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Wolfgang Van Halen on being taught to play by his father: “That’s a very tough bar to reach as a beginner”

“How do I do that? You’re Eddie Van Halen.”

Eddie Van Halen & Wolfgang Van Halen

Image: Jeff Kravitz / Getty

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Wolfgang Van Halen has spoken about his time learning to play guitar when he was a child, praising his father’s guitar-playing abilities – but less so his teaching abilities.

Speaking to Howard Stern, Wolfgang was asked if it was true that Eddie Van Halen wasn’t the best teacher, to which he responded: “I’d ask him how to play something and then he just proceeds to be Eddie Van Halen. That’s a very tough bar to reach as a beginner.”

Wolfgang continued, laughing about the gulf between their respective abilities that was present back in the day: ‘[He’d say] ‘Well do this.’ Well, fuck you! How do I do that? You’re Eddie Van Halen.”

During the interview, Wolfgang also showed off the first guitar of Eddie’s that was given to him – his Kramer ‘1984’, finished in his signature Frankenstrat stripes. The guitar was the backup to Eddie’s ‘5150,’ Kramer, the one used in the Panama video.

You can see the clip from Howard Stern’s interview below.

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