Steve Vai master class

Mark Wein

Mark Wein

Grand Poobah
Staff member
[video=youtube_share;32Wn6rGCZiw]http://youtu.be/32Wn6rGCZiw[/video]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
So down to earth and very real individual.... Ya can't help but like the guy.

BUT YET, a month or so ago, I was at Berklee, sitting on the very front steps of the building where he lived while he went there...and nothing wore off on me....

If course, son of fused lives in the basement of the same building and he too has become a monster... MAYBE I need to move there for it to work...

To have 1/10th of his abilities......yeah, that would be way cool....
 
Very cool lesson!

What I love about Vai the most outside of technique is his harmony. So way advanced and very unique to his style of playing. He also loves themes and his themes reoccur in songs through his catelog of tunes - Great stuff!
 
Modern Saint said:
What I love about Vai the most outside of technique is his harmony. So way advanced and very unique to his style of playing.
Click to expand...

Not meaning to troll your response but I don't know that I would call his harmony "way advanced"... usually he is a very diatonic player.. Speaking in the broad sense. For a rock, shred guy I'd agree... But this is all pretty "in".
 
Jeremy_Green said:
Not meaning to troll your response but I don't know that I would call his harmony "way advanced"... usually he is a very diatonic player.. Speaking in the broad sense. For a rock, shred guy I'd agree... But this is all pretty "in".
Click to expand...

You are not trolling Jeremy at all. Yes he is diatonic but he uses very wide intervals that not many utililize. I consider advanced because a majority of the players stick with block forms and do not follow the instrument linearily. These players also rarely use intervals beyond 4th and 5ths as part of the styles when playing unless purely arpeggiating triads. The other thing to add is the use of dissonance. Rock players don't use alot of dissonance less b5 taken from the blues pentatonic scale. If they go outside, the either have gone modal, harmonic minor or some other uncommon scale. Sadly it is still step ladder to close intervals m2, M2, m3, M3.
 
Modern Saint said:
You are not trolling Jeremy at all. Yes he is diatonic but he uses very wide intervals that not many utililize. I consider advanced because a majority of the players stick with block forms and do not follow the instrument linearily. These players also rarely use intervals beyond 4th and 5ths as part of the styles when playing unless purely arpeggiating triads. The other thing to add is the use of dissonance. Rock players don't use alot of dissonance less b5 taken from the blues pentatonic scale. If they go outside, the either have gone modal, harmonic minor or some other uncommon scale. Sadly it is still step ladder to close intervals m2, M2, m3, M3.
Click to expand...

Gotcha! Yes, I agree with all that - Vai is a monster who takes the knowledge of a jazz guy and applies it to rock. The 'problem' is that the rock SOUND is one that is very 'in'... Even chromatic stuff is poo poo'd. So under that framework he is very experimental in his approach.

As much as I am a fan of the player I am a bigger fan of the guy. His approach and honesty and general thing is something I greatly respect. It would be easy for him to act all holy and born with it and all but he has NEVER positioned himself like that. He's always credited it to a massive amount of work. I don't think many of the greats are truly honest about that part. It's not good branding to be a work boots type as opposed to transcendental.
 
Jeremy_Green said:
Gotcha! Yes, I agree with all that - Vai is a monster who takes the knowledge of a jazz guy and applies it to rock. The 'problem' is that the rock SOUND is one that is very 'in'... Even chromatic stuff is poo poo'd. So under that framework he is very experimental in his approach.

As much as I am a fan of the player I am a bigger fan of the guy. His approach and honesty and general thing is something I greatly respect. It would be easy for him to act all holy and born with it and all but he has NEVER positioned himself like that. He's always credited it to a massive amount of work. I don't think many of the greats are truly honest about that part. It's not good branding to be a work boots type as opposed to transcendental.
Click to expand...

Well said :thu:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top