Michael Jackson – Beat It
March 24, 2009
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You can blame the inclusion of this one on my increasing addiction to Guitar Rock Tour. It might be the endless repetition, but I really like this riff. And the Eddie Van Halen solo is widdletastic.







V. good, now tab the solo :-)
My favorite of the recent batch of solos.
@ Lain: Think Eddie Van Halen plays ukulele? Maybe he could help with the solo. Next ukulelehunt guest interview!
Iain: Get bent ;)
Chris: I would ask him, but I have a strict ‘no spandex’ policy.
i would love to hear this whole song with like 4 ukes, upright bass, brushes and a snare…..and someone like uke jill singing…..can you hear it?
nice work….
todd
todd: Sounds like a good idea to me.
i’m so all over this riff, it’s unreasonable how much fun i’m having with it!
i’m having quite the ukulele-y day today, bought a fluke this morning for just over a hundred quid and am to see the UOGB this evening ^^,
cbf: Glad you’re enjoying it. Let us know what you thought of the gig.
Yay!, I have had my uke for a week now and this really helped
IronChowder: Glad I could help out.
What do you suggest for fingering this one?
Here’s what I’ve come up with (total beginner here):
Pluck C string open.
Bar 3rd fret with index finger.
Pluck E string.
Pinky on A, 6th fret. Pluck.
Pinky off. Pluck A.
And that’s where I get stuck. My ring finger is too squishy to bar the 5th fret, but my pinky can take care of the E at the 6th.
I can SO nearly get this it’s maddening.
Stevie: I play it with my ring finger on the A string, pinkie on the E string (6th fret) and middle finger on the G string. An easier way would be to replace the G string fifth fret with A string 3rd fret. But it wouldn’t sound as good.
Oich!
Thanks for the tips – maybe this is still a bit too advanced for me yet.
Fake Name Stevie: This one isn’t THAT advanced so it’d be good practice for you on building up finger dexterity :)
Also, playing the C in the 3rd measure on the A is the only way to play it on a low-G uke… why wouldn’t it sound as good? It’s the same note!