If you've ever tried to learn a musical instrument and found yourself frustrated or stuck in your education, take comfort in the knowledge that even rock legends were once in your shoes.
"Playing guitar did not come naturally," said three-time Grammy Award-winning rock guitarist Steve Vai - now considered a virtuoso of the instrument. "It took a lot of hard work."
Vai is one of several guest artists and instructors passing on their vast musical knowledge at Quest University from Aug. 7 to 12 for the 2011 Guitar Workshop Plus program.
Founded by Toronto-area guitarist, performer and educator Brian Murray, Guitar Workshop Plus is one of the premier summer music education programs in Canada.
Designed for aspiring musicians of all ages and levels, the summer music program offers workshops in Toronto and at Quest.
"We were originally at U小蓝视频 for a few years," Murray said. "But one year they were doing construction and we had to find an alternate venue and found Quest. We've been coming here ever since."
Murray said he created Guitar Workshop Plus as an evolution of what he was already doing.
"I was a professional guitar player for 25 years," he said. "Part of what musicians do to make ends meet is teach. But I was teaching music in Ontario and noticed that one of the first things that gets cut in schools is music programs."
Murray said he wanted to offer aspiring musicians something unique.
"We wanted to give them a week where they would live, eat and breathe music," he said. "We get them studying with local teachers - at their pace - augmented by celebrity instructors."
The program's list of past celebrity teachers includes names like Joe Satriani, Alex Lifeson from Rush, Robben Ford, John Scofield, Rik Emmett from Triumph, Randy Bachman and Andy Summers from The Police - just to name a few.
In Squamish, participants in the program get to learn from the legendary Vai, along with rock shredder Dave Martone and jazz great Mike Stern.
Vai began his career with rock icon Frank Zappa, but quickly went solo became a world-renowned rock guitarist, composer and producer who has sold more than 15 million albums.
Vai is no stranger to teaching, though.
"It was how I made enough beer money for the weekend," he said. "But sometimes it was a survival thing."
Vai also set the Guinness World Record for the world's largest online guitar lesson in March 2011 with Boston's renowned Berklee College of Music.
"I studied at Berklee when I was younger," he said. "They have these online classes and I taught a class basically covering the fundamentals of playing various pieces of music from my collection. I had somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 people all listening in at the same time."
Berkleemusic.com and Vai have also co-authored a new 12-week online course: Steve Vai Guitar Techniques, offering a better understanding of his unique playing styles, repertoire, techniques and musical concepts.
"I've always been a proponent of musical education," he said. "I'm always trying to expand my own inner musicality, and teaching reinforces the things you know and gives you an opportunity to articulate your own ideas about music. Through it all I've made some discoveries and had moments of clarity that allowed me to evolve."
Vai prefers learning by doing to scales and rote methods.
"There are things in a book," he said. "But I try not to focus on academics of guitar, but rather get to the heart of playing. The things I discuss are more esoteric than academic. It's more about a mindset than anything else."
Focus, said Vai, is one of the most important lessons an aspiring guitarist can learn.
"You don't know how important it is to just know what you want to do," he said. "Then you have to put yourself in a frame of mind and do it. That is what's hard."
If you want to learn more from Vai in person, and spend a week at the 2011 Guitar Workshop Plus program at Quest University - do it quickly.
"Some spots are still open, but we're almost ready to get going," Murray said. "People should contact us right away if they are interested in attending the sessions."
The intensive workshops for all ages and skill levels runs Aug. 7 to 12.
Tuition per session is $850, with a $50 registration fee.
For more info on the program go to www.guitarworkshopplus.com, email [email protected] or call (905) 567-8000.
