Performance Notes
HOW TO PLAY THIS MONTH’S SONGS
By Jimmy Brown
“DON’T BACK DOWN”
Mammoth WVH
GIFTED AND TALENTED multiinstrumentalist Wolfgang Van Halen shines on this well-conceived and -produced modern rock song that features his myriad talents and sole duties as songwriter, arranger, singer, bassist, drummer and, of course, guitar player.
Set to a head-banging hard rock shuffle groove — based on an undercurrent of eighth-note triplets and swinging eighth notes — the song is built around a suite of catchy drop-D-style riffs, with easily fretted and quickly shiftable one-finger power chords and single notes played high up on the neck. Many of the riffs “bounce” off the open 6th string, with notes fretted as high as the 18th fret, such as during sections G and H, which creates interestingly angular wide intervallic jumps between the open low D and the fretted notes. Combined with a liberal use of pull-offs and hammer-ons, these riffs are fun and for the most part delightfully easy to play.