The Steve Vai Interview
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- Опубліковано 28 бер 2017
- The is the premiere of my new show called Sounding Off with Special Guest guitar legend Steve Vai. Today's show features Steve discussing topics ranging from the Music Industry to Frank Zappa to Polyrhythms and Nested Tuplets! Steve was hired by Frank Zappa at age 18 to transcribe everything from lead sheets to orchestral scores. The bulk of the work Steve explains was guitar solos and their accompanying drum parts. Frank played all the guitar and Vinnie Colaiuta was the drummer.
Steve discusses the concept of Polyrhythms, Metric Modulations and Nested Tuplets. A great explanation of this can be found on Steve's website Vai.com in an article called Tempo Mental.
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The recent interview with Vai and Satriani brought me here
Same here!!
Steve is being way too modest here.
Mark Pinske, an engineer for Frank Zappa told me that Steve was transcribing Frank's music for like $25 a page. But Steve got so deep, he notated everything he heard on the tapes even background noises. When Frank saw the transcriptions he said: "This kid makes me look like a genius, get him out here". Steve went out to the URMK and Frank handed him the transcribed page and told him to play it. Steve played it and Mark played Steve's part in one channel and Frank's on the other. Mark said it was the only time he ever saw Frank's jaw drop, it was perfect. Steve was hired on the spot.
Fred Garvin thank you for the insight! 😇👍
You thought he was a man...
Source please?
Steve Vai can do it all.
Steve has mentioned in interviews that he used to cram the staffs of the manuscripts so that Frank wouldn't think that he (Vai) wasn't ripping him off. LOL!!!
This channel is quickly becoming a university.
Everything is Rick.
an
@@dnch a. starts with u sounds like u has an a. Be an educated grammar Nazi.
@@maninthecrowd5076 ... ty
I thank that’s Rick’s intention and may one day become his legacy.
What? A host who does not interrupt his guest every 2 minutes with an annoying story about themselves? That's a new one... :) Excellent job, Rick! Easily one of the best interviews of a musical talent I've seen. Please have Guthrie Govan on. Cheers.
Shmalentine Love Guthrie.......great interview of Steve. Give him a " lead " and let him go ;) literally and figuratively.
right, the interviewee actually speaks and is listened to. wow. good job RB
its because he is a good musician, he knows how to LISTEN
Guthrie is coming to my town for $25 a ticket 😀
Gosh! You said it... One of the best persons to ever interview musicians
An eye opener for me personally... Steve is so intelligent, articulate & analytical and that's before he starts talking about his guitar playing. Fascinating fellow. Respect!
I prefer him speaking than playing to be honest. Although, I read somewhere that he became a freemason. If that's the case, he doesn't need protection from the music industry anymore.
Holy crap! When world's collide! Thrilled to see this in my feed.
I don't know how. I'm scared I could die.
I absolutely loved to hear Steve Vai say that out of all the interviews he's done, nobody's asked him about polyrhythms.
This is exactly the kinds of things I want these musicians to be asked about. So I love that we can get these kinds of interviews from you Rick. Keep that mindset for the future, and dig into the details!
Isn't it great when musicians discuss /music/? :)
lasse y
Love Rick. Vai is such a wonderful musician and human being.
lasse The reason all previous interviews of Steve are lacking any deep musical information is due to the interviewer just wanting selatious stories about Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth .
Everytime i listen to Steve Vais music i dont touch my guitar for days. But when i hear him speak about music i always pick up the guitar.
This is pure gold, Rick. What you're doing with this channel is amazing.
Let Steve have a few more hours to discuss polyrhythms. Harmony, melody, and guitar playing can be covered in other separate lectures.
"if i don't know something i call someone" best advice ever.
Quite possibly the most splendid Vai interview ever... obviously because he spends 42 mins whippin' out Zappa stories.... bliss.
Rick I don't know if you will ever see this but hope you do. I am a 65 year old musician playing and making a living with music since 14. I know all kinds of musicians and have played with a ton of people. As far as the net is concerned I have to say I fell upon your site and think it is the most perfectly put together site on the net, Your knowledge shows thru in everything you do. For the young players coming up, here is where they should stop by more often then not.
