Steve Vai Interviewed by Justin Sandercoe (Guitar Lesson MA-005) How to play
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0:05 - 0:07Steve, it's a real pleasure to meet you,
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0:07 - 0:09Thank you for allowing to do an interview.
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0:09 - 0:12I wanted to talk
a little bit about practicing, -
0:12 - 0:14and I found your 10-hour workout
to be really inspirational. -
0:14 - 0:17So, I was wondering where you got
the idea for a 10-hour workout, -
0:17 - 0:19and how long you did it for.
-
0:20 - 0:25- Well, when I was younger
I just was always in love with the guitar; -
0:25 - 0:29to me it was just a beautiful thing.
-
0:29 - 0:35And... at that time there was
a lot of different things... -
0:35 - 0:38... going on in the world in the way of
distractions for a young person. -
0:38 - 0:42I didn't have nearly the distractions
that young kids have now. -
0:42 - 0:47But, I loved the idea of
picking up the instrument... -
0:47 - 0:51... and not being able to play something,
and then working on it; -
0:51 - 0:54and then all of a sudden
being able to do it. -
0:54 - 0:58That gave me the sense of achievement
and accomplishment... -
0:58 - 1:01... that I wasn't getting at elsewhere.
-
1:01 - 1:05And plus I was making music,
that actually sounded cool. -
1:05 - 1:09So, I dedicated all the time I had to it.
-
1:09 - 1:15To me playing the guitar was just
kind of like a little release. -
1:15 - 1:20And I was very shy, actually,
and kind of insecure. -
1:20 - 1:23I didn't want to tell
anybody that I played. -
1:23 - 1:26Because where I came from,
if you played the guitar... -
1:26 - 1:28... either you were really cool
or you thought you were cool, -
1:28 - 1:30and I was neither.
-
1:30 - 1:34I just found this... escape, so to speak.
-
1:34 - 1:39And there was other things
going on in my life that... -
1:39 - 1:44... for playing the guitar
actually offered solitude. -
1:44 - 1:49So, that feeling of achievement
became very addictive. -
1:49 - 1:53Because the better you get,
the better you get. -
1:53 - 1:58And I just loved the idea
of just being able to play. -
1:58 - 2:01So, I'm very methodical in a sense, too.
-
2:01 - 2:08And... I like to write lists
and break things down, -
2:08 - 2:10and be very organized.
-
2:10 - 2:14So I developed these practicing schedules.
-
2:14 - 2:17And they were based on:
for one hour I would do exercises... -
2:17 - 2:19... of a particular type.
-
2:19 - 2:24Because for me it was like...
I knew that if I did it and worked on it, -
2:24 - 2:27I would just get better.
-
2:27 - 2:32I wanted to understand music,
I always loved the idea of knowing... -
2:32 - 2:34... the language of music.
-
2:34 - 2:38To me, music on paper was like art,
it looked beautiful. -
2:38 - 2:41You know, I could never really...
-
2:41 - 2:46poetry was just words to me, at the time.
-
2:46 - 2:50Art was just paint mixed together.
-
2:50 - 2:53If I ever try to draw something
it's like stick figures. -
2:53 - 2:55I've got no talent whatsoever.
-
2:55 - 2:59But music was just beautiful.
-
2:59 - 3:02And it looked like art.
-
3:02 - 3:05And I wanted to know what it meant,
I wanted to be able to control it, -
3:05 - 3:10I wanted to be able to... master it.
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3:11 - 3:15So I studied music, not just the guitar.
-
3:15 - 3:20And I was composing before
I was even playing the guitar. -
3:22 - 3:24Once I got the guitar, you know...
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3:24 - 3:27I heard Led Zeppelin and it was all over.
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3:28 - 3:31So I actually broke down
my practicing time, -
3:31 - 3:34'cause I thought: "I want to be able
to do this, I want to be able to do that." -
3:34 - 3:37I never wanted to be genre-specific.
