In The Style of The Edge (U2) - part 5

Lesson Sample 2,538k

Lyle: I would like to show you a few riffs in the style of The Edge again in this lesson. In the Lesson Sample, there are 2 main grooves, a loud part and a quiet part. Here's the jam track for the loud part:

jam - 1st half - no guitars

Lyle: This jam has just a few chords in it. Here's a chart:

chord chart


Lyle: Here's a TAB file which will show you an example of how The Edge might play a riff like this:



Lyle: The D/F# chord uses the thumb for the bass note.

open D over F#


Lyle: Here's a video of this:

guitar part for jam 1

MissM: Those marks mean to pick up?

Lyle: yes, pick up where you see ^

Lyle: Let's talk a little about effects. The Edge likes to use a delay to fatten up the tone. In the TAB file I just sent, I'm using a digital delay setting that gives me a 1 beat echo. Since the jam track is 88 beats per minute, I used a delay setting at 680ms.

Lyle: The way you figure this out is: 60,000 divide by 88(bpm) x 1(note value) = 681.8ms

delay times chart


Lyle: With a delay setting like this you'll get a big, concert type of sound. When The Edge plays solos, he doesn't do very many of the standard rock and blues riffs, more often a melodic single string solo like this:



solo 1

dougp: Does he use any arpeggios?

Lyle: He arpeggiates chords a lot. He'll play a chord and hit one note at a time, letting them ring together. This solo 1 is simply made from the E minor pentatonic scale ascending the 2nd string. In solo 1, you can use a clean tone or distortion. Notice I used a clean tone with just a little bit of distortion.

Lyle: Check out this next example:



Lyle: Easy enough, but if you add the right effects to it, you'll create a different sounding riff. The Edge will use what's called a dotted 8th note delay setting. This gives the effect of him playing faster than he really is. To set up for this effect, set your delay to 511ms with a loud repeat. 60,000 divide by 88(bpm) x .75(note value) = 511.4ms

Lyle: Now listen to the same solo with effects:



Lyle: Do you hear the difference between the two tabs?

Lyle: Here's a video:

solo 2 with fx sample

Sam: What device do I need for a delay, I only have an Fender champion 30 amp?

Lyle: Sam, a digital delay pedal.

Lyle: I would like to shift to a different part now. Here's your new jam track:

jam - 2nd half - no guitars

Lyle: The Edge uses dynamics in many of his tunes. He'll be playing loud with distortion, then all of a sudden quiet down with a clean tone. He'll sometimes use an effect like a tremolo and chorus pedal. Listen to this next tab file:



Lyle: Can anyone guess what effect I'm using in this file?

Lyle: It's a MXR Phase 90 set for a fast speed.

MXR Phase 90


Lyle: This is a vintage effects pedal much like The Edge uses in his setup.

TT: Is this arpeggiating the barre chords?

Lyle: TT, yes. This is what arpeggiating the chords means.

Ralph: that MXR pedal reminds me of the mid seventies!

Lyle: Ralph, that's probably when this one was made!

Lyle: Repeat the last tab file 3 times, then play this one for the complete groove of the jam track:



Lyle: Two tricky chords there at the end. Here's a close up:

G @ 7th fret


D over F# @ 7th fret


guitar part for jam 2

mark6: G chord is a little tricky.

Lyle: The G chord is like an open C chord moved up the neck. The Edge uses a muted strumming technique to simulate a snare drum roll. Hear the snare drum beat in this jam track? Here's a close up video of how I do it:

snare drum rhythm riff 1

Lyle: Ok, just kidding...that was how I recorded the snare drum part with my midi guitar.

Lyle: With a stereo delay setting of : 60,00 divided by 88(bpm) x .5(note value) = 340.9ms for the right side, and 60,000 divided by 88(bpm) x 1(note value) = 681.8ms for the left side, you'll get a big fat echo sound that's right in time with the music. Listen to this stereo mp3 sample:

stereo echo sample

Lyle: Ok, now the real muted strum technique that the Edge might use to simulate a snare drum.

snare drum rhythm riff with guitar

Lyle: It's like what Hendrix did at the beginning of Voodoo Child.

Lyle: Here's a jam track you can use which combines both parts we worked on in this lesson:

jam - full - no guitars

Lyle: That wraps it up for this series on The Edge. I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have had in making it. 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

P.S. Could The Edge be a Vulcan? I've never seen the tips of his ears, he always wears a hat....?