In The Style of The Edge (U2) - part 3

Lesson Sample

Lyle: In this lesson you'll work with 4 basic chords, different rhythm ideas and fx settings, all in the style of The Edge. Here's the jam track you'll use for this lesson:

Looping Sound Clip 1

digggiya: Cool sounding effects in that riff!

Lyle: Yes, Edge is real big on effects, I'll get to that in a few minutes. This jam track is made up of 4 basic chords - E - C - A - D. The Edge uses many ways to play rhythm guitar over a simple chord progression like this. I'd like to show you a few examples. Here's just the "power chords" for these 4 chords:



Monte: The lesson sample sounds great, what pre-amp you using teach?

Lyle: I use a Rocktron Voodu Valve direct into my pc.

Voodu Valve rack


Lyle: Try playing these power chords along with the jam track.

Lyle: Now you'll add what's called an eighth note rhythm with these chords and then follow the drum accents on every other measure:



ex. 2 - power chord rhythm

Lyle: For these rhythm examples, try using a straight ahead tone, no fx. This will help make your rhythm sound tighter.

larry: What's a straight ahead tone? A clean tone?

Lyle: Clean or distortion, just don't add fx.

Lyle: In this next example you'll still be playing power chords, but the 1st and 2nd strings will remain open and "drone".



ex. 3 - power chords with open strings

Lyle: You now have 3 different ways to play this chord progression. Having options like this helps give you a big and fuller sound. Here's an example using open chords:



Lyle: Now add a little extra to those chords by hitting the drum accents again like in this tab:



ex. 5 - open chord rhythms

Lyle: The Edge uses digital delays on many of his guitar parts. A delay effect can give a simple riff a bigger sound, almost like two guitars at once. It's important to set the delay timing to the right speed and match the tempo of the song. I've had many people asking me how to set their delay times to match the tempo of the song. First, you need to know the tempo or beats per minute of the song. You can use a metronome and set it to click real close to the beat of the song.

panik: How does The Edge do it in live? I'm impressed.

Lyle: He has pre-sets in his rack of digital fx and then controlled on and off via footswitches.

Lyle: Here's the formula for figuring out the delay times:

delay times chart


panik: Could you give us an example of how to use the conversion chart?

Lyle: Let me give you the tempo or bpm of the jam track: 142bpm

Teacher: Can anyone tell me what the delay setting in milliseconds would be if I wanted a quarter note delay?

Monte: 250ms?

panik: 42ms?

skud: i got 52ms?

panik: 422ms?

larry: 422.5?

Tula: 422.535211?

Lyle: panik, larry and Tula got it! 422.5 mls is the exact setting.

Lyle: We took 60,000 divided by 142bpm X 1 = 422.5ms

Lyle: Now set your delays to that setting if you have one and give it a few repeats. Here's a video clip so you can hear the delay:

delay sound example

skud: Are footpedals all right for a cheap beginner who doesn't have one yet?

Lyle: Yes skud.

Lyle: This next example uses the delay setting to fatten up the sound. You'll be playing just the 1st and 2nd strings in this riff. The 2nd string follows each chord by playing a 5th above the chord.



ex. 6 - 5th above root

Lyle: Don't worry if you don't understand what that means, just learn the riff! If the 1st chord is E, count up the E maj scale and find the "5th degree". = B.

Lyle: The video clip shows me playing the riff with the jam track using 8th note rhythms and following the drum accents again. The tab file just shows you "where" to play. Here's a variation of this



Lyle: Listen and watch the video clip and you'll notice the rhythm being used.

ex. 7 - 5th above root and roots

Lyle: Can you hear the difference in the tone in the video? The delay fattens it up. Here's another example using this single string melody technique:




ex. 8 - climbing melody

skud: I like that little rhythm  - dat, dat, that matches the drums!

Lyle: Yes skud, try to match that drum accent with all of these examples in the lesson. You'll see and hear me doing that in the video clips.

Lyle: Mess around with all of these examples. Try them with clean tone or an acoustic! An acoustic 12 string would be awesome on any of these riffs!

larry: Does it help or hinder to use a compressor?

Lyle: I sometimes like them with clean settings, but I don't think you need them with distortion.

panik: Besides tinkering around, what is a good way to learn about how to tweak effects and tone, do you know of any resources?

Lyle: My suggestion is to limit yourself so you don't use too many fx at first, listen and read about what your favorite guitar players use and then try to emulate their sound with the tools you have. Standard stuff to have is a wha wha, distortion, chorus, delay, and reverb.

Lyle: That’s all for this lesson. If you would like further study on this topic or any other topic, email me at Lyle@theguitar.net for info on how you can get your own customized guitar lessons like this using Riff Interactive technology. Your private lessons can be downloaded to your pc for anytime, anywhere study. Thanks and see you at the next lesson. - Lyle