Semester Project

JOHN PETRUCCI

John Petrucci was born July 12, 1967

Early Childhood

Discovered music was his passion at age 12

Began playing guitar 6 hours a day to master his skills

Style and technique

Was inspired by guitarists with technical ability Influenced by the skill of Yngwie Malmsteen

Education

John pursued his college music education at age 18

Attended Berklee College of Music

Band Formation

John met Musicians John Myung and Mike Portnoy at Berklee The three of them started the band that would become Dream Theater.

Alternate Picking

John is famous for his guitar skill, especially alternate picking. Alternate picking consists of using a guitar pick to strike the guitar string in a downward motion, and then again in an upwards motion repeatedly.

Music Instruction

John has released guitar instructional videos to teach others his techniques

He has written columns for popular guitar world magazine

Dream Theater & Achievements

Dream Theater has sold 12 million albums and DVDs worldwide The band received their first ever Grammy nomination in 2011. This was done on their own terms after a 25+ year career.

Obstacles

In 1997, Dream Theaters record label pushed hard for more commercial aims. The band fought back and re-gained full control of their music.

Personal Life

In September 1993, John married his wife Rena Sands. They have three children together and currently live in Long Island, New York

He likes normal things such as watching movies and spending time with his family

Stream of Consciousness

The song Stream of Consciousness is the sixth song from the seventh Dream Theater album, Train of Thought. It was recorded between April and August of 2003 at Cove City Sound Studios, Pie Studios, and Beat Street Studios, all in New York City.

Stream of Consciousness Cont.

Stream of Consciousness is Dream Theaters longest instrumental composition, clocking in at eleven minutes and sixteen seconds. The songs music was written by band members John Petrucci (guitars), Jordan Rudess (keyboards), John Myung (bass), and Mike Portnoy (drums). The song has been performed during numerous tours and shows, one of the most notable at Tokyos famous Budokan Hall in April 2004.

Dream Theater

Unlike many bands, Dream Theater writes all of their material together in the studio. This adds to their creative process and allows them to bounce ideas back and forth.

Impact on The World

John has made an impact on millions of people worldwide

The progressive genre is forever changed because of him

Odd Time Signatures

John and Dream Theater are familiar with odd time signatures and incorporate them in their music, as shown at mark 3:35 in the song Stream of Consciousness.
3:35 Guitar plays the melody with piano in the background. Then three guitars play at once in harmony. Huge drum fills in odd time signature. Heavy use of tribal sounding drum.

Regression

The song Regression is the first track from Dream Theater album Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. It was recorded at Bear Tracks Studios in Suffern New York in 1999. It was produced by the bands drummer, Mike Portnoy and guitarist, John Petrucci.

Regression Cont.

Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory is a concept album, which are common from progressive rock bands like Dream Theater. The album is still split up into songs, but each of them are connected. Regression starts off a 77 minute story about a man named Nicholas and his discovery that he lived a past life. He keeps having these memories or flashbacks from a different time. As a result he goes to a Hypnotherapist's seeking to be regressed.

Listening Guide Stream of Consciousness

0:00 INTRO - Clean electric guitar plays alone. Pace is medium. Riff is repeated several times. I picture The Canvas of Music with just the starting paint on it. 0:20 Full band joins in. Distorted power chords are played on guitar. Keyboard plays the main melody/theme. Drums play slow, thumping beat with heavy use of symbols in spurts. 0:40 Guitar switches to main melody. Keyboards are now silent. Drums switch to steady midpaced beat, from what I can tell is 2/4. Bass guitar adds a thickness to the music as a whole. 1:17 New guitar riff/melody begins. Drums keep same pace as before, with added drum fills. 1:45 Guitar switches back to main melody. Drums keep same pace in a traditional meter. 2:03 New melody played by keyboards while guitar plays chords in background and keeps rhythm. Drum time signature changes to one similar to the intro, with different use of symbols. 2:18 Guitar then plays a similar melody that is in harmony with keyboards, which are heard faintly in the background. Drums start with complex time signature.

2:33 Solo begins on guitar. VERY heavy use of drums and symbols. Technical drum fills are present.

Listening Guide Stream of Consciousness Cont.

3:03: - Unique keyboard melody plays with distorted guitar used as backing. Then both instruments join together to play the same melody in harmony. A lot happening all at once, which adds texture to the music. 3:35 Guitar plays the melody with piano in the background. Then three guitars play at once in harmony. Huge drum fills in odd time signature. Heavy use of tribal sounding drum. 4:03 Very fast paced solo is played on guitar. Distorted guitar playing rhythm with chords. 4:23 Short piano solo with distorted guitar as rhythm section. Drummer once again playing tribal sounding beat. Guitar solo starts again at 4:38. Drums are fast and complex. Keyboard solo starts at 4:39 and is very fast paced. The piano and distorted guitar playing together add contrast to the music. 5:06 Melody from keyboard changes to different solo. Drums change to different time signature. Distorted guitars make up rhythm section.

Listening Guide Stream of Consciousness Cont.

5:23 Bass solo begins with drums playing as well. Full band joins at 5:33. Keyboard plays eerie notes in background. 5:53 Guitar plays melody while eerie sounds continue on keyboard. Drums are full-force. 6:23 Bass solo starts again, but this time, full band joins with keyboard playing different melody. Complex drum timing. 6:48 Symphony-like melody begins on keyboard. Separate guitar and keyboard melodies played simultaneously, adding texture.

Listening Guide Stream of Consciousness Cont.

7:32 Main theme now played on bass. Then guitar joins the same melody at 7:42. Full band plays at 7:51. 8:20 Repeated riff from beginning of the song is played. Pace is still medium. Keyboard plays faint symphony-like musical line in background. Drums are busy and complex in meter. 9:02 New keyboard solo introduced while same guitar riff is played in background. Guitar solo starts at 9:28. Scale is major. 9:29 Solo continues while repeated riff plays in background as the rhythm section. Heavy use of drums and symbols.

Listening Guide Stream of Consciousness Cont.

9:54 Harmony guitar starts with double bass drum and heavy symbols. Keyboard plays high pitched harmony in major scale in the background. 10:20 Main harmony plays again on keyboard with rhythm guitar backing. tribal drums start and are spaced out. 10:40 Pace of all instruments get slower and slower and lead to fade out with heavy distorted guitar chords. Heavy use of symbols during fade out and hint toward the end of the piece. 10:54 Beginning intro is repeated with clean guitar by itself. Same pace as beginning intro.

11:16 END.

Listening Guide - Regression

0:00 Ticking of a clock is heard. This gives the listener an opportunity to be immersed into the concept of the story. 0:10 The Hypnotherapists voice is first heard. This is the start of the regression for Nicholas, the main character. 0:30 In the background you can hear bits and pieces of music from other songs in the album. A womans singing voice is heard. 0:48 Johns acoustic guitar chord strumming is faintly heard while the Hypnotherapist speaks. Guitar gets louder and louder.

Listening Guide Regression Cont.

1:05 The bands singer is first heard while guitar continues strumming. Hypnotherapist is no longer heard. Keyboard is heard very faintly in the background. Keyboard sounds organ-like. 1:35 Vocals, guitar, and keyboard continue the same theme. Vocals are clearly telling a story which fits into the conceptual nature of the album. 2:05 Vocals, guitar, keyboard continue the same theme. 2:07 END