Dream Theater has never been a band that hit at a particular fashionable point and said, 'OK, that's basically it.' — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
It's a balance between getting the right string gauge that's thick enough where it sound good, and not rubber bands - but… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
The style of music that we're playing, this progressive metal style, has always been an upstream battle for us. We don't usually… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
I experimented a bunch with Ernie Ball in getting the strings to not flop around too much, but at the same time… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
Almost 15 with music, we have so many guitars that we developed over the years. The latest one is 'The Majesty' guitar,… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
Music is a communication. It's a two-way street. You need people to play to in order to make that connection complete. That's… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
When you watch your favorite guitarists play, notice how little their hands and fingers move sometimes. The economy of motion can't be… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
If you bring somebody into the band you are going to be with them a lot whether it's in the studio, on… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
One of the main things I look for in a guitarist is in the sound itself. I go for a certain sound,… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
One very important side of my playing lies in rhythm; I have a very percussive style. It's one I've developed with Dream… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
When I think of a lot of the players I admire, they could always play their parts without hiding behind distortion and… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
We used to rehearse and that's where the roots of Dream Theater formed. Y'know, we used to play cover songs and jam… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
I always get frustrated when I hear someone talking about sweep arpeggios. Though there are plenty of licks and examples out there,… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
Oftentimes, whenever I do interviews with guitar magazines and we discuss my influences, I mention people like Steve Morse, Alex Lifeson, Al… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
We've seen progressive rock all over the world, in South America, Europe, Asia, across the US and North America and Australia. There's… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
You might pick up some influences from another type of music that you wouldn't normally think of, but, you know, maybe as… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
I have seen Tommy Emanuel play; my wife and I went to see him and he just melted my face off. How… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
I do a lot of the stuff that I started out doing that I think any guitar player that's concerned about the… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
I started to get turned on to a bunch of different bands when I was in middle school/high school. I was turned… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
You know, as kids were weren't jazz musicians or anything. But, the circle of friends and the neighborhood I lived in, we… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
When I first started, it was the real basic stuff that was being played on the radio, so I was into Zeppelin,… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
First and foremost, with everybody we wanted to see if they can pull off the songs, play them correctly, and that they… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
There were some initial instruments I had when I was young and made some trade-offs. Maybe a guitar I bought in a… — John Petrucci Copy Share Image
If you practice in a focused, concentrated manner and make efficient use of your time, you will progress a lot faster than if you… — John Petrucci Copy Share
In my touring rig, there's a pedal drawer, where I'm able to switch pedals in and out, going into the front of the amp. — John Petrucci Copy Share
Before Dream Theater took off I used to teach a lot, and one of the things my students often asked me was how to… — John Petrucci Copy Share
I listen to somebody like Shawn Lane, and unfortunately he is no longer with us, but I hear him playing and I am like,… — John Petrucci Copy Share
By adding open strings to even the simplest chords, you can create voicings that sound sophisticated, but are really easy (and fun) to play.… — John Petrucci Copy Share
Sometimes just allowing yourself to noodle without any structure will enable you to stumble upon great new ideas, culminating in creating your own distinct… — John Petrucci Copy Share
Songs come alive every night and can be a new experience for someone. You might have someone in the audience who has never seen… — John Petrucci Copy Share
I'm from the school of putting a lot of hours of practice into playing. But at the same time you have to write original… — John Petrucci Copy Share
I have to say that our fans have been absolutely wonderful all across the world. — John Petrucci Copy Share
I really rely a lot more on memory. I'm definitely not as good of a sight reader. — John Petrucci Copy Share
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,… — John Petrucci Copy Share
Using open strings is a great way to add texture and atmosphere to any chord progression. — John Petrucci Copy Share
We are very, very fortunate to have built a career based on playing the kind of music we play. In a lot of ways,… — John Petrucci Copy Share
![“We used to rehearse and that's where the roots of Dream Theater formed. Y'know, we used to play cover songs and jam to [Iron] Maiden and stuff but we were writing songs and it was this metal, loud style and we'd constantly get knocks on our door, because the rehearsal rooms were right next door to…” quote by John Petrucci](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/3df/john-petrucci-2141_cover-songs_we-used-to-rehearse-and-that-s-where-the_2493514.png)
![“First and foremost, with everybody we wanted to see if they can pull off the songs, play them correctly, and that they it felt right musically. That's something Mike [Mangini] did, it felt like the band. He really gets the style and delivers in a powerful metal way.” quote by John Petrucci](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/ef6/john-petrucci-2141_band_first-and-foremost-with-everybody-we-wan_2198459.png)
