Journey's Neal Schon Plays "Don't Stop Believin'"

[@dcool2u2]

Neal Schon's solos are like a song within a song. They are SO melodic that anyone hearing one for the first time can hum or even sing it. I'm a guitar player who can really respect the chops of Eddie VH or Joe Satriani and Neal also has those chops, but chooses to use them when its called for in the song. His tasteful playing and memorable solos will always be inspiration for me and how I aspire to play.

[@DuaLeaD]

EXACTLY!! Knowing when NOT to play fancy is a trait few rock musicians possess....

[@dennisb-trains23]

Right on brother !

[@TheConverter330]

Paul Kossof invented the art.

[@pepmasters-999]

Great comment. Neal is in that small group of guitar players who approach their playing with a kind of songwriters approach, to actually invest the time and effort to craft melodic touches and hooks within the framework of a song. Brian May is another. Randy Rhoads, Steve Lukather and Gary Moore as well, I think.

[@douglasyoung554]

@@pepmasters-999 Obviously Gilmour is in that vein as well....

[@jchargrave]

One thing I love about him is he is always wide open about showing people how he plays his signature parts. I think that is really cool.

[@probusexcogitatoris736]

Why wouldn't he be?

[@McCracken216]

@@probusexcogitatoris736 Who knows, but many aren't. I recall John Frusciante saying for a certain RHCP album he wanted to use a bunch of chords that nobody would ever figure out. That's not a knock on John either, btw.

[@probusexcogitatoris736]

@@McCracken216 I see. Yeah, I guess that would be funny to some musicians.

[@jchargrave]

@@probusexcogitatoris736 A lot of them won’t show anything, protective of it for some reason.

[@snoo50]

@@McCracken216 oh yeah, because John Frusciante is such a chord master. What nobody has ever figured out is how to make a 62 Strat through a 68 Plexi sound like it's a Squier through a Line6 Spider the way he does... or to play completely out of tune and out of tempo in such a masterful way... or to say some BS like that when major and minor triads and Hendrix chord licks is all you know. Funny indeed

[@Murphy_R9]

One of my all time favorite guitar players!

[@haroldmessinger1]

and I dont' feel like he gets nearly enough props for his body of work.

[@dougww1ectebow]

Neil Schon is one of the great guitarists.

[@UncleJeffreySpuds]

Neal Schon is one of the most melodic players out there....you can "sing" most of his solos, which is what melody is all about. One of the best teams in Rock and Roll...Perry and Schon.

[@evalex71]

Such an incredible, melodic player

[@bossnessseptickdude2066]

Ronin 77 I

[@gaysquirrels6915]

Yup he can play fast too tho!

[@Me37368]

Ronin 77 I saw him live it was so powerful and melodic

[@GDawg2K2]

One of the most melodic players out there.

[@GurnBograt1986]

LOVE Neal's playing. Awesome writer! Awesome guitarist!

[@jimharris3889]

His solo in Lights is amazing!! That descending riff always blows me away !! I just saw him in Orlando with Journey and Toto, what an amazing artist !! He hasn't lost a beat !!

[@voxpathfinder15r]

Journey takes me way back to happier times, riding around with the car windows down with journey on the radio. I can pretend it’s 1983 for just a little while

[@ZackHall-kt4ww]

I was born in 86 and would give anything to go back to those times.

[@voxpathfinder15r]

@@ZackHall-kt4ww oh yeah I remember 1986. Coming out of winter with my 7th grade buddies jumping trains and all other sorts of mayhem. I remember Pink Floyd touring later in that year, although I didn’t go see them until 1987. I remember friends going to see Ozzy Osborne that year and talking about this opening band called Metallica and this song Battery, and they were singing it all day long. Yep remember those days well. It might have been a Judas Priest concert- I remember they were on the defenders of the faith tour and came around June that year. Great times.

[@ZackHall-kt4ww]

@voxpathfinder15r I used to live by Sturgis SD. I saw alot of old classic rock bands at the Rally, Journey, Aerosmith, Boston, what's left of skynyrd, etc. I know It's not the same as the 80s though lol.

[@beverlyrhame3692]

Lots of love and respect to you Neil you've done everything you can with your gift to bring joy to life. You will live forever in hearts all over the World. 💞👑

[@dancopeland254]

He’s doing a pull off on the first note at 50 seconds. New level unlocked…. All this time I thought he was picking every note.