In closing the main reason i wanted to leave this post is this. So many musicians who think they are composed in their thoughts and musical ideas do not have a clue. Steve Vai is one of the most unique in how a real person and real musician explains him self. Your time with him was so clear and to the point. Only letting me further believe in this, For a musician to be great he has to be well spoken and well read. So many believe music theory is not important. These are the 90% of the weak players of the world. Being well rounded as a person is the first step in becoming a great player. Steve Vai is that person. You also my friend are in this class. Keep up your work and even at my age with all kinds of musical back ground you bring a smile to my face with your art. And I rarely find people today who can keep me me entertained.
Real nice positive comment on this channel Ray, well done and congrats for keeping the faith in music, thumbs up !
Music theory takes the soul out of the music..99% of the time.
Ray Dero
Rick and Steve in my opinion are true teachers at heart.
@@bronson1392 Hahaha, what!?! So you think Beethoven said to musicians, 'so here's what I want you to play: tiddleleee teedleliddeee'?
I loved this interview.... EXACTLY because you did not really discuss his guitar playing. There are so many interviews out there with Steve Vai, and you can only tell the same story so many times without going into autopilot mode. It was super refreshing to watch another side of Steve Vai, and how much he knows about transcribing.
Steve is a badass with a very sweet, kind, and generous soul. I love how he cares about explaining things till they seem approachable to any of us. That's inspiring.
Fantastic interview! Steve's advice is golden. His work ethic when he describes all the transcribing he did for Frank is staggering. This is very inspirational guys. Again, this has got to be one of, if not THE best youtube channel for musicians and Rick's just getting warmed up! BTW, if you haven't heard Steve's "Passion and Warfare" album go buy it. It's one of my all time favorite must have albums.
Hey Derryl, your not so shabby yourself, I've learned alot about legato from you (though I've since swayed down the path of the pick haha) All the best.
Passion and Warfare is legend.
Being a musician for over 40 yrs this was the most informative, intellectual interview EVER!!!
My God Vai has such a positive Genius intellectual process that has shaken me to my core. This interview will change my life. Thank you Mr Vai and Rick for allowing us musicians to get such informative knowledge and insight. I am forever grateful and hope someday to meet you both for since I could say ga ga I have been passionate about Music.
Music is my life blood. Thank you and God bless.
Steve Vai is a very wise business man who is very business savvy. On top of all that, the guy is a musical genius who isn’t afraid to take new and unusual leaps and bounds musically. I greatly respect him for that.
Love Zappa and Vai so this was real Treat for me - Thanks.
The Zappas should release a Zappa Real Book using those lead sheets that Vai worked on - that would be a true Music Heaven for me.
Do you mean like the Frank Zappa Guitar Book (Transcriptions by Steve Vai)? Here's the start of that book:
"Introduction by Steve Vai
The works in this book were transcribed between January, 1979, and August, 1981, whenever I wasn't touring with Frank.
From "Jazz Discharge Party Hats" by Frank Zappa
The songs were first taken off the album and put onto cassettes. The songs from Joe's Garage were transcribed off a small Sony tape machine. The stuff from the guitar albums were bounced to a four-track tape deck, and some were done at half speed."
No Vai says in this interview that one of his jobs with Zappa was to write down Zappa's past catalog. Just the basic melody and chords which is what in Jazz is called A Real Book and since this obviously exists it would be a real treat for Zappa fans who can read music to have a kind of Zappa Real Book.
Örn Leifsson With the volume of Zapa transcription Vai had, there must be some incredible unpublished work!
Örn Leifsson "the Frank Zappa songbook" has a bunch of lead sheets done by ian Underwood
Örn Leifsson That’s not really how The Real Book exists, in reality. The Real Book is an ubiquitous sick sad joke, in a certain way. It is a guideline for jazz newbies without mentors. But I would love to purchase those transcriptions Vai did, as well. I would pay real money for some of those charts. I have the FZ Guitar Book, it is easily one of my most prized possessions.
Brilliant interview. Steve is so generous with his knowledge and so open to sharing his inner light. So modest too
Steve Vai, Not only great guitar player, great teacher as well
When Vai discussed his challenging high school music teacher and then having Satch as guitar teacher it reminded me of the concepts discussed in the book PEAK: HOW TO MASTER ANYTHING by Anders Ericsson. As modest as he is, I wouldn't underestimate Steve's natural talent, but having good teachers give extensive training and very early on to boot matters A LOT! Deliberate practice the right way by good teachers can make a big difference. His high school music teacher sounded more challenging than most. I suspect Beato probably has a similar background. In general, I'm blown away by the breadth of knowledge from both. These guys are very mindful dudes that probably don't waste much time watching the boob tube :-)
I saw Steve play with Frank Zappa twice in the 70’s! Great shows they were.
