Joe Satriani - Style and Influence

Style and Influence

Satriani is considered to be a technically proficient guitarist, and has been referred to as a guitar virtuoso. Satriani has mastered all performance techniques on electric guitar, including legato, two-handed tapping and arpeggio tapping, volume swells, harmonics and extreme whammy bar effects. During fast passages, Satriani favors a legato technique (achieved primarily through hammer-ons and pull-offs) that yields smooth and flowing runs. He is also adept at other speed-related techniques such as rapid alternate picking and sweep picking. Satriani was influenced by blues-rock guitar icons such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore and Jeff Beck, as well as jazz fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Satriani created his own recognizable style and is an influential guitarist. Satriani has received 15 Grammy nominations and has sold over 10 million albums worldwide.