Name | Guitar |
---|---|
Image capt | A classical guitar (nylon string) |
Background | string |
Classification | String instrument (plucked, nylon-stringed guitars usually played with fingerpicking, and steel-, etc. usually with a pick.) |
Hornbostel sachs | 321.322 |
Hornbostel sachs desc | Composite chordophone |
Range | 130px|center |
Related | *Bowed and plucked string instruments |
Articles | }} |
Acoustic guitars (and similar instruments) with hollow bodies have been in use for over a thousand years. There are three main types of modern acoustic guitar: the classical guitar (nylon-string guitar), the steel-string acoustic guitar, and the archtop guitar. The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the vibration of the strings, which is amplified by the body of the guitar, which acts as a resonating chamber. The classical guitar is often played as a solo instrument using a comprehensive fingerpicking technique.
Electric guitars, introduced in the 1930s, rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone. Early amplified guitars employed a hollow body, but a solid body was found more suitable. Electric guitars have had a continuing profound influence on popular culture. Guitars are recognized as a primary instrument in genres such as blues, bluegrass, country, flamenco, jazz, jota, mariachi, metal, reggae, rock, soul, and many forms of pop.
The modern word ''guitar'', and its antecedents, have been applied to a wide variety of cordophones since ancient times and as such is the cause of confusion. The English word ''guitar'', the German '''', and the French '''' were adopted from the Spanish '''', which comes from the Andalusian Arabic '''', itself derived from the Latin '''', which in turn came from the Ancient Greek '''', and is thought to ultimately trace back to the Old Persian language. ''Tar'' means string in Persian.
Although the word ''guitar'' is descended from the Latin word ''cithara'', the modern guitar itself is not generally believed to have descended from the Roman instrument. Many influences are cited as antecedents to the modern guitar. One commonly cited influence is of the arrival of the four-string oud, which was introduced by the invading Moors in the 8th century. Another suggested influence is the six-string Scandinavian ''lut'' (lute), which gained in popularity in areas of Viking incursions across medieval Europe. Often depicted in carvings c. 800 AD, the Norse hero Gunther (also known as Gunnar), played a lute with his toes as he lay dying in a snake-pit, in the legend of Siegfried. It is likely that a combination of influences led to the creation of the guitar; plucked instruments from across the Mediterranean and Europe were well known in Iberia since antiquity.
Two medieval instruments that were called "guitars" were in use by 1200: the '''' (Moorish guitar) and the '''' (Latin guitar). The guitarra moresca had a rounded back, wide fingerboard, and several soundholes. The guitarra Latina had a single soundhole and a narrower neck. By the 14th century the qualifiers "moresca" and "latina" had been dropped and these two cordophones were usually simply referred to as guitars.
The Spanish vihuela or (in Italian) "", a guitar-like instrument of the 15th and 16th centuries, is widely considered to have been a seminal influence in the development of the guitar. It had six courses (usually), lute-like tuning in fourths and a guitar-like body, although early representations reveal an instrument with a sharply cut waist. It was also larger than the contemporary four course guitars. By the late 15th century some vihuelas were played with a bow, leading to the development of the viol. By the sixteenth century the vihuela's construction had more in common with the modern guitar, with its curved one-piece ribs, than with the viols, and more like a larger version of the contemporary four-course guitars. The vihuela enjoyed only a short period of popularity in Spain and Italy during an era dominated elsewhere in Europe by the lute; the last surviving published music for the instrument appeared in 1576. Meanwhile the five-course baroque guitar, which was documented in Spain from the middle of the 16th century, enjoyed popularity, especially in Spain, Italy and France from the late 16th century to the mid 18th century. Confusingly, in Portugal, the word ''vihuela'' referred to the guitar, whereas ''guitarra'' meant the "Portuguese guitar", a variety of cittern.
Many modern soloists (following the lead of Paco de Lucía) play what is called a ''flamenca negra,'' a hybrid of the flamenco and classical guitar constructions.
The first electric guitarist of note to use a seven-string guitar was jazz guitarist George Van Eps, who was a pioneer of this instrument. Solid body seven-strings were popularized in the 1980s and 1990s in part due to the release of the Ibanez Universe guitar, endorsed by Steve Vai. Other artists go a step further, by using an eight-string guitar with two extra low strings. Although the most common seven-string has a low B string, Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds and Rickenbacker) uses an octave G string paired with the regular G string as on a 12-string guitar, allowing him to incorporate chiming 12-string elements in standard six-string playing. In 1982 Uli Jon Roth developed the "Sky Guitar", with a vastly extended number of frets, which was the first guitar to venture into the upper registers of the violin. Roth's seven-string and 33-fret "Mighty Wing" guitar features a six-octave range.
The electric bass guitar is similar in tuning to the traditional double bass viol. Hybrids of acoustic and electric guitars are also common. There are also more exotic varieties, such as guitars with two, three, or rarely four necks, all manner of alternate string arrangements, fretless fingerboards (used almost exclusively on bass guitars, meant to emulate the sound of a stand-up bass), 5.1 surround guitar, and such.
Some electric guitar and electric bass guitar models feature piezoelectric pickups, which function as transducers to provide a sound closer to that of an acoustic guitar with the flip of a switch or knob, rather than switching guitars. Those that combine piezoelectric pickups and magnetic pickups are sometimes known as hybrid guitars.
The headstock is located at the end of the guitar neck furthest from the body. It is fitted with machine heads that adjust the tension of the strings, which in turn affects the pitch. Traditional tuner layout is "3+3" in which each side of the headstock has three tuners (such as on Gibson Les Pauls). In this layout, the headstocks are commonly symmetrical. Many guitars feature other layouts as well, including six-in-line (featured on Fender Stratocasters) tuners or even "4+2" (Ernie Ball Music Man). However, some guitars (such as Steinbergers) do not have headstocks at all, in which case the tuning machines are located elsewhere, either on the body or the bridge.
The nut is a small strip of bone, plastic, brass, corian, graphite, stainless steel, or other medium-hard material, at the joint where the headstock meets the fretboard. Its grooves guide the strings onto the fretboard, giving consistent lateral string placement. It is one of the endpoints of the strings' vibrating length. It must be accurately cut, or it can contribute to tuning problems due to string slippage or string buzz. To reduce string friction in the nut, which can adversely affect tuning stability, some guitarists fit a roller nut. Some instruments use a zero fret just in front of the nut. In this case the nut is used only for lateral alignment of the strings, the string height and length being dictated by the zero fret.
Also called the fingerboard, the fretboard is a piece of wood embedded with metal frets that comprises the top of the neck. It is flat on classical guitars and slightly curved crosswise on acoustic and electric guitars. The curvature of the fretboard is measured by the fretboard radius, which is the radius of a hypothetical circle of which the fretboard's surface constitutes a segment. The smaller the fretboard radius, the more noticeably curved the fretboard is. Most modern guitars feature a 12" neck radius, while older guitars from the 1960s and 1970s usually feature a 6-8" neck radius. Pinching a string against the fretboard effectively shortens the vibrating length of the string, producing a higher pitch. Fretboards are most commonly made of rosewood, ebony, maple, and sometimes manufactured or composite materials such as HPL or resin. See below on section "Neck" for the importance of the length of the fretboard in connection to other dimensions of the guitar.
Frets are metal strips (usually nickel alloy or stainless steel) embedded along the fretboard and located at exact points that divide the scale length in accordance with a specific mathematical formula. Pressing a string against a fret determines the strings' vibrating length and therefore its resultant pitch. The pitch of each consecutive fret is defined at a half-step interval on the chromatic scale. Standard classical guitars have 19 frets and electric guitars between 21 to 24 frets, although guitars have been made with as many as 27 frets.
Frets are laid out to a mathematical ratio that results in equal tempered division of the octave. The ratio of the spacing of two consecutive frets is the twelfth root of two. The twelfth fret divides the scale length in two exact halves and the 24th fret position divides the scale length in half yet again. Every twelve frets represents one octave. In practice, luthiers determine fret positions using the constant 17.817, which is derived from the twelfth root of two (17.817 = (1-2-1/12)−1). The scale length divided by this value yields the distance from the nut to the first fret. That distance is subtracted from the scale length and the result is divided in two sections by the constant to yield the distance from the first fret to the second fret. Positions for the remainder of the frets are calculated in like manner. Actual fret spacing does not use this exact value; the fret spacing on the fretboard was also done by trial and error (testing) method over the ages.
There are several different fret gauges, which can be fitted according to player preference. Among these are "jumbo" frets, which have much thicker gauge, allowing for use of a slight vibrato technique from pushing the string down harder and softer. "Scalloped" fretboards, where the wood of the fretboard itself is "scooped out" between the frets allows a dramatic vibrato effect. Fine frets, much flatter, allow a very low string-action but require other conditions, such as curvature of the neck, to be well maintained to prevent buzz.
On steel-string guitars, frets are eventually bound to wear down; when this happens, frets can be replaced or, to a certain extent, leveled, polished, recrowned, or reshaped as required.
