Fingerstyle Insanity!

I had a fascinating chat with Mike Dawes about his cover of Jump.

Mike Dawes' cover of Jump (Van Halen) is fingerstyle insanity - and he played it live in my studio! Mike is an incredibly talented guitar player and one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation. His ability to replicate the sounds of different instruments on the guitar is truly impressive, and his arrangement of Jump by Van Halen is a testament to his skills.

🔥 Mike Dawes' arrangement of Jump is unique and innovative. You can watch his original video here!

► Learn all Mike's acoustic guitar techniques in his 9-hour USB Mastercourse.

► Check out his Progressive Fingerstyle First Steps.

► Progressive Fingerstyle Essential Riffs (Immediate Download)

In our chat, Mike explained the techniques he used to replicate the sounds of the bass and keyboards in the song and how he used a Travis-like picking fingerstyle to give the bass notes a distinct voice and make them sound more interesting. For the keyboard part, Mike used hammer-ons and tapping to emulate the sound of the keys. He used different strings to create different inflections!

🎵 Tuning! Jump is actually in C, but Mike transposed it to D because it worked better in the D-A-D-G-A-D tuning.

Mike emphasized the importance of understanding the aesthetic of a song when transcribing it. It is essential to figure out what makes a song interesting and unique and replicate that in the arrangement. :)

The Importance of Rhythm

Mike also talked about the importance of rhythm in his arrangements. He mentioned often using a haptic pulse metronome to get into a rhythm before going on stage. Having a good sense of rhythm when playing live is crucial because adrenaline can cause you to play faster than you should. Mike's attention to rhythm is evident in his playing, and it is clear that he has a deep understanding of how rhythm works in music.

One of the fascinating aspects of Mike's arrangement of Jump is how he replicates the kick drum sound. He said that he played the bass notes in a way that emphasized the kick drum, which is typical in Rock music.

I Learned So Much From This!

Having this chat with Mike was incredibly insightful. I even wanted to give this arrangement a go and try to play it as well! :) Check out my attempt at transcribing his arrangement here - it's so difficult on many levels.

I can't wait to hang out with Mike Dawes again.

👉 Check out my interview with Mike Dawes from 2012. Oldie but goldie. :)