Steve Vai Lesson: The Crossroads Diminished Lick 

I'm gonna break it down for ya music nerds. Neo classical metal is played with E phrygian dominant and A harmonic minor. These two scales have the exact same notes except E phrygian dominant starts at E F G# A B C D and A harmonic minor starts at A B C D E F G# they are the same relative scales. What gives it the diminished sound is when you link the two scales together (using arpeggios) with the diminished 3rd triad of the E phrygian scale which is G# B D. Basically what guitarists like Yngwie do is play the E phrygian dominant, then link it with the G# diminished, then play the A harmonic minor. Since they are relative scales it will resonate over the same choruses. The reason Yngwie sounds so distinct is not only his choice of these scales, but that he does not play with blues progressions. He breaks out of the "boxed in" blues progression and playes the scales more-so on fewer strings rather than rifling the three notes per string blues style. He does this by sliding up or down a position once he gets halfway through the scale. Basically what happens is he plays the blues style descending on the E, B, and G strings, but then will slide down on the root note on the G string an entire posiiton, then continuing down the blues progression. In a sense it is still a blues progression, but with the slide halfway through and moving an entire hand position.

Ry Cooder hired Steve after hearing him with Frank Zappa. Ry said he was the only guy who could play exactly what Ry wrote down. He looked the part too.

Troy Grady Randy Rhoads was even earlier!!

Nah...dude, the reason steve vai can do that is bcoz he sold his soul to the devil ;)

Troy Grady l9

😂😂😂

I bought cracking the code. He spends the first chapter of several lessons discussing different picks. He then does the same on pick grip. The detail is insane lol

Omg left me laughing 😂😂😂😂

"For the love of god"

this is why pro's don't tell you all the secrets. it's super complex. it what separates the intermediate from the pro's. most people watching this will never execute it properly, 🤣like me.

Many thanks! We try.

JoeyRodz74 so true!!!

coolest day ever

tim starkey Yea really huh

Omgosh i hope this guy continued into big time coz he rocks. Very interested!

I fucking loved it and I'm not even a guitar player (drummers kinda like these stuff too :D )

And this isn't bullshit lol

+Christopher Parks Indeed, he has more chops than he probably even gets credit for -- and considering how popular he is, that's saying something!

+Troy Grady Incidentally, would love to support what you do. You should email me. chris@quilterlabs.com well... or check out the website. www.quilterlabs.com

+Troy Grady "Defeat the forces of evil"? After seeing Vai in this movie, I wanted to be Vai evil! LOL

+Jeffrey P we bow to the great commander vai and await his orders :D

+grand master flash I thought Ry Cooder played the classical guitar part, not Steve Vai...

...the only thing Ralph Maccio taught Steve Vai was the crane.... lol

and to do it while teaching Bruce Lee karate makes him doubly fantastic

This is why I always was impressed by Ralph's acting chops. When I first saw the movie the theater, I swore I couldn't tell if he was playing or not. I knew he couldn't be that great but man his precision of each note is perfect air guitar. Much better than the reining air guitar champion (I'm not kidding, there is such an event).

Gave him a career tbh 🤷

Very funny.....🤨😐😒🙄

This was 2015. I’m almost certain you commented on one of the early Cracking the Code episodes long before this, the animated / dramatic ones from the previous year. We’re getting old!

Troy Grady building his legendary reputation for attention to detail. Not only tracking every minute pick movement of top guitarists. But their RU-vid comments too!

Totally!

Ill take your words for it, havent even watched it yet! This is definitely the only time I have seen Steve Vai lose and Suck in one sitting!

i was 15 when it came out.. loved that movie

@@redwurm6208 exactly the point, he was acting

I am learning to craft some of this into my own playing. This is totally different from my old school Merle Travis attempts but also totally cool. I learned it well enough to smoke this hot shot young dude at a jam in Asheville N.C. back in 2010. But you must do what is needed to play that quickly and cleanly as I did.Practice,practice,practice. Great video by the way,well done and have fun !

Kyle S. Thanks! We aim to please.

scottglasson1 I like the fact you say 25 years , most people don't understand the time and effort put into becoming a decent guitar player, sure some find it comes naturally but it's normally alot of hard work and dedication.

Thanks!

+Hank Hill You are slways watching videos before me. You are a busy man Hank R Hill.

You gotta fat neck boi!

+Vic Reason That was exactly the case with me -- I couldn't figure out why some things were easy and others weren't, and pickslanting sorted it all out.

Im with you. As a GIT grad and a 30 year player, i never really evolved much past 16th notes at 170bpm, consistently and cleanly. I have been really taking a hard look at my technique lately, and had a strong suspicion that the angle i was attacking the strings was a key factor - one which i needed to pay closer attention to - but you identified and defined it so well, and gave me such a great point of view, that it all makes perfect sense now.....In short, for the first time in a while, i am inspired :) I cant believe what a student you are, and how in depth your studies plunge. You REALLY look long and hard at everything...Respect!!!

+Vic Reason I'm glad to hear they didn't teach this stuff at GIT. :D If it turned out Troy was merely rediscovering something that had previously been "insider knowledge" at an established music education program, I'd have been supremely pissed that nobody had shared it sooner.

severalpaperclips Maybe they held back on me since my tuition was only $6,000 :)

why would you want to dub anime?

