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Steve vai's technique

msinia
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msinia
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10/24/2002 12:03 am
I certainly consider vai as one of the most creative musicians in the world. But there is this technique he uses in a lot of songs that i can't figure out. I've seen it work like this:

He inverts hand and puts his right hand on the beginning frets before the left hand which is nearer the bridge,also on the frets. Right at that time he taps at a extreme speed. My question is, what's the name of this thing? Does he actually do something with his right hand?

I've seen him do it in Bad Horsie Live, in Tender Surrender live, and in Crossroads right in the solo where he thinks he has beaten ry cooder.

Thanks in advance
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# 1
trendkillah
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trendkillah
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10/24/2002 12:14 am
Hmm, I'm not 100% sure of what you mean. But if it is what I think it is, he's muting the strings with his right hand, while doing legato runs with his left hand.
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# 2
msinia
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msinia
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10/24/2002 1:02 am
yeah i think that's what he does...

Have you seen him do it on the live version of Bad Horsie? Holy ****! that is some serious speeed. Any idea where i may get tabs or more info on the subject?
Thanks
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# 3
trendkillah
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trendkillah
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10/24/2002 1:15 am
I've actually only seen Joe Satriani do that, thought is was kinda his signature thing, guess not though.

Basically you just run up and down scales I guess, never seen any specific exercises for this kind of technique.
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# 4
msinia
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msinia
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10/24/2002 1:17 am
Yeah i know what you mean about joe. I think i've seen him doing it in Cool # 9 but it's really different than the way steve does it.
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# 5
trendkillah
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trendkillah
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10/24/2002 2:13 am
Originally posted by msinia
Yeah i know what you mean about joe. I think i've seen him doing it in Cool # 9 but it's really different than the way steve does it.


I just watched the Bad Horsie video, it's pretty much the same thing as Joe does.

[Edited by trendkillah on 10-24-2002 at 08:28 AM]
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# 6
Leedogg
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Leedogg
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10/24/2002 6:24 am
I've seen Satch do what your talking about. I have the G3 '97 video. It's pretty amazing. If you want a copy, get on Mirc and go to #guitar_videos on DALnet.
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# 7
MikeP.
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MikeP.
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10/24/2002 4:04 pm
Randy rhoads used to do that a lot as well. Sometimes he would use his rtight hand over left to bend the string up while hammering with the left.....or to fret with the right hand (for distance purposes) then hammer and pulloff with left hand while slideing down the neck with both at the same time. Hope I didn't confuse anyone with that one but it's a pretty easy technique that is better shown than explained :-)
I started learning guitar because of Randy Rhoads..but Yngwie J. Malmsteen is my biggest influence.
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# 8
Christoph
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Christoph
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10/24/2002 8:14 pm

Basically Vai is just using his right hand to mute the strings, because fast legato stuff can make a lot a string noise. You can also fret strings with your right hand, sort of like a capo.


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# 9
msinia
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msinia
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10/25/2002 1:04 am
Thanks to eveyone for clearing out my doubt. Has anyone of you tried to do that? Is it hard? It certainly looks amazing.
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# 10
Josh Redstone
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Josh Redstone
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10/25/2002 1:30 am
I always thought when they did that they were trilling with the right hand and tapping with the left, like inverted two hand tapping, I dunno know what you'd call it. I guess that would be cool to do to.
And God said, 'Let there be rock!'
-And it was good
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# 11
msinia
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msinia
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10/25/2002 2:01 am
what do u mean by trilling?

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# 12
lalimacefolle
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lalimacefolle
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10/25/2002 8:06 am
This technique is only "show off"... He could legato while muting on the bridge, but it looks WAY cooler like that.
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# 13
Josh Redstone
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Josh Redstone
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10/25/2002 2:07 pm
Originally posted by msinia
what do u mean by trilling?


Trilling is rapidly hammering on and pulling of for like, more than a couple seconds, not just a short little ---6h7p6-- and then back to whatever your playing. Know what I mean?
And God said, 'Let there be rock!'
-And it was good
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# 14
MikeP.
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MikeP.
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10/25/2002 2:53 pm
You hit the nail on the head lalimacefolle :-)

I started learning guitar because of Randy Rhoads..but Yngwie J. Malmsteen is my biggest influence.
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# 15
msinia
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msinia
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10/25/2002 8:47 pm
yeah i really agree with that. Well actually vai besides his enormous talent he just shows off in his gigs. I don't think he shows everything he is able to do.
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# 16
trendkillah
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trendkillah
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10/25/2002 9:04 pm
While it does look cool, I do think it is a lot easier to mute the strings this way, as opposed to muting at the bridge.

At the bridge, you have to mute only the strings that are not being played, which requires constant adjustment with fast runs. On the neck, you can mute them all, even the ones being played.

Or am I missing something here?


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# 17
Josh Redstone
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Josh Redstone
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10/25/2002 9:12 pm
Well, I've never tried to pull anything like that off, but I think your right. Muting the strings by just switching hands, how hard can that be? Like everyone else said, its all for show.
But Steve Vai is still good.
And God said, 'Let there be rock!'
-And it was good
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# 18
msinia
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msinia
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10/25/2002 9:15 pm
i think the hard part of that trick is achieving that speed.

And yeah he is still good.. damn good.
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# 19
trendkillah
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trendkillah
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10/25/2002 9:41 pm
Originally posted by Josh Redstone
Like everyone else said, its all for show.


Well, I was making the point that it might not be just for show.
Personally, I sure as hell think it's easier to keep all strings quiet using this technique.



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# 20

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