The truss rod is a metal rod that runs along the inside of the neck. It is used to correct changes to the neck's curvature caused by the neck timbers aging, changes in humidity or to compensate for changes in the tension of strings. The tension of the rod and neck assembly is adjusted by a hex nut or an allen-key bolt on the rod, usually located either at the headstock, sometimes under a cover, or just inside the body of the guitar underneath the fretboard and accessible through the sound hole. Some truss rods can only be accessed by removing the neck. The truss rod counteracts the immense amount of tension the strings place on the neck, bringing the neck back to a straighter position. Turning the truss rod clockwise tightens it, counteracting the tension of the strings and straightening the neck or creating a backward bow. Turning the truss rod counter-clockwise loosens it, allowing string tension to act on the neck and creating a forward bow. Adjusting the truss rod affects the intonation of a guitar as well as the height of the strings from the fingerboard, called the action. Some truss rod systems, called "double action" truss systems, tighten both ways, allowing the neck to be pushed both forward and backward (standard truss rods can only be released to a point beyond which the neck is no longer compressed and pulled backward).
Classical guitars do not require truss rods as their nylon strings exert a lower tensile force with lesser potential to cause structural problems. However their necks are often reinforced with a strip of harder wood, such as an ebony strip running down the back of a cedar neck. There is no tension adjustment on this form of reinforcement.
Inlays are visual elements set into the exterior surface of a guitar. The typical locations for inlay are on the fretboard, headstock, and on acoustic guitars around the soundhole, known as the rosette. Inlays range from simple plastic dots on the fretboard to intricate works of art covering the entire exterior surface of a guitar (front and back). Some guitar players have used LEDs in the fretboard to produce a unique lighting effects onstage.
Fretboard inlays are most commonly shaped like dots, diamond shapes, parallelograms, or large blocks in between the frets. Dots are usually inlaid into the upper edge of the fretboard in the same positions, small enough to be visible only to the player. These usually appear on the odd numbered frets, but also on the 12th fret (the one octave mark) instead of the 11th and 13th frets. Some older or high-end instruments have inlays made of mother of pearl, abalone, ivory, coloured wood or other exotic materials and designs. Simpler inlays are often made of plastic or painted. High-end classical guitars seldom have fretboard inlays as a well trained player is expected to know his or her way around the instrument.
In addition to fretboard inlay, the headstock and soundhole surround are also frequently inlaid. The manufacturer's logo or a small design is often inlaid into the headstock. Rosette designs vary from simple concentric circles to delicate fretwork mimicking the historic rosette of lutes. Bindings that edge the finger and sound boards are sometimes inlaid. Some instruments have a filler strip running down the length and behind the neck, used for strength or to fill the cavity through which the trussrod was installed in the neck.
Elaborate inlays are a decorative feature of many limited edition, high-end and custom-made guitars. Guitar manufacturers often release such guitars to celebrate significant or historic milestones.
A guitar's frets, fretboard, tuners, headstock, and truss rod, all attached to a long wooden extension, collectively constitute its neck. The wood used to make the fretboard usually differs from the wood in the rest of the neck. The bending stress on the neck is considerable, particularly when heavier gauge strings are used (see Tuning), and the ability of the neck to resist bending (see Truss rod) is important to the guitar's ability to hold a constant pitch during tuning or when strings are fretted. The rigidity of the neck with respect to the body of the guitar is one determinant of a good instrument versus a poor one. The shape of the neck can also vary, from a gentle "C" curve to a more pronounced "V" curve. There are many different types of neck profiles available, giving the guitarist many options. Some aspects to consider in a guitar neck may be the overall width of the fingerboard, scale (distance between the frets), the neck wood, the type of neck construction (for example, the neck may be glued in or bolted on), and the shape (profile) of the back of the neck. Other type of material used to make guitar necks are graphite (Steinberger guitars), aluminium (Kramer Guitars, Travis Bean and Veleno guitars), or carbon fiber (Modulus Guitars and ThreeGuitars).
Double neck electric guitars have two necks, allowing the musician to quickly switch between guitar sounds.
This is the point at which the neck is either bolted or glued to the body of the guitar. Almost all acoustic steel-string guitars, with the primary exception of Taylors, have glued (otherwise known as set) necks, while electric guitars are constructed using both types. Most classical guitars have a neck and headblock carved from one piece of wood, known as a "Spanish heel."
Commonly used set neck joints include mortise and tenon joints (such as those used by CF Martin & Co.), dovetail joints (also used by CF Martin on the D-28 and similar models) and Spanish heel neck joints, which are named after the shoe they resemble and commonly found in classical guitars. All three types offer stability. Bolt-on necks, though they are historically associated with cheaper instruments, do offer greater flexibility in the guitar's set-up, and allow easier access for neck joint maintenance and repairs.
Another type of neck, only available for solid body electric guitars, is the neck-through-body construction. These are designed so that everything from the machine heads down to the bridge are located on the same piece of wood. The sides (also known as wings) of the guitar are then glued to this central piece. Some luthiers prefer this method of construction as they claim it allows better sustain of each note. Some instruments may not have a neck joint at all, having the neck and sides built as one piece and the body built around it.
The standard guitar has six strings but four-, seven-, eight-, nine-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars are also available.
Classical and flamenco guitars historically used gut strings but these have been superseded by polymer materials, such as nylon and fluorocarbon.
Modern guitar strings are constructed of metal, polymers, or animal or plant product materials. Instruments utilising "steel" strings may have strings made of alloys incorporating steel, nickel or phosphor bronze. Bass strings for both instruments are wound rather than monofilament.
In acoustic guitars, string vibration is transmitted through the bridge and saddle to the body via sound board. The sound board is typically made of tone woods such as spruce or cedar. Timbers for tone woods are chosen for both strength and ability to transfer mechanical energy from the strings to the air within the guitar body. Sound is further shaped by the characteristics of the guitar body's resonant cavity.
In electric guitars, transducers known as pickups convert string vibration to an electric signal, which in turn is amplified and fed to speakers, which vibrate the air to produce the sounds we hear. Nevertheless, the body of the electric guitar still performs a role in shaping the resultant tonal signature.
In an acoustic instrument, the body of the guitar is a major determinant of the overall sound quality. The guitar top, or soundboard, is a finely crafted and engineered element made of tonewoods such as spruce and red cedar. This thin piece of wood, often only 2 or 3 mm thick, is strengthened by differing types of internal bracing. Many luthiers consider the top the dominant factor in determining the sound quality. The majority of the instrument's sound is heard through the vibration of the guitar top as the energy of the vibrating strings is transferred to it.
Body size, shape and style has changed over time. 19th century guitars, now known as salon guitars, were smaller than modern instruments. Differing patterns of internal bracing have been used over time by luthiers. Torres, Hauser, Ramirez, Fleta, and C.F. Martin were among the most influential designers of their time. Bracing not only strengthens the top against potential collapse due to the stress exerted by the tensioned strings, but also affects the resonance characteristics of the top. The back and sides are made out of a variety of timbers such as mahogany, Indian rosewood and highly regarded Brazilian rosewood (''Dalbergia nigra''). Each one is primarily chosen for their aesthetic effect and can be decorated with inlays and purfling.
The body of an acoustic guitar has a sound hole through which sound projects. The sound hole is usually a round hole in the top of the guitar under the strings. Air inside the body vibrates as the guitar top and body is vibrated by the strings, and the response of the air cavity at different frequencies is characterised, like the rest of the guitar body, by a number of resonance modes at which it responds more strongly.
Instruments with larger areas for the guitar top were introduced by Martin in an attempt to create louder volume levels. The popularity of the larger "dreadnought" body size amongst acoustic performers is related to the greater sound volume produced.
Most electric guitar bodies are made of wood, and include a plastic pick guard. Boards wide enough to use as a solid body are very expensive due to the worldwide depletion of hardwood stock since the 1970s, so the wood is rarely one solid piece. Most bodies are made of two pieces of wood with some of them including a seam running down the centre line of the body. The most common woods used for electric guitar body construction include maple, basswood, ash, poplar, alder, and mahogany. Many bodies consist of good sounding but inexpensive woods, like ash, with a "top", or thin layer of another, more attractive wood (such as maple with a natural "flame" pattern) glued to the top of the basic wood. Guitars constructed like this are often called "flame tops". The body is usually carved or routed to accept the other elements, such as the bridge, pickup, neck, and other electronic components. Most electrics have a polyurethane or nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Other alternative materials to wood, are used in guitar body construction. Some of these include carbon composites, plastic material (such as polycarbonate), and aluminum alloys.
Traditional electromagnetic pickups are either single-coil or double-coil. Single-coil pickups are susceptible to noise induced from electric fields, usually mains-frequency (60 or 50 hertz) hum. The introduction of the double-coil humbucker in the mid-1950s did away with this problem through the use of two coils, one of which is wired in a reverse polarity orientation.
The types and models of pickups used can greatly affect the tone of the guitar. Typically, humbuckers, which are two magnet–coil assemblies attached to each other are traditionally associated with a heavier sound. Single-coil pickups, one magnet wrapped in copper wire, are used by guitarists seeking a brighter, twangier sound with greater dynamic range.
Modern pickups are tailored to the sound desired. A commonly applied approximation used in selection of a pickup is that less wire (lower DC resistance) = brighter sound, more wire = "fat" tone. Other options include specialized switching that produces coil-splitting, in/out of phase and other effects. Guitar circuits are either active, needing a battery to power their circuit, or, as in most cases, equipped with a passive circuit.
Fender Stratocaster type guitars generally utilize three single-coil pickups, while most Gibson Les Paul types use humbucker pickups.
