Carlos Delgado [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
Progressive metal’s most influential guitarist combines immaculate picking technique with aggressive tones to create the most technically demanding licks around.
Chops: Advanced
Theory: Advanced
Lesson Overview:
• Gain a deeper understanding of complex, shifting time signatures.
• Learn fast-paced, alternate-picked riffs.
• Create phrases that use legato, sweeping, tapping, and alternate picking. Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation.
Formed in 1985 at Boston's Berklee College of Music by drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist John Myung, and guitarist John Petrucci, Dream Theater continues to be one of the titans of progressive rock and metal. While the group would consist of this basic trio at the core until Portnoy left in 2008, over the years they've had a handful of keyboard players and several vocalists. (Current keyboardist Jordan Rudess has been in the band since 1999, and singer James LaBrie has been in the fold since the band's second album, released in 1991.)
There's no disputing that Dream Theater is the quintessential prog band for fans of proficient instrumental skills and metal. For over 30 years, Petrucci's trademark style has influenced generations of players through the group's 13 full-length studio albums. The band's sound has evolved a lot over the years, from the softer rock albums like Falling into Infinity, to the classic prog-rock of Images and Words, grand concept albums like Octavarium, and heavy metal shred-fests like Train of Thought. Each one is underpinned by Petrucci's astonishing technique. He's developed into an absolute master of picking, legato phrases, sweeping, tapping, and more.
In regard to his tone, any nice humbucker-equipped guitar through a modern high-gain amp will do the trick. However, if you'd like to be a little more authentic, Petrucci has signature guitars, amps, and pedals from Ernie Ball Music Man, Mesa/Boogie, and TC Electronic, respectively.
Because the examples in this lesson are going to get pretty hard, I thought it would make sense to start with a simple-ish riff that sticks to 4/4. Petrucci likes to flesh out his voicings beyond the basic power chords heard in most metal, and with his thick distortion, certain intervals create a lot of dissonance.
In Ex. 1, beginning around the E5 chord, there's a rich cluster added on the high strings that contains both E and F#. These notes are a whole-step apart and create a pleasing tension. The final measure features a rich Csus2 chord, as the 2 works a lot better with distortion than the 3. This allows you to let the chord ring out as you arpeggiate it.
Click here for Ex. 1
Ex. 2moves between 5/4 and 9/8 time. If you're new to time signature changes, I covered them in detail in my Obsessive Progressive lesson “Get a Grip on Odd-Time Signatures."
In my mind, I'm counting: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 |
This yields a measure with five full beats, and then a bar where the fifth beat has been cut in half. It's possible to count to nine, but since the number seven contains two syllables, it can be easier to count both measures as “five" and throw out the extra count. If you're going to count to nine, you want to count one, two, three, four, five, six, sev, eight, nine.
Click here for Ex. 2
Ex. 3is conceptually similar to the previous idea. There's a measure of 4/4, which could be thought of as a full measure, and then a measure that's just short of being full. This creates a jarring sensation—like the music trips.
I've written this as a measure of 4/4, then a measure of 7/8, but you'll often see the same idea written as 15/8.
Click here for Ex. 3
The next example (Ex. 4) changes time signatures every measure and moves between 4/4, 7/8, and 3/4. This is a pretty tricky example, so spend time to really come to grips with the counting before learning the part. Rather than attempting to maintain a strict count when tackling a passage like this, try to internalize it—so you can feelthe line as you play it—especially as the note choice doesn't conform to any key or scale.
Click here for Ex. 4
Ex. 5is as rhythmically complex as it's likely to get, shifting between four different 16th-note-based time signatures. The secret here is breaking down each bar into smaller groupings and counting those (an idea that's integral to mastery of the Indian Konnakol system). I've grouped the notation with this counting in mind, so it's easier to see.
Measure one consists of a group of three (an eighth-note followed by a 16th-note), which is repeated, before playing a group of four, then a group of three to end. This gives us the following pattern:
1 2 3 | 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 4 | 1 2 3 |
See if you can break down each of the remaining measures with this method.
Click here for Ex. 5
The final three examplesshowcase Petrucci's technical prowess in soloing, beginning with his formidable legato chops. Ex. 6 moves from the 2nd fret up to the 15th rather quickly. In essence, you repeat an eighth-note motif played within the three-note-per-string patterns before shifting up to the next shape (using the first finger) to repeat. To get this one down at speed, you'll need to be confident of your three-note-per-string patterns, which in this case are in the key of G.
