Wild Stringdom

John Petrucci

Stretch The Boundries: Extended major voicings

Last month, we looked at using sus2 and add9 voicings to drastically change
the sound of common chord progressions. This time around, I want to show
you two chord forms that I regularly use instead of simple major triads. Both are built
on the sus2 shape that we learned in last month's lesson and include other "color tones"
in addition to the added ninth.

To my ears, one of the most beautiful-sounding voicings on the guitar is the maj9 chord
depicted in FIGURE 1. The natural seventh on the B string ringing against the root on
the E string (creating an interval of a minor second) adds a unique chime-like quality to
this voicing. The ninth and the natural seventh, along with the third, also invoke a very
strong, resolved major sound.

The maj9 chord is commonly used as a substitute for the I or IV chord in a

diatonic major progression, or for the bVI chord in a minor progression. For
example, check out how FIGURES 1A and 1B breathe new life to stock G-C
and Em-C progressions.

Though this is one of the hardest voicings to execute cleanly on the guitar, it's well
worth the effort. Play the tricky barre with your pinky bent at the first joint, making sure
to leave enough room for the high E string to ring out.

FIGURE 2 features another favorite chord of mine, the add9#11. In this particular
voicing, the raised eleventh replaces the third, creating a Lydian sound. Since this chord
doesn't contain the third, it's technically neither major nor minor. In context, however, it
functions as a major chord. Its usage is very specific-since the raised eleventh defines
the Lydian sound, the add9#11 chord can only be used as a substitute for the IV chord in
a diatonic major progression.

The power of this voicing is evident when you compare FIGURES 2A and 2B. Look at
the simple D-G5 progression in FIGURE 2A.
Big deal, right? It's just another nice groove that you and 5,000,000 other guitarists can
play. Now play FIGURE 2B. All of a sudden, that same boring progression sounds very
fresh, haunting and mysterious . And believe it or not, the notes in these chords are
totally diatonic-you've never left the key of D.

You can also use the add9#11 chord in a minor key over the bVI chord. Check out
FIGURE 2C to see how a humdrum Em-C progression is magically transformed into a
memorable theme.

Because these voicings encompass quite a few frets, they also make great stretching
exercises. As a warm-up, I'll play a bunch of add9 chords until my fingers stretch out.
But if you're not used to playing wide-spaced voicings, be careful. Initially, they're
pretty difficult to play in the lower positions, so you may want to start practicing them
higher up the neck, moving them down as they become easier to play. Start slowly and
don't overdo it-you don't want to hurt your tendons. And of course, make sure that all
the notes ring out clearly. I'll see you next month with more chord magic.

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

The Open String Thing Movable chords with open strings

Using open strings is a great way to add texture and atmosphere to any chord
progression. By adding open strings to even the simplest chords, you can create
voicings that sound sophisticated, but are really easy (and fun) to play. They're practical,
not intimidating, and most certainly don't sound like "jazz chords."

Want to know a remarkably simple way to sound hip? Just lift your index finger off of
the B and E strings when playing a major barre chord, allowing them to ring out (I'm
assuming that most of you know how to play barre chords). Yes, friends, adding nothing
but the open E and B strings to a major barre chord will drastically change its makeup
and expand its harmonic function. Plus, as an extra bonus, not having to barre the chord
makes it a cinch to finger.

Look at FIGURE 1 to see some great examples of what I mean. Since these chord
shapes all contain the third, the resulting voicings will be some form of a major or
dominant chord. The Cmaj7 voicing is real cool in that it doesn't sound "nightclubby"-
it's one way to play a major-seventh voicing without sounding like you belong in the
Acapulco Lounge on the Love Boat. Tension is created in the B(add4) chord via the
inclusion of both the third (D#) and the fourth (E)-it sounds half major and half
suspended. And the F#7(add4) is right out of [Rush guitarist] Alex Lifeson's bag of
tricks. (Alex is one of the true masters of open-string chording.)

Now let's check out FIGURE 2, which depicts voicings created by combining everyday
power chords with open B and E strings. Rather than barring the notes on the D and G
strings, play them with your ring finger and pinky (refer to the chord grids). This will
ensure that the open B and E strings ring out clearly. Listen to the F#7sus4 voicing-it
has a real "ELP" (Emerson, Lake and Palmer, a great progressive band of the Seventies)
vibe-very powerful, almost angry. The C#m7 is also one of my favorites-I use it quite a
bit in my own music.

Though these chords are easy to play, I can't stress enough how exciting they sound.
See, when you're playing chords in a band, you can do one of two things: support the
foundation by rhythmic accompaniment, such as strumming (the traditional role of the
rhythm guitarist), or create motifs with chords, producing a sense of melodic movement.
Open-string chords instantly allow you to do the latter. The sheer nature of these
voicings, with their ringing, sustaining quality, enable your rhythm parts to sound
"bigger"-more anthemic and melodic. Play FIGURE 3, an etude which combines
voicings from figureS 1 and 2, and you'll hear exactly what I mean.

So far, we've only scratched the surface of this exciting concept. If you want to learn
more about how to use open-string voicings in different progressions and orchestrations,
check out my new instructional video, available on REH Video. See 'ya next month!

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

A Change of Seasons Dream Theater's extended-chord workout

If you've been following my columns, you know how strongly I believe in applying new
concepts to practical musical situations (sessions, gigs etc.). Now that we've covered a
few different approaches on how to spice up your chord playing, let's put them into
action.

My band, Dream Theater, recently released an EP called A Change of Seasons.

Coincidentally, the title track (which is 22 minutes long and goes through various
movements) has a section in the middle that contains most of the chord types we've
covered in the past few months. FIGURE 1 is a study based on this passage. It's a good
example of how to use sophisticated-sounding voicings in a real-life situation. It makes
a great chord study, too.
When I originally recorded this section of "A Change of Seasons," I used simpler
voicings in a few places. For the purpose of this study, however, I made them a bit more
interesting. For example, on the record I played a simple Em chord in bar 9, but here I
decided to use Em(add9) instead. Both work well, but I feel Em(add9) is more dramatic.
On the original "A Change Of Seasons," I repeated the Asus2 chord in bar 6 that I
played in bar 2. Here, I substituted it with an open-string Amaj9 voicing.

Performance Tips

The key to mastering this study is to finger each chord before arpeggiating it. This will
enable the notes to ring into each other and produce a "harp-like" shimmering effect.
The same goes for executing the single-note run in measure 12-don't lift your finger
after sliding into the F#. Instead, let it ring into the open G.

All it takes to switch from C#m7 to Amaj9 in bars 5-6 is simply lifting your index
finger. Then compare these two voicings-it's amazing how a single bass note can
radically change the harmonic function of a chord.

Make sure you mute the A string when arpeggiating the F#m11 chords in bars 3 and 7.

Practice this study with a metromone set at quarter-note=80 at first, and increase it to
100-110 as you get more comfortable with the piece.

Last but not least, try adding a bit of chorus and reverb to your guitar sound. This will
bring out the lush quality of the chords.
I hope this crash course in chords has opened your mind (and ears) to the different
harmonic possibilities that even a simple progression can present. Don't be afraid to
experiment with chords-try adding color tones, open strings and different bass notes to
stock voicings. You don't have to rely on the conventional fingerings found in chord
books. Above all, let your ear be the final judge.

