Again.
The first time was when Vai was the guitarist with David Lee Roth; in the 80s, the band had the biggest light show in rock history.
This time, it’s all Steve.
On March 3, Vai was successful in his World Record attempt to achieve the largest online guitar lesson in history. As a promotional effort for his new 12-week online course, Steve Vai Guitar Techniques at Berkleemusic, Steve teamed up with the music school to offer a free 30-minute guitar lesson.
Almost 7,000 guitarists joined Vai for the live feed; Guinness certified the record based on Berklee having recruited 4,455 students over the first 15 minutes to the lesson. Berkleemusic also announced a donation of $7,000 - one dollar for each student certified as taking part in the lesson - to the Steve Vai Online Scholarship Fund at Berkleemusic, which rewards and assists outstanding students.
"I'm very happy and proud to announce that Berklee College of Music was officially awarded the Guinness World Record for the world's largest online guitar lesson," said Berkleemusic Chief Marketing Officer Stefanie Henning. "This was an amazing collaboration of all the teams here at Berkleemusic with tremendous support from Berklee College of Music President Roger Brown, the College faculty and students, and the day's guest of honor, Steve Vai."
Berkleemusic and Steve Vai have also co-authored a new twelve-week online course: Steve Vai Guitar Techniques. The course helps students gain a deep understanding of Vai's playing styles, repertoire, techniques, and musical concepts from anywhere in the world, and to incorporate their learnings into their own playing. The next course begins on April 4th, 2011. For more information regarding enrollment information, and sample instructions, visit Berkleemusic.com.
Vai, a Berklee alumnus and passionate advocate for music education and exploration, is finishing a new solo album and preparing for a world tour to coincide with its fall release.
"I hope this record encourages players to continue to cultivate their own unique style and spirit on the guitar," said Vai. "I think this record really showcases the interest that exists in guitar education worldwide. It was a true pleasure working with an institution like Berkleemusic, who shares my interest in helping to bring more skilled musicians into the world."
To view the archived online lesson, chat, and Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel's pre-lesson promotional videos, visit www.berkleemusic.com/vai-live.
Steve Vai Steve Vai – Shy Boy
With Billy Sheehan
Live At The Astoria DVD (2003)
See also:
Spinal Tap guitarist supports Steve Vai’s world record attempt
Steve Vai to attempt World Record for Largest Online Guitar Lesson
