Steve Vai… how blind was I to classify him under the “guitar hero” cluster. I mean he is the ultimate guitar hero, but that’s just a vague description of his qualities. I always respected him (come on, he played for Zappa and in Whitesnake) but I was so repelled by his heavy metal macho looks that I couldn’t see the genius behind the image. When I first discovered his music lessons on YouTube, I found out that he might just be the greatest musical guru of today (and of the past twenty years). If you didn’t know, “guru” means teacher in Sanskrit, the one that passes on the knowledge. Steve Vai is just that - he can transfer his enormous experience together with the vast and deep knowledge of music he possesses in such well-constructed sentences, with such ease and modesty that anyone can pick up some of the wisdom just by listening to him speak. He is just brilliant!
My personal favorite is the video where he talks about the technique of playing an instrument. Some would expect a display of finger positioning, pick holding and other “technical” stuff, but what he talks about is building your own technique and style. And he never touches the guitar throughout the 11+ minute video. I watched that video several times. It’s the ultimate video school that can introduce you to the real secrets of becoming a great musician. That’s of course if you’re not a lazy one.
For those who might not know who Steve Vai is, he is an American guitarist, composer, singer, songwriter, and producer, and has sold over 15 million records worldwide. Now a three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of 18 as a transcriptionist for the great and late Frank Zappa and joined his band from 1980 to 1983. He embarked on a solo career in 1983 and has released eight solo albums to date, with Passion and Warfare (1990) being described as "the richest and best hard rock guitar virtuoso album of the '80s". Steve Vai is also known for co-designing the Ibanez JEM electric guitar described as the "exact moment the entire guitar landscape was reshaped." He also designed the first commercially produced seven-string guitar, the Ibanez Universe, which is now widely used, especially by heavy metal musicians.