Starting next month: how to solo over chords that are not diatonic to the key of the song
that you're playing (or chords you may be unfamiliar with in general). Later!

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

Uncharted Waters Navigating lines outside the key center

There have been moments, I'm sure, in the course of playing a tune or jamming over a
progression, that you've come across a chord or two that didn't quite "belong" in the
song's key center. It's happens to all of us. Suddenly, the scale you've been soloing with
no longer fits-in fact, it sounds terrible! What ends up happening is that you either lay
out altogether for the duration of the mystery chord, or you try to muddle your way
through it, hunting and pecking, praying that at least some of the notes will work. Well,
fear no more, for I'm here to give you a few tips that may help you overcome this
intimidating situation.

Let's start at the beginning. Before you attempt to solo over any progression, you should
look it over. Is the progression completely diatonic, or are there chords out of the key
center? Are there any chords that may be unfamiliar to you? It's important to isolate
potential trouble spots and work on them in advance.

If you're playing over a series of diatonic chord changes, as in FIGURE 1, the solution
is pretty obvious-you can easily use one scale throughout the entire progression and it'll
sound fine. Since FIGURE 1 is in the key of E major, you can use the E Ionian (major)
or E major-pentatonic scale to solo over the entire groove.

But suppose the progression "borrows" a major chord that's not in the key, like the C
chord in FIGURE 2. Well, that's where you'll have to do some pre-planning. In this case,
there's a tried-and-true rule you can pretty much follow: whenever there's a single non-
diatonic major chord in a progression, play the Lydian scale built on the root of the
chord over it. In other words, since there's a C chord in the otherwise diatonic
progression in the key of E, you'll have to play the C Lydian scale (FIGURE 3) over
that-and only that-chord.
Be forewarned-simply playing the scale is not enough. Nothing gives away
inexperienced improvisers faster than the sudden break in their solo's momentum caused
by trying to play a scale that "works" or to force a line that they previously worked out.
The key is to smoothly connect your lines so you sound like you're playing "through"
the changes, not "over" them.

Compare FIGURES 4A and 4B.

FIGURE 4A is an example of something an immature soloist might do, that is, sacrifice
the whole flow of the solo by trying to nail the "correct" scale over a "trouble spot" in
the progression. Notice how running the C Lydian scale (and starting on the root, no
less!) has nothing to do with the bluesy feel of the rest of the solo. Now check out
FIGURE 4B.

Even though I used C Lydian over the C chord, the line feels like one continuous idea.
That's because I set up the change by smoothly resolving from one chord tone to another
(from the third of A [C#] to the root of C). It's amazing what a simple half-step can do
when you know how to use it.

To get this concept under your fingers, try this exercise: tape a diatonic progression that
has one non-diatonic major chord (use Figure 2 as a starting point). Then try to craft
your lines so that when you're switching to the chord that's not in the key center, the
largest interval you play is a whole-step or half-step in either direction. You can also use
a tone that's common to both scales (E, F#, A and B are found in both E Ionian and C
Lydian). Using these initial guidelines will give your ideas greater melodic continuity.
Next month, we'll go further in-depth into non-diatonic soloing.

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

Dominating The Fretboard Mastering the Lydian-dominant scale

Last month, we talked about using the Lydian scale to solo over a non-diatonic major
chord in a progression. But suppose you're working on a tune that uses one or more non-
diatonic dominant-seven chords (b7, 9, 13, b7b5, 9#11, 13#11). What would be the scale
of choice then? Well, it would be the Lydian-dominant scale, the focus of this month's
lesson.

The Lydian-dominant (also known as the "Lydian flat-seventh") scale is simply a Lydian
scale with a lowered seventh (or, to look at it another way, a Mixolydian scale with a
raised fourth). For those of you who are theory-minded, it can also be thought of as the
fourth mode of the melodic-minor scale. Looking at FIGURE 1, you'll notice that the C
Lydian-dominant scale is identical to the G melodic-minor scale starting on the fourth
degree (C).

Though this scale may be a little difficult to "hear" right off the bat, the more you
experiment with it, the more you'll come to appreciate its richness and depth. A good
way to learn this scale's sound is to create a pattern that emphasizes the Lydian-
dominant tonality and compose lines with it. One particular favorite pattern of mine is
the six-note idea depicted in FIGURE 2. It captures the essence of the Lydian-dominant
sound, namely the third (E), raised fourth (F#) and lowered seventh (Bb). Once you
have this basic shape under your fingers, try coming up with lines using only the notes
in the pattern, as in FIGURE 2A.

Keep in mind that you can play this pattern, and all the new licks you've created with it,
on two adjacent strings all over the neck.
Once you have the Lydian-dominant sound down, experiment, experiment, experiment!
Write as many lines as you can using the Lydian-dominant scale. Granted, some of them
will be lame, but you'll be surprised by all the cool ideas you're bound to come up with.
FIGURES 3 and 4 are two examples to help get you started.

Now the big question: where would you use this scale in a tune? The rule is simple:
whenever there's a non-diatonic dominant chord in a progression, play the Lydian-
dominant scale built on the root of the chord over it. Remember to connect your ideas
smoothly when you're switching to a chord outside of the key center. Try not to use any
intervals greater than a whole-step in either direction at first. As you become more
familiar with the scale's sound and visual fretboard patterns, experiment with wider
intervals such as thirds, fourths, fifths, etc. Check out FIGURE 5 to see what I mean.
Notice how the C9 chord is seamlessly connected to Em and how it effortlessly resolves
to Bm.

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci
Chromazones 12 Tones To Glory

Before Dream Theater took off I used to teach a lot, and one of the things my students
often asked me was how to apply the chromatic scale to practical playing situations. You
see, their other teachers would give them chromatic warm-up exercises without
providing any explanation of how important and versatile this scale actually is. For the
next few months, I'd like to show you how to use the chromatic scale, not just as a tool
to build chops but as a melodic device to add color to your playing.

FIGURE 1 shows the chromatic scale in the 1st position, beginning on F. Since the
chromatic scale is built on consecutive half-step intervals (and therefore contains all 12
tones used in Western music), it has no true tonal center. This means that, used
judiciously, it can fit over any chord.

Before you can apply chromatic ideas to scales and arpeggios, you have to get the
chromatic scale itself under your fingers. You should learn it up and down the neck, and
become comfortable with the fingerings. Here are a couple of chromatic exercises that
will build up your technique and get you moving all over the fingerboard. Once you
master the technique, applying it will be a lot easier.

FIGURE 2 is a good chops-building exercise. It doesn't contain all the notes of a

-chromatic scale (not every half-step is included), but it has enough chromatic elements
to get you started. Practice this exercise with a metronome, using alternate picking. Start
at a slow tempo (60 beats per minute) and gradually increase the speed. Since the notes
fall in groups of four, you can accent the first note of each string or, as I do, of each
measure. I do this because it helps me solidify the time; as a result, my speed and
precision improve.
Once you get Figure 2 down, try tackling FIGURE 3. This exercise is great because it
gets you thinking laterally along the neck--an invaluable approach to breaking away
from position playing. (Haven't you been wanting to go beyond those pentatonic boxes
for a while now?) Here's the deal: first, start on F# on the low E string and play four
chromatic notes up; shift up a half step (one fret) with your pinky (you're now in the 3rd
position) and play four chromatic notes down; then shift up a half step (to the 4th
position) with your index finger and play four chromatic notes up again. That's the
pattern. Then, keeping your hand in the 4th position, jump over to the A string and start
all over again. By the time you finish the pattern on the high E string, you'll be in the
14th position!

