Steve Vai's Alien Guitar Secrets Masterclass took place at the Teatro San Marco in Benevento, an event opened by emerging rock bands selected from all over Italy such as Nereide (Lecce), New Horizons (Pisa), Other View (Milan) and guitarist Camilla Sperati (Rome), in addition to the live painting session by the Irpinia artist Gennaro Vallifuoco who accompanied all the musical performances.
With over forty years of career, Steve Vai is considered one of the most important guitarists of all time and one of the most versatile shredders (intended as a style of solo guitarist whose techniques are varied and complex) in the world for his impressive speed and technique. A student of Joe Satriani, he has sold over 15 million records, won three Grammy Awards and played with other sacred monsters of the sector such as Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Ed Van Halen and others.
His discography includes about 60 albums with solo projects and collaborations such as the one with G3 (three great guitarists who change from tour to tour and led by Satriani). In 2019 he published his first book "Vaideology - Basic musical theory for guitarists"; while in 2020 he opened the Patreon channel where he discusses music, rock, theory and technique, riffs and other curiosities. Hence the purpose of Steve Vai's masterclasses to share those little secrets of technique and music with enthusiasts and musicians from all over the world. Also on the occasion of the masterclass in Benevento, organized and promoted by Islands APS - Lizard Accademie Musicali - Laboratorio di Benevento, Projenia SCS, Cosmoart APS, with the technical support of Cyclopes di Apollosa, the American guitarist told his musical experiences with great naturalness and spontaneity to the public, answering all their questions.
For example, he explained how he uses the Eventide Harmonizer H3000 for recording and special effects, playing Ballerina 12/24 as a demonstration of this work. He explained that the album Vai/Gash was born from a project twenty years earlier in memory of his friend Johnny “Gash” Sombrotto; from the period in which he could not use both hands to play due to an operation on the finger of his right hand for a distortion while trying to hold a difficult chord. Even with a free hand he did not give up experimenting with music and from here “Knappsack” was born.
Here Vai used only his left hand to perform an entire song of over 5 minutes with hammer-ons and pull-offs, making an impeccable demonstration at the masterclass. Between some improvised pieces and others re-modulated for the audience, Vai wanted to share not only some technical secrets and a routine to follow – a question that was asked of him. The guitarist emphasized an aspect that goes beyond simple technicality: it is important, almost like a natural need, to listen to music with your whole body to be in perfect harmony with it. And he demonstrated it by playing and almost dancing with his guitar to the notes of For the Love of God.
Article published on May 25, 2023 - 12:55 pm
