Building the church question

[ears1991]

Hi, im new here. Well hope this is the right part of the message board but here it goes lol.

Im a Steve Vai fan and of course learning to play guitar, im not great but i can play pretty well according to my friend who has lessons etc (im self tought) I have the cheapest guitar ever some stag one from the local guitar shop but it does the job.
Ive been learning a few of Vai's great songs but I always wonder how to make this sound in Building the church (Its used several times but first at around 44 seconds into the song), its like a scream sort of sound, i watch Steve play it in the G3 2005 video but i just cant work it out. Im hoping someone here can help a guitar noob out here lol.
Thanks in advance.

Heres a shot of the actual note (It says Ham. full and some bar that has a -2 at the end lol.

EDIT: Also could anyone suggest what the best GP version of building the church is?

Thanks

[Ginner_321]

I assume the "Ham" is actually Harm, short for a Harmonic.

And the line with the -2, I assume thats a decompression of the Whammy bar, down 2 steps.

I don't really use the program, so I cant be certain though.

Cheers .

[ears1991]

I assume the "Ham" is actually Harm, short for a Harmonic.

And the line with the -2, I assume thats a decompression of the Whammy bar, down 2 steps.

I don't really use the program, so I cant be certain though.

Cheers .

Ok thanks how stupid of my i just realised pulling the bar up makes a sound like that. thats really cool, thanks

[slash89]

Good you solved that out! Just ask if there is anything more you're wondering about when it comes to Building The Church

[Bakerman]

There's actually no bar use on the last note there, just a release of the bend and a slide down. The scream sound is a pinch harmonic--if you're not familiar with the technique, it's usually done by letting the edge of the right-hand thumb hit the string very briefly after the pick moves through. (You can get different pitches at different points along the string.) Here's another transcription you may find useful: http://s92612683.onlinehome.us/tab/vai/ ... church.pdf

[lydian2000]

There's actually no bar use on the last note there, just a release of the bend and a slide down. The scream sound is a pinch harmonic--if you're not familiar with the technique, it's usually done by letting the edge of the right-hand thumb hit the string very briefly after the pick moves through. (You can get different pitches at different points along the string.) Here's another transcription you may find useful: http://s92612683.onlinehome.us/tab/vai/ ... church.pdf

Behold...the great Bakerman has spoken to enlighten us once again...hey man, good to see u still surf these boards!

but I will always recommand the use of a MIDI-based tab where you can HEAR, PAUSE, SLOW DOWN like in Guitar Pro instead of a .pdf file, even with "Bakerman" quality(worth a look). It might not be the best way to learn a song by some high standards, but IMO its definitely the fastest and efficient way, especially for beginners, since you can literally decompose a song.

[phil_greg]

Anyone ever notice that its quite impossible to mute the strings with the left hand it comes to this part?
E)13
B) 3
G) 12
D) 3

***For those who has not understand... while doing the tapping in building the church you have to mute the strings with your left hand. If you dont, you will hear open strings and it will sound really ugly****[size=18][/size]

[slash89]

Anyone ever notice that its quite impossible to mute the strings with the left hand it comes to this part?
E)13
B) 3
G) 12
D) 3

***For those who has not understand... while doing the tapping in building the church you have to mute the strings with your left hand. If you dont, you will hear open strings and it will sound really ugly****

This is really a matter of how you hold your left hand over the neck. Just look at how Steve is doing it. This is really not very difficult. You just need to find a way to kill the noise.

[Bakerman]

This is really a matter of how you hold your left hand over the neck. Just look at how Steve is doing it. This is really not very difficult. You just need to find a way to kill the noise.

I think he's referring to the measure where the LH taps 3rd fret notes, because keeping a "standard" LH position of fingers near parallel w/ strings & edge of palm muting them probably means the palm would go behind the nut at that spot.

What worked best for me is angling the LH so the pinky & ring fingers are muting the strings for 2 measures starting there. The pinky is basically set diagonally from the nut of low E to the 1st fret of high E, ring from 1st fret of low E to 2nd fret of high E. That puts the 2nd finger in the right position to hit the high E 3rd fret and leaves a little more dancing around for the 1st finger since it's either hitting the same fret or 1 higher on the D string. It's also nice because you can visually focus on getting the RH into position and know your LH is set once the pinky hits the edge of the nut.

[Sweepinchord]

I have another question. I always get alot of buzzing when I tap like this, it's not as clean as it sounds on the record. Any idea how to prevent this?
Effects, tension... tapping power etc?