Piezoelectric, or piezo, pickups represent another class of pickup. These employ piezoelectricity to generate the musical signal and are popular in hybrid electro-acoustic guitars. A crystal is located under each string, usually in the saddle. When the string vibrates, the shape of the crystal is distorted, and the stresses associated with this change produce tiny voltages across the crystal that can be amplified and manipulated.
Some piezo-equipped guitars use what is known as a hexaphonic pickup. "Hex" is a prefix meaning six. In a hexaphonic pickup separate outputs are obtained from discrete piezoelectric pickups for each of the six strings. This arrangement allows the signal to be easily modified by on-board modelling electronics, as in the Line 6 Variax brand of electric guitars; the guitars allow for a variety of sounds to be obtained by digitally manipulating the signal. This allows a guitar to mimic many vintage models of guitar, as well as output alternate tunings without the need to adjust the strings.
Another use for hexaphonic pickups is to send the output signals to a MIDI interpretation device, which determines the note pitch, duration, attack and decay characteristics and so forth. The MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) interpreter then sends the note information to a sound bank device. The resulting sound can closely mimic numerous types of instruments. The MIDI setup can also enable the guitar to be used as a game controller (i.e., Rock Band Squier) or as an instructional tool, as with the Fretlight Guitar.
During final construction, a small section of the outside corners is carved or routed out and filled with binding material on the outside corners and decorative strips of material next to the binding, which are called purfling. This binding serves to seal off the end grain of the top and back. Purfling can also appear on the back of an acoustic guitar, marking the edge joints of the two or three sections of the back.
Binding and purfling materials are generally made of either wood or plastic.
The main purpose of the bridge on an acoustic guitar is to transfer the vibration from the strings to the soundboard, which vibrates the air inside of the guitar, thereby amplifying the sound produced by the strings.
On all electric, acoustic and original guitars, the bridge holds the strings in place on the body. There are many varied bridge designs. There may be some mechanism for raising or lowering the bridge saddles to adjust the distance between the strings and the fretboard (action), or fine-tuning the intonation of the instrument. Some are spring-loaded and feature a "whammy bar", a removable arm that lets the player modulate the pitch by changing the tension on the strings. The whammy bar is sometimes also referred to as a "tremolo bar" (see Tremolo for further discussion of this term—the effect of rapidly changing pitch produced by a whammy bar is more correctly called "vibrato"). Some bridges also allow for alternate tunings at the touch of a button.
On almost all modern electric guitars, the bridge has saddles that are adjustable for each string so that intonation stays correct up and down the neck. If the open string is in tune, but sharp or flat when frets are pressed, the bridge saddle position can be adjusted with a screwdriver or hex key to remedy the problem. In general, flat notes are corrected by moving the saddle forward and sharp notes by moving it backwards. On an instrument correctly adjusted for intonation, the actual length of each string from the nut to the bridge saddle is slightly but measurably longer than the scale length of the instrument. This additional length is called compensation, which flattens all notes a bit to compensate for the sharping of all fretted notes caused by stretching the string during fretting.
Also known as a scratchplate. This is usually a piece of laminated plastic or other material that protects the finish of the top of the guitar from damage due to the use of a plectrum or fingernails. Electric guitars sometimes mount pickups and electronics on the pickguard. It is a common feature on steel-string acoustic guitars. Vigorous performance styles such as flamenco, which can involve the use of the guitar as a percussion instrument, call for a scratchplate, or pick guard to be fitted to nylon-string instruments.
The tremolo arm is common enough that there is a technical term, ''hard tail'', for a guitar without one.
Leo Fender, who did much to create the electric guitar, also created much confusion over the meaning of the terms "tremolo" and "vibrato" by the naming the "tremolo" unit on many of his guitars and also the "vibrato" unit on his "Vibrolux" amps. In general, ''vibrato'' is a variation in pitch, whereas ''tremolo'' is a variation in volume, so the tremolo bar is actually a vibrato bar and the "Vibrolux" amps actually had a tremolo effect. However, following Fender's example, electric guitarists traditionally reverse these meanings when speaking of hardware devices and the effects they produce. See ''vibrato unit'' for a more detailed discussion, and ''tremolo arm'' for more of the history.
Another type of pitch bender is the B-Bender, a spring and lever device mounted in an internal cavity of a solid body electric, guitar that allows the guitarist to bend just the B string of the guitar using a lever connected to the strap handle of the guitar. The resulting pitch bend is evocative of the sound of the pedal steel guitar.
Guitars have varying accommodations for attaching a strap. The most common are strap buttons, also called strap pins, which are flanged steel posts anchored to the guitar with screws. Two strap buttons come pre-attached to virtually all electric guitars, and many steel-string acoustic guitars. Strap buttons are sometimes replaced with ''strap locks,'' which connect the guitar to the strap more securely.
The lower strap button is usually located at the bottom (bridge end) of the body. The upper strap button is usually located near or at the top (neck end) of the body: on the upper body curve, at the tip of the upper "horn" (on a double cutaway), or at the neck joint (heel). Some electrics, especially those with odd-shaped bodies, have one or both strap buttons on the back of the body. Some Steinberger electric guitars, owing to their minimalist and lightweight design, have both strap buttons at the bottom of the body. Rarely, on some acoustics, the upper strap button is located on the headstock.
Some acoustic and classical guitars only have a single strap button at the bottom of the body—the other end must be tied onto the headstock, above the nut and below the machine heads.
Some acoustic and classical guitars come with no strap buttons at all. In this case, one or two strap buttons can usually be added to the guitar, or a "classical guitar strap" (also called a "guitar harness" or "neck strap") can be used, which supports the guitar by hooking into the sound hole.
Self-tuning guitars are computerized guitars programmed to tune themselves. The Gibson Robot Guitar, released in 2007, is often mistaken as the first of this kind, but was preceded by the Transperformance system by at least 20 years. Gibson has also released a second, self-tuning model called the Dark Fire.
A variety of tunings may be used. The most common tuning, known as "Standard Tuning," has the strings tuned from a low E, to a high E, traversing a two octave range—EADGBE. When all strings are played open the resulting chord is an Em7/add11.
The pitches are as follows:
String !! Scientific pitch notation | Scientific pitch !! Helmholtz pitch | Interval (music)>Interval from middle C | ||
first | E4| | e' | major third above | 329.63 Hz |
second | B3| | b | minor second below | 246.94 Hz |
third | G3| | g | perfect fourth below | 196.00 Hz |
fourth | D3| | d | minor seventh below | 146.83 Hz |
fifth | A2| | A | minor tenth below | 110 Hz |
sixth | E2| | E | minor thirteenth below | 82.41 Hz |
The table below shows a pitch's name found over the six strings of a guitar in standard tuning, from the nut (zero), to the twelfth fret.
0 !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12 | ||||||||||||
! E | F | F | G| | A | A | B | B | C | C | D | E | E |
B | C | C | D| | E | E | F | F | G | A | A | B | B |
G | A | A | B| | B | C | C | D | E | E | F | F | G |
D | E | E | F| | F | G | A | A | B | B | C | C | D |
A | B | B | C| | C | D | E | E | F | F | G | A | A |
E | F | F | G| | A | A | B | B | C | C | D | E | E |
A guitar using this tuning can tune to itself using the fact, with a single exception, that the 5th fret on one string is the same note as the next open string; that is, a 5th-fret note on the sixth string is the same note as the open fifth string. The exception is the interval between the second and third strings, in which the 4th-fret note on the third string is equivalent to the open second string.
Standard tuning has evolved to provide a good compromise between simple fingering for many chords and the ability to play common scales with minimal left hand movement. Uniquely, the guitar's tuning allows for repeatable patterns, which also facilitates the ease of playing common scales. There are also a variety of commonly used alternate tunings. Most of these are open tunings, i.e., the unfretted strings produce a simple chord, such as a G Major chord. Many open tunings, where all of the strings are tuned to a similar note or chord, are popular for slide guitar playing. Alternate tunings are used for two main reasons: the ease of playing and the variation in tone that can be achieved.
Many guitarists use a long established, centuries-old tuning variation where the lowest string is 'dropped' down a whole tone. Known as Drop-D (or dropped D) tuning it is, from low to high, DADGBE. This allows for open string tonic and dominant basses in the keys of D and D minor. It also enables simple fifths (powerchords) to be more easily played. Eddie Van Halen sometimes uses a device known as a 'D Tuna, ' which he patented. It is a small lever, attached to the fine tuner of the 6th string on a Floyd Rose tremolo, which allows him to easily drop that string from E to D. Many contemporary rock bands retune all strings by several semi-tones, making, for example, Drop-C or Drop-B tunings, However this terminology is inconsistent with that of "drop-D" as "drop-D" refers to dropping a single string to the named pitch. Often these new tunings are also simply referred to as the "Standard" of the note in question e. g.–"D Standard" (DGcfad').
Some guitarists tune in straight fourths, avoiding the major third between the third and second strings. While this makes playing major and minor triads slightly more difficult, it facilitated playing chords with more complicated extended structures. One proponent of the straight fourth tuning (EADGCF) is Stanley Jordan.
As with all stringed instruments a large number of scordatura are possible on the guitar. A common form of scordatura involves tuning the 3rd string to F to mimic the standard tuning of the lute, especially when playing renaissance repertoire originally written for the lute.
