Paul Gilbert

To me, the secret of Eddie Van Halen was Alex Van Halen, because the way Alex played was so loose and the way the two of them locked together… Those two are connected so thoroughly they might as well be one person."

I turn complaining into music! I'm thinking I might have invented a new style. I call it 'cantankerous rock.'

Of course, I'm a guitar player, so I'm thinking as a guitarist. I have to work within my physical limitations as to what my hands will do, and also the patterns I'm familiar with, and the places that my fingers are used to going.

I love my job as a musician, and I am filled with gratitude that good people support my endeavors.

A rock band with vocals is what I always wanted to be a part of; in fact, it feels very natural for me.

There's always more than one way to play the same notes because of the nature of guitar.

Teaching is just something that has come naturally to me. I didn't set out to be a teacher. I wanted to be a Beatle! But there were only four of them, so the job openings were really limited.

Teaching the guitar is a constant source of inspiration. I sometimes think I get more out of the lessons than my students.

Scotty Johnson is a guy who I've worked with on a lot of my tours and albums, and I'm always blown away by his musical knowledge and playing.

Teaching has made me realize that a lot of my fast playing is the musical equivalent of, ‘Umm… umm… uhh...' - it's like when you're trying to think of the next thing to say that actually has meaning, you fill space. ‘Umm' has about the same meaning as my fast playing."

I was doing a lot of teaching on my online guitar school and I started to use vocal melodies as a way of teaching my students. To be able to do that, I had to learn them myself.

It took me a long time to accept the idea that the guitar can take the place of a singer.