FIGURE 3a is just Figure 3 played in reverse, descending to the 2nd position. Follow
the left-hand fingerings indicated beneath the tablature and you shouldn't have a
problem. Both figures sound good over F#m, but they can work over any chord.
Experiment.

Next month, we'll explore how to incorporate chromatic passages into various modes.
Until then, so long!

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

Chopin Sez Me Studying non-guitar music to spice up your playing.

One of the best ways to broaden your scope as a guitarist (or musician, for that matter)
is to listen how other (non-guitarist) musicians write or improvise. Drawing influences
from other instruments is an important yet oft-neglected process that will help you gain
a whole new perspective on the guitar. You might say it's (no pun intended) instrumental
in developing your individuality.

All instruments have fingerings and phrasings that are inherent to them. For example,
lines that are easy to play on the saxophone or piano might be a lot harder to play on the
guitar. Because of this, many guitarists won't try to play these types of lines and as a
result end up regurgitating the same guitar-bred licks that everyone else plays.

By adapting music to the guitar that was originally improvised on or written for another
instrument, you'll be able to infuse a breath of fresh air into your lines and separate
yourself from the majority of guitarists who rely on purely guitaristic devices and
fingerings. You'll actually be forced to approach the guitar from a whole new direction.
And as a result, you'll broaden not only your knowledge of music, but your knowledge
of the guitar as well.

I feel that one of the best ways to get into the "vibe" of another instrument is to
transcribe solos and learn pieces specifically written for it. In fact, this is one of the
things I specifically focus on in my clinics. So with that in mind, I thought we'd work
towards learning a great classical piano piece, Chopin's Etude No.2, Opus 10. It's a
chromatic, 16th-note virtuoso workout (very similar in attitude to "Flight of the
Bumblebee") that translates incredibly well to the guitar. It will not only hone your
chops to razor-sharp perfection, but it will also give you plenty of ideas for cool,
unconventional lines and licks.

Before you attempt to play this etude, you'll need to master certain techniques (such as
right- and left-hand coordination and playing the chromatic scale across the whole
fingerboard) that will help facilitate you learning it. So for the next few lessons, we'll
cover all the tools you'll need to tackle this challenging, yet ultimately rewarding piece.

One point of note: All the exercises we'll be working on leading up to the etude were
also written for instruments other than the guitar. They're also all chromatic sequences,
which are crucial to learn, because you won't be able to play Chopin's Etude No.2 unless
you know the chromatic scale (Figure 1) inside-out. So let's get to it!

FIGURE 2 is a chromatic exercise derived from a violin study. Play each sextuplet four
times using alternate picking, ascending chromatically to the 12th position. I
recommend accenting the first and fourth notes of each sextuplet-this will help to get
your alternate picking sounding crisp and in time.

A cool way to practice this study is to use a low amp volume so that you can hear both
the electric and the acoustic sounds of the guitar. That way, you can hear the accent of
the pick and gauge how cleanly you're playing at the same time.
Once you're at the 12th position, descend chromatically to the 1st position, starting the
sequence with your pinkie, as in FIGURE 3. Play these exercises on all the other
strings, as well.

By now you know to start slowly and increase the metronome tempo only when you
feel comfortable. Once you've mastered these, you'll be ready for the other cool violin
exercises we'll cover next month. Later!

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

Fiddling Around Build your left-hand strength with these violin-inspired

chromatic-scale workouts

Last summer, Dream Theater played some outdoor festivals in Europe that also featured
Elton John and Rod Stewart. Rod was touring with a full orchestra, and backstage there
were little booths set up where the musicians in the orchestra could warm up. As I was
walking around, I heard a violinist playing these wild exercises-he was wailing! I
thought it would be really cool to adapt those licks to the guitar. Since the violinist
didn't speak any English, I had to gesture for him to show me what he was doing. He
gladly did, and then he showed me a bunch of variations, too. It was great; though we
didn't speak, we nonetheless communicated very easily.

The warm-ups my violinist friend showed me are difficult to play on guitar, but
incredibly beneficial when mastered. A violin neck is much smaller than the guitar's, so
it's much easier to play wide intervals on one violin string. On the guitar, you really
have to stretch to play them. And that's where these exercises will really help.
To play FIGURE 1 you need to work on stretching between the first and second fingers.
Play each pattern four times, move it chromatically up the neck to the 12th position and
then descend, as in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 3 works the stretch between your ring finger and the pinkie. Then, if you
really want to be challenged, play FIGURE 4, which introduces a multiple stretch.

Once you master these exercises individually, try playing FIGURE 5, which combines
all the stretching patterns in one position into a mega-exercise that moves up
chromatically. This one's a real workout, and will really warm up your hands. When
you're done with the low E string, play this exercise on the remaining strings.
Now, you may be asking yourself why you would need to practice exercises that are
clearly technical in nature. Well, the obvious benefits are that you're using all four left-
hand fingers and developing right- and left-hand synchronization skills.

But there's another important reason: guitar playing benefits from a certain amount of
daily maintenance. It's kind of like exercising-it's a lot more beneficial for you to
exercise every day instead of doing nothing and then one day working out for five
hours.

There was a time when I used to practice all the left-hand chromatic permutations daily.
Of course that was when I was 16 years old and without a care in the world. But as I got
older and started getting more responsibilities, my schedule got compressed to the point
where on certain days I hardly had any time to practice at all. That was where playing
musical pieces or exercises that incorporate a lot of things into one comprehensive study
(such as the ones in this month's column) became both beneficial and time-saving. By
playing studies such as these, I'm able to maintain my technique. And, as an added
bonus, they're ideal for warming up right before I go onstage.

Musically, what can you do with these exercises? Plenty! Just check out what Chopin
did with chromatic passages! And if you apply the sequences we learned here to any
scale, you can come up with many cool melodic ideas, as we'll see next month.

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

Odd Man Out Using different meters to accommodate your technique.

For our final lesson on chromatics, I thought I'd throw you a little curve and give you a
few odd-meter exercises in 5/8. Now you might ask, "Why play anything in 5/8?" Well,
I came up with this sequence because it's easier for me to play across the strings.

As some of you already know, I use alternate (down-up-down-up) picking exclusively.

This can present a bit of an efficiency problem when crossing strings to play a three-
note-per-string pattern, because the first note on every other string lands on an upstroke.
To avoid this awkward movement and make my patterns flow a bit better, I try to craft
them so that each time I cross strings, the first note falls on a downstroke.

Let's get the 5/8 feel under our fingers first. FIGURE 1 is a good place to start.

Practice it by playing it on each string up and down the neck chromatically to the 12th
position and back. Don't be intimidated by the odd meter: the one important thing to
remember is that even though the rhythm is syncopated, the picking remains steady and
strictly alternate (down-up-down-up).