A capo (short for ''capotasto'') is used to change the pitch of open strings. Capos are clipped onto the fret board with the aid of spring tension, or in some models, elastic tension. To raise the guitar's pitch by one semitone, the player would clip the capo onto the fret board just below the first fret. Its use allows players to play in different keys without having to change the chord formations they use. Because of the ease with which they allow guitar players to change keys, they are sometimes referred to as "cheaters" or the "hillbilly crutch." Classical performers are known to use them to enable modern instruments to match the pitch of historical instruments such as the renaissance lute.
Some performers that have become famous for playing slide are Robert Johnson, Elmore James, Ry Cooder, George Harrison, Bonnie Raitt, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Duane Allman, Muddy Waters, Rory Gallagher, and George Thorogood.
Picks come in many shapes and sizes. Picks vary from the small jazz pick to the large bass pick. The thickness of the pick often determines its use. A thinner pick (between .2 and .5 mm) is usually used for strumming or rhythm playing, whereas thicker picks (between .7 and 1.5+ mm) are usually used for single-note lines or lead playing. The distinctive guitar sound of Billy Gibbons is attributed to using a quarter or peso as a pick. Similarly, Brian May is known to use a sixpence coin as a pick. David Persons is known for using old credit cards, cut to the correct size, as plectrums.
Thumb picks and finger picks that attach to the finger tips are sometimes employed in finger-picking styles on steel strings. These allow the fingers and thumb to operate independently, whereas a flat pick requires the thumb and one or two fingers to manipulate.
Category:Guitars Category:Celtic musical instruments Category:Irish musical instruments Category:Spanish musical instruments
af:Kitaar als:Gitarre am:ጊታር ang:Gytārre ar:قيثارة an:Guitarra ast:Guitarra gn:Mbaraka az:Gitara bm:Gitari bn:গিটার zh-min-nan:Gí-tah be:Гітара be-x-old:Гітара bg:Китара bar:Klampfen bo:རྒྱུད་དྲུག bs:Gitara br:Gitar ca:Guitarra cs:Kytara cy:Gitâr da:Guitar de:Gitarre et:Kitarr el:Κιθάρα es:Guitarra eo:Gitaro eu:Gitarra fa:گیتار fo:Gittari fr:Guitare fy:Gitaar gl:Guitarra ko:기타 hi:गिटार hr:Gitara io:Gitaro ig:Égwu ahiri id:Gitar os:Гитарæ is:Gítar it:Chitarra he:גיטרה jv:Gitar kl:Guitar kn:ಗಿಟಾರ್ ka:გიტარა csb:Gitara kk:Гитара sw:Gitaa ky:Гитара la:Cithara Hispanica lv:Ģitāra lb:Gittar lt:Gitara jbo:jgita hu:Gitár mk:Гитара ml:ഗിറ്റാർ mr:गिटार arz:جيتار mzn:گیتار ms:Gitar mn:Гитар my:ဂစ်တာ nah:Mecahuēhuētl nl:Gitaar nds-nl:Gitaar new:गितार ja:ギター frr:Gitari no:Gitar nn:Gitar nrm:Dgitare oc:Guitarra uz:Gitara pnb:گٹار pcd:Djitare pl:Gitara pt:Guitarra ro:Chitară qu:Kitara rue:Ґітара ru:Гитара sco:Guitar sq:Kitara scn:Chitarra acustica simple:Guitar sk:Gitara sl:Kitara sr:Гитара sh:Gitara su:Gitar fi:Kitara sv:Gitarr tl:Gitara ta:கித்தார் te:గిటారు th:กีตาร์ tr:Gitar uk:Гітара vec:Chitara vi:Ghi-ta zh-classical:吉他 war:Sista yi:גיטאר zh-yue:結他 bat-smg:Gėtara zh:吉他
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Andy McKee |
---|---|
background | solo_singer |
born | April 04, 1979 Topeka, Kansas, U.S. |
instrument | Guitar, baritone guitar, harp guitar |
genre | Folk, Instrumental, Fingerstyle guitar |
occupation | Guitarist |
years active | 2001 – present |
label | Razor & Tie, CandyRat Records |
website | www.andymckee.com |
religion | Atheist }} |
Andy McKee (born April 4, 1979 in Topeka, Kansas) is an American fingerstyle guitarist, currently signed to the American record label Razor & Tie. His style of playing and his compositions have earned him a considerable international fanbase; in late 2006, a live performance of his signature song "Drifting" became a Featured Video on YouTube and MySpace, achieving over 40,000,000 views on the former to date and remaining one of its highest rated music clips. A handful of McKee's other songs have experienced lesser success on YouTube, such as "Rylynn" with over 19,000,000 views. Similarly, McKee's cover of "Africa" reached over 9,000,000 views before suddenly being removed by Candyrat Records.
The documentary is currently only available for purchase as a part of the Joyland album CD/DVD.
"Yeah thanks a lot for uploading! It's not like I need to make a living with my music or anything. 8,676 thieves. If you really appreciate what I am doing, buy my CD legitimately so I can continue to compose music rather than work at K-Mart. I'm not Metallica. I don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars, much less millions. Andy McKee"
McKee's influences include: Eric Johnson, Dream Theater, Michael Hedges, Preston Reed, Billy McLaughlin, Tommy Emmanuel, Björk, Steve Lukather, Metallica, Joe Satriani, Iron Maiden, Pantera, Steve Erquiaga, Vince Di Cola, Toto, Peter Gabriel, Imogen Heap, King Crimson, Primus, Pat Metheny, and Don Ross,
McKee began listening to metal, such as Dream Theater, at the age of 13. He described on Woodsongs how he was a "metal freak" during childhood, even performing a Metallica song in his high school talent show. It was not until he saw Preston Reed that his influences began to shift towards acoustic songwriters such as Don Ross and Michael Hedges. Both walks of music continue to influence him, though he has stuck with acoustic music in his professional life.
In response to certain comments regarding the source of his creative talent, McKee has proudly admitted to have never taken any recreational drugs in his life—a fact lauded by many of his fans online, including fellow guitarist Don Ross. Commenting on McKee's MySpace, Ross wrote:
:"I too have never touched weed, pills, blow or needles. I'm always insulted when people find that hard to believe. 'How can you write such insane music straight?!?' Frick! Some of us are just creative using only the chemicals already present in our bodies. That goes for almost any musician I've had a close association with, contrary to the stereotypes. Hell, Zappa was sober all the time! :Bravo, Andy. I appreciate the fact that when you and I tour together, there's no junk going around, no smokes, no nothing. Keeping it clean. And we always have a fabulous time."
Album Title | Year |
2001 | |
2004 | |
2005 | |
''Gates of Gnomeria'' | 2007 |
Split DVD with Antoine Dufour | 2007 |
2008 | |
2009 | |
2010 |
Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:American folk guitarists Category:American Internet personalities Category:Fingerstyle guitarists Category:Musicians from Kansas
cs:Andy McKee de:Andy McKee es:Andy McKee fr:Andy McKee it:Andy McKee lv:Endijs Makijs nl:Andy McKee ja:アンディ・マッキー pl:Andy McKee pt:Andy McKee simple:Andy McKeeThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Ewan Dobson |
---|---|
background | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
birth name | Ewan Dobson |
birth date | September 09, 1981 |
birth place | |
origin | Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada |
instrument | Guitar |
genre | Fingerstyle guitar, Acoustic metal |
occupation | Musician, composer |
label | CandyRat |
website | |
notable instruments | Stonebridge 23CRMartin D-28CW }} |
Ewan Dobson is a Canadian fingerstyle guitarist and Candyrat Records recording artist noted for the creativity and intensity of his playing as well as his use of extended technique. Dobson's music borrows from bluegrass, classical music, folk, techno, heavy metal as well as trance. In 1993, he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and mild Tourette's Syndrome. In support of Tourette's Syndrome awareness Ewan has performed at the Tourette's Syndrome National Conference in Canada. As a classical guitarist Dobson won numerous awards such as the Grand Prizes of both the Burlington Rotary Fall Music Festival and the Pickering Rotary Music Festival (1996 and 1998) as well as the D'addario Scholarship from the Kiwanis Music Festival which is given to the top classical guitarist in the competition. As a fingerstyle guitarist, Ewan placed first at the 5th Annual Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar Competition. Two months after this he competed in the 38th Annual International Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in Winfield, Kansas and placed third. Immediately following this he placed first in the Acoustic Category of the 4th Annual Montreal Guitar Grand Prix.
Category:Living people Category:Canadian heavy metal guitarists Category:Fingerstyle guitarists Category:1981 births Category:People from Richmond Hill, Ontario Category:Musicians from Ontario
de:Ewan Dobson ru:Добсон, Эван sv:Ewan DobsonThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Peter NalitchПётр Налич |
---|---|
background | solo_singer |
birth name | Piotr Andreevich Nalich |
born | April 30, 1981 in Russian SFSR, USSR |
origin | Moscow |
instrument | Vocals, accordion, classical guitar |
genre | Pop |
associated acts | "Peter Nalitch's musical collective" (Музыкальный коллектив Петра Налича; Muzykalny kollektiv Petra Nalitcha, MKPN) also nown as "Peter Nalitch and Friends" |
website | peternalitch.ru }} |
After the success of this first concert (a lot of people had been unable to enter the first crowded venue), articles were written on blogs and in newspapers. Peter then gathered a band of musicians, with whom he gave two more concerts during the winter of 2008 in the club "IKRA" ("Икра"), in Moscow. Tickets were sold out several months before the event.
