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Unchained

Van HalenView all Van Halen tabs

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Unchained by Van Halen

Unchained was released in 1981 on Van Halen's album Fair Warning. The track is widely celebrated for Eddie Van Halen's scorching main riff, which helped redefine the band's hard rock swagger and the sound of early 80s rock. Produced by Ted Templeman, the album delivers a punchy, guitar-forward mix that lets the riffs breathe and the rhythm section drive with unstoppable groove.

The song's impact goes beyond the studio: it became a rite of passage for aspiring players and a live-show centerpiece that fans still chant along to. Its riff, while deceptively simple at tempo when learned carefully, invites players to balance precision with attitude, earning a proud place in guitar repertoires and in the cultural memory of classic rock.

🎸 Want to know the techniques, practice tips, and lesson details? Scroll below the lesson!

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What You'll Learn

In this lesson you’ll break down Van Halen’s iconic Unchained riff and build it into a full groove section. You’ll learn the main riff built around power chords, how to move between the verse riff and the driving chorus groove, and the technique mix that makes the riff punchy: palm muting, precise alternate picking, and hammer-ons/pull-offs. The lesson also covers a simple two-bar backing track to practice the tempo and feel, plus tips for achieving the classic Van Halen tone. Watch for tricky off-beat accents, clean muting to avoid string noise, and the quick hand movement required to stay tight at higher tempos.

Intermediate. Helpful prior skills include comfort with power chords, palm muting, accurate alternate picking, and keeping a steady rhythm at faster tempos.

🎸 Techniques Used

Power ChordsPalm MutingAlternate PickingHammer-ons and Pull-offs

Practice Tips

💡Practice with a metronome or drum backing track, starting around 90 BPM and gradually increasing to 120 BPM as you nail clean accuracy.
💡Focus on clean muting and precise attack; position your wrist and pick at the same angle each time to keep the riff tight and punchy.
💡Break the riff into two-bar segments, loop them slowly, then gradually add the chorus transition until you can play the whole thing smoothly with good rhythm.