Once you feel a little bit more comfortable with 5/8 meter, play FIGURE 2, a great
exercise to work on your string-crossing technique. Notice that I added accents to the
pattern as if it were written in triplets. But if the pattern was simply three 16th-note
triplets (or 9/16 meter), crossing strings would be awkward. To make it easier to pick, I
added one note to that 9/16 pattern (making it a figure in 5/8 meter) while still accenting
the notes to keep a bit of the triplet feel.
One way I make FIGURE 2 more exciting is by playing it up the neck using a
metronome with the guitar set to the bridge pickup. When I reach the 12th position, I'll
raise the metronome setting a few clicks and change to the neck pickup, and work my
way back down. I keep repeating this until I either reach my target metronome tempo
OR I feel sufficiently warmed up. I change pickups just because I like the way the neck
pickup sounds in the upper register.

To make this exercise even more interesting, try applying the 5/8 sequence to a diagonal
four-note-per-string chromatic scale. Though Chopin's Etude No. 2, Opus 10 [see Mar.
'96 GW] doesn't have any measures in 5/8 time, it's full of "diagonal" chromatic moves
such as those found in FIGURE 3.

Make sure to practice these patterns with a metronome-this will certainly get you
playing fast, clean and with a lot of authority.

Lest you think that 5/8 is too impractical a time signature, play FIGURE 4, a riff that
doesn't sound "odd-meterish" at all-in fact, it rocks pretty hard.

If you've worked on the other chromatic exercises in this lesson, you should be able to
feel the 5/8 pulse pretty easily by now, so this one shouldn't be too difficult.
If you haven't been practicing your chromatic exercises, you better start cracking, 'cause
you're sure gonna need to know 'em inside-out by next month, when we finally tackle
Chopin!

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

Romancing The Fretboard Chopin arranged for guitar, Part 1

As I promised several columns ago, here's the first installment of Chopin's Piano
Concerto in A minor, Opus No. 2. I've arranged it for guitar, and as you can see, it's not
for the meek. But if you've been diligently practicing the chromatic exercises from my
past few lessons, you should be ready to tackle it.

This etude is an excellent study in the use of chromatic tones in a melody. I've included
chord symbols above the staff to give you an idea of the melody's harmonic context.
These chord symbols reflect the basic underlying harmony originally provided by the
left hand part on the piano. Studying classical music, especially pieces from the
Romantic period such as this, will give you serious insight into how to use chromatic
passages in a composition or improvisation and have them make sense.

You might be wondering, how the hell can you use this chromatic stuff in a rock song?
All you have to do is listen to some Dream Theater tunes for the answer. For example,
"Caught in a Web" has an extended chromatic passage [see the complete transcription in
the Jan. '95 issue of Guitar School-Ed.]. The chromatic scale offers great material for
writing cool riffs, but, more importantly, it gives you options for smoothly weaving in
and out of a key center.
After playing this piece for a while, you should be able to pick up a few chromatic ideas
to apply to your own solos. You'll start to see how you don't have to be tied to a
particular scale or fingering pattern-you'll feel more comfortable playing notes that are
out of the key center. And by intelligently applying chromatic notes to your lines, such
as using them as passing tones to connect chord tones that fall on the strong beats, they
can become more original-sounding while still retaining harmonic logic. Of course, you
can just play random chromatic lines all over the place, but that's a different, more
atonal style of music.

Here are a few performance tips:

Notice that there are quite a few position changes. As such, the left-hand fingerings have
to be arranged to make shifting positions as easy as possible. That's why, though the
music may be the same (as in measures 1-2 and 5-6), the tablature is different on the
repeat (use the tablature on the bottom the second time through). Carefully follow the
left-hand fingerings provided beneath the tablature-these are the ones that I use.

My arrangement is just for the melody line, but since this is a piano piece, it was
originally written so the left hand would play chords and the right hand would play the
melody. To truly appreciate the richness and depth of Chopin's melodic and harmonic
style, you might want to record yourself strumming the chord changes (or have a friend
play them) while you play the melody.

Chopin was a master of melody, harmony and voice leading--the art of smoothly
moving from chord to chord. Though the melody of this piece is mostly chromatic,
notice how he targets a chord tone on the first 16th note of each beat. Let's look at the
first measure: although it's written using an ascending chromatic scale starting on A,
notice how, when the chord changes from Am to Dm, the melody lands on F, which is
the third of Dm. Over the E7 chord in the third measure, Chopin targets the third of that
chord (G#). If you follow along, you can see other prominent examples of this harmonic
device, such as targeting the lowered fifth of F7b5 (B) and the lowered seventh of B7
(A). This is what I referred to earlier as the logic of writing chromatic lines. This should
give you plenty to work with this month. Next month, Part 2!

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

Romancing The Fretboard, Part 2 "Chopin" Up The Neck

Hi everyone. So, after working on last month's lesson, are you still with me? I hope so,
`cause here's the second part of Chopin's Piano Concerto in A minor, Opus No.2.
Chopin's mastery of harmony is quite evident in this section. He starts off by
modulating to the key of C, the relative major of Am. (This type of modulation became
popular during the Baroque period.) After that, the fun begins. Notice the clever way
Frederic briefly modulates to the key of Gm-he approaches D7 (the V chord of Gm)
chromatically from below before resolving to the actual Gm chord. He then repeats this
move a whole-step up, chromatically approaching E7 (the V of Am) before resolving to
Am.

In measures 12-13, Chopin relies on the tritone substitution principle (in which a
dominant-seventh-type chord can be interchanged with another dominant chord a
diminished fifth above or below). Notice how Eb7b5 is used as a substitute for A7 (the
V of D) and how F7b5 is used to replace B7 (the V of E). This type of move (very
common in jazz) only underscores how harmonically ahead of his time Chopin was.

And now some performance notes:

In this section, Chopin introduces the appoggiatura-a melodic device in which a chord
tone is approached from either a half-step above or below. You can see great examples
of appoggiaturas in measures 1, 3 and 5. Notice how, over the C chord in measure 1,
Chopin begins the melody with Db (the lowered second) before resolving a half-step
down to the "target note," C. He then continues with B, this time resolving a half-step
up to C. An identical contour is applied to the embellishment of the D note in measure 3
and the E note in measure 5.

In measures 14-17, Chopin forgoes the chromatic scale for the first time in this piece.
Instead, he finishes this passage with a series of descending seconds using primarily the
A Aeolian scale (A B C D E F G). Again, notice Chopin's precise targeting of the chord
tones on the downbeats.

Pay careful attention to the left-hand position shifts in measures 12-13. To properly
execute these speedy shifts, move your entire left hand to the next position instead of
stretching into it with your pinkie or index finger. Refer to the tablature for the proper
fingerings.

Remember, practice this piece with a metronome. Start slowly-one measure at a time-
and work your way up to speed. Good luck with this passage. I know it's tricky, but it's
very rewarding once you've mastered it. I'll see you next month with the grand finale.