The band took the name Peter Nalitch's Musical Collective - "Muzykalny kollektiv Petra Nalitcha" ("Музыкальный коллектив Петра Налича") or more simply "MKPN" ("МКПН").
Nalitch is self-produced.
The lyrics of his songs are often humorous and can sometimes be compared to child songs ("Yeti" - «Йети», is a song about a lonely yeti). MKPN also did covers of Russian romances and Cossack songs. All albums and songs are available for free on the band's official website, with the mention "Pay what you will", even though the album and the EP have been released. Peter Nalitch had declared in an interview that they were not really making money from album sales, only from the concerts given in Russia.
In the wake of this idea of self-promotion on the web, the band has given, on September 17, 2009, an acoustic concert from their own flat, broadcast live on RuTube (a local videohosting and live broadcasting site). On October 30, 2009, they broadcast another show live on RuTube, this time a real concert in Moscow.
Category:Russian Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2010 Category:Russian people of Ukrainian descent Category:Living people Category:1981 births
az:Pyotr Naliç bg:Пьотър Налич da:Pjotr Nalitj de:Pjotr Andrejewitsch Nalitsch es:Peter Nalitch eo:Pjotr Naliĉ fr:Peter Nalitch hr:Petar Nalič it:Peter Nalitch lv:Pjotrs Naļičs lb:Pjotr Nalitsch hu:Peter Nalitch & Friends nl:Peter Nalitch pl:Piotr Nalicz ro:Piotr Nalici ru:Налич, Пётр Андреевич sq:Peter Nalitch sh:Petar Nalič fi:Pjotr Nalitš sv:Pjotr Nalitj tr:Pyotr Naliç uk:Наліч Петро АндрійовичThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Steve Vai |
---|---|
background | solo_singer |
birth name | Steven Siro Vai |
born | June 06, 1960Carle Place, New York, U.S. |
instrument | Guitar, keyboards, vocals |
genre | Instrumental rock, hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, progressive metal, experimental rock |
years active | 1980–present |
label | Favored NationsRelativity RecordsUrantia Records Akashic RecordsEpic Records |
associated acts | Joe Satriani, Frank Zappa, John Petrucci, Alcatrazz, Orianthi, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Dream Theater, Eddie Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Zappa plays Zappa, Billy Sheehan, G3, Bad4Good, Incubus, Devin Townsend |
website | Official website |
notable instruments | Ibanez JEMIbanez UniverseTom Anderson Drop Top Classic }} |
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai (born June 6, 1960) is a three time Grammy Award-winning American virtuoso rock guitarist, composer and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. After starting his professional career as a music transcriptionist for Frank Zappa, Vai recorded and toured in Zappa's band for two years, from 1980 to 1982. The guitarist began a solo career in 1983 and has released 8 of his own solo albums since. Apart from his work with Frank Zappa, Vai has also recorded and toured with Public Image Ltd., Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake. Vai has been a regular touring member of the G3 Concert Tour which began in 1996. In 1999 Vai started his own record label, Favored Nations, intending to showcase, as Vai describes, ''"...artists that have attained the highest performance level on their chosen instruments."''
Subsequent to being hired as a transcriber, Vai did overdubs on many of the guitar parts for Zappa's album ''You Are What You Is''. Thereafter he became a full-fledged band member, going on his first tour with Zappa in the autumn of 1980. One of those early shows with Vai on guitar, recorded in Buffalo, was released in 2007. While touring with Zappa's band, Vai sometimes asked audience members to bring musical scores and see if he could sight-read them on the spot. Zappa referred to Vai as his "little Italian virtuoso" and listed him in the liner notes as performing "stunt guitar" or "impossible guitar parts." Later, Vai was a featured artist on the 1993 recording ''Zappa's Universe''. In 2006 he returned to Frank Zappa's music as a special guest on Dweezil Zappa's 'Zappa Plays Zappa' tour, alongside friends from his early years with Zappa.
After leaving Zappa in 1982 he moved to California, where he recorded his first album, ''Flex-Able'', in 1983 and performed in a couple of bands. In 1985 he replaced Yngwie Malmsteen as lead guitarist in Graham Bonnet's Alcatrazz, with whom he recorded the album ''Disturbing the Peace''. Later in 1985, he joined former Van Halen front man David Lee Roth's group to record the albums ''Eat 'Em and Smile'' and ''Skyscraper''.
In 1986, Vai played with John Lydon's Public Image Ltd on their album ''Album'' (also known as ''Compact Disc'' or ''Cassette''). Then, in 1989, Vai joined Whitesnake, replacing Vivian Campbell. When Adrian Vandenberg injured his wrist shortly before recording was to begin for the album ''Slip of the Tongue'', Vai played all the guitar parts. Vai also played on the Alice Cooper album ''Hey Stoopid'', along with Joe Satriani on the song "Feed my Frankenstein."
The song "For the Love of God" was voted #29 in a readers' poll of the 100 greatest guitar solos of all time in ''Guitar World'' Magazine.
In 1994 Vai began writing and recording with Ozzy Osbourne. Only one track from these sessions, "My Little Man", was released on the ''Ozzmosis'' album. Despite Vai penning the track he does not appear on the album. His guitar parts were replaced by Zakk Wylde. Another track, "Dyin' Day", appeared as an instrumental on Vai's ''Fire Garden'' album. Vai's band members in the 90's included drummer Mike Mangini, guitarist Mike Keneally, and bassist Philip Bynoe. In 1994 Vai received a Grammy Award for his performance on the Frank Zappa song ''Sofa'' from the album ''Zappa's Universe''.
Steve Vai released a DVD of his performance at The Astoria in London in December, 2001. The performance featured Billy Sheehan, guitarist/pianist Tony MacAlpine, guitarist Dave Weiner, and Australian drummer Virgil Donati.
In July 2002, Steve Vai performed with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan, in the world premiere of composer Ichiro Nodaira's ''Fire Strings'', a concerto for electric guitar and 100-piece orchestra.
In 2004, a number of his compositions and orchestral arrangements including some previously recorded pieces, were performed in The Netherlands by the Metropole Orchestra in a concert series entitled ''The Aching Hunger''. In 2003, drummer Jeremy Colson joined Vai's group, replacing Virgil Donati. Vai's latest album, ''Sound Theories'', was released in 2007.
In February 2005, Vai premiered a dual-guitar (electric and classical) piece that he called ''The Blossom Suite'', with classical guitarist Sharon Isbin at the Châtelet Theatre in Paris. In 2006, Vai played as a special guest guitarist alongside additional guest Zappa band members, drummer Terry Bozzio, guitarist-singer Ray White, and saxophonist-singer Napoleon Murphy Brock in the "Zappa Plays Zappa" tour led by Frank's son Dweezil Zappa in Europe and the U.S. in the Spring, as well as a short U.S. tour in October.
On September 21, 2006, Vai made a special appearance at the ''Video Games Live'' concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California. He played two songs with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra; ''Halo Theme'', and a second song for the world premier trailer for Halo 3.
Steve Vai made an appearance at the London Guitar Show in 2007 on the April 28, 2007 at the ExCeL Center. In late April 2007, Vai confirmed the release of his most recent record, ''Sound Theories'', on June 26. The release is a two-CD set, mostly of previously released material that Vai rearranged and played with a full orchestra. Vai says the project was a great joy because he considers himself a composer more than a guitarist, and he is happy to see music he has composed played by an orchestra that can play it well. A DVD followed the record later that year. He guested on the Dream Theater album, ''Systematic Chaos'', on the song "Repentance". The appearance was vocal rather than instrumental, as Vai was only one of many musical guests recorded. The song features contributions from many artists, with the aim of apologizing to important people in their lives for wrongdoings committed in their pasts. On August 29, 2009, he appeared on stage with Dream Theater during the final show of their Progressive Nation tour at the Greek Theater, where he performed in an improvised jam with the other musicians on tour. ''Broken Records'' magazine (Volume 1, Issue 3) quotes Vai as saying, "I enjoy challenging myself to come up with new ideas that I believe are unique."
In 2010, Vai released several "VaiTunes" singles of tracks that were previously recorded and later finished. They are available on www.vai.com, iTunes and Amazon.com. On September 14, 2010, Steve released "Where The Wild Things Are" as double vinyl through his label Favored Nations and made a guest appearance with Rickey Minor and The Tonight Show Band on NBC. In October, 2010 Steve completed his first full symphony and performed the compositions at the Steve Vai Festival which featured Vai and the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra (NNO) on October 20–24, 2010. Immediately after the Holland shows, Steve embarked for the US to headline the "Experience Hendrix Tour" which features Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shephard, Susan Tedeschi, Billy Cox, Vernon Reid, Robert Randolph, Johnny Lang, Brad Whitford and other top-notch guitarists.
On March 3, 2011 the online education division of Boston’s renowned Berklee College of Music and Steve Vai, set the Guinness® World Record for the world’s largest online guitar lesson. This first-of-its-kind initiative, held at streaming media platform Livestream Studios in New York City, brought together thousands of members of the international guitar community in a celebration of online music education.