-
3:37 - 3:41I never wanted to be a blues player,
or a jazz player, or a classical player. -
3:41 - 3:44As a matter of fact,
I loved listening to all that stuff, -
3:44 - 3:46and I would play it.
-
3:46 - 3:49And I played my Jimi Hendrix songs,
my Led Zeppelin songs. -
3:49 - 3:52But when it came time
to actually do my thing, -
3:52 - 3:56it always felt really weird to me
to play anything that anybody else... -
3:56 - 3:58... had ever played.
-
3:58 - 4:04Because, first of all, why?
They do it so much better. -
4:04 - 4:07And second of all,
how cool is it to just do things... -
4:07 - 4:09... that you haven't heard?
-
4:09 - 4:13And it wasn't out of any pretentious
kind of a frame of mind; -
4:13 - 4:17I never expected anything to come of it.
-
4:17 - 4:22As a matter of fact, when I was a kid
I was scared to death of being famous, -
4:22 - 4:24I don't know why.
-
4:24 - 4:28That would actually keep me up at night.
-
4:28 - 4:32But I would also sit and imagine myself
playing in front of a lot of people. -
4:32 - 4:38And I would actually...
create this picture of this person. -
4:38 - 4:42I'd lie in bed with the headphones on
and listen to all my favorite music, -
4:42 - 4:44and I would just create this character.
-
4:44 - 4:50And this character was like,
this enigmatic, completely in control, -
4:50 - 4:55confident from head to toe...
command of the instrument. -
4:56 - 5:02And I pictured the playing just like
elegant, and effortless and completely... -
5:02 - 5:07... something that...
it was almost like unseen or unheard. -
5:07 - 5:12But I would never be pretentious enough
to think that I could do that, -
5:12 - 5:19but that was the picture I created;
and you perpetuate your own reality. -
5:19 - 5:22So, a lot of the things I do now...
-
5:22 - 5:25... are a direct reflection of
what I envisioned as a kid. -
5:25 - 5:27But getting back to your question.
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5:27 - 5:32The 10-hour workout...
It was a lot more than 10 hours, actually. -
5:32 - 5:35The 10-hour workout was just
what I put in the magazine at the time. -
5:35 - 5:39But for me, it was every waking moment,
-
5:39 - 5:41and whenever I wasn't
playing the guitar I was in pain, -
5:41 - 5:44everything else was boring...
-
5:47 - 5:49You know, they say:
-
5:49 - 5:52"But don't you miss doing this
and doing that?" -
5:52 - 5:56And you know, when you're absorbed
in something you don't miss anything; -
5:56 - 5:58everything else was work.
-
5:58 - 6:03- It makes sense.
- But, having said that; that was my way. -
6:03 - 6:09And I enjoyed being very methodical
and breaking things down. -
6:09 - 6:12It's not necessarily
the way for everybody, -
6:12 - 6:14the way for you is what you feel.
-
6:14 - 6:20The reason why I did 10-hour workouts
was because that's what excited me. -
6:20 - 6:24If you were going to take
any advice from me, -
6:24 - 6:29I would tell you to find the thing
that excites you the most, -
6:29 - 6:30and go after that.
-
6:30 - 6:35Whether it's... just playing
a Led Zeppelin song, -
6:35 - 6:40and not practicing scales and...
You don't have to know music. -
6:40 - 6:42Tell Jeff Beck to play
an F# on the G string... -
6:42 - 6:44he might not know what it is,
-
6:44 - 6:46or maybe he would know that, but you know,
-
6:46 - 6:50great musicians don't necessarily
have to know about music. -
6:50 - 6:54The important thing is
to find what it is that excites you... -
6:54 - 6:59... and disregard what anybody else
is doing or saying, -
6:59 - 7:00and just go after that.
-
7:00 - 7:03That's what you're going to be
the most successful at, also. -
7:03 - 7:07People always say to me:
"How do I get my music into the world... -
7:07 - 7:09... and how do I sell it?"