"and then I'll take a guitar pick.... and SLANT IT"

swamdono omg stop

Eldrin Paul Gok-ong is anime those chinese cartoons.

Krillin

We greatly appreciate the Ash Ketchum reference!

I was seriously shocked when I realized the voice belonged to you. You could be a voice actor/narrator(silly to say narrator since that is what you are doing, but it's definitely a great voice for other professional content) with such a unique voice!

lol Thank you for the tips!

I'm waiting for Troy to do the voiceovers for a new Unsolved Mysteries series. He could to it!

I came down here to specifically mention the same thing!

severalpaperclips That was the idea! The Vai videos always do well with a wider audience, so we did a little "explain it like I'm five" for the new recruits.

Cooder played the guitar parts throughout the film except for the duel.

Barely Enormous: thank you for brining this up. When ya thinks about it. Caprice #5 is a great choice to beat the Devils best guitar player because of the irony. He used the "devils music" and that beat the devils best shredder. Lol.

Barely Enormous: nice comparison: both were egotistical showoffs who never played one note when they could play twenty.

Blackmore did no such thing-he merely played some classical influenced licks. If anything, Neoclassical as a subgenre started with Uli Jon Roth. Although, one could argue that none of them did anything special, since they merely covered Bach and Paganini on electric guitar.

+Novron classically influenced licks is neoclassical yngvei does the same thing

+Novron and at least blackmore and Roth are not one trick ponies. All of malmsteens solos sound the same

Dhruv Kotecha Incorrect.

no.correct.

+chris W LOL same.

I'm actually starting to get this now

I also thought Rye Cooder played Ralphs guitar parts.

@@lukegabriel7285 I believe Ry Cooder played the slide parts, but Steve Vai played the neo classical parts both for Eugene and Jack.

Something like Talent dont exist. Its all about practicing hours for every Day.

All of us have to practice to become great. However, some people are more gifted than others. Someone who is completely tone deaf, for exemple, or who really have no flexibility/skill on his/her finger will probably never come to this level, even with hours of practice every single day... And not everyone is patient enough for that. Patience can also be considered as a gift.

i agree with in some part , don't forget those Icons or some teachers got their job from a guitar! we have second job, they don't have second job , their jobs is play guitar! furthermore some plp haven't either a bit of theory and want to play fast with accuracy that impossible of course! I m going to give you an example how can you run if you don't even know how to walk? also that guy on video Steve Vai his teacher was Joe Satriane! well make a lot of difference! learn from a book with no help or even with some video on youtube it still could be a challenger, play 1 or 2 music in a guitar it is very easy everyone can do, play the guitar it is another level ! but you are right in some point none of the level is equal

Nirond Thats true. Im fuckin 10 Hours every Day on the Work. And when i came Home i have to Deal with other Things. Imagine 10 fuckin Hours. EVERY DAY!! You would become Kirk Hammett after 3-5 Years by playin 7-9 Hours a Day.

i disagree....some of us have put in our ten thousand hours and the magic just never happened.....there are people who are gifted.....to deny that is sillery.

We haven't really looked at Randy's mechanics yet, but experienced Code viewers can probably already guess he's a downward pickslanter. But we've most certainly covered his contribution to neoclassical guitar, in the "Rise of the Viking" feature here on the channel!

Thanks for the info, I'll be sure to check it out! Also, when you mention downward pickslanter, does that apply to perpetual alternate picking? I'm guessing yes because, unlike Randy's technical performances on his studio album's, his live performances and some of the rare footage of his sound checks show that he has a pretty good handle of rapid alternate picking. Obviously not at the same level as Malmsteen but definitely at a higher level than Van Halen. I digress. Love your shows!

Please disregard my pickslanting question. I completely understand it after watching a bunch more episodes, especially the MAB one. I had the Troy Stetina book that you show in one of your episodes back in the late 80's and I don't recall pickslanting ever being mentioned. But it all makes logical sense and thank you for sharing that info.

Just wanted to confirm that pick slanting is indeed mentioned in Troy Stetina's book, but it appears he offers a different approach, he suggests you to hold the pick perpendicular to the strings in order to avoid "putting one motion of crossing the strings at an advantage and the opposite motion at a disadvantage". He advises small movements to make string hopping possible when crossing strings. I guess that's valid, what do you think?

*Randy Rhoads... how do you misspell the guy's name tho?

Saulo Silva Hi Saulo! It was definitely Steve -- see the video notes for more details.

Saulo Silva Ry recorded the slide parts. I've never heard it discussed definitively if Steve played the classical or not (someone else did the classical fingerpicking parts).

***** I read many magazines at that time saying otherwise, so I wouldn't take these notes for granted. If one listens to a musician for 20 years or more, they can tell him/her apart from others. A musician will always sound like him/herself, and that doesn't remotely sounds like Steve.

