Steve Vai writes very beautiful, simple melodies.

[jtwang]

Steve Vai may be all about crazy chops, weird sounds and choreographed stage moves but man, does he know how to write those small and simple, yet beautiful melodies.

Neither the arrangement nor the tone and the voice-mimicing guitarisms is my cup of tea, but that main theme is simply amazing:

[Cymbaline]

That was awesome! He's in my top 5 favorite guitarists ever, and probably #1 most entertaining guitarist ever. I could sit and watch him do that stuff for hours and never get bored!

[twoheadedboy]

He certainly does. Check out his solo on Devin Townsend - Triumph (solo starts at 5:13):



To me, the simple melodies and intricate phrasing are what makes Steve Vai a very special musician.

[jazzandmetal?]

One of my favorites:

[Snap]

Uhh, do you mean Joe Satriani?

Vai is not necessarily known for his melodic compositions.
I'm not trying to get flamed here, but IMHO he's mostly style/flash and very little substance.

[jazzandmetal?]

Originally Posted by Snap

Uhh, do you mean Joe Satriani?

Vai is not necessarily known for his melodic compositions.
I'm not trying to get flamed here, but IMHO he's mostly style/flash and very little substance.

Vai is VERY well known for his melodies. Satch is as well.

Most of Satrianis stuff is more accessible to rock players though....and to the masses IMO.

[Blix]

Originally Posted by Snap

Uhh, do you mean Joe Satriani?

Vai is not necessarily known for his melodic compositions.
I'm not trying to get flamed here, but IMHO he's mostly style/flash and very little substance.

People hear things differently, for me Vai have far more substance than Satriani.....

[R3deemed]

Originally Posted by Snap

IMHO he's mostly style/flash and very little substance.

I'm not sure what you mean by "substance," because I feel Vai has more of it than the overwhelming number of musicians.

[twoheadedboy]

I can see why people are frustrated by Steve Vai. I deeply appreciate his playing, but for me, this is the frustrating thing:

The same guy who can do incredibly beautiful things like this:


also does incredibly lame things like this:

[FatTeleTom]

Originally Posted by twoheadedboy

also does incredibly lame things like this:

I actually like that, both musically and as a piece of performance in the context of an entire show. That is, it's an interesting and fun moment in the show if you are sitting down and watching the entire DVD, and it's probably even more entertaining in person.

But I agree that he writes some great melodies, and goes very, very deep when playing those kinds of songs. That's my favorite stuff of his by far. Along the same lines, I really enjoy a lot of his tunes with vocals--some strong melodies there as well. .

But most of the "chopsy" stuff works for me too, more so than similar approaches from most other guitarists.

And based on his articles and interviews, Steve is right near the top of famous guitarists I'd actually like to meet and chat with.

[Average Joe]

He does indeed. I love it when he tones down the random noises and just play a melody. The man is amazingly gifted and he's got a certain playfulness that sometimes get in the way of serving the song, but when he does serve, remarkable music occurs

[tylerfreak]

"Normal" music doesnt stimulate a musical prodigy like VAI...one of the best EVER!

Ironically, imo, he is one of the few musicians that could actually benefit from TGP...his tone is really not doing his playing any service; whereas most players tone is fine and yet they obsess about "chasing the dragon"
One of the many ironies of VAI, go figure.

[loofery]

Vai makes me feel awkward without even being in the crowd.

Also I agree it would be cool to see him search for better tone but realistically, a lot of his guitar vocabulary seems reliant on digital gear - going all analog / tube amp would probably 'make' him play differently.

[jtwang]

I used to idolize SV when I was younger, from the David Lee Roth-thing up to Passion and Warfare. I guess all the guitar wizardry and his over-the-top persona was very compelling to a young person. Musically, I probably didn't understand half of what he was doing. (I still don't "get" everything, but my ears are far more useful now, my musical references have widened and my theoretical knowledge is better.)

What I liked the most back then, and what I still like, is 1) his ability to write these very, very simple, yet stunningly beautiful melodies and 2) that rubbery, squishy sound, almost like an fretless instrument.

It's funny how tastes change, but some things remain the same.

[NR2112]

Originally Posted by loofery

Vai makes me feel awkward without even being in the crowd.

I agree. Im not sure why, but I felt the same way...

???