-
7:09 - 7:10And the answer that I give is:
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7:10 - 7:17"Find the thing that you're natural
and really good at and then exaggerate it" -
7:18 - 7:22I never worked on my weaknesses,
I only worked on my strengths, -
7:22 - 7:24and I exaggerate them.
-
7:24 - 7:28And that's how I get the particular voice
that I have on the instrument. -
7:29 - 7:32- I've read that you spent many,
many hours transcribing, -
7:32 - 7:34and that you found it almost meditative.
-
7:34 - 7:38Is that something that you think
was a really beneficial period of your... -
7:38 - 7:42... kind of study, was that transcribing
Zappa solos and this kind of... -
7:42 - 7:46'Cause it's fairly hardcore transcribing,
so I'm guessing that you must have done... -
7:46 - 7:49... a lot of work to get to the point
to transcribe that stuff. -
7:49 - 7:56- Well, like I said, we all have
particular tools and natural talent. -
7:58 - 8:03For me, that very extremely complex
musical notation... -
8:03 - 8:05... just seemed to be very natural.
-
8:07 - 8:09If you ever look at the
Frank Zappa Guitar Book, -
8:09 - 8:13that has all those transcriptions,
there's nothing like it in the world. -
8:14 - 8:19I've never seen anything quite as
rhythmically complex as that. -
8:19 - 8:22But it doesn't mean anything.
-
8:24 - 8:28A part of it was my imagination
in the playground. -
8:29 - 8:32But I wouldn't say
you have to be able to do that. -
8:32 - 8:36- Not that, but do you think that
transcribing develops the relationship... -
8:36 - 8:39... between the sounds you hear
and how to make those sounds... -
8:39 - 8:43- Absolutely, the most important
connection that you have... -
8:43 - 8:47... is with your ear and your fingers.
-
8:47 - 8:53Your emotional investment
in what you're doing can be thwarted... -
8:53 - 8:57... if you don't have the ability
to make it real through your fingers. -
8:57 - 9:01And the way that you do that
is to develop your ear. -
9:01 - 9:04Because your ear
is hearing things on the inside, -
9:04 - 9:06and then getting them out.
-
9:06 - 9:09So, the closer of a relationship...
-
9:09 - 9:11... that you have with your ears
and your instrument, -
9:11 - 9:14the easier it's going to be
to get your thoughts out. -
9:14 - 9:18And developing your ears
can be anything from... -
9:20 - 9:22I can give you a list of things
that really helps: -
9:22 - 9:24Sing what you play, you know what I mean?
-
9:24 - 9:28Just sing the notes you play.
Sing something and then play it. -
9:28 - 9:33Listen to music that you like
and try to figure it out. -
9:33 - 9:36Transcribing, transcribing simple stuff.
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9:36 - 9:41It doesn't matter how difficult it is,
it's the ability to hear in your head... -
9:41 - 9:43... and then have it come right out.
-
9:43 - 9:46And sometimes it takes discipline.
-
9:46 - 9:49I did all those
wild transcriptions because... -
9:49 - 9:52... I liked the way
they looked on paper. -
9:52 - 9:57And I loved the idea of being able to
immortalize something... -
9:57 - 10:01... that's in the ether onto manuscript.
-
10:01 - 10:04And it was a very artistic,
creative process... -
10:04 - 10:10... because I developed
articulations and guitar notations, -
10:10 - 10:15because at the time nobody was doing it,
there wasn't even tab. -
10:15 - 10:18- How long did you play for
before you felt you were able to... -
10:18 - 10:20... express yourself
through the instrument? -
10:20 - 10:22Or was that something you felt right at
the beginning, as soon as you -
10:22 - 10:26started playing, that you were really...
expressing yourself through that? -
10:29 - 10:32- Well, always and never.
-
10:32 - 10:35Because the moment you pick up
an instrument and you do anything, -
10:35 - 10:38you're expressing yourself to a degree.