Click here for Ex. 6
The next idea (Ex. 7) is a tricky lick combining sweep picking, tapping, and a tough stretch on the fretting hand. Taken from the E Lydian mode (E–F#–G#–A#–B–C#–D#), the idea requires you to stretch between the 12th and 18th frets, with a gap between each finger. This applies to both the sweeping arpeggios and the legato moves on the top string.
Another interesting part of this lick is the “glitch" in the sweep, where you repeat the note as you change direction. At speed, these create a cool sound. (Note: They're also a big part of Tosin Abasi's style.) It also makes the lick a little easier, as you never have to skip over a string.
The final bit of advice here is to sweep with the pick over the fretboard as you're going to need to come in and tap at the 19th and 21st frets. Keeping your picking hand hovering over the pickups will make this extremely tricky.
Click here for Ex. 7
The final example (Ex. 8) takes cues from Petrucci's unison and harmony runs with keyboardist Jordan Rudess. These are common in Dream Theater's music with “In the Presence of Enemies Pt. 1," “This Dying Soul," and “In the Name of God" being great examples.
There's no hiding from the fact that this example requires some astonishingly accurate alternate-picking skills. Petrucci's picking is known for being near perfect. Combine that with the tight harmony with Rudess, and you can see how any picking fluctuations will completely ruin the overall effect. In this example, I added a keyboard a third away from the guitar line. Naturally, you'll want to take this lick extremely slowly and build up speed over time.
Click here for Ex. 8
The mastermind behind independent Canadian prog-metal band Intervals talks tone on the road, the importance of good merch, and how to thrive as an unsigned act.
Intervals bandleader Aaron Marshall joins Rhett and Zach for this installment of Dipped In Tone, which is essentially a crash-course in touring, merch design, road-ready rig planning, and keeping your head above water as an unsigned act.
The trio start off with a deep dive into Intervals’ focus on high-quality merch, and Marshall outlines his design and marketing philosophies. Increasingly, these elements are the lifeblood of any band that wants to make a living in music: “A touring band is just a traveling T-shirt shop that gets to play music for 40 minutes,” Marshall quips.
Marshall expands on his DIY expertise—Intervals has self-released all four of their full-length records, and still managed to thrive and build a name for themselves. Obviously, that requires a lot of hard work before outsourcing things like management and booking. “You have to take it to your wit’s end,” says Marshall.
Marshall explains how Intervals has managed to maintain a top-level live production without label backing, and why, after literally tucking his tube amps in to a tour van bunk bed, he won’t take them on the road anymore. (“Glass is crazy to be touring with,” he says.) Part of the band’s low-frills magic is a “go along to get along” attitude as an opening act, which includes foregoing specific pieces of gear to make their lives—and the lives of everyone involved in a tour production—more easy.
While Intervals leans toward the gnarlier side of the rock spectrum, Marshall connects his playing back to the classics, and shares why he thinks it’s important to keep a healthy, back-to-basics musical diet: “Playing the blues and learning how to play rock is like eating broccoli at every meal.”
Stay tuned til the end to get the details on Intervals’ upcoming 2024 release.
Get 10% off from StewMac when you visit stewmac.com/dippedintone
By Grywnn [CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons
Rhythmic intensity and beautiful, crunchy dissonance fuel the prog-metal stylings of one of Sweden’s heaviest exports.
Chops: Intermediate
Theory: Intermediate
Lesson Overview:
• Learn to toss out the rules in pursuit of a great riff.
• Develop a keener rhythmic awareness.
• Understand how to create biting, heavy riffs—without tuning down.
Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation.
Formed in 1989 in Sweden, Opeth has been the creative outlet for progressive maestro Mikael Åkerfeldt for almost 30 years now. As a band, Opeth has worn many hats. Although its music fits comfortably under the label of progressive death metal, the group has flirted with Celtic folk, black metal, jazz, and most recently '70s prog. It's incredible how many times the band has reinvented itself. Listen to the sprawling, progressive sound of 2016's Sorceress compared to “The Twilight Is My Robe" from their 1995 debut album, Orchid. Quite a difference!
Mikael's trademark sound can be traced to his openly admitted lack of theoretical understanding or formal musical education. He has simply played guitar for over 30 years and found all the things that sound good to him. He still claims he can't name any of the chords he uses, and even if this is an exaggeration it still teaches you an important lesson: There are no rules in music. Limiting yourself to the things you understand and can explain is to put yourself in the smallest box of all.