Berkleemusic and Steve Vai have also co-authored a new twelve-week online course: Steve Vai Guitar Techniques. This online course, presents students with the chance to gain a deep understanding of Vai’s death-defying playing styles, repertoire, techniques, and musical concepts from anywhere in the world, and to incorporate their learnings into their own playing.
In 1998, "Erotic Nightmares" was featured as the menu music in the video game WCW/nWo Revenge for the Nintendo 64.
Steve Vai's guitar-work appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. David Lee Roth's "Yankee Rose" was featured on the game's soundtrack as well as "God Blessed Video" by Alcatrazz as part of the Lazlow-led, 1980s rock/metal radio station "V-Rock."
In 2004, Steve Vai was featured on Xbox's ''Halo 2'' (a game by Bungie Studios) Volume 1 soundtrack, performing a heavy rock-guitar rendition of the ''Halo theme'', known as ''Halo Theme (MJOLNIR Mix)''. He also performed on the track ''Never Surrender''. He later featured in the second volume of the soundtrack, where he performed on the track ''Reclaimer''.
In 2008, Steve Vai's ''For the Love of God'' and ''Halo Theme (MJOLNIR Mix)'' were featured as downloadable tracks for the game ''Guitar Hero 3''. A live version of the song "For the Love of God" was also available at release on the Rock Band Network as well as the song "Get the Hell Out of Here" from his 2002 album "The Elusive Light and Sound, Vol. 1" on March 4, 2010.
A re-recording of "Speeding" is featured in the 2010 video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for Xbox 360, Wii and Playstation 3.
In 1991's ''Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey'', the introductory riff to KISS' "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II", as performed by the Wyld Stallyns in the Battle of the Bands, was performed by Vai. He also composed and performed the soundtrack to ''PCU'' (1994), and made contributions in 2001 to the score for John Carpenter's ''Ghosts of Mars'', performing on the tracks "Ghosts of Mars" and "Ghost Poppin'". His track, "I'm the Hell Outta Here", can be heard during 1992's ''Encino Man'' in the scene where Brendan Fraser is taking a driving lesson. He plays guitar in the animated short film "Live Music".
Vai's playing style has been characterized as quirky and angular, due in large measure to his technical ability with the guitar instrument and deep knowledge of music theory. He regularly uses odd rhythmic groupings and his melodies often employ the Lydian mode. Perhaps his most readily-identifiable stylistic feature is his creative use of the floating vibrato, using it to add melodic lines that sound odd to the ear. His playing can also be described as lyrical, as if sung by a human voice. During the recording of "Eat 'em and Smile," with David Lee Roth, he employed several guitar techniques that "mimicked" the human voice, as heard in the opening bars of the opening track "Yankee Rose." He often uses exotic guitars: he plays both double and triple neck guitars (including a custom-made heart-shaped triple-neck model built by luthier Joe Despagni). Vai is regarded as the first to use the 7-string guitar in a rock context. Along with Ibanez, he designed a signature 7-string guitar, the Ibanez Universe, in 1989. He is also noted for being physically expressive as he plays his guitar.
On Composing/The "Evo Era"
“I wanted to be a composer ever since I was a young boy. To me written music on paper was (and is) beautiful. It looked like art and I wanted to have a complete understanding of how to speak, read and write that language. I knew that through the little black dots I could get the music that was in my head out into the world. Though the guitar fell into my lap and my fingers were glued to the instrument, I studied composition and musical notation long before I even started playing the guitar. Through high school, college and beyond, I kept up my studies and kept composing through the years as I felt my eventual calling was in the compositional world. Although I have listened to and studied most of the great older and contemporary composers, when I compose my music I take a similar approach as to when I am developing my voice on the guitar and that's to find and cultivate ideas that I have not heard before. That's the exciting part!
Once you understand the written language of music and the possibilities and limitations of various instruments, composing music is pure liberation. It's an art form that allows for deep personal expression. For me composing is the ultimate playground for my imagination. And to have the opportunity to hear your music performed is the greatest gift a composer could hope for, provided it's performed correctly.
I feel that my task is to merge my authentic rock sensibilities with my orchestrational skills to create a brand of contemporary music that is unique and fulfilling on an emotional and melodic level for the listener. Although rock musicians have worked with orchestras and contemporary composers have written for rock band instruments, I believe the catalog of music that I am building in this field is not what would be expected from either. I'm very excited about this brand and hope to inspire other composers to walk their own parallel lines within this movement. I call this movement "Evo", short for evolution. As it has been in the past through all of history, the 21st century will see a whole new wave of orchestral musical awareness develop. We are now entering the "Evo Era." -Steve Vai
Vai helped design his signature Ibanez JEM guitar series. They feature a hand grip (fondly referred to as a "monkey grip") cut into the top of the body of the guitar, a humbucker–single coil-humbucker (H/S/H) DiMarzio pickup configuration with several different types of pickup including Evolution, Breed and EVO 2. He also uses the Ibanez Edge and Lo-Pro Edge double-locking tremolo systems (the current production JEMs have the newer Edge Pro), as well as an elaborate and extensive "Tree of Life" inlay down the neck. Vai also equips many of his guitars with an Ibanez Backstop, a tremolo stabilizer that has been discontinued. Lately Vai has also equipped some of his guitars with True Temperament fretboards to make his chords sound more in tune. Vai also has a 7-string model designed by him named Ibanez Universe, featuring DiMarzio Blaze II pickups in an HSH arrangement. The Universe later influenced the 7-string guitars used by Korn and other bands to create nu metal sounds in the late 1990s. He also has a signature Ibanez acoustic, the Euphoria. Before Ibanez, he briefly endorsed Jackson guitars, but this relationship only lasted two years. His two main guitars are white JEMs dubbed "Evo" and "Flo", each with their own unique modifications.
Steve Vai has also worked with Carvin Guitars and Pro Audio to develop the Carvin Legacy line of guitar amplifiers. Vai wanted to create an affordable amp that was unique, and equal in sound and versatility to any guitar amp he had previously used. Over his long musical career, Steve Vai has used and designed an array of guitars. He even had his blood put into the swirl paint job on one of his signature JEM guitars, the JEM2KDNA. Only 300 of these were made. Currently, he mainly uses his white "Evo", a JEM7V, and his "Flo", which is a customized Floral JEM 77FP painted white. They are both inscribed with their names in two places, mainly so he can distinguish between them onstage. "Flo" is equipped with a Fernandes sustainer system.
He also has a guitar named "Mojo" with dot inlays that are blue LED lights. Additionally, he has a custom-made triple-neck guitar that has the same basic features as his JEM7V guitars. The top neck is a 12-string guitar, the middle is a six-string, and the bottom is a six-string fretless guitar with a Fernandes Sustainer pickup. This guitar was featured on the G3 2003 tour on the piece ''I Know You're Here''. Vai's effects pedals include a modified Boss DS-1, Ibanez Tube Screamer, Morley Bad Horsie, Ibanez Jemini Twin Distortion Pedal, TC Electronics G-System, Morley Little Alligator Volume pedal, DigiTech Whammy, and an MXR Phase 90/Phase 100 on the Passion and Warfare album. His flight cases are labeled "Mr. Vai", or lately, "Dr. Vai." He has used a number of rack effects units controlled via MIDI, but used a floor-based TC electronics G system instead for the Zappa Plays Zappa tour.
Vai was a judge for the 3rd and 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.
Vai is also the founder of the Make A Noise Foundation, which he started with his manager Ruta Sepetys. The foundation's goal is to provide funding for music education and programs for those unable to pursue music-related activities due to limited resources. Vai is also a patron of music education around the world giving master classes in such prestigious music schools as the Fermatta Music Academy.
Vai is also a longtime vegetarian. "It has affected my music in a way I believe that what we put in our bodies has a reflection on the way we think," Vai told Veggies Rock. "And the way we think has a reflection on what we create. So I can’t tell you consciously how being a vegetarian affected my music but I’m sure it has." Many fans have been surprised to learn about his vegetarianism because he does not openly preach about it. "I think everyone has to find what’s right for them. I don’t judge anybody for what they eat. That’s their world and everybody has to find what resonates with them."
"Sex & Religion" Tour:
''This band toured Russia twice, South America and the US (opening for Bon Jovi).''
