I dedicated all the time I had to it. The 10 hour workout was just what I put in the magazine at the time, but for me it was every waking moment.
Steve VaiRead
I think every artist subconsciously wants to evolve themselves. Sometimes they get stuck in ruts because of pop culture, peer pressure, stuff like that. But what excites me most is exploring my own musical insights and expanding upon them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Artists strive for personal growth, but external influences can hinder their evolution.
Steve Vai emphasizes the inherent desire of artists to develop and innovate their craft. However, he acknowledges that external factors like pop culture and peer pressure can create obstacles, leading to periods where artists may feel stagnant. The excitement and drive to explore one's unique artistic insights are crucial for true evolution in their work.
Themes
ArtistEvolutionCreativityMusical InsightsPop Culture
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at an art workshop reflecting on the challenges artists face in staying authentic.
More from Steve Vai
All quotes →If you want to play something that you hear, you need to listen with your mind's eye. You've heard of the mind's eye, right? Your mind has an ear too. It's a kind of listening, but it's not using your ears to listen. It's listening with your inner ear, and that's what you want to translate onto the guitar.
Steve VaiRead
The tone is in your fingers, not in your amp or effects.
Steve VaiRead
I could never overstate the importance of a musician's need to develop his or her ear. Actually, I believe that developing a good 'inner ear' - the art of being able to decipher musical components solely through listening - is the most important element in becoming a good musician.
Steve VaiRead
If you want to play something that you can't, you need to see and hear yourself doing it in your minds eye. It will start to happen
Steve VaiRead
A good solo is like a book. It will start out in a phrase, it will go on in paragraphs, and then it will have a great ending.
Steve VaiRead
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