[@mindcontrol67]

I just slowed it down and yes he is pulling off,I always read he is picking every note,Not True.

[@guyinpajamapants6892]

I think he is still picking. If you listen to the original recording you can hear the percussive pick strum. It’s definitely simple, but freaking hard to get fast.

[@nikospaleologos3907]

Neal can rip on the guitar with the best of Rock players, his playing and licks are memorable

[@tonyquinn6186]

Absolutely brilliant I love to just watch and try and learn from you

[@williamb2845]

Not a huge Journey fan myself, but, Neil is a player’s player. Always enjoyed his licks and contributions to the songs.

[@lpgoog]

Wow Neal ain't kidding! He's a king of creating memorable song parts!

[@ThrillingTwo]

I was a fool not to acknowledge the greatness of Neal Schon for so many years.

[@MarkEdwardMarkCanioI]

Beautiful Anthem❤❤❤😂BOYEEEE

[@belladonna3439]

This guy worked so hard, taking all these Barry Manilow type songs and music and giving it some big tones and turning it into rock. He's an overlooked Riff Master. Unbutton anything you want Neil and keep crushing those sweet chords.

[@YaoEspirito]

Same thing Gary Richrath did for REO.

[@donaldcampbell6296]

Saw this guy live with Journey in early 1980's in Pittsburgh. Incredible guitar player.

[@lavonnemcdowell7040]

I'm so glad that I found you. You are amazing on any guitar that you play and I am glad that there's no one around to disrupt the sound that you made just a minute ago it's amazing what you can do. I get lost in just watching you and wish I could mute everybody else just so I could listen and hear you. Thank very much.

[@johnnydorsey650]

By far one of the greatest guitar players ever.One of my first and favorite influences when I seen him playing Wheel in the sky on the Midnight special in the early 70's.He has a Les Paul collection that I would love to play through and a gold top in this video that I would like to take home.He loves the guitar and loves showing people how to play it.Your still tops in my book Neal🎸🎸😎

[@markkosa1]

Killer riffs that you cant get out of your head, amazing Neal...

[@EM0crayon]

omg, his tone is FLAWLESS!!! I wanna meet him AND his guitar tech... dang.

[@394pjo]

Neil sounds like a 'wise guy' they should have given him a part in the Sopranos. His nickname would have been 'Tunes'

[@arthurmurfitt7698]

he reminds me of James Caan in Godfather lol

[@daviddeacon8544]

Yes!

[@pseudowoodo5010]

Neal*

[@kenpowilliamson]

LOL I can see it now. He's about to whack somebody and says "Tunes is going to sing you a lullaby now, "Don't stop believin"

[@sgt.thundercok4704]

Agreed.

[@kenthhamner2641]

He's always been very melodic in his playing and solos! One of my heros of guitar!

[@WilsonEatsASMR]

one of my all time favorite guitar players in rock . no question one of the best

[@maxcohen13]

Rip on him all you want, but he joined Santana at 15. What were _you_ doing at 15?

[@miguelincendi7758]

maxcohen13 smoking weed

[@janderson2000]

Listening to Santana

[@DSTaylor69]

maxcohen13 learning journey solos

[@Ezekiel33USA]

I was playing something at 15, but it sure wasn't the guitar.

[@dumbasslibtardiantheiii513]

blowing my load into a crusty sock

[@rodneycarroll1363]

Greatest ! All round Guitarist totally inspirational , Mood setter His Guitar work is as unbelievable as Steve Perry’s Voice.............Sad day when they separated.

[@BryanSmith66]

The more interviews I watch with him the more he seems like a super focused great guy.

[@Metalingots]

Now I have to go learn this song. Neal has always been a great guitarist, and even underrated buy some. 15 years old, and in Carlos Santana's band says quite a bit, playing in Journey with so much feel in his playing. HSAS, Bad English, Hardline were all great. I seen him live in 2018, and he played a long solo, I loved it, but I play guitar. My wife was waiting to get back to the songs.

[@bjornkok29]

cool,cool, thanks so much Jude.. awesome man

[@MenaceDemENACE]

Neal is one of the best guitarists out there. He has more hits than google

[@KarenElisaRoberts]

That is too cool. I have always wanted to see that stuff close up in the videos.

