While they used keyboards on their first three albums, it wasn’t until Van Halen dropped ‘1984’ that they fully embraced the synth rock sound. That’s most evident in ‘Jump,’ a song that leads off with the unmistakable sound of an Oberheim OB-Xa. The track became one of their most famous songs and inspired a generation to take up the keyboards, but it almost didn’t see the light of day. Guitar god Eddie Van Halen had written the song as early as 1981, but the rest of the band vetoed it for years.
‘When I first played Jump for the guys nobody wanted to have anything to do with it,’ Van Halen told Chris Gill for Guitar World. ‘[David Lee Roth] said that I was a guitar hero and I shouldn’t be playing keyboards. But when [producer Ted Templeman] heard the demo and said it was a stone-cold hit, everyone started to like it more. Ted only cared about Jump. He really didn’t care much about the rest of the record and just wanted that one hit.’
Today, we’re checking out some innovative takes on ‘Jump’ with some that embrace the synth, and some that eschew it.
Mike Dawes – ‘Jump’ for Solo Acoustic Guitar
Maybe if you play guitar like Mike Dawes, you don’t need the synthesizer. Heck, you don’t even need drums, bass, or vocals. Dawes performs this incredible solo acoustic arrangement with just a little help from his pedalboard and some creative two-handed tapping, which creates a pad of the bass note as he hammers on the notes of the synthesizer part. The hammer-ons even give the strings a more reedy timbre, similar to a synth. He also implements percussion by striking the body of the guitar to keep the groove going.
Leo Moracchioli featuring Ben Eller – ‘Jump’ Metal Version
Van Halen is solidly in the rock world, but Leo Moracchioli wondered what the glam-pop sound of ‘Jump’ would be like with a heavier edge. He arranged the song with bigger, heavier guitars and coarser vocals. Ben Eller guests on the track to nail Eddie’s guitar solo before blowing a kiss and sending it back to Moracchioli, who puts a gnarly breakdown in for good measure.
Good Terms – No Synth, No Problem
Good Terms is a guitar-driven band that seems to have explored David Lee Roth’s original vision of the song. They opted to perform the iconic intro between two guitars, but their tones recreate the sound quite well. The band does, however, lean into the happy-go-lucky vibe of the original.
Alex Melton – If ‘Jump’ Was Written for Millennials
This one, as Gen Z would say, hits different. Alex Melton reimagined the classic ’80s track into an acoustic alt-pop indie rock banger. The arrangement drops the synth and picks up the acoustic guitar. Melton made great use of the bass guitar to drive the verses and accent different chord tones. It all came to him after giving the song some space.
‘We all know the iconic synth line, but I had never really given this song a proper listen all the way through until I decided to do this cover,’ he explains. ‘I loved the idea of slowing the verses waaay down and letting each line breathe, while keeping the upbeat pace of the prechorus intact.’
Go Ahead and (Play) ‘Jump’
Now it’s your turn! No matter your instrument, ‘Jump’ is a fun and infectious song. Check out the synth transcription and a guitar arrangement and start to put your own stamp on it.