This idea of musical freedom is paramount in Opeth's music. Very rarely can you look at one of the band's songs and explain it using just a few words. Plus, it's not uncommon for a riff to draw from a multitude of scales. So when investigating the sounds in this lesson, don't get too bogged down trying to understand things from a theoretical perspective. Instead, use these examples as a reminder that it's okay to be musically free. Explore. Find the things that you like. Use them.
Guitar-wise, Mikael has used PRS guitars for many years, so any decent humbucker is going to get you in the ballpark. I've played all these examples in standard tuning, as Mikael is a big believer in not needing to tune down to be heavy. A good riff will sound good in standard tuning. When you tune down it's easy to play something that sounds heavy, but it may lose its charm when tuned back up. There are just a handful of times the band has used drop D, or something more exotic like open D minor (D–A–D–F–A–D).
Ex. 1 consists of some simple octaves that could be seen as being taken from F# Phrygian dominant (F#–G–A#–B–C#–D–E). These octaves are brought to life with the addition of the ringing open 3rd and 2nd strings. The final measure doesn't really make any sense from a theoretical perspective—it's a note salad—but the unconventional note pool does have the effect of creating an uneasy tension before resolving to the original chord.
Click here for Ex. 1
We switch to 6/8 for Ex. 2, which contains a combination of chord stabs against fast-picked bass notes. If you were to analyze the chords, you could call them Em/G, Em(maj7)/G, Dsus2, and perhaps, A5/D#. But in reality, they're simply chords that sound cool. Notice how the chord in the last measure is identical to the one in the previous measure, except for the lowest note moving up a half-step. It's all about having something that sounds dissonant, rather than something that makes a whole lot of sense.
Click here for Ex. 2
Ex. 3 continues in 6/8, but this time offsetting single notes against chordal ideas. The motif in the first measure has a dark, brooding quality due to the use of the b9 (F). This use of a note one fret above the root is common in Mikael's writing style, and it creates a Phrygian vibe, no matter the setting.
The chord stabs are a little more colorful than the typical power chords heard in metal. Also, they're all minor chords: Bbm, Gm, C#m, and Am, respectively. It's common in darker styles of metal—notably black metal—to ignore the expected harmony and make chords minor. This results in a doom-like quality, and you can hear it in everything from Emperor to Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings soundtrack.
Click here for Ex. 3
Ex. 4 uses more octaves and open strings to create dark textures that ring into each other. If you attempt to name these, you get Abm(maj7), and Gmaj7/F#, but again, that's not the point. The final measure features some chromatic descending tritones, which are made more interesting by the rhythmic aspect, as each new arpeggio is syncopated.
Click here for Ex. 4
The next example (Ex. 5) mixes time signatures, going between 4/4 and 3/4, without ever feeling “odd" because of the flow of the rhythms. The names we give to the time signatures are largely irrelevant because it could just as easily be one long bar of 13/4!
Here, we're expanding on this idea of the b5. The basic chord takes an F# and stacks a b5th on top (C), then another b5th on that (F#), and then another b5th (C ). It's hard to give a chord like this a conventional name, but that's okay—it's an unconventional chord. The idea is that the b5th interval sounds “dark," so let's play several at once.
Click here for Ex. 5
Ex. 6 features a few more traditional chords put together in a less traditional way. This is typical for the rhythm part Mikael might put behind a guitar solo for a solid backdrop. The interesting part here is the repeating rhythmic motif in the first two measures that's altered slightly later in the riff.
Click here for Ex. 6
Opeth's newer material provides the inspiration for Ex. 7. When Heritage was released in 2011, it felt like all of the “death" and “metal" had gone, and suddenly there was a shift towards authentic '70s rock with lower-gain tones and organ parts. The writing approach didn't change though, as demonstrated in this riff. In my mind, this is more of a geometric shape that's played on a Bb and E. It's a little “triangle" shape that sounds cool … so it is cool. It certainly doesn't fit in an obvious scale, but it makes total sense when you hear it.
Click here for Ex. 7
The final example (Ex. 8) is a tricky idea played mainly on one string. I love when Mikael writes long, complicated lines that feel like they take ages to resolve and make sense. The harmony can be seen as many things, but in my mind it's all about E, and everything else is an added color on that. Bb is the b5—it's dark. F is the b9, and it's even darker. G and F# are the b3 and 2, they're brighter.
Take this slowly and make sure you're playing the position shifts correctly.
Click here for Ex. 8
This is really just scratching the surface of what's in Opeth's sound, and we didn't even touch the lead guitar found on their albums (lead guitarist Fredrik Åkesson is no slouch), so head on off and do some listening!