Understanding Steve Vai Music

For the first time ever Steve Vai have done a tour of Russia and the Ukraine where he conducted three evening master class clinics, and three daytime in-store autograph sessions.

The tour was a big success. This was the most helpful and emotionally pleasant guitar clinic I ever seen before. Steve was able to get that perfect balance between music and talks. The genius has developed serious topics out of simple questions. He was always in contact with the audience. Steve played both, his composed music and spontaneous improvisations too. He was able to make clear for us and illustrate how he is composing music that's coming from inside.

Very deep self-reflection: it is incredible, when the musician does not say something like "well, I just listen to radio and - ah! - create a melody." No! Steve looks deep inside himself to analyze his inner world to create his masterpieces. When you get it mixed with live sound, concert atmosphere, his words come right into your mind, into your heart. I mean, everyone can understand what he's talking about.

What can I say, it is useless to copy Steve Vai!

I wanted to make a video record of For The Love Of God, in order to get something useful for myself from it later: But then Steve told the audience how his music was created. Sometimes, he finds an image or situation and tries to "sound" like this image to imitate it. Sometimes, people around him and relationships can give birth to his music. Sometimes he just play exercises and chord progressions, trying to hear and find out something new. Sometimes he's singing along with chord progression and record himself, then finding interesting ideas.

But the most beautiful music is created, when he is listening with his "inner ear" - something, that is very personal and sounds in his mind. Combining all the above with Steve's playing For The Love Of God, Crying Machine and Lotus Feet that evening, I have suddenly realized, how useless video can be. There is only personal behind those sounds.

Steve's music will remain his music.

Another ideas was delivered to the audience is the following. We all are occupied with our problems and everyday routine. Those 24 hours isn't enough to learn everything in music and guitar, or even 50% of it.

The deeper you go, the more unexplored lands you can see. But every and each of us can and must learn how to hear and feel what's going on in our inner world, to take it out in form of sounds, music, and to express ourselves but not necessarily those speed licks or arpeggios - this is what I AM, and this is MY music. It doesn't matter sometimes, how good or bad it is. It doesn't matter if anybody else need this music. First we need it ourselves.

Yuri Nikitin
Ibanez guitars fan.
Guitar Lessons Pros
Ibanez Guitars

Comments

[richwatkinson]

Um. Yeah. Sure.

Ah well, you love Vai's music, i love Vai's music, its all good.

[sumfears]

Umm That's cool.

[EatsP1es]

mhm...

[MattyPretends]

Wow.....


Time to start actually screening the "articles," wouldn't you say?

[Discouraged]

MattyPretends wrote:

Wow.....


Time to start actually screening the "articles," wouldn't you say?

+1 but with a giggle.

[Diateo]

I think i have to say that Mr. Vai gets into the whole spirtual thing too much, but really cant fault his music.

[friedxrice]

I thought it was a good article. One step toward introspection and one step away from forced creation.

[druz15_UG]

MattyPretends wrote:

Wow.....


Time to start actually screening the "articles," wouldn't you say?

To quote almost every chat room buff ever: "LOL"
Yeah I like Vai's stuff but he's got nothing on Satriani, Joe creates new sounds and things with his guitar, the whole while making it sound cool but when Vai does it it just doesn't do it for me. Listen to the solos in Satriani's "Crushing Day" they're freaking amazing

[Paddles]

Meh, I find Steve Vai's playing ludicrously dull. To be fair, I don't have a very big basis to state that opinion on, but I've watched a few G3 videos and the like and his playing is the least interesting of all the guitarists invited.

On a related note, why is this article on here? It doesn't serve to help me understand Steve Vai's music in the slightest. I hoped by reading it maybe I'd see what I was missing, but it's more unabashed praise for the guitarist than an actual insight into his mind.

I'm happy that the author enjoyed the workshop, but wouldn't this work better as a forum post?

[thebrewfan]

This article is dumb. All it talks about is how much the author wants to blow Vai...

[powerpiker]

wow i learned so much thank you.....will there be a part 2?


ha

[cefasnacht]

i thought this might be stupid, but i can't say for sure, i clicked on the article and went straight down to the comments to see if it was worth my time. well...thanx for saving me a couple minutes guys!

[workstar]

Too much LSD...?