S Des Indeed, I also never heard a definitive discussion. As for credits, they don't tell the truth, 2 quick examples: Kiss, Creatures of the Night, Frehley is on the cover and on credits, it was Vinnie Vincent who recorded that. Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms, it is Terry Williams on the credits, but all drums were recorded by Omar Hakim. But if you spent quite a bit of your life listening to a musician, you can trust your ears and know at least when it is not him. That may not be Ry, but it is definitely not Steve.

Saulo Silva Just the slide blues parts...not the neoclassical stuff.

+Travis Kale Thank you!!

Correct, he did... but the classical parts were done by Vai, which is the reason for this lesson/breakdown.

+Travis Kale Yes for the Blues parts, but not for the classical parts =) Steve did ;)

Slash plays Ry Cooder's parts though.

+jonas brave What a ridiculous, waste of time comment to make.

Hendrix, Beck, McLaughlin, DiMeola, Holdsworth, Van Halen among others disagree with you.

kevinkmny I'm referring to the '80s moron. Not the '60s & '70s. & BTW, I know them all. lmao *facepalm

***** Look at your original comment. You said ''the '80s. Where all the guitar gods emerge''. Read that. If all the guitar gods emerged from the 80's, then you're saying that there were none before that because they were all in the 80's. So therefore Kevin was correct in his comment. You are actually the one worthy of facepalming considering you can't even understand what was wrong with your own comment.

M. Goetz Another moron. Try working on your reading comprehension. lmao

Various Things Yeah. '80s guitar legends until it emerges & evolve into '90s into d present . Like Mustaine, late Dimebag, Kerry King, Micheal Amott, & Alexi Laiho. I'm talking about d '80s. :))

Thanks Rick!

I was just thinking that

Ry Cooder play the blues licks in the movie and I believe in the dual as well

I believe Ry Cooder did the slide work and Arlen Roth did the rest. I may be mistaken but that's the legend.

Or maybe it was just Arlen who taught Daniel san to fake it.

Steve Vai did all the classical style guitar work - the parts he's seen playing, of course. And, the classical-style parts Macchio is seen playing. Ry Cooder did all the blues style guitar work. So, when you see Macchio playing bluesy-style stuff, that's Cooder you're listening to. Whenever you see him play classical-style stuff, that's Vai you're listening to. And, of course, when you see Vai playing, that's actually Vai playing. Arlen Roth was Ralph Macchio's guitar coach -- the guy who taught Macchio to play guitar well enough so that he could convincingly fake the fingerings.

+Joe Blankenship Yes they do, they don't even know how they're doing it half the time either they just do what they're comfortable with. I don't know why this guy is over complicating things.

Do self-taught guitarists watch youtube tutorials? Are self-taught guitarists who learn things from youtube tutorials still "self-taught"? Should guitarists who want to be called "self-taught guitarists" stay off the internet? Shouldn't self-taught guitarists arrive at EVERYTHING on their own? All these questions, and more(!), will be answered in next week's tutorial.

Joe Blankenship Not everyone can deconstruct all the elite players right hand techniques, watching Troy helps you get there quicker if that's your goal ;~)

+moresnare -- Illogical. Vulcans do not expend the energy required to vibrate tympanic membranes.

+moresnare ... drool on yourself?

ken frazee - no that’s the Bass Player. Drummers generally drool on others

We're not referring to the harmonic interval of 'fourths', we're referring to the mechanical four-note sequence picked against a two note per string fingering, which shred folk routinely refer to as 'fours'. This is a common challenge in alternate picking and the pickslanting solution to it is the main subject of this lesson.

+Troy Grady What an Excellent job you have done. Lots of Jedi's shredder's willbe Thanking you someday.😎 😲🎸🎼🎶🎵✔

Troy Grady Like , in my circle of musicians over in the UK at the end of the 70s having what we called "the challenge of the EVH 6s" Then we discovered the Paul Gilbert instructional video, then the other videos that followed! Your work is excellent, the little pamphlets with notation and TAB were always so frustrating and never correct [with the exception of Gambale's video ..who I was lucky enough to meet in a masterclass in late 80s] ..... but then i saw a video of Shawn Lane playing at NAMM 1996 !!?!! Cheers ;~)

You people take all the fun out of guitar, just like that asshole Vai; I teach guitar, but I don't teach this bullshit play as fucking fast as you can, playing scales and fucking patterns. Boring shit.

mel obrien i don't believe you, you can't possibly be a music teacher. If you want to play things by the classical masters such as Chopin, Pagannini, Bach,... etcetera you need technique, speed and hardwork. Personally I appreciate most music from punk to Reich, and keep an open mind

Mehdi Saad ironic considering your profile picture is Rust in Peace. Which features amazing lead work that involves very musical lead work. Not sure why there is this "pentatonic only" and "I'll never use pentatonic" guitar crowd. So bizarre. Why not learn and develop your mind to have many voicings and musical options?

***** i just like the pentatonic scale best.

i think alot of it has to do with pentas are easy you can stay safe inside the box lol see what i did there i think you should always broaden you horizens

bob of zimbabwe ok

facebook.com/ImmortalSubstance

Try again pal. Ritchie Blackmore was doing it well before Randy Rhodes.

Uli Jon Roth was doing it for years before Randy. Try again.

Was about to mention Ritchie and Uli too.