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

Romancing The Fretboard, Part 3 Chopin Arranged for Guitar: The Final
Chapter

Well, gang, here it is: the final installment of Chopin's Piano Concerto in A minor, Opus
No. 2. Those of you who have braved the storm of 16th notes over the past two months
have earned the right to pat yourselves on the back. You're going to get a bit of a
reprieve this month, because, at the beginning of this section, Chopin restates the first
six bars of the piece and then adds bars 15-17 of the opening section for good measure
(use my column "Romancing the Fretboard, Part 1" [June 1996 GW] as a reference).
Assuming you've worked out these parts already (and I hope you did), that only leaves
you with five new measures to learn. Compared to the amount of information you
tackled the last couple of months, this lesson should be a piece of cake! Notice that
there are a number of quick position shifts, particularly on the same string, in measures
7 and 8 and 10-13. Executing them properly is not as hard as it looks. The trick is to
move your entire left hand in one quick motion to the next position instead of stretching
into it with your pinkie or index finger. Start slowly at first, and make sure you refer to
the tablature for the proper fingerings.

There's only one other tricky spot in this section. In measure 9, you'll come across a
fairly difficult passage that requires some serious left-hand stretching. Here, Chopin
leaves the chromatic scale for just a brief moment to outline the Dm, Am and E7 chords
using thirds and fourths as they occur in the A harmonic-minor scale. Notice that the
first note of each interval is approached chromatically from below. Use only your index
finger and pinkie to play the intervals; it will make executing the wide stretches easier.
Again, take it slowly and don't force anything-you don't want to hurt yourself! I use the
unorthodox left-hand fingering in measure 9 because it enables me to maintain a smooth
alternate picking pattern. This piece is played at an extremely fast tempo, and the last
thing you want to do is break your right-hand rhythm worrying if the next note lands on
an upstroke or downstroke. Keep in mind that you can "borrow" melodic ideas from this
piece and incorporate them into your own solos. For example, the second measure can
be used as a great connecting line from one A minor-pentatonic or blues lick to another.
Experiment using other lines from this piece.
Once you have this month's section down, try playing the concerto in its entirety.
Record yourself playing the chord changes at a slow tempo (or have a friend play them)
and go for it! There's nothing like tackling a challenging piece of music to make you a
better player.

If you liked working on this piece and want to check out more of Chopin's music, pick
up a copy of Chopin: Complete Preludes and Etudes for Solo Piano, published by Dover
Books. Other classical composers whose work sounds great arranged for guitar include
the "three B's": Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. and remember: always, always approach
music with an open mind. Listen to other musical styles and learn from them. It will
help your development as a musician immeasurably.

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

A Clean Sweep Sweep Arpeggios

I always get frustrated when I hear someone talking about sweep arpeggios. Though
there are plenty of licks and examples out there, no one has ever really broken down the
mechanics of the technique. As a result, guitarists have had to figure them out by trial
and error. This became all the more evident when I was teaching. My students
repeatedly made the same mistake: they'd hold a barre chord while articulating each
note. To play sweep arpeggios correctly, you have to mute each note with the left hand
immediately after picking it.

The best way to learn sweep picking is to first isolate the right- and left-hand
techniques, master them separately and then coordinate them. Let's begin with the right
hand. Basically, you have to let the pick "fall" from string to string as if you were
strumming a chord. Don't try to separate the pick strokes! This technique feels weird at
first, but picture your right hand as a Slinky going down from step to step-just let it fall.
When executing an upstroke sweep, drag the pick upwards over the strings. Keep your
hand loose and relaxed, as if it were being lifted by a string tied around your wrist.

Now let's look at the left hand. In order to use the sweeping technique, you can only
play one note per string. As I noted earlier, you need to mute each string with the left
hand immediately after picking it to keep the notes from "bleeding" into each other and
sounding like an ordinary strummed chord. FIGURE 1 is an atonal-sound sweep picking
exercise that is designed to coordinate you left-hand muting and right-hand sweeping
techniques. Practice it slowly at first, concentrating on keeping the notes separate and
distinct. The try playing it faster.

Muting the strings with the left hand can be difficult whenever two or more consecutive
notes are on the same fret, as when sweeping a familiar barre chord shape. The key to
muting the strings properly and keeping the notes separate when barring is using what's
know as the rolling technique. Rolling involves fully extending your barring finger so
that it becomes slightly arched. This is absolutely essential in order to make the
technique work. If your fingers don't seem to want to bend backwards, you can work on
increasing your flexibility by fully extending all your knuckles and pressing your
opposite fingertips together gently. When performing this limbering exercise, be careful
not to press too hard, as you could overextend your joints and injure them.

Let's look at an example of the rolling technique, using a major triad shape on the D, G
and B strings (Figure 2). In order to make the rolling technique work you'll need to fret
the D string note with the tip of your finger, using the fleshy underside of the finger to
fret the G- and B-string notes. To execute the first roll in Figure 2, pick the D string.
Then, as you go to pick the G string, arch the first knuckle of your barring finger and
roll the finger in the direction of the sweep, so that the tip of the finger mutes D string.
As you pick the B string, continue rolling the finger to mute the G string. Done
correctly, the notes will sound separate and distinct. When performing the descending
(upstroke) sweeps in Figure 2, roll your barring finger in the opposite direction. Keep
repeating the C and D triads in Figure 2 until you can sweep them quickly and cleanly.
The rolling movement should be like that of a rocking chair. Practice rolling with all
four fingers of your left hand.

Once you master Figure 2, try FIGURE 3, which will help you gain left-hand facility
across the fingerboard while sweep picking. Make sure you follow the right-hand
picking pattern indicated above the tablature. It's tricky, but well worth the effort!

As you coordinate the right-hand sweeping with the left-hand rolling and muting, you'll
start to develop the speed and definition that makes sweep picking such an exciting
technique. FIGURE 4 is a jazzy sounding lick that combine sweep picking, alternate
picking, rolling and quick position shifting. The lick is just chromatically descending
minor-sever arpeggios, but listen to how cool Ebm7 and Dbm7 sound over A7 altered
and G7 altered, respectively.

This lick sounds great when played with the sweep technique. Work on coordinating
both hands. Proceed slowly at first and concentrate on maintaining a steady flow of 16th
notes. Though it'll feel awkward at first, you'll be truly amazed how you'll sound when it
clicks. See ya' next month.

Wild Stringdom
John Petrucci

Warming up, Part 1

Getting Ready to Get Busy

Hi everyone! Right off the bat, let me say that I truly appreciate all the positive
feedback I've gotten from you regarding this column during my leave of absence. It
feels great to be back at Guitar World.--and now on Guitar World Online. And now that
I'll be reprising the column, I thought I'd address some of the topics you wrote to me
about.

In the past, I focused on specific aspects of developing one's technique and harmonic
knowledge, so this time around I want to cover some fundamental aspects of guitar
playing that are just as important as the flashy stuff. For example, there is a lot of
information available on how to strengthen one's chops, but very little on how to warm
up properly. And though everyone knows that you need to practice to become a better
player, very few methods teach you the correct way to practice-how to achieve optimum
results in the shortest amount of time. After all, in any discipline, be it music, art or
athletics, you have to have the fundamentals wired. If you don't, anything you learn
beyond that will just be added onto a shaky foundation.

I feel that it's absolutely essential to warm up before playing a gig or a session! Would a
sprinter run a 100-yard dash before stretching? Would a football player subject his body
to the grueling sport week after week without being totally limber and loose before
every game? No way! The risk of injury-pulling or tearing a muscle (or worse)-is too
great.