[NaivexLi]

I abolutely love Steve Vai, and though this article is pretty much cracked out but...I think its brilliant nonetheless

[jazkel24]

You guys seem a bit harsh. I thought it was alright mate, but maybe it seems like it's just a personal thing, and lots of other people won't agree with your love of vai's music. Music is different for everyone, not everyone is going to be taken to the same place by listening to say one of Bach's pieces. If you like Vai, then try and take his methods of composing into your style, and maybe you will reflect something of him in your music. Just my $0.02

[jamstation]

The article's not as bad as you guys make it out to be. I guess most of you don't listen to Vai much, or haven't read any of his interviews. When asked about his creative abilities, he almost always talks about listening with his inner ear, about recreating what he hears in his head. It's classic Vai.

However, the article doesn't add much value to Vai's words. It's just a little write-up about his experience at a clinic.

[Partyboy2k05]

It's an alright lil bit. Not that informitive or anything though. Don't get me wrong, I love his music. But this article is just kinda like you're sitting around with friends and when they're talking about girls or something, then you blurt out, "I like Steve Vai!"...awkward silences..."Ok...that was nice buddy..."

[elmolikepie]

Vai plays too fast, his songs have little sense of rhythm or melody. a god of technique he may be, he is a pretty average songwriter.

[Gitter_Wizard]

elmo, dont just talk without hearing more songs that a few guitar solos of his. This was kinda a WTF? article. wtf?????

[Rosencrantz]

um, elmo buddy your kinda really stupid aren't you?
he's an amazing songwriter and often doesn't play fast at all, he's a musical genius. Dude Vai travelled the world searching for modes and scales that are nearly unheard of, so im pretty sure he's got rhythm n melody. Try For The Love of God or Die to Live.

Also This article is not "in the van on comeback road" but its not that bad and stop being jerks you morons.

[Roybordom]

despite how much you sounded like what i would referr to as a cracked up visionary, you made a hell of a lot of sense.

[caucasian_ninja]

Eh, I don't really see the point of this. This should probably be in the forum, truth be told.

I'm not a Vai fan. I don't know, if you guys see something in it, then that's cool, but he really just doesn't do it for me. I guess I feel like good songs come from life, from experiences and the like, and if you spend literally half of your adult life playing a guitar (he practices something like 12 hours a day), you're probably missing out on some major life experiences, which could later turn into great songs. Let's take a hypothetical situation: two guitarists listen to their 'inner ear', Vai, and this other guy that only plays three hours a day, but has a really crazy, experience-rich life. I think that somehow, the second guy's playing would come off as more interesting, or would have something that Vai's playing lacks.

But then again, Vai is a musical genius, this is only my very humble opinion, and who am I to say what makes a good song?

And he could floor my ass in three notes... :-/

[Glen'sHeroicAct]

well pretty much from the article, the point comes across that it doesn't really matter what anyone thinks of his music, or if anyone likes it, or if anyone found this helpful, because Vai likes his music, and we all should like ours to the fullest, or it really isn't good, because it didn't come straight from us, the way we wanted. so really i think its a pretty good idea, because it brings back that selfish side to music, the 'i want my music for me, i wrote it for me' kind of vibe that is necessary to create something satisfying, at least to yourself. cuz who cares if anyone else likes your stuff, if you get a huge kick out of it, right? and that's what Vai feels all the time about his music. truly comforting.

[patrickmclaren]

YEAH I LOVE IT!!!! thanks man, I really enjoyed reading that! Your even better than a deceased london hooker late on monday morning.

[sp4nk3r]

Steve's music borders on insanity. But so does genius.....

[Warheart1188]

wow, good thing I already knew all of this....

[tamargoguitar]

I dont get how THIS article got to be in the columns, and MY history of metallica part 1 wasnt even considered..

HEY. NO FLAMING.

Checked/Deletorated.

[DiNk]

^^ but please do the for the love to god video anyway ;;D

[gwitersnamps]

I'll take Gary Hoey's bluesy solos over Vais spiritual ones anyday.

[SurfinWithSatch]

i find with vai although there is emotion in the songs he plays, alot of them arent exactly what id call "melodic"...in terms of melody i believe joe satriani has the upper hand, he doesnt take it too far over the top, he keeps it simple when simplicity is required, where as vai almost does "too much", it seems like he feels he HAS to do an out of this world solo with various tapping arppegios etc to get the emotion out of the songs where all he really needs to do is something relevant to the song.
please dont take me as a vai basher though because vai is one of my biggest technical influences and favourite musicians...i just think he needs calm down a bit

[chirayu]

nice, but this could have been in the forums for discussions.....article??
btw, steve vai is god for me.

