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Jeff's Lesson Notes

"Dear Prudence"

 

This lesson is the 5th installment in our VH'izing cover songs series here online..  One of the things VH often does is create riffs where there were none before.  In the case of this track I've done a mix of "Balance" era riffing, with a pinch of "Diver Down" thrown in for good measure, and created a rendition of "Dear Prudence" that I doubt any of you will expect.  In places I've taken the Beatles bass line and turned it into a killer guitar riff.

I don't like to do things that are obvious.  I think the better lesson is one that goes beyond "no brainer" and incorporates some innovation.  I've done what I always do with these VH'ized cover songs.  I've taken what's obvious about the original song, i.e. what makes the riff move the way it does or sound the way it does, and expanded on it in the style of VH..  VH likes personality and expression more than picking through a moving chord pattern.  So chords are often exploded and embellished upon with phrasing sections that take up the same amount of time, and usually involve either exploding the chord all over the fretboard, or even adding notes to it for phrasing purposes...

In the case of "Dear Prudence" it's the F# that remains constant as the main riff moves along.  That's blatantly obvious as you play the "Beatles" version.  So I made sure that my song had that constant as well.  I haven't changed the chords in the song, I've simply exploded them into phrasing sections. 

This will be a good one for all skill levels.  Beginners may have a little trouble with the riffing as it's moderately advanced VH, however most of my visitors should be able to sink their teeth into the majority of the track.  If nothing else the JAm TRack is ripe for you to embellish at will and do your own "Dear Prudence" version if you like..

"Dear Prudence" was always one of my favorites.  For those trying to find it, it's off the Beatles "White album"..  In a way it was made for Van Halen since even the Beatles version is done with a "Dropped D" tuning, and its chromatic patterns are perfect to add a little VH flair too.

On the video lesson I'll of course walk you through the TABs and teach you how to perform the song, but I'm also going to point out some things that may not be obvious at first..  Like I always say,,,, "Remakes of songs should be just that."  You should always try to make things your own. 

For the smart asses that will email me and say, "well you're not being yourself", I realize that I'm doing a VH thing here, but this is for instructional purposes and is supposed to be VH'y..  What I suggest is you take what I've done with "Dear Prudence" here in this lesson as inspiration for your own version of it, and use the JAm TRack that will be provided with the lesson to help you create it..

If nothing else, if that's not your thing, then at the very least have some fun with my riffing.  It's a mean little version of "Dear Prudence", so be sure and crank it up.....!!


 

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