When your father is Eddie Van Halen, one of the most revolutionary guitarists in rock history, learning the instrument should come naturally, right? Not exactly. As Wolfgang Van Halen once admitted, being taught guitar by his legendary dad wasn’t quite as smooth as fans might imagine. In fact, Eddie himself eventually called in another virtuoso for help, Mr. Big and Racer X guitarist Paul Gilbert.
The Unlikely Guitar Lesson
Paul Gilbert recalled the surreal experience during a past interview, explaining how Eddie Van Halen personally reached out to him to give young Wolfgang a few lessons. For Gilbert, who idolized Eddie growing up, the request was both flattering and intimidating.
“I got this call from Eddie Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen! asking if I could give his son a guitar lesson,” Gilbert said. “I remember thinking, ‘What on earth could I possibly teach his kid that Eddie couldn’t?’”
Still, Gilbert obliged, meeting with Wolfgang to pass along some technique tips and exercises. The moment was a rare glimpse into the human side of the Van Halen family, even guitar gods, it seems, sometimes struggle to teach their own kids.
“He Was A Great Guitarist But A Terrible Teacher”
Wolfgang, who would later become Van Halen’s bassist and frontman of Mammoth WVH, has spoken candidly about what it was like having Eddie as a father and musical mentor.
“My dad was a great guitarist but a terrible guitar teacher,” Wolfgang once joked. “He was the kind of player who just did things. You’d ask, ‘How did you play that?’ and he’d go, ‘I don’t know, like this!’”
Eddie’s genius was famously intuitive. His playing style, filled with spontaneous harmonics, unconventional finger tapping, and wildly inventive phrasing, was difficult to break down into lessons. Teaching, in other words, didn’t come naturally to someone who lived and breathed creativity rather than structure.
From Lesson To Legacy
Though Gilbert’s lesson was brief, it reflected Eddie’s humility and dedication as a father. Rather than insisting on being Wolfgang’s sole mentor, he recognized the value of outside guidance. And clearly, the approach worked, Wolfgang went on to become an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, handling bass, guitar, drums, and vocals across his own albums.
Gilbert later reflected that the experience reminded him of how music transcends generations.
“What struck me was how supportive Eddie was,” Gilbert said. “He didn’t care about showing off. He just wanted his son to love music as much as he did.”
A Full Circle Moment
Today, Wolfgang carries the Van Halen legacy forward, not by imitating his father’s style, but by carving out his own. He’s often said that while Eddie inspired him deeply, he never felt pressure to be “the next Eddie Van Halen.”
That early lesson from Paul Gilbert, arranged by the world’s most famous guitar dad, symbolized something much bigger than technique. It was about passing the torch, about nurturing creativity in whatever form it takes.
As Wolfgang put it years later:
“My dad showed me how powerful music can be. Not by teaching scales or chords — but by showing me what passion looks like.”
And maybe that’s the greatest lesson any musician, even the son of Eddie Van Halen, could ever learn.
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