[E V H 5150]

It is useless to copy anybody. Just because I happen to like EVH doesn't mean I copy his music, and just because Eddie liked Eric Clapton doesn't mean he copyed him exactly. How people can become great composers/players is by taking somebody's work and changing it to how you want it, much like how EVH changed some Clapton solos. So if you want to copy somebody, throw in a little bit of originality...

[vanhalenrule]

despite how tedious instrumentals can get, i love steve vais music. But in fairness, he's nothing on Paul Gilbert or EVH. Dunno about this article though...

[ValoRhoads]

some of you don't get it, and that's ok. What Steve is saying is make you're music, you're music. Cut through the bullshit and put you're balls on the line. That's my interpretation of it. And by the way, EVH ain't got shit on VAI, what the hell has Eddie done since 1996? Eddie doesn't even wail in concerts anymore. I love him, but he's washed up

[redSG]

What I am saying is, "Learn some grammar." Steve Vai is good, but Satriani will forever be the greatest guitarist in the world. You can create an un-biased chart with all the "greatest" guitarists in the world, listing the qualities that make them great, and Satch comes out #1. Try it. Don't be partial to any guitarist, and you will see.

checked

[Discouraged]

[quote]jamstation wrote:

The article's not as bad as you guys make it out to be. I guess most of you don't listen to Vai much, or haven't read any of his interviews. When asked about his creative abilities, he almost always talks about listening with his inner ear, about recreating what he hears in his head. It's classic Vai.
quote]

I love Vai. I'm envious of him. I envy the fact that he can play so well, and I envy the fact that he can feel through his music so effortlessly. But just because I love Vai, doesn't mean I'd write an article and tell everyone about it. As someone has already suggested, this would be better as a forum post/thread topic.

[U.P]

you can find out the stuff this article is trying to explain on steve vai's website. http://www.vai.com/littleblackdots.html

[xtopher_aaron]

To all those who find steves music dull.. owh man. what can i say.. you guys are so not musically inclined man.. i feel sorry for you ppl.. for you will never undertand pure music.. any true musician will find this to be true.. i pity you..

[eternal hippie]

Nothing against stev but this article is pure ass kissing and nohing more.

[ProphetMaN]

well....it certainly is a perspective and it sounds reasonable too. It's not something I can argue with. Everyone indeed puts his touch to the music he creates or else we would have a million people who would sound like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and all other great guitar players. On the other hand, this is just another thread from another Vai fan on yet another topic so I prefer to have my own perspective of things concerning music. i appreciate the post though, it was a truly nice one...

[ProphetMaN]

Oh I forgot!!! :P However, the title of the article is "Understanding Steve Vai's Music" and man the only thing you do is go on and on about how noone can ever be able to write something as good as a Steve Vai song for numerous reasons. Know something....there is a very thing line about UNDERSTANDING something and REPRODUCING it (or anything that could be considered similar or of the same origin). Next time, be careful about what you say/write

[dann_blood]

My post in here got bumped down for this? Or more importantly, In the Van on Comeback Road was?
This gives me no insight at all of how Steve produces his music, I compose by playing whatever sounds good, which it usually does, but this article really doesnt give any insight at all.

[acdc101]

Fantastic article.

[Weybl Himself]

Paddles wrote:

Meh, I find Steve Vai's playing ludicrously dull. To be fair, I don't have a very big basis to state that opinion on, but I've watched a few G3 videos and the like and his playing is the least interesting of all the guitarists invited.

On a related note, why is this article on here? It doesn't serve to help me understand Steve Vai's music in the slightest. I hoped by reading it maybe I'd see what I was missing, but it's more unabashed praise for the guitarist than an actual insight into his mind.

I'm happy that the author enjoyed the workshop, but wouldn't this work better as a forum post?

Personally I'd give the title of dullest g3 guitarist to Malmsteen, all sounds the same after 30 seconds. But I guess he is fat, which is funny.

[RememberMyName]

Vai doesn't really float my boat.
Granted, he plays faster than anyone else alive, but I'd trade speed and technique for feel anytime. Just my personal opinion, I know, but I think thats the reason why Hendrix tops the 'greatest guitarist of all time' lists almost everytime - because of the feel he had/still has in his music.

