"It’s not one of my favourite things. It’s stupid because I produced it, but the keyboards just hit me as wrong": Van Halen's Jump is 40 years old. Here's how the most famous keyboard riff of all time was created (and how you can do it, too)

Making of Jump keyboards.

'De… da… de… de da daa-da… da da-de-de.' Just 11 keyboard stabs that will either send you into ecstasy or running to the hills. But whatever you think of the intro to Van Halen's jump, it is the most recognisable keyboard intro to any song ever. It is also to keyboard players, what the Smoke On The Water riff is to guitarists… 

You enter that keyboard shop, find 'that' sound, you can't help yourself can you? Go on, no-one will notice, just start playing; it will be fun. Everyone in the shop will think you're cool! Now look at the shop assistants. They want to kill you.