Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Eyal Golan

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Tzlil Meitar - Guitar Cover

YouTube Stats: 51K · 1.9K

Artist Overview

Eyal Golan is one of the biggest names in Israeli Mizrahi music, a genre that blends Middle Eastern melodic traditions with modern pop production. Active since the mid-1990s, Golan has released dozens of albums and become a cultural icon in Israel. While he is primarily a vocalist rather than a guitarist, his music offers a fascinating playground for electric guitarists who want to explore Mizrahi scales, modal phrasing, and Mediterranean ornamentation. The guitar work in his recordings draws heavily on maqam-based scales (such as Hijaz, Nahawand, and Bayati), quarter-tone bends, and rapid ornamental runs that will challenge any Western-trained player. The session and touring guitarists who back Eyal Golan are typically top-tier Israeli musicians fluent in both Western pop guitar and Middle Eastern modal playing. These players often use nylon-string or steel-string acoustics layered with clean or lightly overdriven electric guitar tones to achieve that signature Mizrahi shimmer. The electric guitar parts tend to favor single-note melodic lines that mirror the vocal melody, using techniques like fast legato runs, precise vibrato with microtonal inflection, and tasteful string bending that reaches quarter-tone intervals not found in standard blues or rock vocabulary. For guitarists, learning Eyal Golan's material is an excellent gateway into Middle Eastern music theory applied to the guitar. Songs like "Tzlil Meitar" (which literally translates to "Sound of a String") showcase how melodic guitar lines can weave through minor and Phrygian dominant tonalities with graceful ornamentation. The difficulty level is moderate to advanced: the chord progressions themselves are often straightforward (minor keys with characteristic flat-second and augmented-second intervals), but nailing the authentic phrasing, ornaments, and microtonal nuances requires dedicated ear training and practice. If you are a guitarist looking to break out of pentatonic patterns and explore a rich melodic tradition outside the blues-rock paradigm, Eyal Golan's catalog is a rewarding place to start. You will develop better vibrato control, learn new scale sounds, and gain an appreciation for how melody-driven guitar playing can be deeply expressive without relying on distortion or speed alone.

What Makes Eyal Golan Essential for Guitar Players

Mizrahi guitar lines rely heavily on the Hijaz scale (also known as Phrygian dominant: 1, b2, 3, 4, 5, b6, b7), which gives that instantly recognizable Middle Eastern flavor. Practicing this scale in multiple positions across the neck is essential for playing Eyal Golan songs authentically.
Quarter-tone bends are a hallmark of this style. Unlike blues bends that target half or whole steps, Mizrahi ornamentation often requires bending just slightly sharp of a fret to hit microtonal intervals. This demands precise finger control and a well-trained ear.
Legato runs and rapid grace notes (similar to classical guitar mordents and trills) are used constantly to ornament melodic lines. These are typically played with hammer-ons and pull-offs at speed, often descending through scale fragments in a way that echoes the vocal melisma style.
Clean to lightly overdriven tones dominate. The guitar is rarely distorted in Eyal Golan's recordings; instead, players use a warm, articulate clean tone (often from the neck pickup) or a transparent low-gain overdrive that preserves every nuance of the ornamentation.
Rhythmic strumming patterns in Mizrahi pop often blend Western pop grooves with Middle Eastern rhythmic feels like the maqsoum or saidi. Learning to accent offbeats and use palm-muted chugs within these patterns adds authentic groove to your playing.

Did You Know?

The song title "Tzlil Meitar" literally means "Sound of a String" in Hebrew, making it one of the most guitar-appropriate song titles in Eyal Golan's entire catalog.

Israeli session guitarists who play on Mizrahi recordings are often classically trained and can switch between nylon-string fingerpicking, electric lead work, and oud-like phrasing within a single session.

The Hijaz scale used throughout Golan's music is the same scale that Dick Dale popularized in surf rock with "Misirlou," so Western guitarists may already know some of these sounds without realizing it.

Many Mizrahi guitarists use a capo to quickly shift keys to match the singer's vocal range, which is common in live performance settings where Golan may request different keys night to night.

Quarter-tone playing in this genre sometimes leads guitarists to experiment with scalloped fretboards or fretless guitars to achieve more authentic microtonal inflections.