The same thing applies to playing the guitar. Believe it or not, playing long, intricate or
fast passages on the guitar can be very stressful on the tendons and ligaments in your
hands. The last thing you want to do is hurt your hands-just ask some of the guitarists
whose careers have been cut short by tendonitis.

If my hands are cold or stiff, I find that playing chords-particularly those that require
some stretching-really loosens them up. Once my hands are a bit more limber, I'll play
some single-note exercises that are designed to synchronize the left and right hands.

Here's one stretching exercise that I use to warm up before every gig: I start out by
playing the B7sus4/E chord shape in the 14th position, as shown in FIGURE 1. Then I
simply move that shape down the neck, arpeggiating it in each position I stop at. I start
the exercise in the higher register of the neck because the frets are closer together,
which makes the stretches more manageable at first. As you move down the neck, the
frets are spaced further and further apart, making the chords harder to finger. This
enables the left hand to gently and gradually stretch out. FIGURE 2 depicts the whole
exercise. Let every note ring out as clearly as possible-no buzzes allowed!

Notice that I don't move the chords down chromatically. Rather, I shift the 7sus4 shape
to positions where the voicing sounds good to my ears. I also let the open low E string
ring under each chord, which creates a cool modal sound.

To make my warm-ups sound more interesting and musical, I'll often use different chord
shapes. One that I particularly like is the Bmadd9 voicing found in FIGURE 3. I use this
minor(add9) shape in the warm-up depicted in FIGURE 4, which is very similar to
FIGURE 2, but with one twist: in addition to the low E pedal, I add the open high E
note to each voicing as well (doing this creates some lush, exotic voicings). You'll have
to arch your 1st and 2nd fingers in order to execute the chords cleanly.
Remember, warming up is not about chops! Don't blaze your way through these
exercises-you'll only defeat the purpose. Concentrate on playing each chord slowly and
cleanly, and don't force the stretches! Your goal is to limber your left hand up, not hurt
it. I'll show you some more warm-up exercises next month. See you then!

Wild Stringdom
by John Petrucci

Warming up, Part 2 Variations on a theme

Hi everyone! Last month we started our foray into the world of warming up by
concentrating on playing chord shapes that help you limber up. This month, we'll work
on single-note exercises that expressly focus on synchronizing the right and left hands.

It's no secret that I like to play a lot of technique-oriented exercises: since they're
primarily designed to build speed and accuracy, they help me maintain my technical
edge. You can kill two birds with one stone with these types of exercises: you can use
them primarily to warm-up, or, if you're not happy with your technique, use them to
attain a much higher level of proficiency by practicing them consistently.

Those of you who have read my past columns already know that I'm a big fan of the
chromatic scale. I actually got into it when I first started playing guitar. For some
strange reason (probably because I was a mathematically-inclined kid), I ended up
gravitating toward the countless chromatic exercises found in my instruction books. I
liked how playing all the permutations helped me to develop my speed and agility on
the guitar. On top of that, I also loved the way Steve Morse used chromatic lines in his
fast single-line playing, so I wanted to get a handle on his approach too. Eventually, my
chromatic style evolved out of combination of those two influences.

Mastering the chromatic scale can really help you develop your technique, as it enables
you to cover all the possible left-hand fingering combinations and develop excellent
right-and left-hand coordination as well.

Though I mostly write my own exercises now, one of the things I still love to do is
figure out all their possible permutations. That keeps me from playing the same things
over and over (and getting bored), as each permutation focuses on a different aspect of
my technique. And eventually, I always end up applying them in one form or another to
real-life musical situations.

Let's look at a typical chromatic exercise that I warm up with. The first thing I do is
come up with a pattern, like the one depicted in FIGURE 1, which will function as the
foundation for all the possible permutations. The pattern in FIGURE 1 also happens to
be a rather tricky one, as it's in 5/4 meter and includes notes on the adjacent E and A
strings.

Now comes the fun part: once you have FIGURE 1 wired in one position, start moving
it around. The first thing you can do is keep the pattern on the same two strings, but
move it up chromatically, as FIGURE 2 illustrates. Make sure you use alternate (down-
up) picking to execute this and all the subsequent exercises.

Once you master FIGURE 2, try playing FIGURE 3, which entails keeping your left
hand in the same position while moving the pattern over to the next adjacent string pair.
This exercise focuses on developing your picking mobility across all six strings.
As you can see, though the basic pattern is the same, the ensuing exercises get
progressively more and more difficult to play. FIGURE 4 is the hardest of the bunch. It
forces you to move this 10-note idea not only across all the strings, but chromatically up
the fretboard as well. You should start off playing this exercise slowly, making sure your
right and left hands are synchronized. Once you get a feel for all the position shifts, try
increasing the tempo. And it goes without saying that you should be practicing all these
exercises with a metronome.

By now you're probably getting bored playing the same idea all over the neck, so try
flipping the basic pattern around-play it backwards! In other words, start on the high E
string and work your way down the neck,playing the chromatic line descending instead
of ascending, while keeping the same melodic contour. FIGURE 5 depicts this idea
(which some music theoreticians call a retrograde). Of course, you can now apply all the
variations found in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 to FIGURE 5, but I'll let you figure those out
on your own.

The next step is for you to write your own chromatic warm-ups and work out all their
possible variations. Use your imagination and have fun!

Next month, we'll look at warming up using diatonic sequences. See ya then!

Wild Stringdom
by John Petrucci

Practice Makes Perfect, Part 1 Playing with time

Of all the things that can frustrate a guitarist the most, it's the nagging feeling that he's
not reaching a certain level of proficiency as quickly as he should. If you are one of
those players who plays for hours on end yet doesn't see the desired results, then this
lesson's for you. It's all about the most overlooked aspect of guitar playing: practicing.

Before you start a practicing regimen, you have to be aware that the study of music is a
lifelong process-it's a discipline. And the key to mastering any discipline is consistency.
It's much better to play the guitar a half hour a day, every day, than not practice for a
week and then jam for five hours one day.

Getting the most out of your practicing regimen depends on not only the quantity, but
the quality of time you put in. If you practice in a focused, concentrated manner and
make efficient use of your time, you will progress a lot faster than if you were to use the
same time noodling without any specific goals or direction. That's not to say that you're
guaranteed to get good without putting in a lot of time-that just won't happen (I still
remember how I sometimes used to shed up to 10 hours a day!). But if you apply
yourself to the work and use your time efficiently, you'll see very gratifying results-
you'll retain a lot more information and bolster your technique.

Without reservation, I feel that time management is one of the major keys to developing
a successful practice schedule. It's actually quite simple-if you structure what you have
to practice ahead of time, chances are you'll put in the required work. Conversely, if you
pick up your guitar without having a clue as to what to play, you'll probably just rehash
a few licks you already know, quickly get bored, and lament your lack of progress.

I learned how to make the most of my practice time early on. Here's what I did: first, I
figured out how much time I had for my session. Then I would parcel out specific
blocks of time for each subject that I wanted to cover. For example, if I only had allotted
two hours for practice, I would divide that time into eight 15-minute chunks and
practice scales for 15 minutes, then move on to arpeggios for 15 minutes, etc.