[ArcherTheVMan]

ValoRhoads wrote:

some of you don't get it, and that's ok. What Steve is saying is make you're music, you're music. Cut through the bullshit and put you're balls on the line. That's my interpretation of it. And by the way, EVH ain't got shit on VAI, what the hell has Eddie done since 1996? Eddie doesn't even wail in concerts anymore. I love him, but he's washed up

stop trying to force your opinion on people and i'd just like to point out that 'you're' means 'you are', is primary school education a little too long ago?

[richard_edwards]

RememberMyName wrote:

Vai doesn't really float my boat.
Granted, he plays faster than anyone else alive, but I'd trade speed and technique for feel anytime. Just my personal opinion, I know, but I think thats the reason why Hendrix tops the 'greatest guitarist of all time' lists almost everytime - because of the feel he had/still has in his music.

i totally agree!

Checked.

[bigwillie]

RememberMyName wrote:

Vai doesn't really float my boat.
Granted, he plays faster than anyone else alive, but I'd trade speed and technique for feel anytime. Just my personal opinion, I know, but I think thats the reason why Hendrix tops the 'greatest guitarist of all time' lists almost everytime - because of the feel he had/still has in his music.

People always say that about Steve Vai, but really, Steve has a TON of feel in his music. Yngwie Malmsteen is fast with no feel, Steve Vai is fast, but still manages to have some major groove and emotion in his music.

[Chords0fLife]

You're also verbally incompetent, MonsterOfRock. It seems to me that everyone who argues that Vai writes a heart-filled, life-experienced beauty of a piece, they immediately refer to "For the Love of God". Yes, guys and gals, this song is actually a song. Vai actually is talented. He has a good song.

Satriani has over ten albums of heart-filled, life-experienced beauty... not just a few songs.

[Ibzman]

There's nothing to argue with. It's your problem if you can't feel Vai's music. He's propably the greatest musician of our time, I challenge anyone here to compose something as good as his stuff, with the same killing melody lines and the passion through his playing. If you don't like it, ok, but don't bother anyone that he has no feeling, 'cause it's FALSE. If you guys can't understand this, then you are to never understand what music trully is.

[afortuneinlies]

I saw G3 '03 live.

The first guitarist to play was Yngwie Malmsteen. I'm not sure if there was any point in his performance where he played an entire composition of his own. The best example would be trilogy suite where he stopped before the soft part. His performance was nothing more than over indulgent, cheesy harmonic minor fodder. IS he technically a skilled musician..hell yes, but watching him at G3 was pointless.

The next guitarist was steve vai. I came to the concert venue with very little knowledge of vai, and expected to enjoy him the least. He stepped out onto stage with his triple neck guitar and sat down in a chair...as soon as he started playing the room shrunk to a microscopic size. It was the most personal performance I've heard. The whole band eventually came in; It turned into an attached, emotional display of Vai. The guitar may as well have been part of him.
Satriani was the last to play. He simply stood there and played his songs note for note with very little emotion...yeah, grand.

the point is...out of these three musicians, vai seems to be the most attached to guitar, easily. He's a vastly spiritual man, and it shows in his playing and his love for guitar and music. He palys his ass off like second nature. There is an incomparable amount of feeling in his playing (he doesn't always play ridiculously fast either)...which brings me to another point. People always seperate feeling and speed...that's bullshit. I know that satriani and malmsteen show feeling in there playing...it's just their own brand of feeling. These guys have spent years playing guitar for 10 hours a day...and you people have the nerve to say that their musical creations are without feeling. How many of you willingly spend 10 hours a day with a person that you have no attachment to? yeah...exactly. they all have feeling regardless of how fast they played..speed has nothing to do with it. shut up. Malmsteen can be bland...but it's what he loves. Satriani can easily sound like background music...but it's what he loves. Some of Vai's songs just don't appeal to anyone...but he loves what he does and he has a vast connection with his instrument, which is what this article is trying to convey...Connect with your instrument to the point where you share a bond with it similar to your own child or spouse...If that sounds stupid to you, then stop playing because the world doesn't need anymore insincere music.

