gmt":"2020-10-07T20:32:51","slug":"rochester-pop-music-expert-on-guitarist-van-halens-deep-roots-in-rock-455612","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/rochester-pop-music-expert-on-guitarist-van-halens-deep-roots-in-rock-455612\/","title":{"rendered":"Rochester pop music expert on guitarist Van Halen\u2019s \u2018deep roots in rock\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eddie Van Halen, the lead guitarist of the American rock band Van Halen, died earlier this week after a battle with cancer. In an opinion article for CNN<\/a>, rock historian John Covach<\/a> writes that behind the musician\u2019s \u201cblistering guitar solos\u201d was an \u201cexceptional musical gift and keen pop intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Covach, who is the director of the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½\u2019s<\/a> Institute for Popular Music<\/a>, a professor of music in the Department of Music<\/a>, and a professor of theory at the Eastman School of Music<\/a>, analyzes the opening tracks of the band\u2019s self-titled 1978 debut album. According to him, the two songs\u2014\u201cRunning with the Devil\u201d and \u201cEruption\u201d\u2014illustrate the range of Van Halen\u2019s guitar mastery and his legacy:<\/p>\n

Van Halen\u2019s techniques in this song were not new: tapping, fast single-line playing and rapid picking, use of \u201cclassical sounding\u201d music, and dive-bomb vibrato-arm swoops were all employed by previous guitarists. [\u2026] But by imaginatively combining, extending and refining these techniques, Eddie Van Halen created a minute and 42 seconds of music that turned everybody\u2019s head while raising the bar in terms of rock virtuosity.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, as an \u201cinnovator with deep roots in the rock tradition,\u201d Van Halen proved to be \u201camong the most important figures in the development of electric guitar playing in the second half of the 20th century,\u201d writes Covach.<\/p>\n