Notice
The lone ballad on David Lee Roth's Skyscraper album was written by Steve Vai when the "Little Italian Virtuoso" was but a mere 14 or 15 years old, drawing on his Led Zeppelin ("Over the Hills and Far Away") and John McLaughlin ("Follow Your Heart") influences. The basic rhythm part is played on a 12-string with the low E string tuned down to D; on the record, Steve doubles the part with two six-strings, two half-speed 12-strings, a Coral electric sitar, and an electric six-string. The melody (solo) features a half-speed 12-string, a Coral electric sitar and a backwards electric guitar (sounds like a backwards electric sitar in there, too). The form of the tune is very simple, essentially repeating many times throughout. This is not a difficult song to play; the only tricky part is the sixteenth-note riff which features raked and reverse-raked harmonics. I suggest using your pinky for these harmonics, placing it directly over the fret wire and picking firmly.