[travman_401]

Ibzman wrote:

There's nothing to argue with. It's your problem if you can't feel Vai's music. He's propably the greatest musician of our time, I challenge anyone here to compose something as good as his stuff, with the same killing melody lines and the passion through his playing. If you don't like it, ok, but don't bother anyone that he has no feeling, 'cause it's FALSE. If you guys can't understand this, then you are to never understand what music trully is.

+1

also +11111 to the dude above me ^^^^! The most intelligent and open-minded post up here.

[travman_401]

And also.. This article is VERY good.. There have been WAY tooo many dickheads rating and commenting it obviously. It's really opened up my mind to alot of things.

[Tap-o]

Err, have you heard any Steve Vai? you idiot

elmolikepie wrote:

Vai plays too fast, his songs have little sense of rhythm or melody. a god of technique he may be, he is a pretty average songwriter.

[gtarczar]

I first met steve vai when I was a student at GIT. It was 1985 and he had just recently put out flexable. The attitude song was the first sound page that guitar player magazine issued with an accompanying article about his musical life. the article discussed his time as frank zappas 'little italian virtuoso' and how he had become the transcriber for franks music, including the infamous 'black page' drum solo. It also discussed his formative years in new york city and an unknown guitar teacher named joe satriani. when I first saw him he had come out of the studio door into one of the three performance halls that doubled as lecture class rooms. He was wearing one of his green charvel guitars and just warming up while casually looking around the room. We had just finished a class and the other students were putting away their guitars and books, I was sitting in the back row and I remember looking up and thinking wow! thats steve ! man, I bet everyone is going to rush him and I'll never get the chance to talk to him! To my sur prise no one else recognized him and, after I got my courage up, I went up to him still carrying my guitar and said probably the dumbest thing I've ever said in my life; "y-y-your steve vai!" he smiled at me and very quicly said, "yeah,hey is that a real strat you got there?! as he looked up and down the refinished 62 strat I was playing. I stammered back that it was and i had refinished it in a natural stain because the guy I got it from had partially stripped it and had messed up the logo in the process. He still looking longingly at it asked,"do you think I could play it?" I was stunned and said,"SURE!" I took it off and handed it to him as he simultaneously peeled off the charvel and casually thrust it into my hands like it was a 2x4. he then carefully took my guitar and held it up and started closely inspecting the work I had done to it, cooing softly ,"oh man, this is beautiful, you really have done a great job!" we then sat down and started jamming on each others guitar! I asked him about the descending double stop motif at the end of the first break in 'attitude' and he gladly showed me we kept jamming and talking for at least an hour. He asked me where I was from and when I told him northern ca he asked if I ever got to san francisco and if so told me that I had to check out his old teacher! I mentioned that I read about him in the GP article and he encouraged me to seek him out if possible. By this time there were students rolling in his carvin cabs and my buddy rob came by pushing a 4-12> as he rolled it by he 'gushed' to me "dude I'm pushing vais' cabs!!" I told him," right on! come here when your done!" When he did he still hadn't noticed who was sitting next to me. I proudly said,"dude,let me introduce you to the guy who's cabs your pushing!" needless to say my buddy was as awestruck as I initially was! Steve eventually informed me that he had to get ready and thanked me very sincerely for letting him play my 'awesome strat' He put on a stellar show and seminar and was one of the most humble, and gracious human beings I have ever met. I will cherish that day forever. And to those of you with negative comments about him, well you just didn't 'know' him like I did!

[gtarczar]

for those of you that are unfamiliar with the more accessable steve vai let me recomend the following; frank zappas joes garage 1+2, Shut up and play, and the rest of his work with zappa, for more rock oriented fair I suggest his first solo album flexable, and for more radio oriented rock the album disturbing the peace by alcatraz ( he replaced yngwie ) for my money this is some of vai's best playing! the songs are short and melodic masterpieces of simplistic style and form proving to all that he can play great rock songs without being overly self indulgent! To any and all critics; listen to this album! then listen to it again! the next on the list would be the david lee roth solo album eat 'em and smile. Diamond dave wanted to blow van halen out of the water and assembled a absolutely top notch band to do so including the bisonette brothers as a rhythm section and steve on guitar. I'm not a big david lee roth fan but vai's playing on this album is intimidating. And lets not forget his memorable role as jack butler on cross roads. all the slide is done by arlen roth but the end section 'classical' piece is actually steve. If these pieces dont impress upon you vai's ability to not only play but also write good rock songs, nothing will!