Classic Albums - Fair Warning
Song Lessons in this Course
This Course is Ideal for Players Who...
This Fair Warning guitar lesson course is designed for guitarists who are ready to commit to one of the most rewarding classic rock studies available through online guitar lessons. It is ideal for players who:
- Have a solid foundation in core guitar techniques and are ready to take on the demanding technical and musical challenges of Eddie Van Halen’s most guitar-centric album.
- Are passionate about Eddie Van Halen guitar lessons and want to learn every track note-for-note — from the crushing riffs to the iconic solos — with expert guidance from a professional tutor.
- Want to significantly improve their right-hand technique, including alternate picking speed, whammy bar control, and the rhythmic precision required to replicate EVH’s syncopated groove.
- Are looking to expand their lead guitar vocabulary beyond the pentatonic scale and explore the chromatic movement, modal phrasing, and two-handed tapping that define Eddie Van Halen’s style.
- Want to understand how blues tradition, classical influence, and rhythmic innovation combine to create the sound that fundamentally changed modern rock guitar — and influenced generations of players across rock, metal, and fusion.
- Are seeking structured, in-depth classic rock guitar lessons online that go beyond tab-reading and develop genuine musical understanding.
What will I achieve from completing this course?
Fair Warning rewards serious study. Unlike many technically demanding rock albums, its depth reveals itself gradually — every track contains hidden rhythmic ideas, subtle phrasing details, unusual chord voicings, and innovative production techniques that continue to surprise even experienced players. Sam Bell’s expert tuition breaks down each element with clarity and precision, ensuring you not only learn the notes but understand why Eddie Van Halen made the choices he did.
This course works because it treats Fair Warning as the complete musical statement it is. Rather than isolating techniques in abstract exercises, every lesson is rooted in real songs — giving you the context to apply what you learn directly to your own playing. You will develop rhythm guitar precision, blues phrasing fluency, dynamic control, and the groove awareness that separates technically proficient players from genuinely musical ones.
The techniques covered throughout this course include:
- Two-handed tapping and tapped harmonics
- Percussive slap-style fretting-hand technique
- Alternate picking and legato phrasing
- Vibrato, pre-bends, and bluesy string bending
- Dive bombs and whammy bar control
- Palm muting and syncopated rhythm guitar
- Open-string riffs and chromatic passing notes
- Double stops and octave melody playing
- Power chords, arpeggios, and chord voicings
- Scale and mode application: E minor pentatonic, E blues scale, Dorian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and chromatic ideas
Few albums demonstrate the balance between technique and musicality as successfully as Fair Warning. Studying it with Licklibrary’s online guitar lessons gives you direct access to one of the most important chapters in rock guitar history — taught by a world-class tutor, at your own pace, from anywhere in the world.
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** Disclaimer **
*This product is not endorsed by or made in association with
Van Halen
nor does
Van Halen
perform or appear on this course.*
Fair Warning – Van Halen
Released in 1981, Fair Warning is widely regarded as Van Halen's darkest, most aggressive, and most guitar-centric album. While previous records showcased Eddie Van Halen's revolutionary approach with an element of fun and party-rock energy, Fair Warning pushed further into heavier riffs, angular song structures, darker harmonies, and some of the most adventurous guitar playing of his career.
For guitarists, this album is an absolute masterclass. Eddie effortlessly combines blues vocabulary, classical-inspired phrasing, chromatic movement, wide intervallic ideas, and innovative rhythmic concepts into songs that remain instantly memorable. Rather than relying solely on speed, Fair Warning demonstrates how creativity, phrasing, tone, and rhythmic feel can transform relatively simple ideas into unforgettable guitar moments.
Throughout the album, Eddie frequently blends E minor pentatonic, E blues scale, Aeolian, Dorian, Mixolydian, and chromatic passing notes while constantly manipulating rhythm and articulation. The result is a collection of songs that continue to influence generations of rock and metal guitarists. Sam Bell breaks down every track on this classic album in this exclusive Lick Library video course.
Mean Street
The album opens with one of Eddie Van Halen's most iconic guitar introductions. Beginning with a dazzling display of slap-style right-hand tapping and harmonics, the intro immediately announces that this album is unlike anything that came before it.
The main riff revolves around E with heavy chromatic movement and syncopated rhythms. Eddie mixes E minor pentatonic with blues phrasing and chromatic passing tones, creating tension that perfectly suits the song's darker atmosphere.
Guitar Solo Analysis
The solo combines:
- E Minor Pentatonic
- E Blues Scale
- Chromatic passing notes
- Rapid legato phrases
- Wide interval skips
- Aggressive whammy bar accents
Rather than simply playing fast, Eddie constantly changes rhythmic groupings and phrasing, making every lick feel conversational.
Dirty Movies
"Dirty Movies" features one of Eddie's funkiest rhythm performances. The riffs rely heavily on muted sixteenth-note grooves and dynamic accents rather than constant distortion.
The verse moves comfortably between blues vocabulary and hard rock, while the chorus opens up harmonically using major chord colours.
Guitar Solo Analysis
The solo mixes:
- A Minor Pentatonic
- A Blues Scale
- Mixolydian phrases
- Double-stop licks
- Chromatic approach notes
The phrasing demonstrates Eddie's love of Eric Clapton and Albert King while maintaining his own unmistakable voice.
Sinner's Swing!
One of the fastest tracks on the album, "Sinner's Swing!" showcases Van Halen's incredible chemistry as a band.
The driving riff centres around E Minor Pentatonic with rapid alternate-picked figures and syncopated accents.
Guitar Solo Analysis
The solo features:
- E Minor Pentatonic
- E Dorian ideas
- Blues vocabulary
- Fast descending legato runs
- Aggressive bends
- Rhythmic displacement
Many of the phrases begin before the beat, creating a feeling of urgency that perfectly complements the song.
