For this John Petrucci style guitar lesson Tech Session I wanted to do something a little different to what I’ve seen done before. Andy James has already covered John Petrucci for us. When I did some research online there seemed to be lots of lessons looking at John’s guitar technique, and licks. I agree that, yes, this is what people want, but at the same time there is a lot more than just licks to be learnt from John Petrucci’s guitar playing. So I decided to have a bit of fun with this feature and as well as look at some John Petrucci style licks, I wanted to also focus on prog metal riffs and rhythm playing, as well as looking at the use of unusual time signatures. Another factor I considered when putting this track together was the fact that John uses quite a few drop tunings, as well as seven string guitars. I’ve decided to keep everything in standard tuning, which obviously will help those of you that have floating whammy bar systems. The track I’ve composed is based on elements from both early and later Dream Theater, and is divided into five different sections.

First section:

To kick things off let's take a look at the first section, which is our riff section, which is based loosely “Erotomania”. The first riff is based around a bar of 7/8, or you could see it as a bar of 4/4 followed by a bar of 3/4. For ease of counting I saw the meter as being a quarter note count, and treated the riff as a bar of 4/4 followed by a bar of 3/4. The riff itself features a pedalling sequences on the 6th string, based around F# Phrygian, all though at various points the riff extends to include a major 3rd as well as a minor 3rd, so you could also view it as using notes from F# Altered scale. The riff basically repeats, with the second half of the sequence opening up more sonically, so you should remove your palm mute for a more open and aggressive sound. On the 7th bar I paid homage to the original “Erotomania” riff by borrowing a chromatic sequence from the track, but changed the feel of the original riff to add some colour and variation.

Our next riff is a slightly heavier section, based around a four bar sequence with a much more straight feel based around a 4/4 time signature. For this riff I was inspired by a section from the track “The Mirror”.  This riff uses the chords of E5, Bb5 and D5, and starts off with a heavy powerful half time feel. When the riff cycle starts again you will notice that the drums launch into a double time feel for two bars, whilst the riff remains the same. Take care with your counting during this section, and make sure that you keep the riff solid and heavy. I’d like to thank bassist Dave Marks for supplying the Rudess style synth samples for this riff section.

In 1989 the newly named Dream Theater released their debut album when “When Day and Dream Unite”. The albums response wasn’t what they had expected, and also saw the departure of Dominici from the position of lead vocals. Following successful battle with their original record label, Dream Theater began writing again and auditioning new singers. They settled on Canadian vocalist James LaBrie and in 1992, following the signing of a new deal, they released “Images and Words”. The single “Pull me Under”, began heavy rotation on both radio and MTV, enabling the band tour extensively in the US, Japan and Europe.

When it comes to complex arrangements, time signature changes, intricate unison riffs, and face melting solo sections, there’s no better band than Dream Theater.

Jamie Humphries

This was the beginning of big things for Dream Theater, as well as several changes in line up. During the final stages of their second album “Awake”, Kevin Moore left the band, and was replace by Derek Sherinian. Sherinian’s spell with the band was short-lived, contributing to the “Change of Seasons” EP and the more commercial orientated “Falling into Infinity”. The latter album was a difficult period for the band, especially for Portnoy who struggled with the outside interference of the record company to make the band more commercially viable. Sherinian was replaced by virtuoso Jordan Rudess. The band was now set to record some of their best work to date, including such albums as “Metropolis Pt2: Scenes from a Memory”, “Train of Thought”, “Octovarium” and “Black Clouds & Silver Linings”.

In 2010, the music community was shocked with the departure of founder member Mike Portnoy. Portnoy had been filling the drum slot with US hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold, as well as embarking on several side projects. Portnoy had stated he wanted to take an extended break from Dream Theater, but the rest of the band rejected the offer, resulting in Portnoy's departure. Dream Theater embarked on a well publicised audition process, documented on YouTube, before finally settling on ex-Extreme and Steve Vai drummer Mike Mangini.  Dream Theater continue as a driving force in the progressive Rock/Metal genre, releasing two new albums to date with Mangini on drums, including “a Dramatic Turn of Events”, and “ Dream Theater”

Dream Theater are without a doubt one of the most influential Metal bands of the past 25 years, and have legions of loyal fans around the globe. Through hard work, perseverance, and dedication, Dream Theater are one of those rare bands that have huge success, playing and recording music that they want to play, and what their fans want to hear. Dream Theater are now in another exciting chapter of their long career.