SHRED!

Steve Vai’s otherworldly playing and unique musical voice has been both astounding and inspiring guitarists since 1990, when he released his landmark album Passion And Warfare. It’s arguably one of the most important guitar instrumental albums ever recorded, and here we examine some of Steve’s best known techniques.

Example 1 is all about finger tone and giving life to the notes. Steve’s unique circular vibrato is a huge part of the DNA of his playing. The concept is to combine the classical push-pull vibrato with the more bluesy string-bending style. For classical vibrato, the hand moves side to side