The Test That Stumped Them All

I'm doing something a little different than Austin's project.

Ever since I first heard Dream Theater in 2004, they have been my favorite band. The combination of amazing musicality, brutal technical precision, and encompassing depth that is their music is a perfect picture of what I've always wanted from music, and what I've wanted to do with it. While I don't think I'll ever be nearly as good as John Petrucci, as many before me have inevitably had to admit to themselves, what I admire about him and the other members of Dream Theater is that they never say never. They have always pushed themselves to go even further with music through practice and discipline, and not just in speed but in all aspects of the art and the craft.

It is for this reason that I'm choosing to cover many of their songs, to push myself and my playing even further. I've learned Dream Theater songs before, some in full and some individual riffs and solos. With this project, I'd like to take a song from each DT album, record a guitar cover of it, and make an accompanying video showing how I've played it. The choice of songs will be a balance between personal appeal and expected capability. The songs will lean towards the heavier, proggier side of DT.

As always with my playing, I will strive to learn much of it by ear and by watching Petrucci himself, because I feel so much can be gained when doing so. Playing numbers off of a computer screen enables you to skip thinking about what you're playing and why you're playing it a certain way. It's a great shortcut, but I believe that by taking the scenic route you can learn much more. That being said, I will not limit myself in resources. If I just can't get something down after a good try, I will use videos and tabs as I need. To record the covers, I will take the original songs themselves, and apply EQ to drown out most of the mid range. What you're left with is a decent backing track with loud drums and a hint of what's going melodically in the songs.

At the moment, the track list is as follows:

1. Afterlife (When Dream and Day Unite)

2. Learning To Live (Images and Words)

3. A Mind Beside Itself I. Erotomania (Awake)

4. A Change of Seasons: I. The Crimson Sunrise/II. Innocence (A Change of Seasons)

5. Hell's Kitchen (Falling Into Infinity)

6. Overture 1928/Strange Deja Vu (Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory)

7. Blind Faith (Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence)

8. Honor Thy Father (Train of Thought)

9. Panic Attack (Octavarium)

10. Constant Motion (Systematic Chaos)

11. The Count of Tuscany (Black Clouds & Silver Linings)

12. On the Backs of Angels (A Dramatic Turn of Events)

Lastly, the gear I'm using:
1. Red Ibanez RGT42 (EMG 81/85); tuned to E standard

2. Blue Ibanez RGT42 (DiMarzio Steve's Special/Air Norton); tuned to C standard

3. Schecter Diamond A-7 7-string tuned in a variety of tunings

4. Line 6 Spider III 75W combo