Reet) Eugene's Trick Bag Played by Steve Vai @ Transcribed by Guthrie Govan The film ‘Crossroads’ pays tribute to the legend surrounding the enigmatic Robert Johnson, whose contemporaries were so much in awe of his playing that some believed he could only have acquired his skills by selling his soul to the Devil... fame) plays Eugene, a young Conservatory trained guitarist whose interes in the Blues 's 60 great that he sacrifices his promising Classical future to seek out the roots of the ‘music he truly loves. He finds. a mentor in old Bluesman ‘Blind Dog’ Fulton, who owes his. soul to Satan as the forftt of a Johnson-escue deal mace in his youth. The film reaches its climax when Eugene is given the opporturity ‘avo the old man's soul by engaging ina oad cuttin’ due? with Jack Butler, Lucile’ latest protégd (played by the appropriately dark and ‘menacing Steve Va), Initially, the due! pits Butler's hi-tech, flamboyant Rock style (sounds like Mr Vai to me...) against Eugene's earthy slide work (cupplied by Ry Cooder); however, when Eugene finaly saves Fulton's sou! he does so, ‘not by romaining true to his Blues ideas, Dut by delivering the dazzling technical showcase transcribed here ~ a tip of the hat to his ‘rounding in Classical music. Some might argue that this bizarre twist detracts from the ‘moral’ of the film (fee! triumphing over flash etc) but Eugene's Tick ‘Bag 's undeniably an example of Baroque anc Roll at its finest. It was racorded using a CCharveJackson guitar and a Carvin X1008 slack and if you were wondering why the guitar ln the flm sports no name on the headstock, rumour has # thatthe producers blacked t cut, Concerned that audiences might connect the ‘Jackson’ brand name with the notion of Michae! Jackson selling his soul (Brand names are often blacked out in Amorican fms though = presumably because they're not paying ‘sponeorship — so who knows how much truth there isin this story} Regarding the matter of tempo; this piece was featured on a free record which came with the March 88 issue of Guitar Player magazine ‘and on that version the speed is 151 bpm (measured at bar 16 where the main theme ‘comes in). However, the same passage In the {lm version clocks in et a hearty 159 opm ang | F the flim, Ralph Macchio (ot ‘Karate Kis sounds sharper than concen pitch; ether ithas been sped up silghy or | have a hyperactive video tecorder! Whatever the case may be, boar in mind that the tompo indication is only there aa a rough guide; @ piece like this Is mest to be played ‘rubato'— ie expressiveness being more important than a metronomic beat Take a§ many liberties withthe timing as you lke ~ Steve certainly oes! Performance notes This isa eimple four note repeating figure, but playing it at the speed of the original Performance takes considerable left hand stamina. By way of making if slighlly easier would reoommend using fingers 1, 2 and 3 (rather than 1, 8 and 4, a combination which — though technically ‘correct — is weaker and less foffectve). I getting the tril up to speed st proves to be a problem, you may wish to ‘cheat (and why not?) by tapping te fn fret Ce with the right hand, whist playing the other notes, carwentionally — a fine example of how ‘many hands make light work!’ (To hear the full Potential of tis two-handed idea isten to Buly Sheehan's slightly more elaborate trill at the beginning ofthe Mr Big track Addicted To That usin, Bars 9-16 This is typically ‘noo-Classicat series of arpeggios, but whereas many exponents of the genre would sweep-pick passages like this, Steve uses alternate Picking, with the occasional hammered not this is perhaps the more dificult approach, but the increased clarity makes it worth the extra lor. Note that this fingering is ideal for an ‘overcriven guitar sound, where note separation is essential to avoid a messy clash of overtones. Compare this with William Kanengisor's classical interprotation of the iene earlier in the fm (when Eugene is stil at ‘muse schoo); the shorter sustain and