-
10:40 - 10:45The moment I picked up a guitar
I knew that it was never going to end, -
10:45 - 10:50'cause there was no way I would ever
know everything I could know... -
10:50 - 10:52... or play everything I could play,
-
10:52 - 10:54and maybe my chops suffer a bit now...
-
10:54 - 10:58... because I don't sit and do
the exercises all day, -
10:58 - 11:01but other things have gotten much better.
-
11:01 - 11:05As they say, as you mature
life experiences change, -
11:05 - 11:09your personality changes,
the way you express yourself changes. -
11:09 - 11:10So...
-
11:13 - 11:18I always feel as though
it's an ongoing process, -
11:18 - 11:20and that's really exciting.
-
11:20 - 11:23- You must be able to play though anything
that you can hear now, right? -
11:23 - 11:29- Well, no, because I always take myself
to the brink of my potential; -
11:29 - 11:31it changes constantly.
-
11:31 - 11:34Because, once you can hear something...
-
11:34 - 11:39See, I'll sit and this is
a constant exercise that I do with myself, -
11:39 - 11:42usually at night when I'm lying in bed.
-
11:42 - 11:47I just imagine things that I can't do.
-
11:47 - 11:51And you have to first imagine it
before you can do it, -
11:51 - 11:53but that's how you do it.
-
11:53 - 11:56And not only imagine it,
then you have to see yourself doing it, -
11:56 - 12:01you have to actually use your inner eye
and visualize yourself doing it. -
12:01 - 12:05And like magic, it just starts to happen.
-
12:05 - 12:07And once you've accomplished that,
-
12:07 - 12:09there's no end.
-
12:09 - 12:12Or maybe there's an end right now.
-
12:12 - 12:13Cut! (laughs)
-
12:13 - 12:16- It's been a real pleasure meeting you.
- Alright, thank you.
- Title:
- Steve Vai Interviewed by Justin Sandercoe (Guitar Lesson MA-005) How to play
- Description:
-
Justin's Completely Free Guitar Lessons.
This is Lesson MA-005, A masterclass with Steve Vai.I met up with Steve at Guitar Nation 2010 and did this interview. He mostly talks about practice and how he approaches it.
After this I interviewed him live in from of an Audience for 90 minutes - it was really cool to meet one of my childhood guitar hero's and ask him all the things I've been wondering for the last 20 years! He was a real nice guy, down to earth and fun.
He's got a cool web site with guitar advice and lesson kinda stuff too:
http://www.vai.com
Find the related course notes on the following link:
http://justinguitar.com/en/MA-005-SteveVai.phpThanks to the Jedi for coming in and filming :)) Cheers cobba!
Taught by Justin Sandercoe.
Full support at the justinguitar web site where you will find hundreds of lessons on a wide range of subjects, and all the scales and chords that you will ever need! There is a great forum too to get help, no matter what the problem.
And it is all totally free, no bull. No sample lessons, no memberships, no free ebook. Just tons of great lessons :)
To get help with this lesson (and for further info and tabs), find the Lesson ID in the video title (like ST-667 or whatever) and then look it up on the Lesson Index page of justinguitar.com
http://www.justinguitar.com
Have fun :)
.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- JustinGuitar (legacy)
- Project:
- Masterclasses (MA)
- Duration:
- 12:22
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Carlos Castillo edited English subtitles for Steve Vai Interviewed by Justin Sandercoe (Guitar Lesson MA-005) How to play | ||
Carlos Castillo edited English subtitles for Steve Vai Interviewed by Justin Sandercoe (Guitar Lesson MA-005) How to play | ||
Carlos Castillo edited English subtitles for Steve Vai Interviewed by Justin Sandercoe (Guitar Lesson MA-005) How to play | ||
Carlos Castillo edited English subtitles for Steve Vai Interviewed by Justin Sandercoe (Guitar Lesson MA-005) How to play |