One of the things I deeply admire at great guitar players and great musicians in general is the capacity to express so many nuances in their music in a few simple notes and it has always been a dare and a constant quest for me to express this.

The reason that started this post is actually Dream Theater. I really love their song “Another day” and each time I listen it I find myself charmed by all those nuances there…Listen for example the starting riffs, 3 simple notes or the solo guitar theme/intro or even the drums!

Now that I have started this, I think that if I would need to define Dream Theater in one single word, that would be NUANCES, nuances all over. This is actually the result of their musical studies at Berklee School of Music, result of theory and practice, I’d say, and I guess that even if you are not a big fan of progressive rock you agree with me that no other rock band can be represented by this word better than Dream Theater: nuances…

Here’s Another day for you! Enjoy and comment!

Am I right or what?

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It is vital to have the right technique when playing the guitar, there is no doubt about it. The question is what can you actually do with that technique? Or what is the best thing to do with that technique? Shred?

From my personal observation, I can tell you that the lately I am more and more interested in artists who achieved a high level of technical skills BUT DO A LOT TO AVOID OVERUSING the techniques they master. And here I think about Joe Satriani and, the reason of this particular post, John Petrucci.

It is great to master the guitar like nobody else, but think of showing those skills everywhere, everyday, on all your songs. Think Malmsteen, for example. Doesn’t get boring for the audience after a while? OK, I know, people know you for something and comes to your shows for that particular something, so you need to give the people what the came for, right? Bread and games, or how was the ancient Roman habit(more familiar to European readers) for keeping people under control?

But I do love a great artist who is a master of his instrument who comes up on stage and shows that he is looking for something more than showing skills and techniques, showing he’s looking for soul, for expression, to touch the hearts of audience, even if this means breaking new grounds, which the audience may not be quite used to do in the context of that particular artist.

Actually, I think that the true power of expression can only appear after you have conquered everything you can regarding your skills, when you know every note on the guitar neck and every possibility of expression, then, and only then, you can choose those notes that make the most of your song.

That’s where the soul begins…where virtuosity ends…

What do you think?

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Intrigued? OK, let me go on…

I was listening on YouTube some Dream Theater songs; I am not a big fan or something, but I do like some melodies very much, like for ex. Another day, or Through her eyes or The spirit carries on. I think that all these can be considered ballads, so I guess I like Dream Theater ballads, even I am not sure that when you speak about a progressive rock band you can definitely say that this is a ballad and that one is not because of changing the rhythm when you least expect it (not the case here but still). But that’s not the point of this post.

The point is that reading a few of the comments made on YT, I was surprised in an unpleasant way by how easy people judge artists.

James LaBrie is not good, man!The band would sound way better without LaBrie in it! James LaBrie can not sing!

Ohh!!Really?!! How is that? Now think about the fact that these guys built a whole career behind them, together, putting one brick at a time, playing and most of all THINKING every damn note together, each of them bringing his contribution to the whole, to the band. The band would not sound the same without any of these guys.

I am not defending LaBrie (because it is not the case), even if personally I like the way he sings. If it would be my call, I would lower his vocal line with about 1 tone, but this is just my personal opinion. I think that he likes to push his voice to the limits of his vocal range , giving him that particular tone.

I told you I am not a big fan of Dream Theater, but I do have a great respect for them because they know music, they’ve studied music, I think they should be treated with respect by everybody considering the way they’ve built a career in music, by studying hard, learning music theory and rehearsing to the level where each of them is a master of his instrument. And next time you hear any guitar hero saying that he does not really know scales or chords, well, remember the guys in Dream Theater…

It is very easy to jump to conclusions and judge one artist or an other. He’s no good, man! He can not play!

Now ask yourself how many hours did that artist study for being in that place where frustrated people be able to judge him and tell him he’s no good and the band would sound better without him.

I personally consider that the band Dream Theater is great because of it’s members and because each artist knows why the others play a particular note, each artist in this band understands and loves the complexity of their music.

IMO there is no better lead singer than LaBrie for Dream Theater , because he UNDERSTANDS their music better than any other singer. I don’t think that Dickinson or Michael Kiske or any other famous singer would sing better Dream Theater songs than James LaBrie.

For all the bullies out there, did you ever try to perform on the other side of the stage you usually find yourself when going to a concert? So, think about it next time when you’ll jump to judging someone for not conforming to your questionable standards, OK?

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