Practice Studio

Steve Vai - For The Love Of God Pt.6 - Verse 4 & Outro - Guitar Lesson

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

Not in tune?

Select a Loop

Start of your loop
End of your loop

Speed Control

Speed
100%

Tools

BPM
PLAY WITH BACKING TRACK
·
–50¢ 0 +50¢
· Tap to start

Your browser will ask for microphone permission.

Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.

Sweet Baby Raye album cover
Sweet Baby Raye
2026 5:30

About For The Love Of God Pt.6 - Verse 4 & Outro


Few pieces demand as much emotional commitment from a guitarist as "For the Love of God," and this segment, covering Verse 4 and the Outro of Part 6, is no exception. Steve Vai built the original around slow, singing legato lines, wide pitch bends, and sweep picking, all of which require a relaxed yet deliberate left hand to pull off convincingly. At 120 BPM in E Standard tuning, the tempo is not punishing, but the phrasing asks you to stretch notes to their limit and let them breathe, which is harder than playing fast. The Outro especially rewards patience: every bend needs to peak at exactly the right pitch and hang there with control. If any phrase feels rushed or the bends are drifting out of tune, use the Practice Toolbar to loop that passage slowed down until muscle memory takes over. This is Instrumental Rock at its most expressive, where tone and feel carry more weight than speed.

  • The piece relies heavily on legato technique, so focus on hammer-ons and pull-offs that match the volume of your picked notes for a smooth, even tone.
  • Wide pitch bends are central to the melody, and keeping them in tune under slow tempos, where every wobble is audible, is the core challenge.
  • E Standard tuning at 120 BPM means the difficulty here is phrasing and sustain control, not raw speed, making clean left-hand technique the priority.

How to Play For The Love Of God Pt.6 - Verse 4 & Outro

Tuning: E Standard · Tempo: 120 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Ibanez JEM
Guitar

Ibanez JEM

Steve Vai's signature instrument since 1987, the JEM's scalloped frets and Edge tremolo enable his signature legato technique and extreme pitch bends that define his melodic lead style. The high-output DiMarzio Evolution pickups drive his tube amps hard, producing the singing sustain and cutting harmonic clarity essential to his virtuosic playing.

Boss DS-1 Distortion
Pedal

Boss DS-1 Distortion

Vai layers the DS-1 over his primary Jemini overdrive to add aggressive grit and additional gain staging for his most intense lead passages. This dual-distortion approach gives him tonal flexibility, from singing sustain to raw, cutting attack depending on how he blends the pedals.

DigiTech Whammy
Pedal

DigiTech Whammy

The Whammy lets Vai create signature octave-shifted harmonies and pitch-modulation effects that add textural depth to his compositions and studio arrangements. This pedal is crucial for his experimental, layered approach to tone that goes beyond traditional lead guitar work.

Play with Backing Track

Play with Backing Track

Solo (Backing Track)

Solo (Backing Track)