Giving yourself small time parcels to learn specific topics makes the broader subjects
more manageable and less intimidating. For example, being faced with the prospect of
learning all the modes in all the positions can seem to be an insurmountable task. But if
you say to yourself, "For the next 15 minutes, all I'm going to learn is the A Dorian scale
in the fifth position and nothing else," all of a sudden the task becomes a lot more
manageable. And once you master that small bit of information, it gives you positive
reinforcement to go on to the next topic, such as learning the A Dorian scale in the
seventh position.

We all know that practicing can get kind of boring. It's very similar to working out-you
know that it's good for you and you're getting a lot out of it, but sometimes it's hard to
motivate yourself to get started. That's why practicing in 15-minute increments can be
psychologically very freeing. Instead of being faced with the prospect of sitting in the
same seat and staring at a music stand for two hours, you only have to concentrate for
15-minutes at a time. And 15 minutes goes by in a flash! And of course, if that's too
long for you, you could divide that 15 minute parcel into three five-minute sections.
And c'mon, five minutes is nothing-it would take you almost that long to read this
column!
So how do you start a regimen for yourself? Simple: List your goals and be specific.
Instead of saying "I need to learn some scales and arpeggios and get my chops up,"
figure out exactly what scales and arpeggios you need to learn. Is there a picking pattern
giving you problems? Target it and work it out! The best piece of advice I can give you
is to always practice what you don't know, not what you do know.

With all that in mind, let's take a look this sample schedule depicting the first hour of a
practice session. It only covers a couple of subjects that you should be practicing, but it
should give you enough of an idea of how detailed your daily practice plan should be.
Next month, we'll look at how to organize the overwhelming quantity of music you can
choose from. See ya then!

SAMPLE PRACTICE SCHEDULE

Right- and left-hand synchronization (20 min.)

Wild Stringdom, March 1998 Guitar World
Figure 1 (5 min.)
Figure 2 (5 min.)
Figure 3 (5 min.)
Figure 4 (5 min.)

Scales (20 min.)

G major, third position (5 min.)
G minor pentatonic, third position (5 min.)
G Dorian, third position (5 min.)
G Mixolydian, third position (5 min.)

Arpeggios (20 min.)

Am7, second position (5 min.)
Am7, fifth position (5 min.)
Am7, seventh position (5 min.)
Am7, twelfth position (5 min.)

Wild Stringdom
by John Petrucci

Practice Makes Perfect, Part 2 Organizing your material

In order to become a well-rounded musician, you have to master the three major aspects
of guitar playing: the technical side, the musical side and the creative side. The technical
side comprises the actual physical components you need to have under your belt in
order to get around your instrument, such as right- and left-hand technique,
synchronization of both hands, executing scales, arpeggios and patterns, string-skipping,
sweep picking, difficult licks, and memorizing (and playing) complete songs.

Once you've developed some technical facility on the guitar, the musical side (which
entails theory, harmony, chord structure, ear training, sight-reading, composition and
being able to hear chord progressions and licks) comes into play a lot more. This aspect
is a lifelong study, but it's what makes you a good musician, as opposed to a good
guitarist.

The creative side entails expressing yourself as an artist by composing music, lyrics or
songs. It's often accessed in a totally opposite manner than the other two components-
through free association. Sometimes just allowing yourself to noodle without any
structure will enable you to stumble upon great new ideas, culminating in creating your
own distinct voice on the instrument. I spent a lot of time developing my chops when I
was younger. In doing so, I found that one of the hardest things was dealing with what
to practice. That's not surprising, considering the almost inexhaustible supply of study
materials (such as CDs, transcription books, magazines and instructional videos)
available. With such a wealth of information out there, it's often intimidating to know
where to begin, especially if you only have a limited amount of time.

I had to figure out how to organize my materials in such a way that I would be able to
cover all three facets of guitar playing during a practice session. So I did the only thing I
could think of: I set up a filing system. And you know what? It helped me so much, I
still use it to this day! I heartily recommend that you create one for yourself.

Here's what I did (and you're welcome to use whatever suggestions work best for you): I
created three different sections in my file cabinet, one for each of the aforementioned
components of guitar playing. Subsequently, I divided each section into sub-categories.
I bought a bunch of folders, and labeled each one with a particular sub-category.

Then, whenever I came across a piece of music that I wanted to learn, I'd assign it to a
sub-category and pop it into its respective folder. The music could be from any source-a
guitar lesson, a transcription, a magazine column, my own written exercises-it didn't
matter. Everything went into that folder, including any books on that particular topic.

For example, let's take a look at how I filed the technical section. First, I made a list of
all the technical sub-categories I could think of, and then I assigned a folder to each one.
I created one folder for scales (which also included scale patterns and sequences), and
another one for arpeggios. Then I had a folder on left-hand studies, where I included
things such as legato licks a la Allan Holdsworth and trilling exercises. I also made a
folder that contained intervallic studies, such as string-skipping licks, and one
containing chop-building exercises, such as speed studies and chromatic lines.

I also created a separate folder that only contained licks, whether written, transcribed, or
culled from magazines. For example, I used to transcribe licks from Steve Morse and Al
DiMeola, and they actually worked like technical exercises. The mere effort required to
master those licks helped my technique immensely. By the way, you may have noticed
that I didn't make a folder for right-hand exercises-that's because the exercises in all the
folders automatically encompass the right hand.

Of course, you're not limited to just those sub-category choices. Create ones that interest
you. When I was younger, I had a folder on right-hand tapping, but since I don't really
use this technique that often anymore, I no longer require a tapping folder. But if you
want to master your tapping technique, by all means create a folder. Same thing goes for
whammy bar tricks, etc.
I break down my musical component section into the following sub-categories: sight-
reading (which includes single-string reading studies from Berklee College of Music
[the school I attended] and classical pieces), chords and chord theory (which contains
chord books, articles that depict chord boxes, and chord-melody transcriptions), and
general music theory.

If you want to master a lot of different musical styles, I strongly suggest that you also
create a styles folder. In this folder, you'd have blues, country and jazz sub-categories
for starters, as well as any other styles you're interested in (death metal, bluegrass,
etc.).The creative section will contain folders where you can catalogue your songs,
chord progressions, melodies and lyrics-any original work that defines you as a guitarist
and an artist.

The cool thing with this filing system is that when you go to practice, you not only have
tons of material to choose from, but you can customize your practice sessions. This is
especially helpful to guitarists who are in a practice rut where they don't know what to
work on, or where to start, so they practice the same things over and over.

For example, let's say you have two hours a day to practice, and you've decided you're
going to dedicate every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to working on scales and
arpeggios. With this filing system, you'll never have to play the same exercises every
day. Just go into the appropriate folder, and, if you filed your topics correctly, you'll
have a bunch of different things to work that concentrate on the same technique. That
way, you'll never get bored and you'll always be working on something new and
interesting.

We'll go more into this next month. Until then, get those folders, and start compiling
your own customized guitar library!

Wild Stringdom
by John Petrucci

Practice Makes Perfect, Part 3 Goals, choices and lifting weights

If you've been reading my past columns with any regularity, you might have noticed that
I often refer to the similarity between music and sports. It only makes sense: both are
activities that require constant practice to stay in "playing shape," and both require
repetitive, dedicated work to develop the skills necessary to advance to the next level.

