The Psychology of Guitar - Satriani

Back in '98 or '99 my friend Tim got me to watch a VHS video of "G3 Live" which featured guitar greats Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, and Steve Vai. Since I had only been playing guitar for a few years at that point, the stuff these guys were doing was insane and I had never heard/seen anything like it. From that point on, I was hooked on "shred". Now, 10 odd years later, my tastes have somewhat changed, though I still love to listen to virtuoso guitar players demonstrate their licks.

Last weekend I saw one of my favorite guitar players in concert. Although not one of his solo concerts (which had Chad Smith of RCHP not been playing drums, I would have preferred), Joe Satriani was playing with his super-group, Chickenfoot. When you have a group of musicians individually in tune with all aspects of their instruments in one band, you've got to realize that there're going to be some jams and big solo time. Joe had that a few times, and it was fun to watch one of the guitar greats play his like crazy. The thing I like most about Satriani is not how fast he can move his fingers, how many notes he can play in one second, or what tricks and gadgets he uses to strut his stuff (although they're all great). It's his concept of music theory and his use of that theory (primarily, modes) to create some of the most unique melodies. Sometimes with great guitar virtuosos, you just want to hear the solos or the really fast stuff. With Satriani, its how he uses his guitar to sing the song, not just blow its socks off.

Songs like "Always With Me, Always With You", "Raspberry Jam Delta-V", "Flying in a Blue Dream", and "Starry NIght" not only have cool riffs and semi-regular chord progressions but they contain a melody heard throughout the song, but carry different modal forms that still carry the integrity of what's being 'sung'.

In the following videos (two parts, about 8.5 minutes each), Joe talks about two things that really interest me about his technique and that I really want to apply to my own playing. In the first part, he talks breifly about the "psychology" of playing guitar and how modes can really transport the "feelings" or "emotions" of your playing to the audience or piece of music. Up until about 5:04, Joe shows the many modes there are and he blends them together to make a really unique little jam. At around 5:04, Joe begins to talk about interactive emotions of playing. It's pretty cool...




In the next video, Joe talks a bit about playing "outside the box". That is something I've struggled with in my own playing. Primarily, most of my lead work is done either in church or with JSB where I don't get to explore outside of a major, minor, or even Aeolian scale (kind of a mixture between the two). But here, Joe gives some tips and ways to play outside the box without stepping on a melody or chordal structure. At times, you may have to change a progression slightly (like not resolving the root of chord), but by learning the triads and structure of how one or more modes work together, you can really explore the fretboard.

"out-side of the box"


This is obviously a video for guitar geeks and players who are really into the mechanics of music theory, but it's even just cool to watch him play a similar melody but in different mode to completely change a style or feel of a sound.

Rock on.