Steve Vai Quotes

The level of achievement that we have at anything, is a reflection, of how well, we were able to focus on it. Because the only thing that's holding you back, is the way you're thinking.

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

Besides being a guitar player, I'm a big fan of the guitar. I love that damn instrument.

The only thing that's holding you back, is the way you're thinking.

Find what you're best at and exaggerate it.

The tone is in your fingers, not in your amp or effects.

I was always one of those guys who was a seeker after truth. I want to know what's going on.

I knew that I was going to have a life as a musician, because I always felt the pull. I don't remember ever having to make a choice.

If you're feeling emotional when you're creating something, it'll sound that way.

Possessing a healthy imagination is a necessary ingredient for creativity.

I have a deep love for life and my fellow human beings. I try to understand everything that everybody does, even if it seems wrong to me.

Criticism can be devastating. When push comes to shove, we are all very sensitive.

You can never deny the immense talent, rock credibility and iconic historical contribution that Van Halen made.

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.

Reps once took chances on art, History's most treasured musicians were believed in and cultivated to reach their potential. Today, it would be difficult for those musicians to get deals.

Play slow and perfect - that’s the way to becoming a virtuoso.

It's very hard to come across as a passionate human being in print. People can't hear the inflections in your voice.

The older I get, the more I just like plugging directly into my amp. I'm tired of trying to impress myself with weird sounds. It's about the notes more.

When I was young, I wasn't a misfit or anything. I had friends in all the different social groups. But I had issues - just personal issues, insecurities and other things that had happened in my life.

A lot of those little things that I really like doing are just moments of cool articulation, just little moments of phrasing that probably go over everybody's head.

I don't believe in 'greatest'. I believe in favorites.

We have the insight and the tools to identify and bring to fruition the dormant talent that our artists possess. Favored Nations will be branded as the home base for inspired musical talent.

Ray and I do not draw salaries. Any profits will be re-invested into marketing the music we believe in.

It is only the most elite of elite musicians whose unconventional approach becomes convention.

If I remain true to what's in my heart, that's all the success I need.

Critisism is just reflection of the person that speaking

The cool thing about playing is that the more you do it, the better you get.

You know, there's times when you should play and there's times when you gotta hold back.

Most of my records are very dense, composition-heavy, and there's bits of different kinds of music like an acoustic ballad, instrumental trio pieces, and vocal tracks.

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.

I like my voice, but I can't deliver as much as I wish I could.

I'm a big fan of cultural music, and that's how I try to expand my playing, by listening to music that is not conventionally American.

So that's the challenge for me and that has always been the challenge - finding that melody, that riff, that thing that just lights me up and makes me feel like it's Christmas.

I awake, I meditate, get the kids off to school, go to the gym, go to the Favored Nations office, and usually at around 1 pm I'm home and do music the rest of the day.

The only time I'm miserable is when I can't keep an instrument in tune.

As a musician, I look for certain things that stimulate me. And what I look for is something that's an evolution on a particular genre that I never heard before.

The guitar is the coolest instrument in the world.

I loved the guitar, and I had all of this music in my head. My passion for the guitar and the ideas for what I could create musically were equal. So that's where I was.

My main calling in life is to seek and achieve spiritual balance, and to express that through my instrument. Everything else is here today, gone later today.

What I look for in music is artistry, sincerity, and simplicity, and Tom Waits has all of that. I want to make a connection to the creator.

I can tell you this: I'm an extremely passionate individual. I try to be careful how I display it because you never know how people are going to take it.

... you watch Jimi Hendrix literally reinvent the instrument. He was playing from somewhere else. He was really a kind of hybrid, and I can't even begin to imagine where he came from

That's the thing about great artists: They find the thing that's most obvious to themselves, what's most conscious and natural, and they put it out there and the audience comes.

My past is very interesting, and I treasure it, but to write about it, it's just not on my radar.

I'm always pursuing knowledge; I'm a seeker of spiritual equilibrium - and music is a big part of that.

I've never really heard anybody imitating anything of mine the way they do with Edward Van Halen's stuff.

We may be human, but we're still animals.

Along with its enchanting and exquisite melodies, West Side Story has attitude and a tremendous amount of frenetic energy. It's emotional, theatrical and technical. It's everything.

Still to this day, I am deeply satisfied when watching a guitar player who is connected with their art and instrument. GuitarTV helps you tap into that connection, and to each other.

When Frank Zappa would get an idea for a song, he just did it. He didn't wait for anybody or expect anyone to do it.