Hear About It Later
This song demonstrates Eddie's incredible ability to write melodic guitar parts while still maintaining complexity.
The intro uses layered clean guitars before launching into heavier riffs built around suspended chord voicings and melodic embellishments.
Guitar Solo Analysis
The solo explores:
- D Major
- B Minor
- D Mixolydian
- Arpeggiated ideas
- Singing melodic bends
- Tasteful vibrato
Rather than overwhelming the listener with speed, Eddie allows notes to breathe, making this one of the album's most expressive solos.
Unchained
Arguably one of the greatest hard rock riffs ever written.
The famous detuned guitar sound gives the riff enormous weight while Eddie's rhythmic placement makes every chord hit feel huge.
The riff combines:
- Power chord movement
- Open-string pedal notes
- Chromatic passing chords
- Palm-muted rhythms
Guitar Solo Analysis
The solo centres around:
- A Minor Pentatonic
- A Blues Scale
- Chromatic runs
- Fast pull-offs
- Wide bends
- Controlled dive bombs
Although relatively short, every phrase serves the groove perfectly.
Push Comes to Shove
One of the album's biggest surprises, this track explores blues, jazz and laid-back groove playing.
Eddie demonstrates remarkable restraint, allowing the phrasing to carry the performance rather than sheer technicality.
Guitar Solo Analysis
The solo uses:
- G Major Pentatonic
- G Mixolydian
- Blues phrasing
- Major/minor interplay
- Jazzy chromatic lines
It highlights Eddie's understanding that technique should always support the musical feel.
So This Is Love?
Built around a swinging groove, "So This Is Love?" perfectly demonstrates Eddie's rhythmic genius.
The riffs combine funk-inspired muting with classic hard rock attitude, requiring exceptional picking control.
Guitar Solo Analysis
The solo features:
- E Minor Pentatonic
- Blues Scale
- Fast legato phrases
- Wide bends
- Chromatic passing notes
- Syncopated rhythmic ideas
Many of the phrases blur the line between blues improvisation and technical rock playing.
Sunday Afternoon in the Park
An experimental instrumental built around synthesisers, effects, ambience and heavily processed guitar textures.
Although there is little traditional lead guitar, Eddie creates an unsettling atmosphere through volume swells, feedback manipulation and creative effects processing.
The track demonstrates his willingness to treat the guitar as a sound-design instrument rather than simply a vehicle for riffs and solos.
One Foot Out the Door
The album closes with an explosive burst of blues-based hard rock.
The fast riffing returns alongside aggressive rhythmic phrasing and some of Eddie's loosest lead work on the record.
Guitar Solo Analysis
The solo combines:
- E Blues Scale
- E Minor Pentatonic
- Chromatic runs
- Aggressive string bending
- Fast hammer-ons and pull-offs
- Whammy bar flourishes
The ending perfectly captures the raw spontaneity that defined Van Halen at their peak.
Eddie Van Halen's Contribution to Fair Warning
If Van Halen I introduced Eddie Van Halen to the world, Fair Warning proved he was far more than a guitar virtuoso. This album showcases him as a complete musician, composer, arranger and sonic innovator.
His guitar tone became noticeably darker and more aggressive than previous releases, complementing the album's mood perfectly. Every riff demonstrates his instinctive understanding of groove, while every solo tells a musical story rather than functioning as a simple technical showcase.
Eddie constantly balances blues tradition with groundbreaking innovation. His phrasing owes as much to Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Allan Holdsworth as it does to classical influences, yet the final result remains unmistakably his own.
Perhaps most importantly, Fair Warning illustrates Eddie's extraordinary rhythmic feel. Whether playing complex syncopated riffs, funk-inspired chord stabs or fluid lead lines, every note sits perfectly within Alex Van Halen's drumming and Michael Anthony's bass playing.
Over forty years later, the album continues to inspire rock, metal, fusion and progressive guitarists who seek to combine technical brilliance with memorable songwriting.
Why Guitarists Still Study Fair Warning
Unlike many technically demanding rock albums, Fair Warning rewards repeated listening. Every song contains hidden rhythmic ideas, subtle phrasing details, unusual chord voicings and innovative production techniques that reveal themselves over time.
Players studying this album will improve:
- Rhythm guitar precision
- Blues phrasing
- Rock improvisation
- Dynamic control
- Groove awareness
- Chromatic solo construction
- Creative use of the Floyd Rose tremolo
- Songwriting through memorable riffs
- Expressive solo development
Few albums demonstrate the balance between technique and musicality as successfully as Fair Warning. It remains an essential study for any guitarist wanting to understand why Eddie Van Halen fundamentally changed modern rock guitar.
Guitar Techniques Used Throughout Fair Warning
- Vibrato
- Alternate Picking
- Legato
- Tapped Harmonics
- Pinched Harmonics
- Trills
- Chord Progressions
- Arpeggios
- Dive Bombs
- Harmonics
- Pull-Offs
- Power Chords
- Palm Muting
- Two-Handed Tapping
- Rakes
- Pre-Bends
- Hammer-Ons
- Double Stops
- Slides
- Sustain
- Pick Slides
- String Bending
- Syncopated Rhythms
- Open String Riffs
- Whammy Bar Tricks
- Bluesy Bends
- Chromaticism
About The Tutor
Tutor Profile
Sam Bell
Sam Bell has been playing guitar from the age of 4, since then he has played many styles from Funky Blues to screaming Metal/Fusion on 8 string guitar. A member of UK tech metal band ‘Mask of Judas’, he is also currently writing his own solo instrumental album. He also...