Came here after watching the Vai/Satrianni interview 8 years later, when Rick reveals that Steve was his first ever interview!! Had to come and see it!
That was a serious deep dive into becoming a sustainable musician. Amazing knowledge.
Steve is one solid, humble, interesting, intelligent, songwriting , master guitar virtuoso dude. Great interview Rick. Thank you.
Steve said the same thing my dad told me years ago, live a little bit below your means and you'll be fine. Always been my watchword.
I have never realized that Steve Vai does so much more than just blow through a billion notes a second on his guitar.
Admittedly, I was completely lost through the entire section on music theory and polyrhythms but how neat that you both know that stuff so well. I’m not sure what any of it means or if there really is any useful purpose to it but it sounds very difficult nonetheless.
What a fabulous interview, Thank You for being a great interviewer too allowing Steve to articulate all of his thoughts without interruption, excellent job Sir!
Thank you Rick, instead of movies I now mostly watch this on-line!
When I first started playing I knew vai was something special, the way he could just do everything so perfectly and then I got into Zappa without realising how technical it all was, I don't know why but finding out vai played with Zappa blew my mind
One of the most enjoyable interviews i've ever seen. Two cool, talented guys who genuinely love music.
When Steve said (I'm paraphrasing), "I love seeing written music because it looked like art", I perked up because that is exactly how I have always felt about seeing written music. When Steve is talking about nested twoplets, it made me think of the composer Elliot Carter. Carter did a thing he called metric modulation, which I think Frank was partial doing with his polyrhythms. In the space of a measure or two, a composer can change the tempo of a piece and take it to a different place, and, if desired, they can then bring it back to where it began.
Amazing, possibly the best and most valuable inside the industry interviews I've seen. Thanks so much.
Steve Vai absolutely is one of the greatest guitarists EVER. And such an awesome person, too. Your channel keeps getting better and better Rick.
Great edition, Rick. Steve Vai is so well-spoken and down to earth. Thanks for all the info/insights.
I love Steve. Not only one of the best guitarists ever. He seems to be an amazing person too. He been an inspiration for me since I first heard him with Zappa and Flexable. He's stepped into no win situations, "replacing" Malmsteen with Alcatraz and then Edward when he joined Roth. He's earned his Legendary status, with grace. And he's always full of positive advice. Thank you for another great interview.
How the hell did I miss this until today? Gotta say, some of the Beato interviews have been other-worldly... This was in a different universe!
Thank you Rick so much for this, and the depth of discussion.
The first interview.😊
Wow! One thing I've always liked about this channel is the fact you never know what you're going to get, but you really outdid yourself here.
Steve is not only the guitar virtuoso, he’s also a great inspirational speaker!!
Great interview Rick. Wow so much info that any young musician is so lucky to receive.
Best Steve Vai's interview ever! A pot's gold of knowledge.
Just re-watched this brilliant interview, and all you can say, at least all I can say is WOW. I know nothing about music theory, but listening to this, even at the age of 74, just brought a new appreciation for what is happening, when a trained, reach-for-the-stars individual can imagine and accomplish. Thanks again Rick, love ya brother.
I really love how steve tells stories. I could just sit there and listen to him ramble on forever
You tend to forget that the musicians you see on tv and the web are just as interested in what music is as the rest of us musician. Steve seemed a little worried that how he explained his interpretation wasn't clear, but for me it was very clear.
Awesome interview!
I could listen for hours to Steve. He's such a clever guy, and he's willing to share his knowledge and experience with others. That's so cool. I guess most people would want to keep things like that to themselves. But not Steve. He's honest and just tells it like it is. That's really something to appreciate. And thanx to Rick for this great interview.
Your interviewing technique is fantastic Rick, I love the way you let your subject talk. Really enjoyed this!
What a nice, wise person! Thanks you Steve
I would love to see Rick and Steve do several interviews a year. So thoughtful and inspired.
probably one the best Steve Vai interviews! thank you!
What a great interview. Learned a lot about how to transcribe and how to imagine complex rhythms. Also liked the fact that interviewer let the Guest talk and run with his stream of consciousness...
I can hear Steve all the time and never go bored... thanks for the great interview Rick!
This interview had me scream with inspiration I have got to do something immediately.
I cant believe that was an hour! The interview went by so fast. Polyrhythms - mind blown. Great Stuff. Thanks, Rick, and Steve. Loved this!!
