He invited us into his home studio to wax poetic and talk about his personal relationship with the guitar on an episode of Ernie Ball: String Theory. Here are the top six things we learned during the episode, along with a timestamp for each segment so you can follow along.
#1 – Have the right intentions when you play guitar. (0:26)
#2 – He never played an electric for the first six years of his guitar journey. (0:50)
“From 7 and a half to 13 I only played acoustic guitar. That whole formative time was all playing folk music.”
#3 – His first guitar heroes were classic British prog players. (1:32)
#4 – He got his first pack of Super Slinky strings in a head shop. (2:14)
#5 – When playing guitar, do your best to play melodically and avoid going overboard. (4:24)
“I try and find solos that at least have melodies to them that are memorable, and then if you want to give ’em a couple bars of some flash or something that’s great. But, I try and play stuff that is memorable.”
#6 – Keep working to get better every day. (4:45)
String Theory
Watch every episode of Ernie Ball: String Theory at our website, featuring such players as Kirk Hammett, Steve Vai, Don Felder and more. You can also enjoy some of Steve’s most popular songs in this Spotify playlist.
Guitar Strings
Steve Stevens plays Ernie Ball M-Steel guitar strings. Do you? Try a set.
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