[@SIXSTRING63]

I figured that lick out 30 years ago the way he plays it. Amazing how many guys I've seen try to play it in a way that is impossible to get the speed of the riff. I've used it as part of my lick vocabulary ever since and the pattern in different ways. Simple 2 note per adjacent string alternate picking pattern. Like he said, really simple but says a lot. Neal is the man. So under rated. Saw a clip of him at a G3 and he smoked Vai and Satch playing some bluesy stuff.

[@jensz9360]

One of the greatest riffs of all time!

[@jegl1012]

So many great licks.....he is the real deal

[@MMACHMP]

Neal is the best

[@JohnnyBeane]

Neal rocks!! JB

[@googo151]

LOVE IT!

[@SEALCOATINGISLIFE]

Neal is a world class guitar maestro

[@lifeson241]

amazing guitarist !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@bondurango]

My favorite rock guitarist. Nobody can solo like Neal. He & Santana together we're the best. But Neal plays like some flamenco guitar master. His playing is just charismatic.

[@karivanallen3178]

Awesome guitar player. Love u Neil and still handsome as ever

[@bHuffy82]

Schon rocks man, simply the best and smooth like Butta!

[@blakjack3053]

Some say his solos were the icing on the cake. I'd say his solos were the cake !

[@watchtheskies]

guitar solos that fit with the song!! what a concept guitarists take note

[@marceloberestovoy7907]

Thanks Jude! I have to learn this song for a gig and this video was super helpful! (too bad I have to do it in G so no open string chunk on the verses) Hope you're well

[@kellym7279]

So talented!!!

[@journeyman6802]

His approach makes a lot of sense. Play something sometimes that people can recall, remember, and hum. Thats catchy too

[@karmicselling4252]

Spot on @Journeyman. I'm reminded of things like the bridge in Clapton / Cream's "Badge", the verse guitar backing parts in Boston's "More Than a Feeling" and many bits and peices of work by U2's The Edge.

[@maxsalasr]

Fit with the songs licks, musical.that is. Neal, you rock

[@TICHelp1]

Candid interview

[@jrag2007]

This guy is a master genuis !! and pretty fucking underrated..!!

[@lfnuin]

Good job Neal!!!!!....you have always rocked since your days with Rolie & Santana!!!!!.....you don't find anyone in their 50's still jamming and smoking the music box the way Neal does....and if U still don't dig it, listen to his instrumental stuff.Neal U shold come to San Juan to play some solo instrumental stuff

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

That lick where he starts out kinda slow and low and increases the tempo and volume until it's just screaming (this part 0:45 ) is the thing I think of when I hear this song mentioned. He's right, memorable.

[@dempsey981]

THIS GUYS A MONSTER CREATIVE GUITAR PICKER I THINK.he plays the right notes at exactly the right time and right way.hes in the freakin pocket.always!

[@SuperColinboy]

thanks mate,i only just bought a new top of the range amp from blackstar and have got more thank enough gain with the amount of channels and EQ in the amp.i must add some reverb i think and a bit of delay maybe?its sounds very clean with a small bit of crunch.

[@kilterkaos1]

I play in a band and we play a lot of classic rock . A memorable lead is something you can sing. And when you can sing it you need to pretty much play it close to the original. If it’s not memorable I tend to improvise the lead. It’s highlights my playing ability to the crowd.

[@SDesWriter]

l have so much respect for him as a musician. The guy is a great player, but he crafted these songs to be iconic and when they tour, he plays them almost precisely how he wrote them. It has to get old to do it the same way all the time but he gets the joy from performing, not from playing things differently all the time. If you show up to a Journey concert, you're going to hear the music how you remember it with small changes in parts that don't affect the song. It's a cool way to approach the music and the fans and shows HIS great respect for them.

[@steveprs]

incredible player. My all time favorite

[@OviaiMusic]

what a sound

[@gergemall]

Thanks

[@rominawilcox]

The guy can jam!!!

[@Speedle5150]

Playing that loud would be the coolest thing ever!

[@jackskvat5596]

"That's all it is..." classic humble Neal ripping.

[@jontrout007]

Rock guitar legend. Early Santana is the some of his best work, killer smooth licks.

[@sparkomatic]

it's harmonics. hammer/pulloff with your fretting hand, say 5th fret first finger, 7th fret 3rd finger, on the G (3rd) string. Then run the palm of your hand lightly down the strings, starting way up at the 21st fret, and coming down the neck to the 9th fret, all while still hammer/pulling those notes. the right hand palm will create a harmonic that changes as you slide your right hand, and alternates between the two notes your hammering/pulling,try it with loads of gain.

