What to practise

I have been playing guitar for 5 years and am influenced from Brian May, Hendrix to Steve Vai.

My question is, what would I have to practise to be as good and one day in the next year or 2 be better than Steve Vai.

I am unemployed at the minute and have all day and week to practise.

Any tips would be much appriciated.
Thanks, Jim O'Neill

What do you know already ? I'm guessing you know a fair amount of theory after 5 years of playing. Do you play in a band ? That will help your rhythem if you do. Also it depends on your weak points. Try and work on anything your not to good at. I'm not really sure what else to say because i dont really know what you know already. If you have all day to practice you could just search sites for lessons and try and find out what people like steve vai and brian may would practice.

I have played in a few bands but nothing serious but would like to think that my rythym was up to scratch.
I know some scales and chords. Can play some songs by Pearl Jam, Jimi, Queen and some punk, but ain't great with other peoples solos but can play my own.
Cheers again for any tips and thanks to Death55 for your input.

I hate to be a downer, but the odds of you ever becoming better than Steve Vai are extremely low. Even if you excel in your playing, he will always be a step ahead of you. Don't really take this as an insult, because there are very few guitarists out there who could measure up to Mr. Vai. Even those who are better than Vai, technically-speaking, still have a lot to learn when it comes to tasteful playing and creativity. Having said that, you can still become quite a good guitarist. Your best bet is to practice. Practice EVERYTHING with a metronome. Judging by the guitarists you mentioned as your inspirations, I'd learn all the scales across the fretboard (in every key), basic arpeggio patterns, advanced arpeggios/sweeping arps, string-skipping techniques, all 3 major picking styles (i.e. alternate, legatto, and economy), sliding patterns, bends, vibrato, harmonics, pinch harmonics, natural harmonics...hmmm...lol....did I miss anything? That should keep you busy for a long time. :)

Better than Steve Vai is not necessarily "definitely doable." Lets be honest, sometimes no matter how much one practices, he will never be better than Steve Vai. As far as musical compositions go, it'll be hard to beat Steve Vai's "Reaper," and I honestly think the "Moog Boog" is the only song I've come across that a member or host wrote that beats the Reaper as far as coolness goes. Congratulations, Schmange.

I've seen this guy before. He is really good, but as far as compositions go, I like Vai better. However, that does just comes down to personal tastes.

You know, I like Vai, but I'm not a huge fan of "For the Love of God." I like "The Attitude Song," "The Reaper," and "Bad Horsie" better than "For the Love of God."

Aiwass, Jolly does have a good point. Being a good guitarist is not simply a black and white concept. Yes, it is obviously possible to become a better guitarist than Steve Vai. For that matter, there certainly ARE many guitarists who can blow Steve Vai out of the water in terms of technical ability, such as Rusty Cooley, Marcel Coenen, and so forth. However, we all know there's more to being a good guitarist than simply being able to out-shred one another. Indeed, a crucial part of being a great guitarist is creativity (ie. song writing, solo composition, etc) and tasteful playing. Therein lies the difference between a decent guitarist and an amazing guitarist. I certainly didn't mean to indicate in my first post that becoming better than Steve Vai was impossible, but rather unlikely. The reason I say this is because Vai has amazing song-writing skills, and that's something you cannot really be taught as a guitarist. Same concept goes for taste. You either have it or you don't. Musically speaking, Mr. Vai may not be the best shredder ever (although, let's give the guy some credit. He's pretty damn good), but he definitely makes up for it in the song-writing department. So, if you consider his shredding skills and song-writing ability together, you've got one hell of a great guitarist. While Rusty Cooley or Michael Angelo could probably out-play Steve Vai, I'd rather listen to Vai's music anyday over their crap. That's my opinion, though. :)

While we're on the subject of Vai's songs, I'd say my favorite tune of his is 'Tender Surrender'. That song has sooo much passion and conviction. You can feel the soul in his notes and the voicing of his solos. That, in my opinion, is the pinnacle of a great guitar-featured song. It's not the craziest alternate picking, sweeping arpeggio, shred-fest, but a tasteful piece with bone-chilling guitar playing and it raises the hairs on my head.

I agree with finger_cruncher. "Tender Surrender" is a great song, my favorite by Vai.

I also agree about becoming better than Vai. There are technical freaks out there who can shred insanely amazing speeds, but Vai's songwriting skills are just plain awesome. Most of Vai's songs have great melody and are very memorable.

Becoming technically better than Vai, that's possible, but not being a better "musician".

Yes, of course there are better musicians than Steve Vai. Again, I didn't argue that. I simply argued that Vai is a masterful musician, because of his song-writing and his shredding...which may not be the best, but I still haven't seen any members on this forum that can outshred Vai except Marcel Coenen. Nor do I think less of a guy's music because of insane chops. This type of issue has been brought up in numerous threads previously. Generally speaking, there is some truth to stereotypes, however. Fast shredding can be soulful, but often times it becomes mindless crap. The soulful aspect depends on how songs/solos are arranged. Arrangement is everything. Bellas, Marcel, and Shawn Lane are all good shredders. Without arrangement, many shred solos become scale excercises.

Can we stick to the question I was askin?
What can I practise to be better than him??? Please tell me.....!

Learn "Eugene's trick bag." Once you've mastered that, learn all of Steve Vai's songs. Once you've mastered those, change them to make them more complicated. Start off with "Eugene's Trick Bag," though.