In the new video below, guitar legend Steve Vai discusses another legend, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore's Night):

Vai recently released Episode 2 of his Vaideology series, "Notes On The Neck", via his official Patreon page. Check it out here.

Vaideology: Experience must-know music knowledge and wisdom through the highly focused lens of legendary guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. This full-color instructional book written by Vai himself - released in 2019 - features in-depth discussions of the music theory fundamentals that every aspiring (and veteran) guitar player should know, packed with practical exercises, diagrams, tips, inspiring ideas and concepts, practice methods, and ways of looking at music that you may have never considered. Topics covered include:

• academic vs. experiential learning
• reading and writing music
• key signatures
• chord scales
• rhythm basics
• guitar harmonics
• modes
• and much more

The book is available at local music stores or vai.com. E-book versions are also available at all major e-book outlets.

Vai states, “One of the questions that I’m usually asked by aspiring guitar players is, how much music theory do I really need to know, and is it necessary? My answer is usually, “You don’t need to understand music theory at all to be an effective player, but it will always help to at least understand the basics”. So, I wrote a book that I believe contains the basics of music theory that can aid the student to be musically literate, and perhaps much more.”

In the pages of Vaideology, he shares, “Since as far back as I can remember remembering, I always had a deep fascination with the written language of music.  On paper, it looked like beautiful art to me.  It felt like a warm, safe place (a bizarre analogy, I know). It was this mysterious language that I instinctively knew could unlock my musical expressions. To be able to write a composition for a large group of people by starting with a blank piece of score paper, with its infinite possibilities for inventiveness, was absolutely spellbinding to me.  I always had an intense desire to understand it fully and master it completely. Although I’m still a work in progress—because the evolution of music theory is infinite—I so much enjoy being able to use what I do know, and I still continue to study it.”