Move over, Eddie: Teen girl shreds Van Halen cover

[Teh One Who Knocks]

A 14-year-old girl named Tina S. may be the next Eddie Van Halen.

In a clip recently posted to YouTube, Tina shows off her otherworldly guitar chops with a cover of the solo from Van Halen's "Eruption."

The clip lasts just a minute and a half, but that's more than enough time for her to make believers out of anyone.

With a lackadaisical look that suggests her performance is no big deal (such a rock star), Tina shreds the strings with such expertise you might find yourself looking for signs of CGI manipulation. Don't bother—she's the real deal. And commenters on YouTube seem to feel that they're not worthy.

PlayMadness wrote, "I've been playing guitar for 9 years, and a 14 year old is better than I will ever be."

Angryintern joked, "When I was 14 I was really good at... listening to this song."

A commenter named Samuel Preston imagined the fun Tina could have with unsuspecting sales clerks. "wow! It must be so much fun for her parents to bring her to a music store (that doesn't know her) and ask one of the tools behind the counter if their little girl can 'try out one of them nice guitars up there.'"

[Loser]

Ill catch hell for this, and yes she's decent, but it's easy to master someone elses work, but difficult to create your own.

She's nowhere near ed's level.

[DemonGeminiX]

She's sloppy. She's got a good foundation, but still needs some work.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

She's 14

Why don't you guys posts vids of yourselves doing it so we can critique you

[Hal-9000]

We were just watching this girl on another....channel

I think she's a bit of a savant. She plays Livin on a Prayer and pretty much captures most of the instrument sounds (and vocals) on an acoustic..

she also looks bored out of her tree while playing pretty complex licks, like she's going to sleep or something


I give her a HUGE thumbsup....just check out the variety of styles she can play on her Youtube channel

[DemonGeminiX]

She's 14

Why don't you guys posts vids of yourselves doing it so we can critique you

14? So what? Thomas McRocklin was less than 12 when Steve Vai discovered him and he was infinitely better than this girl. He could write his own junk as well. Just so you know, he was the little kid in Vai's "The Audience is Listening" video, and he had his own band called Bad4Good in the early 90s. That kid was a bad ass. He could shred and he made all of us guitar players that had been playing for years look at our shoes and kick stones while pouting. I'm sorry you disagree but I don't get that from this girl.

I don't have to post vids of myself playing, I don't need anyone's accolades. I know I'm a good guitarist, I don't need anyone else to tell me whether I am or not. And playing a sloppy rendition of Eruption isn't the measure of a good guitar player.

There are guitar prodigies all over the place, but it doesn't matter... they all tend to wash out and fall into obscurity after a time. That McRocklin dude hasn't been heard from since after his band's first album was released. No one knows where he is today. That's par for the course for these kids.

You're presenting this girl like she's the next coming. She's not. Sure she's good, but she needs work. Any 14 year old can play like this with enough practice, time, and patience. This is the opinion of a 26 year guitar player who's played everything from Van Halen and other rock bands, to extreme death metal, to funk, blues, jazz and classical... and who's also taught guitar students to play.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Yeah, okay Jimi

[Teh One Who Knocks]

You're presenting this girl like she's the next coming.

And I didn't write the stuff that it's in the quote tags

[DemonGeminiX]

Yeah, okay Jimi

Do you play guitar, Lance?

[Hal-9000]

I disagree DGX....not everyone who picks up a guitar can play well, even with practice and lessons. I think it's like singing, either you have the tools within or you don't.

I know guys who have played for years and the girl above plays a wider variety, and she plays the songs better than my friends. What I noticed is that she rarely looks at her fretboard (I watched about 10 of her vids) and she can play some pretty complex 'big-handed' chords and progressions. If she can play that variety now, I think she'll be quite good at 20...

My secret vice is Youtubing young female players ....not for the pervy aspect, its something about females and young ones who play the classics that make me appreciate their skill for some reason.

[KevinD]

Hal, just admit it bro...you're a youtube perv...Lol


I can respect that she's better than I am, by leaps and bounds actually, but I hope to be better than she is one day.

[Hal-9000]

I sang with a garage band for a short time (piss off) They were a 3 piece group and the guitarist was technically almost perfect for all of the covers they did...

It's hard to explain, but he had no soul....he had 5 guitars and about a million different phase pedals...3 amplifiers and he could mimic almost any guitar sound he heard.

Still...he was missing something. The drummer knew it and called him Rob Robotron

[KevinD]

I hear ya..I've enjoyed many a time listening to a band who wasn't quite all together yet, and have been disappointing by those who though technically correct, just go through the motions...

Who wants to hear me try "Eruption" It's guaranteed to give you a chuckle!

[Hal-9000]

I do believe there is that one component within, meaning guy A and guy B could have the same theory, time put in practicing, yet one guy can play better...it's hard to articulate in words

[DemonGeminiX]

I disagree DGX....not everyone who picks up a guitar can play well, even with practice and lessons. I think it's like singing, either you have the tools within or you don't.

I know guys who have played for years and the girl above plays a wider variety, and she plays the songs better than my friends. What I noticed is that she rarely looks at her fretboard (I watched about 10 of her vids) and she can play some pretty complex 'big-handed' chords and progressions. If she can play that variety now, I think she'll be quite good at 20...

My secret vice is Youtubing young female players ....not for the pervy aspect, its something about females and young ones who play the classics that make me appreciate their skill for some reason.

Bullshit.

Technique, muscle memory, and timing. Time and dedication. If you want to play covers, rote repetition. I've taught many and they were all capable of playing Eruption and shit that was 20 times harder. Some might take longer than others, but that's just the way it goes. The only people I've ever known that couldn't learn how to play the guitar were those that were lazy, those that weren't really into it, and those that were legitimately tone deaf (and legitimately tone deaf people are incredibly hard to run into... there's just not that many of them in the world).

I'm telling all of you, it's just like math... anyone can learn to do it with the right motivation and the right approach. Anyone that can distinguish between different tones and has the desire to play can learn to play the guitar... barring none.