When it comes to the discipline of practicing, there isn't a better parallel to the guitar
than working out with weights. In both cases, you have to embark on a systemic,
consistent practice regimen over a fairly long period of time in order to see any
progress. There's a lot of mindless, repetitive work that initially doesn't seem to lead to
anywhere. But then, when you least expect it (or are ready to throw in the towel), you
make a breakthrough and reach the next plateau;only to have to start the painful process
all over again. The bottom line is, you have to be mentally tough and really see yourself
achieving your objectives to go through all the physical discomfort and mental tedium.

Before starting any workout program, you have to outline your goals. Do you want to
bulk up and gain weight, or do you want to tone and trim? Is there a specific muscle
group you need to develop? Then, depending on your goals, you structure your workout
accordingly.

The same goes for guitar playing-before starting a practice regimen, it's imperative that
you define your goals. And that requires doing some serious soul-searching before
deciding who you are (and want to become) as a player. After all, if you only have a
finite amount of practice time a day (say, two hours), what do you spend them on-
learning a piece of music, writing a song or honing your chops? Or all three? So ask
yourself, what are your interests? Do you want to push the envelope of technique and
play anything you can hear, or are you more interested in creating new sounds on the
guitar? Or do you just want to write the best three-chord pop song you can? (And
believe me, there's an art to that, too.)

Once you have an idea of where you want to go, you must structure your practice
regimen accordingly to achieve those goals. You must have a direction and a purpose!

For example, if you're interested in being a successful studio musician, it's important to
get your reading chops together and to have a well-rounded knowledge of most styles.
Therefore, it would make sense for you to focus your practicing on sight-reading and
learning the essential stylistic components of rock, country, blues, metal, etc. If you're
interested in making a mark as a composer or songwriter, you'll want to know at least a
little bit of harmony and theory, and do a lot of writing and free-associating.

And if being a great improviser/soloist is your life's ambition, you might start out by
listening to and transcribing solos by great improvisers such as Steve Morse, Al
DiMeola and Allan Holdsworth. Of course, you'd also have to practice scales, arpeggios
and melodic sequences-anything and everything to hone your chops to the point where
you can play anything you hear.

Needless to say, as you grow as a person and a musician, your goals will probably
change. Mine sure did. When I was younger, all I wanted was to get proficient on the
guitar, so I spent all my time practicing technical things. Then, when I went to Berklee, I
became more focused on learning music-I worked on sight-reading, theory, etc. And
once I got my technique together and grew as a musician, writing and arranging songs
became more of a priority. That's one of the cool things about playing the guitar-you
never know where your musical path will eventually take you.

As you embark on your practice regimen, there will be times when you "hit the wall."
It'll feel like you're "stuck"-you know, the frustrating sense that no matter how long
you've practiced something, you just can't seem to master it. Believe me, it's not just
something that happens to you-every musician (and athlete) has encountered this at one
point or another. All I can tell you is don't get discouraged when it occurs. Work through
it!

You'll often encounter this phenomenon of "hitting the wall" when you lift weights. For
example, you might be bench-pressing 150 lbs. for weeks, and yet whenever you try to
step up a small increment (even 10 lbs.), you can't lift the bar anymore, no matter how
hard or often you try. Then one day, out of the blue, you try to lift 160 lbs. and you
breeze right by it! In fact you can lift 175 lbs. with little effort!
The same curious process occurs when you're stuck on the guitar. You may have
difficulty playing a 16th-note passage at 144 beats per minute. And no matter how many
weeks you practice, you just can't seem to break that "144 barrier." Then one day, you
pick up the guitar and, for no good reason, play the same passage not just at 144, but at
160 beats per minute! Congratulations-you've just burst through the wall and reached a
new plateau!

Both lifting weights and playing the guitar require that you pay close attention to form.
When lifting weights, proper form is critical-it can make the difference between
progressing to the next weight level or ending up with a serious injury. On the guitar,
correct form will enable you to avoid repetitive-stress hand injuries such as carpal
tunnel and tendonitis.

And just as using proper form can enable a weightlifter to add more pounds to his total,
using an efficient picking technique and economy of left- and right-hand motion can
add tremendous speed and accuracy to your overall technique. When working on any
new material, start out playing it slowly and cleanly at first. When you play a passage
slowly and mistake-free, you learn it much faster that playing it at a quicker tempo, but
sloppily. It all comes down to form!

Finally, after all is said and done, don't put too much pressure on yourself. The guitar is
a fun instrument to play, and every once in a while you should allow yourself time to
just noodle around (after all, it's probably the reason you picked up the guitar in the first
place). Just realize if you do want to progress as a player, you have to put in the time-
you can't do it half-heartedly. It's simple: the more you put in, the more you get out. So
keep practicing! See you later!

Wild Stringdom
by John Petrucci of Dream Theater

Creative soloing, Part 1

How to think outside the box.II often get asked how I come up with my solo-ing
ideas, and especially the thinking behind some of my intricate lines. The best way to
answer that question is to take you step by step from the conception to the execution of
one such linethe weird fast solo that begins at about 3:12 into Beyond This Life
(Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory).

After the first bridge in Beyond This Life I play a very mellow interlude on an
acoustic guitar based on a variation of the main riff. I did that because it felt like there
should be a natural resting placea brief respite from all the intense music we just
played.

After stating this pensive moment, I felt that the next section should completely contrast
that part. As such, I wanted the guitar to explode into something insane, and I knew that
playing something fast would achieve that. I didnt want to settle for just another
repetitive speed lick, though.

In order to achieve that, I decided to use a series of notes that were harmonically
ambiguousthat is, outside of the key. Within this pattern, I also decided to play unison
notes back-to-back on adjacent strings. By doing this, I could phrase the line so that the
listener wouldnt spot any obvious sequenceno matter how much you listened to it,
you couldnt really hear a logical beginning or ending to the pattern.

I decided to begin the solo using a line based on the phrasing pattern found in FIGURE
1. As you can see, this pattern is made up of a repeating 12-note sequence. And since the
phrase consists of three beats in 4/4 time, it begins on a different beat each time its
repeated, creating a hemiola effect that disguises the downbeat of the measure. When
practicing this part, tap your foot and be sure to use strict alternate picking (down-up),
and really strive to play it cleanly and in time.

Once I settled on this initial pattern, I chose to play it using weird notes. As you can see
in the first measure of my solo in Beyond This Life, I start with the flatted fifth of G#
(D), followed by the natural fifth (D#). Note that in the same measure I also follow the
ninth of G# (A#) with the flatted third (B). These intervals are both minor seconds (as
theyre a half step apart) and create a bluesy-sounding rub when played consecutively,
especially at a quick tempo.

As mentioned earlier, I also liberally inserted back-to-back unison B notes (played on

the 16th fret of the G string followed by the 12th fret of the B string) throughout the
first measure.

To my ears, the combination of the slightly out notes and the unison notes played at a
very fast tempo create a distinct tonal clusterone that isnt in any particular key per
se, but fits into just about any progression. Think of a tonal cluster as the spokes in a
bicycle wheel. When its not moving, you can see every spoke (or note). But when it is
moving, you dont see any individual spokejust a blur of movement.

The technique needed to execute this passage is also a bit tricky, as theres some left-
hand stretching involved. Youll need to use your pinkie in o rder to play this line
fluidly. Again, use strict alternate picking throughout the whole solo. Good luck!