Steve Lukather is one of the most accomplished guitarists and has a thorough mastery of techniques. He’s also completely entertaining to watch when he straps on a guitar.
In this video from 2012, Steve serves up a loose master class in essential guitar techniques. The video was recorded for Guitar Part (whose logo reminds us of the insignia of Guitar World).
“I’m just messing about here,” Luke says. “I’m a student like you guys, and I’m just playing some licks for you—a couple of tricks I learned along the way in my lifetime of playing the guitar.”
In the video, Steve demonstrates an outside-the-box blues lick, presents an extended discussion about vibrato and establishing your own voice with it, shows some whammy bar tricks, and explains how you can use tapping to liven up your licks and not merely imitate old Eddie Van Halen lines. He also does a lot of extended riffing, just for the fun of it.
Luke is on the road with Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band, which returns to the U.S. on November 8. On December 1, he hits the road with Nerve Bundle, featuring Jorgen Carlsson, Jeff Babko and Toss Panos.
Visit SteveLukather.com for complete tour information.
“One of the hardest things about expanding our technique is going ‘against the grain’ of learned patterns”: Rewire your lead playing with four soloing ideas inspired by contemporary blues maestros
“We often overlook this humble technique, yet it’s such an important tool for expressive rhythm and lead playing”: Palm muting is an essential guitar technique – but there’s a lot more to it than just chugging. Are you using it to its full potential?