What a gentleman! Totally honest, unpretentious and generous. Great story teller as well. The total joy that comes across Ricks face listening to him (i.e., 43:40) is heart warming. I'm a used to be, mediocre drummer, and I enjoyed every moment of this video! Thanks Rick and Steve.
This makes so much sense of Steve's later output. When you can literally write down ALL the parts for Zappa, jamming in 12 bar blues with Dave Roth is a walk in the park.
Wow! Steve Vai the Businessman!! My respect for my guitar hero just soared even higher!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH RICK!! More success to you and this channel!!
I think 'Instrumentation and Orchestration' by Alfred Blatter is the book Steve is trying to remember at around the 32 minute mark. I bought this during my composition degree in the late 1990s and it has been my bible for orchestral writing ever since. Amazing reference for modern orchestral music and way way better than that awful Walter Piston book everyone seems to end up with.
Michael Norris You're correct about that.
I'm being a bit harsh. It's more that it's just quite outdated depending on the style you write. It's concerned mostly with the orchestra as it was pre 1900. It doesn't cover much of the extended techniques that were prevalent in 20th century orchestral writing and is particularly weak for percussion. Whereas the Blatter book is a much more modern reference. For me personally, my interest in orchestral music starts around Stravinsky.
And thanks for doing this Rick. I don't think i've ever heard Steve go into such detail on the rhythmic stuff, not since those Tempo Mental articles he wrote way back in the 80s. Fascinating stuff.
Michael No
haha I tried searching "bladder" with orchestration and modern principles... didn´t find much except for medical journals. Thanks! :)
This is gold! Thanks a lot Rick for making this possible and making all those very interesting questions and thank you Steve for sharing your knowledge with us and giving us such a good insight on the music business and your career! Amazing I love this new series!
This is GOLD!!! Love all your interviews Rick , done with so much love and passion.
keeps me going and never stop making music , many thanks for your the good energy!!
This is a real goldmine. Best Vai interview I've ever seen/heard. BRAVO, Rick!
This was really cool, Rick. Any topics with Steve Vai would be great, but THESE topics were particularly valuable. Thanks to you and Steve for this!
Outstanding conversation. Really enjoyed how it reached such interesting corners like Steve's transcription work routine, Polyrhytyms and Vinnie Colaiuta traveling to Venus with Frank :)
Many thanks Rick & Steve - so much in there and I'll watch this back to take things in; Thanks Steve for being so generous with your time and openness and helping the guys get a little. Thank you.
Man, this is pure gold. Thank you both!
Steve Vai is a gem. Great interview. Well done.
AB Franklin An (Ibanez) Jem? :P
My favorite UA-cam channel. keep up the amazing work!!!!
This was truly a "sit at the feet of the master" moment. I feel the need to sit and transcribe this interview! I realize this was posted over a year ago but it just hit my feed and I'm so happy it did. Great job Rick!
Wow, Rick. Your channel has captured my last two hours+. Really, great interviews...can't say that enough times. This interview- phenomenal, as per usual. I look forward to supporting your channel soon. Real deal!
I can't pretend to understand a lot of the stuff Steve said, but it was still fascinating
this is gooold, thanks a lot
Steve Vai seems to be such a simple and kind guy. Thanks to Steve and Rick for ths great moment.
When I started playing guitar my science teacher (metalhead) gave me the ‘Fire Garden Suite’ and ‘Passion and Warfare’. I’ve been hooked since. Steve’s humanity, obsessive nature, strive for perfection but also playfulness in exploring creativity and bringing on others is so inspiring. Always pushing.
Seriously: I couldn’t name you a ‘Vai’ album that is not amazing. And even though I love all the solo-stuff, the ‘Sex & Religion’ album with Devin (I think I read somewhere that was a difficult process) is absolutely amazing. He has worked with our Dutch ‘Metropole Orchestra’ to create that orchestrated live performance with electric guitar.
And then there’s the columns (no longer online?) of that series he did about the self-development of identity as a guitar player. I’ve yet to find a more thorough and comprehensive set of lessons...
Seeing his video with Dweezil - where they discuss his early guitar lessons - it is clear that both have a healthy (though different) dose of Frank. The way Steve has pushed himself to use these methods of working to establish himself with original material and continuous creativity is just awe inspiring and human at the same time. Still, I find myself getting defensive of Steve often, as - even amongst guitarists - many think of him as a ‘shredder’, which always tells me: they haven’t really heard his work.