mellower timbre of a nylon-strung instrument lend themselves more to fingerings with a ringing, toning sound, such asthe example suggested inet Bars 16-20 This is probably the most recognisable socio ofthe pose; the figerng ven fs as close as | can get to what Steve plays on the recording, but fee! {ree to fxperiment with any allematives which fel more natural Whatever fingering you adopt, @ svt allele picking technique s necessary to.executa al he notes acourately and evenly ‘though the fim cites Mozert’s Turkish Fondo a the only inspiration forthe piece, | woul also reer you to the uncer fair sounding Ex 2. Ths isan excerpt rom Caprice 45 by Niccolo Paganini (wo, ike Robert sJonneon, was sometimes accused of having cbalned bis vtuosty by Satanic mean). Ite sot of perpetual motion’ study intarests you and youre already au fat with Eugene’ Tick Bag, you should find Paganini’s 3rd, Sth and 46th capes patiulary rewarding Bar 21 Having st the scone in a dstnay neo: Ciasccal vein, Steve now throws ina bar of Diatonio Side, which sound more lke Chuck Bory than Mozart Note thet the sides occur every tree notes, whist the nces are grouped in ours, creating 2 polyhytnmic fect Bars 22-31 People who play ts pace in ruse shops oat ad shows nommally ot es far a8 this bi, and then come up with some feeble excuse about how they havent rally warmed Up yet, and the strings are a bit old and the back ofthe neck fets ebony. The tut i, tis & simply a vary hard passage to play accurately, as there are a numberof sudden postion shits often in excess of an octave at a tine. Ty focusing on one specie finger (for me, the fourth fingers the easiest to flow) end target here it shoud be in four notes’ ime; ts way you can be prepared for each shift botore & happens. Also, try muting lightly with the picking hand, which can help 10 even out the lscreDancies between open and reted notes. Bar 36 Yet more postion shifts! Fortunately these should prove les troublesome than bare 22.31. This passage is similar fo an exercise >EUGENE’S TRICK BAG @ Steve Vai Transcription E which Stove apparently practised when he attended Borklog; tho idea isto find all the different places on the fretboard where any given rote can be played (In this 280, all but two of the notes are Es, spread evenly over the whole range ofthe neck) Bars 38-41 This is a four ‘A Harmonic minor The first bar features convenient symmetrical fin- gering, where the pattern established on the E and A strings is repeated on each went pair. When you run out of stings a series of position shifts will transgort registers board. But even not enough to reach nA of bar 41, which polepiece of the bas Untortunately, this will not work on every guitar and, indeed, if your instrument has fewer than 24 fats, i Ii equipped to negotiate even bar 40, lat alone Inthis case | sugge fan alternative fingering, This uses pinched harmonics to bring the highest notes down a more sensible area of neck. For the desired aim to place tho side of the right hand thump exactly half way between the fret and the bridge: the note should then sound an octave higher. (in the fm Ralph M: appears to have nk gatting a top A out of a 21 up for {as a single pinched This is an ad: 4 technique, known as ‘miming’ and i only works In the mov Speaking of the mi that's all folks! Good luck i this challenging workout and ra substitute for practice (unless of course you fancy heading the Crossroads, Our soul will fetch at Lucifer’s Liek Warenou: r Beelzebub's Arpeggio Emporium)! See you. ®a ee my vat ~ 2 Ex 2 (Excerpt from Paganini's Sth Caprice) geRear] Eugene's Trick Bag by Steve Vai <= 151/159 (see text) a e e 5 _H POH POH POH|| POH POH POH POH POH POH PO _H PO _H 5 = s-GE ee : 4 — “+ = g 4 aE t vs POH POH POH POH PO_H POH PO_H PO H rt | PO_H POH (a7)Peo eed ‘lise XVL wis Fe ae co Sw ele § -8-5-42-6-46-|-¢16}- —— 8 3 a (Gtim7) Am 7 ie xa ese atl cna ale : 5 ie 5 “67 (Am) (e7) (») z ae : foes a) «cy c) (Gidim7) (Am)Gre FE Gtdim7 A (engle at) NB PU=note freited on pic