!Year | !Type | !Album | !Info |
1984 | LP | ''Flex-Able'' | |
1984 | EP | ''Flex-Able Leftovers'' | Leftovers from the Flex-Able session |
1990 | CD | ''Passion and Warfare'' | Gold (USA), #18 on the Billboard 200 on June 30, 1990 |
1993 | CD | ||
1995 | EP | ''Alien Love Secrets'' | |
1996 | CD | ''Fire Garden'' | |
1998 | CD | re-release of the limited edition 10” vinyl "Flex-Able Leftovers" With bonus tracks | |
1999 | CD | ''The Ultra Zone'' | |
2005 | CD | ''Real Illusions: Reflections'' |
!Year | !Album | !Info |
1997 | ''G3: Live in Concert'' | Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson |
2001 | ''Alive in an Ultra World'' | |
2004 | ''G3: Rockin' in the Free World'' | Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen |
2004 | The audio contained on this disc is the same audio contained on the DVD : Live at the Astoria, London | |
2005 | ''G3: Live in Tokyo'' | Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci |
2007 | ''Sound Theories Vol. I & II'' | Orchestral Album from 5 European performances, a studio session and a soundcheck rehearsal recording (between 2004 and 2005) |
2009 | Orchestral DVD & CD recorded and filmed at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, MN as part of Vai’s “Sound Theories” world tour | |
2010 | 12 Tracks Bonus CD from "Where the wild thing are" DVD not included in the 2009 CD released |
!Year | !Album | !Info |
1998 | "Bad Squad" | ''promo 2-tracks CD from Morley to promote the Bad Horsie wah pedal.'' |
2005 | ''"Naked Tracks"'' | This five cd package contains a large selection of tracks from the Vai catalog that have been mixed without the main lead and melody guitar tracks |
!Year | !Album | !Info |
2000 | Compilation of the 7th song of Steve's Albums, and 3 tracks previously unreleased. | |
2001 | ''The Secret Jewel Box'' | ''10 CD Collector Box'' |
2001 | Not Sold Separately / Vol.3 of The Secret Jewel Box | |
2002 | ''The Elusive Light and Sound, volume 1'' | Re-released of the Vol.1 of The Secret Jewel Box''This disc collects Vai’s many contributions to film music'' |
2003 | Compilation of Steve's bonus tracks featured on Japanese releases of his CDs, along with promotional tracks, songs featured on other albums and unreleased/demo tracks / Vol.4 of The Secret Jewel Box | |
2003 | Collection of songs Steve has contributed to other projects and records. / Vol.5 of The Secret Jewel Box | |
2003 | ''The Infinite Steve Vai: An Anthology'' | A career-spanning collection of 32 digitally remastered tracks over 2CDs (including work with other artists such as Alcatrazz and Whitesnake). |
2004 | ''"Vai: Piano Reductions, Vol. 1"'' (by Mike Keneally) | This is an album of 11 solo acoustic piano interpretations of Vai songs by Mike Keneally / Vol.6 of The Secret Jewel Box |
2008 | ''Steve Vai Original Album Classics'' | |
2010 | Playlist: The Very Best of Steve Vai | |
2011 | The Essential Steve Vai |
!Year | !Artist | !Album | !RIAA |
1985 | Alcatrazz | ''Disturbing the Peace'' | |
1985 | Public Image Ltd. | ||
1986 | |||
1986 | David Lee Roth | ''Eat 'Em and Smile'' | Platinum |
1988 | David Lee Roth | Platinum | |
1989 | Whitesnake | ''Slip of the Tongue'' | 3x Platinum |
1994 | Whitesnake | ''Whitesnake's Greatest Hits'' | Platinum |
1997 | David Lee Roth | ||
1999 | |||
2000 | Whitesnake | ''The Back to Black Collection'' | |
2010 | Alcatrazz | ''Disturbing the Peace Tour Live in Japan 1984.10.10 Audio Tracks'' |
!Year | !Album | !Credit |
1981 | ''Tinseltown Rebellion'' | Rhythm guitar, vocals |
1981 | ''Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar'' | Rhythm guitar |
1981 | ''You Are What You Is'' | Guitar |
1982 | ''Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch'' | "Impossible Guitar parts" |
1983 | ''The Man from Utopia'' | Guitar parts |
1984 | ''Them or Us'' | Guitar |
1984 | ''Thing-Fish'' | Guitar, vocals |
1985 | ''Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention'' | Guitar |
1987 | ''Jazz from Hell'' | Guitar |
1988 | Stunt guitar | |
1988 | ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Sampler'' | Stunt guitar |
1988 | ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1'' | Stunt guitar |
1989 | ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3'' | Stunt guitar |
1991 | ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4'' | Stunt guitar, vocals |
1991 | Stunt guitar | |
1992 | ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5'' | Stunt guitar |
1992 | ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6'' | Stunt guitar |
1995 | ''Strictly Commercial'' | Guitar |
1997 | ''Have I Offended Someone?'' | Guitar |
1998 | Guitar | |
1999 | ''Son of Cheep Thrills'' | Guitar, vocals |
2001 | ''FZ Original Recordings; Steve Vai Archives, Vol. 2''(Only available as Vol.3 in The Secret Jewel Box) | "strat abuse" and "impossible guitar parts." |
2008 | Guitar |
!Year | !Artist | !Album | !Info | !RIAA |
1983 | Lisa Popeil | ''Lisa Popeil'' | Steve performs on "What You're After", "You Can't Take It Away", "For A Time", "Don't Turn Me Off And On", "I Don't Get It", "The Viper", "Love In My Life", "Perfect Woman" | |
1985 | Heresy | ''At The Door'' | Steve performs on "London : 1941" and "Wasted Moments" | |
1986 | ''The Great Nostalgia'' | Steve performs on the track "Autumn in Nepal" & "There's Still Hope" | ||
1986 | Randy Coven | ''Funk Me Tender'' | Steve performs on the track "Funk Me Tender" | |
1987 | Danny Mendez | ''Death to All Mankind'' | No Information | |
1986 | Western Vacation | ''Western Vacation'' | Steve performs on the track "Western Vacation" (under the name "Reckless Fable") | |
1990 | ''The Best of Dreams'' | Steve performs on "Supergirl" / This is a greatest hits CD | ||
1991 | Alice Cooper | ''Hey Stoopid'' | Steve performs with Joe Satriani on "Feed My Frankenstein" | |
1995 | Ozzy Osbourne | ''Ozzmosis'' | Steve did not play guitar on this album. He Co-Wrote the song ''"My Little Man"'' | 2x Platinum |
1996 | ''Cryin''' | Steve performs on "Let It Go" | ||
1997 | Munetaka Higuchi with Dream Castle | ''Free World'' | Steve plays guitar and bass on the track "Speed" | |
1998 | Gregg Bissonette | ''Gregg Bissonette'' | Steve performs on "Common Road" | |
1998 | Al Di Meola | ''The Infinite Desire'' | Steve performs on "Race with the Devil on Turkish Highway" | |
2000 | Gregg Bissonette | Steve performs on the track "Noah's Ark" | ||
2000 | Thana Harris | ''Thanatopsis'' | Steve performs on the track "Fingers" | |
2000 | Andrew Dice Clay | ''Face Down, Ass Up'' | No information | |
2001 | Robin DiMaggio | Steve performs on the track "Mallorca" with L. Shankar | ||
2001 | Billy Sheehan | Steve Vai appears on the track "Chameleon" | ||
2002 | Tak Matsumoto | ''Hana'' | No information | |
2003 | Surinder Sandhu | ''Saurang Orchestra'' | Steve Vai performs on the tracks "Amirah", The Little Hindu", "Movement One: Twice Born", "Movement Two: Sunday Morning in Calcutta", "Movement Three: Tradition of the New" | |
2002 | Girls Together Outrageously (G.T.O) | "I'll Be Around" (SINGLE) | GTO (Girls Together Outrageously) is a Dutch trio who released a cover version of Steve's song "I'll Be Around". The CD single features a Radio Version (3:28) and an Extended Version (4:40). Steve performs the guitar solo on the Radio Version. | |
2003 | Eric Sardinas | ''Black Pearls'' | Steve Vai performs on the track "Green Tea" | |
2003 | Steve Lukather & Friends | ''Santamental'' | Steve Vai is featured on the track "Carol of the Bells" | |
2003 | Hughes Turner Project | ''HTP 2'' | Steve Vai appears on the track "Losing My Head" | |
2003 | ''One in a Million'' | Steve Vai performs on the track "Out Of My Mind" | ||
2003 | Yardbirds | Steve Vai performs on the track "Shapes of Things" | ||
2004 | Motörhead | Steve appears on the tracks "Terminal Show" and "Down On Me" | ||
2004 | Bob Carpenter | ''The Sun, The Moon, The Stars'' | This CD features a piano interpretation of “Whispering a Prayer”. It also features Steve Vai on acoustic guitar and Pia Vai on harp. | |
2005 | ''Songs for Sanity'' | Steve appears on the song "Perineum" | ||
2006 | The Devin Townsend Band | ''Synchestra'' | Steve performs an extended guitar solo on the third track "Triumph" | |
2006 | Steve performs on the song "Viper" | |||
2006 | Meat Loaf | ''Bat out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose'' | Steve performs on the song "In the Land of the Pig, the Butcher is King" | Gold |
2007 | Dream Theater | ''Systematic Chaos'' | Guest spoken words on "Repentance" | |
2007 | Eros Ramazzotti | Steve performs on, produced and re-recorded the track "Dove C'e' Musica" on this album | ||
2008 | Jason Becker | |||