Anyways; great great episode mr. Beato!
It amazes me how clearly Mr. Vai explains everything here - that's a tremendous skill (explaining complex things in simple terms) and I did not know this aspect about him! Incredible interview, Rick!
Fantastic! I am a Zappa freak so this is awesome! Would love a video on some of Franks music too! Thanks Rick!!
Zappa!
Simply: WOW - thanks so much to both of you doing this interview - look forward to many more! G.
Brilliant and inspiring! I can't thank the two of you enough for this interview!
Best Vai interview ever.
Great interview! Like he says its nice to see a musician being able to talk about the technical side of music in detail in an interview, I guess its normally a turn off for a general audience. Really enjoying the diverse range of topics on this channel, keep it the great work Rick!!
This is the best content on the internet. 👏 Thank you man, your channel inspires and entertains.
This is one of my favorite ones you have done! Thanks Rick and Steve!
I'd give anything to have been in the room when Satriani was teaching Vai. Holy cow.
I'm a Big fan of Frank and Steve, this is definitely the best interview to Mr. Vai in a long time!
FASCINATING. Sitting on the edge of my seat listening to the Zappa stories...awesome stuff.
Great interview. Great start to a new series. Can't wait for the next one. Thanks so much!
best YT channel hands down! Rick rules!
Thanks Karen!
WOW. What a way to start your new show!
Phenomenal interview, Rick! The question about polyrhythms has made clear how influential the Vinnie/Frank experience must have been for Steve. You can practically hear those concepts on his records, especially the early ones. Thank you so much for that!
This has been a bloody good interview to watch. Thanx for organising it, Rick!
Thx for this!
Rick, you're amazing, with your white hair and your side chops and your voice on Apple crappiness. Big love from a fan in Dublin xx 🌻
Oh my goodness - the best. Beato, thank you for existing and making your art. Vai - you are a huge influence and it is a profound pleasure to watch you sound off on your background and place in history. Bless you both. Thanks!
This channel has become my favorite channel on the entire internet, thanks rick and steve for this! awesome chat and a lot of knowledge here, really enjoyed it ! thanks
I'm a little late to this party, but ... Fantastic Interview!
Of course I have the upmost respect for Steve, he along with Joe Satriani are 2 of the biggest influences on my musical Journey. I do find it patronising whenever I hear Steve talk about “keeping your publishing” in interviews as if it’s easy in this day and age. When you have someone like Zappa who you work for telling you this then of course... off the the back of that success the wheels of your career are rolling, you can start your own publishing company and know that you won’t need to put the work in yourself as a publisher to sell yourself and your songs to the world. As an unsigned, unknown artist in this day and age I think it’s near impossible to focus 100% on the music if you are your own publisher. I’m really upside down about starting my own publishing after research and think for me as an unsigned artist i would make more money giving up a percentage to a publishing company, instead of earning nothing I would earn something even if I’m giving some away. I would like to know... if an artist becomes successful, could they start their own publishing company somewhere down the line once they are more successful and have the hype, marketing and promotion in full swing?
Hey man good question I was hoping somebody with the knowledge would answer you but like I said good question I myself am curious about that
Thank you so much for this Mr.Beato!!!!!
Fantastic program Rick, Thankyou Steve.
There will come a time in the future, at least as there is one, this video will be seen as what it is: an invaluable historical dcument of all mankind
...of all low/middle-class white male mankind that only listens to rock music. Most of the rest of the world has no idea who this is.
I know this is far unlikely, but I'd love to see Ron Jarzombek on this. Could be an interesting talk, about the "film scoring"-tech death on their EP The Animation Of Entomology and potential future records, aswell as his composing methods. The whole 12 tone circle approach does have some parallels to 12 tone serialism and is somewhat a more simplified version of it.
Nice video btw, I think the format has a lot of potential.
Dr. Florence yes ron is a momster player!
Dr. Florence
I love you
Ron's an alien
I used to practice in a band and watchtower would practice in the shed a few rows over. I remember sitting out there listening to ron thinking to myself. WTF? Then Rick Caluca and him would bust into a jam. they were such monster musicians. Man i miss those days. But don't come to Austin please. It sucks and its not what it used to be.
So nice to hear someone talk so positively about music. It's a really fresh perspective and very inspiring! Brilliant interview Rick! Can't say enough how important this channel has become in my life!
One of the best musician interviews I’ve ever seen... kudos!