steve vai passion and warfare songbook pdf guitar

Nonetheless, the absence of a detailed visual analysis leaves room for a more exhaustive look at sound, which is ultimately the focus of this article. Watching Vai perform is perhaps as important as listening to him perform, particularly to his fans.

This is not to say that sound is somehow associated with the true self and that image is mere artifice.

The following discussion will not give imagery equal weight, despite Steve Vai's obvious awareness of the role of image in persona construction (describing himself as a poser and trying to find ways of looking cool). This strand of instrumental guitar hero rock is ideal for an analysis of expression and persona, as it sees the integration of performer/composer in musicmaking (as opposed to classical music), puts emphasis on individual expression (rather than collective expression) and results in instrumental music by personalities. It evaluates the coherence or gap between these different modes of voicing the musical self in the absence of lyrical content. This article aims to contribute to the literature on enactment of musical persona by exploring both the role of music itself and authorial self-positioning in media texts, through a close reading of virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai. The humorous and playful manipulation of an over-the-top shredder persona is central both to the artist's self-positioning as a poser and to the music he creates, as the following pages will show. Consequently, what I interacted with during that G3 performance of ‘For The Love Of God’ was not the direct expression of Vai the person, but Vai the persona. Humour aside, such sentiments beg the question: if the fan (a character also present on stage for the G3 performance, as I later found out by watching the DVD) is there for entertainment value alone, what else is there just for cool factor? There is a clear rift between the real emotions of Steve Vai (the real Steve Vai) and how he presents himself in the media (the poser from the 1980s). Because, you know, you get your hair blowing (…) and, come on, isn't that what it's really all about, looking cool? You know that I'm a poser from way back, so let's not kid anybody here! (Vai Reference Vai2009b)

(…) First and foremost, (…) it makes me look cool. The one thing I can't do without is (…) my fan.

Steve vai passion and warfare songbook pdf guitar