[@dmclrg]

@dmedicFF that's great....some rumors says that they wont anymore produce neal schon's Les Paul...whatsoever....TYVM..

[@shirtsguitar]

Awesome

[@thunderbirdsharrypotterfan]

Cooooooolllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Alpha40M]

Take me back to 2010 and 2011

[@TheAAMJR]

Neal Schon is the only member of the band to play on all of their albums.

[@fastlaneprofits]

brilliant guitarist!

[@GenmaKido]

man....i love this song....i cried when i heard this song......anyone who DARES to defile this AWESOME....song, dont watch the vid....plain n' simple....

[@Tacomadome24]

What a player.

[@guitarhero6584]

"That's all it is, it's easy" OK Neal

[@manuelhe46]

I'm watching him play and I still don't know how he does it. It seems like a light touch though. Interesting. I love playing this whole song with my friends.

[@angeltejon1975]

@PSNgregiskool YES,he played with SANTANA while very young around 16-17. See the SOUL TO SOUL concert at GHANA (AFRICA). Schon played guitar on CARAVANSERAI album of Santana. Check all this here on youtube.

[@bluegrassmagnoliasuperhulk7096]

long live neal schon

[@pgreenx]

Top ten best of all time

[@ptfd121]

Definately the most underated guitar player of all time. My 15 y/o son plays guitar and tries to play everything Neil does.

[@AllenSpaulding]

Why is Springsteen playing a journey song?

[@daveycmusic5150]

If you have anything bad to say about Neal's playing, you know absolutely nothing about his complete body of work, and guitar playing in general. He can do it all, from jazz, rock, blues , fusion and shred. All the dude does is play, his entire life.

[@gaylemillerround123]

Love ya Neal ♥️

[@neuregel]

@neuregel you just proved my post. thank you thank you very much

[@diemutha666]

Man...I still have Journey vinyls and have this imagination that Neal still looks the same and didn't think he would have gained weight.Must be the fact that I always hear their music and imagine them in their glory days and forget that they do have to age,even though their music is timeless.I mean no disrespect but it's just that I grew up in the 70's and have not been up to date with my heroes.

[@MannyBlue65]

I love his custom Les Paul.

[@oldmanpatriot1490]

Freaking sick of youtubes new commercial policies.. Freaking commercials were longer than the video.... Love Neil btw..

[@pdxfun4888]

I saw journey in NY before Steve Perry joined. Great band but never thought theyd be such a pop success

[@savethecontent3562]

You’re doing great man, keep practicing, you’ll get it eventually.

[@stricknine8623]

Lol,...there is hope.

[@tomcabrera8223]

A young teen and Carlos wants you accompany him in his band as a guitarist . Drop the pick moment.

[@angeltejon1975]

@fredorulz1 SHON DID NOT PLAYED ON FIRST SANTANA ALBUM...He played on ABRAXAS album..and two more including CARAVANSERAI. The famous solo lead at "Everybody everything" is performed by Schon. C.Santana and Shon mixed different sound of their solo performances on many songs,Santana with Dorian scale on guitar and Shon performing excelent rithmic and soloing too. Both are great guitarrist....

[@YOUMETYOURMATCH]

this dude is a pure genius

[@ThatOneMusicGuy789]

@jmpatton51 Yeah. I know I saw Journey last weekend and she was with him.

[@joaolucasqueiroz9990]

Totally underrated guitarist, he's amazing!

[@aerial_axe]

0:45 .. Right and, "That's it!" .. That's still kind of tricky to play Mr. Schon! LOL. The way he showed it before would actually be MUCH easier for me!

[@Blues4Winter]

"James Caan and Bruce Springsteen" LMAO! he does look like a combination of them. hilarious. Seriously, He laid down some of the most iconic guitar riffs in history. As evidence by the short test of time since they come back because they are great musicians.

[@anomasil563]

James Caan?

[@Texturas75]

LOL!

[@mikem591]

He was underrated. He was so melodic. Such beautiful melody.

[@benbyrd7607]

He's still alive, haha

[@vanderleiapereira-x2p]

Top Show Virtuose

[@beroth1]

He has humbucking Gibson pickups in the saddle, and a DiMarzio/Fernandes Sustainer in the bridge.

[@lookingatcrap]

the dude has the most tasteful solos and licks in his songs.