2009 | Steve performs on the song "Short And Sweet" | |||
2009 | Mike Stern | ''Big Neighborhood'' | Steve performs guitar on "Big Neighborhood" and sitar on "Moroccan Roll" | |
2009 | Orianthi | Steve appears on and co-wrote the song "Highly Strung" | ||
2010 | Meat Loaf | ''Hang Cool Teddy Bear'' | Steve performs on "Love Is Not Real/Next Time You Stab Me in the Back" & "Song of Madness" |
!Year | !Soundtrack | !Type | !Info |
1986 | Motion Picture Soundtrack | All part played by Steve on "The Elusive Light and Sound, Vol. 1" | |
1987 | Motion Picture Soundtrack | Steve performs "Amazing Grace" / This OST is out of printAlso on "The Elusive Light and Sound, Vol. 1" | |
1987 | Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||
1991 | Motion Picture Soundtrack | Steve performs the tracks "The Reaper" and "The Reaper Rap" and a few tracks which are not in the OSTAlso on "The Elusive Light and Sound, Vol. 1" | |
1992 | Motion Picture Soundtrack | Steve performs with Joe Satriani on Alice Cooper's "Feed My Frankenstein" | |
1992 | ''Encino Man'' | Motion Picture Soundtrack | Steve performs the track "Get The Hell Out Of Here" |
1994 | Motion Picture Soundtrack | Steve scored this film, and contributed the track "Now We Run" to this soundtrack | |
1997 | ''Formula 1'' | Video Game Soundtrack | |
2001 | ''Ghosts of Mars'' | Motion Picture Soundtrack | Steve Vai performs on "Ghosts of Mars" and "Ghost Poppin'" |
2004 | Video Game Soundtrack | Steve Vai performs on "Halo Theme Mjolnir Mix" and "Never Surrender" | |
2006 | Video Game Soundtrack | Steve Vai performs on "Reclaimer" | |
2008 | Video Game Soundtrack | Steve Vai song "For The Love Of God" |
!Year | !Artists | !Compilation | !Info |
1989 | Various | ''Guitar's Practicing Musicians'' | Steve plays guitar on the track "Western Vacation" as Reckless Fable |
1993 | Various | ''Zappa's Universe'' (Tribute to Frank Zappa) | Steve plays guitar on "Sofa" & "Dirty Love" |
1995 | Various | ''In From The Storm''(The music of Jimi Hendrix) | Steve appears on "Drifting" and "Bold as Love" |
1996 | Various | ''Songs of West Side Story'' | Steve appears on "The Rumble" (Steve Vai's Monsters vs. Chick Corea's Elektric Band) |
1997 | Various | ''Merry Axemas: A Guitar Christmas'' | Steve performs on the gorgeous "Christmas Time is Here" (with Joe Satriani, Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson and more...) |
1997 | Various | Steve performs on "Der Holle Rache (Queen of the Night)". This album also features Steve Stevens and Eric Johnson | |
1999 | Various | ''Radio Disney Kid Jams'' | Steve performs the track "Wipe Out" |
2001 | Various | Steve performs the tracks "Cliffs of Insanity" and "Misfits" | |
2002 | Various | ''Guitars For Freedom'' | Steve contributed the track "Amazing Grace" to this benefit CD |
2002 | Various | ''Warmth In The Wilderness Vol. II – A Tribute to Jason Becker'' | Steve Vai performs the track "Feathers" |
2004 | Various | ''The Sounds Of Nascar'' | Steve is featured on the previously unreleased track "Rush" (Only on "iTunes Music Store") |
2006 | Various | ''Monsters of Rock'' (EMI, 3CD compilation) | Steve performs with Whitesnake the song "Fool for Your Loving" |
!Year | !Type | !Album | !Artist | !Info |
1995 | VHS / DVD | Steve Vai | Features full performances of all seven songs from the album Alien Love Secrets. | |
1997 | VHS / DVD | ''"G3: Live in Concert"'' | Joe Satriani / Steve Vai / Eric Johnson | Steve plays on six tracks (three solo and three with Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson.) |
2003 | DVD | Live at the Astoria, London | Steve Vai | Steve's first live solo DVD. Filmed at the Astoria, London UK on December 6 & 7, 2001. |
2004 | DVD | ''"G3: Live in Denver"'' | Joe Satriani / Steve Vai / Yngwie Malmsteen | Steve performs on 3 tracks & 3 jam Tracks |
2005 | DVD | ''"G3: Live in Tokyo"'' | Joe Satriani / Steve Vai / John Petrucci | Steve performs on 6 tracks |
2007 | DVD | ''"Visual Sound Theories"'' | Steve Vai | This DVD features the live performances from the Aching Hunger concerts with the Holland Metropole Orchestra in July 2005. |
!Year | !Type | !Album | !Artist | !Info |
1982 | VHS / DVD | ''"The Dub Room Special"'' | Frank Zappa | Steve appears 58 minutes into this video performing "Stevie's Spanking" (from The Palladium, NYC show on October 31, 1981) |
1985 | VHS | ''"Power Live"'' | Alcatrazz | Live concert recorded at Shinjuku Kousei Nenkin Hall (Japan) on 10/10/84. |
1986 | VHS | ''"David Lee Roth"'' | David Lee Roth | Steve performs on "Yankee Rose" and "Goin' Crazy!". There is also an alternate video take for Steve's guitar solo during the "Goin' Crazy!" video. |
1987 | VHS | ''"Video from Hell"'' | Frank Zappa | Steve appears 11:15 minutes into this video performing "Stevie's Spanking." (Rome, Italy - July 10, 1982) |
1989 | VHS | ''"The True Story of 200 Motels"'' | Frank Zappa | Steve appears 41:33 minutes into this video - in a brief interview shot on July 14, 1982 in Palermo, Sicily. |
1990 | VHS | ''"Metal Head Vol.2"'' | BMG Video Magazine | This hard to find "video magazine" features an interview with Steve. |
1993 | VHS / DVD | ''"Zappa's Universe: A Celebration of 25 Years of Frank Zappa's Music"'' | Various Artists | Steve performs on "Dirty Love" (with Dweezil), and "Sofa", a performance that won a Grammy. |
1997 | VHS / DVD | ''"7th Heaven video by Ibanez"'' | Ibanez Various Artists | Ibanez promotional-only video includes commentary and music from Steve Vai, Head & Munky from Korn, John Petrucci, Dino Cazares, Andy Timmons, Wes Borland, Jerry Sims. |
2003 | DVD | ''"Rockthology"'' | Various Artists | This video compilation features the "I Would Love To" promo video. |
2003 | DVD | ''"The Satch Tapes"''(Originally released on VHS in 1993) | Joe Satriani | This DVD re-release features a brief interview with Steve circa 1992. |
2004 | DVD | ''"Crossroads Guitar Festival"'' | Various Artists | Steve and the band performing “Get The Hell Outta Here. |
!Year | !Type | !Album | !Artist | !Info |
1986 | VHS / DVD | Columbia Tristar (Movie) | Steve appears in this movie as "Jack Butler", a devil guitarist | |
2005 | DVD | "Bill & Ted's Most Excellent Collection" | MGM Video | Bonus Feature : “Score! An Interview With Guitarist Steve Vai.” |
2008 | DVD | FN Crazy Film LLC | Steve appears in this movie as "Hank Williams" | |
2008 | DVD | Steve appears in this movie as himself | ||
2009 | TV | ''"Metalocalypse"'' | Animated TV Series | Steve appears as guest Voice on ep.39 "Renovationklok" & ep.40 "Tributeklok" |
1995 Best Rock Guitarist (Tie with Jimmy Page)
1995 Best Overall Guitarist - 3rd Place
1995 Best Experimental Guitarist (tie with Buckethead)
1995 Best Metal Recording - 3rd Place
1995 Best Overall Guitar Recording - 2nd Place
1995 Best Metal Guitarist - 3rd Place
1990 Best Rock Guitarist
1990 Best Overall Guitarist
1990 Best Guitar Album
1990 Best Metal Guitarist
1989 Best Rock Guitarist
1988 Best Rock Guitarist
1987 Best Rock Guitarist
1987 Best Overall Guitarist
1986 Best Rock Guitarist
1990 Best Album
1990 Best Rock Guitarist
1990 Best Guitar Solo (For the Love of God)
1989 Best Rock Guitarist
1990 Best Musician
1990 Sexiest Male
1990 Reader's Choice – Guitar Album of the Year
1990 Best Instrumental Guitarist of the Year
1988 Rock Guitarist of the Year
1987 Hall of Fame
1986 Guitar in the 90's Award
1990 Guitarist of the Year
1989 Best Rock Guitarist
1997 Best Rock Guitarist
1997 Best Guitarist
1990 Best Selling Promo Video (No. 5, I Would Love To)
1990 Best Selling Promo Video (No. 7, The Audience is Listening)
1990 Best Sex Object (No. 6)
1990 Best RAW Cover (No. 3)
1990 Best Guitarist
1990 Best Musician
Category:1960 births Category:American heavy metal guitarists Category:American rock guitarists Category:American vegetarians Category:Beekeepers Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:G3 Category:Grammy Award winners Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:Lead guitarists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Nassau County, New York Category:Seven-string guitarists Category:The Ozzy Osbourne Band members Category:Whitesnake members
bg:Стийв Вай ca:Steve Vai cs:Steve Vai da:Steve Vai de:Steve Vai es:Steve Vai fa:استیو وای fr:Steve Vai hr:Steve Vai id:Steve Vai is:Steve Vai it:Steve Vai he:סטיב ואי ka:სტივ ვაი lb:Steve Vai lt:Steve Vai hu:Steve Vai mk:Стиви Веи nl:Steve Vai ja:スティーヴ・ヴァイ no:Steve Vai pl:Steve Vai pt:Steve Vai ro:Steve Vai ru:Вай, Стив sq:Steve Vai sk:Steve Vai sr:Stiv Vaj sh:Steve Vai fi:Steve Vai sv:Steve Vai tr:Steve Vai uk:Стів Вей zh:史提芬·范This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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