Eyal Golan's live shows often feature extended instrumental sections where guitarists and keyboard players trade solos in a call-and-response format rooted in traditional Middle Eastern ensemble playing.

The reverb-heavy production on many Eyal Golan tracks is inspired by classic Egyptian and Turkish pop recordings from the 1970s and 1980s, giving the guitar a spacious, cinematic quality.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Ben Adam 2003

This album is a great starting point because it balances accessible pop arrangements with rich Mizrahi melodic content. The guitar lines are melodic and well-defined in the mix, making them easier to transcribe. You will get solid practice with Hijaz and Nahawand scale applications over modern pop structures.

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Derech La'Or 2006

The production on this album gives the guitar more room to breathe, with clean-tone arpeggios and single-note runs that are perfect for intermediate players working on legato technique. Several tracks feature extended melodic intros that function almost like etudes for Mizrahi phrasing.

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Zohi Ha'Ahava 2010

A more polished, modern production that incorporates both acoustic and electric guitar layers. This album is ideal for studying how Mizrahi guitarists blend palm-muted rhythmic parts with ornamental lead lines. The arrangements also show how to use dynamics effectively in a pop context.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Session guitarists on Eyal Golan recordings typically use a mix of nylon-string classical guitars (like a Cordoba or Alhambra) for traditional melodic passages and a Fender Stratocaster or similar single-coil guitar for electric parts. Some players also use hollow-body or semi-hollow guitars (such as a Gibson ES-335) for their warm, resonant clean tone that suits the Mizrahi aesthetic. Occasionally, steel-string acoustics like a Taylor or Martin are layered in for strumming parts.

Amp

Clean Fender-style amps are the go-to for this genre. A Fender Twin Reverb or Deluxe Reverb set to a pristine clean channel with the reverb at about 3 to 4 provides the ideal foundation. The goal is maximum clarity and note articulation so that ornamental details come through. Some players use a Roland JC-120 for its stereo chorus and ultra-clean headroom.

Pickups

Single-coil pickups (especially Fender-style Strat pickups in the neck or middle position) are preferred for their clarity and articulation, which is critical when playing fast ornamental runs. For semi-hollow or hollow-body guitars, moderate-output humbuckers (around 7 to 8k ohms) in the neck position deliver warmth without muddying the intricate phrasing. The key is low-to-moderate output that preserves dynamic sensitivity.

Effects & Chain

Effects are kept minimal and tasteful. A touch of spring reverb (from the amp or a pedal like the TC Electronic Hall of Fame) and a subtle chorus (Boss CE-2 or similar) are common. Some players add a transparent overdrive like an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer set to very low gain for slight warmth on lead passages. Delay is used sparingly, typically a short slapback. The overall philosophy is that tone comes from the fingers and the melodic content, not from effects processing.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Eyal Golan's session guitarists use the Strat's single-coil pickups for crystalline clarity on fast ornamental runs and melodic passages. The instrument's bright, articulate tone lets every detail of Mizrahi phrasing cut through cleanly.

Guitar

Gibson ES-335

The ES-335's warm, resonant semi-hollow body delivers the perfect balance of richness and definition for Mizrahi melodies without muddying intricate ornamentation. Its moderate-output humbuckers preserve dynamic sensitivity while adding harmonic depth to clean passages.

Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

This amp's pristine clean channel and lush spring reverb form the sonic foundation for Eyal Golan recordings, providing maximum headroom and note articulation. The built-in reverb at 3-4 adds spacious character while keeping ornamental details crystal clear.

Amp

Fender Deluxe Reverb

The Deluxe Reverb delivers the same clean, articulate tone as the Twin Reverb in a more compact format, ideal for session work on Mizrahi productions. Its spring reverb creates the warm, spacious ambience that complements fast melodic runs.

Pedal

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9

Set to minimal gain, the TS9 adds subtle warmth and slight compression to Eyal Golan lead passages without sacrificing the clarity needed for fast ornamentation. It's a transparent tool that enhances tone from the fingers rather than overwhelming it.

Pedal

Boss CE-2 Chorus

This subtle chorus effect adds shimmer and width to Eyal Golan's recordings while maintaining the articulation critical for Mizrahi phrasing. Its vintage character complements the clean, minimal effects philosophy that lets melody shine.

How to Practice Eyal Golan on GuitarZone

Every Eyal Golan song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice Tzlil Meitar - Guitar Cover