Transcripts:d into a guitar store in Sherman Oaks, California, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, just wanting to try out a new Stratacastaster. A young salesman looked at the casually dressed customer, watched him pick up a $3,000 guitar, and said with absolute confidence, “Sir, you’re holding it wrong.
Maybe we should start you with something from our beginner section.” What happened in the next 60 seconds became one of the most legendary stories in music retail history. It was a Saturday afternoon in July 1991, and Eddie Van Halen had a rare free day between tour rehearsals. He’d been thinking about modifying one of his guitars and wanted to feel how a stock Fender Stratcaster compared to his heavily customized instruments.
Not an Eddie Van Halen signature model, just a regular production Strat, the kind any guitarist could walk in and buy. He found Guitar Galaxy in Sherman Oaks, a midsized music store that catered mostly to weekend warriors and aspiring musicians. It wasn’t the kind of place rock stars usually shopped. No private appointments, no VIP treatment, just rows of guitars on the wall, and a handful of employees who spent their days helping beginners find their first acoustic or explaining the difference between a less Paul and an SG to confuse
dads buying Christmas presents. Eddie walked in wearing jeans, a faded black t-shirt, a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap pulled low, and sunglasses despite being indoors. He hadn’t shaved in a few days. He looked like a guy who maybe played in a cover band on weekends or jammed in his garage after work, which was exactly what he wanted to look like.
The store was moderately busy. A few teenagers trying out bass guitars in one corner, a middle-aged man testing acoustic guitars in another, and several customers browsing through the effects pedal section. Nobody looked twice at Eddie when he walked in. Eddie headed straight for the Stratacasters.
He found a Sunburst model that felt right. good weight, neck felt comfortable. He took it off the wall and walked toward one of the testing amplifiers. That’s when he encountered Bradley Morrison. Bradley was 23 years old, had been working at Guitar Galaxy for 8 months, and took his job very seriously. He’d gone to music school for 2 years, could read sheet music fluently, and knew music theory inside and out.
He considered himself a guitar expert, and part of his job, as he saw it, was making sure customers didn’t damage expensive instruments through improper handling. When Bradley saw the casually dressed customer take down a $3,000 American Standard Stratcaster, he immediately went on alert. That guitar was one of their most expensive models.
It shouldn’t be in the hands of someone who looked like they’d struggle to make payments on it. Bradley approached quickly. Sir, can I help you with something? Eddie looked up and smiled. Just wanted to try this one out. Nice guitar. Bradley noticed immediately how the customer was holding the instrument.
His left hand was positioned oddly on the neck, not the classical position Bradley had learned in music school. His right hand was preparing to strike the strings at a strange angle. This guy clearly had no formal training. Sir,” Bradley said carefully, “I notice you’re holding the guitar incorrectly. Your left hand position is going to make it very difficult to properly fret the notes, and your right hand technique isn’t standard form.
” Eddie looked down at his hands, then back at Bradley. “This is how I’ve always held it.” “Well, that might work for casual playing,” Bradley said with the confidence of someone who’d gotten an A in music theory 101. “But that’s not proper technique. If you’re serious about learning guitar, you need to develop correct habits from the beginning. Eddie nodded slowly. I see.
What would you recommend? Bradley launched into his explanation, physically adjusting Eddie’s hands on the guitar. Left hand needs to be more like this. Thumb behind the neck, not wrapped around. Right hand should strike perpendicular to the strings, not at an angle. These are fundamentals. Without proper technique, you’ll never be able to play complex pieces properly.
complex pieces, Eddie repeated. Exactly, Bradley said. Look, I don’t mean to be discouraging, but this is a professional level instrument. It’s designed for serious players. Maybe we should start you with something more appropriate for your skill level. We have some excellent beginner guitars in the $300 range.
Much better place to start while you’re learning proper technique. Eddie was quiet for a moment. You think I need a beginner guitar? I think everyone benefits from learning fundamentals properly, Bradley said diplomatically. That guitar you’re holding, that’s what professionals use. Players like Eddie Van Halen, for instance, he’d use a guitar like this, but he’s spent decades mastering proper technique.
Eddie tried very hard not to laugh. Eddie Van Halen has proper technique. Well, his technique is unorthodox, Bradley admitted, but he’s earned the right to break the rules. You have to learn the rules first before you can break them effectively. That’s what I learned in music school. Music school, Eddie said. So you can play pretty well.
I can read any piece of music put in front of me, Bradley said proudly. Classical training. I can explain the theory behind why certain chord progressions work. It’s not about playing fast. It’s about playing correctly. That makes sense, Eddie said. Mind if I try this one anyway, just to feel what a professional guitar is like? Bradley hesitated.
This customer clearly didn’t know what he was doing, but he seemed nice enough. And technically, any customer was allowed to try any guitar as long as an employee was supervising. Okay, but please be careful with it. And let me show you the proper way to Eddie plugged the Stratacastaster into the nearby amp and adjusted the volume.
Then without warning, without warming up, without any preparation, he played the opening notes of eruption. The sound that came out of that amplifier made everyone in the store stop what they were doing. Eddie’s fingers moved across the fretboard at impossible speeds, executing the tapping technique he’d invented, the technique that had revolutionized rock guitar in 1978.
The notes cascaded in perfect precision, each one crystal clear despite the velocity. His right hand was doing things that didn’t look possible. His left hand was moving in ways that defied every rule Bradley had just explained, and it was the most beautiful guitar playing Bradley Morrison had ever heard in person.
The entire store had gone silent. The teenagers stopped playing their bass guitars. The middle-aged man put down his acoustic. The customers at the effects pedals turned around. The other employees stopped what they were doing. Eddie played for 60 seconds, not the full 4-minute version of Eruption, just the opening section, just enough to make his point.
When he stopped, the silence in the store was deafening. Bradley’s face had gone from confused to shocked to horrified to completely pale. His mouth was hanging open. Eddie took off his sunglasses and looked at Bradley with kind eyes. “Still think I need the beginner section.” “Oh my god,” Bradley whispered.
