Guitar Hero #3: John Petrucci

John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist and songwriter born on July 12, 1967. He is well known as one the founding members of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He has appeared in G3 tours together with Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Paul Gilbert several times. GuitarOne magazine has ranked him as the 9th Greatest Shredder of All Time.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, speed is not the only determining factor for a guitarist to be called “great”. Though Petrucci is well know for his speed much like Paul Gilbert, the thing that I like the most with his style is his wide harmonic vocabulary. This gives him the ability to write melodramatic pieces. I like listening to his solo album, Suspended Animation, for these reasons. I’m not really a Dream Theater fan: but I really have to say they are damn good! In terms of the mood of his compositions, I like to compare Petrucci with Paul Gilbert. I think Petrucci mostly has melodrama and anger in his music while Paul Gilbert has humor and joy. But of course, this is subjective. I’m living in a free country right?

Guitar Hero #2: Paul Gilbert

Paul Brandon Gilbert (born in Illinois, USA on November 6, 1966) is an American instrumental guitarist. He is a well known lead guitarist for the bands, Racer X and Mr. Big and has recorded several solo albums as well. He also joined the G3 tour with Joe Satriani and John Petrucci on the 2007.

When we talk about Paul Gilbert, we are definitely talking about speed! Paul is very skillful in producing thousand-notes-per-second compositions (of course this is an exaggeration) which helped him be named as one of the "Top 10 Shredders Of All Time" by Guitar One Magazine. Gilbert composes music in a wide variety of styles including pop, rock, metal, blues, funk and classical. Gilbert stated that he does not have perfect pitch but has a "pretty good relative pitch."

What I like about Paul besides his speed is his excellent gift for teaching guitar techniques. He has made about four instructional videos that beginners and pros can take full advantage of. I’m glad to say I have all four of them! Paul is so talented that he makes playing his guitar look so easy. What sets these instructional videos apart is that Paul has a lot of sense of humor! I think you'll enjoy watching the videos even if you're not a guitarist. (Take that Marty Friedman and John Petrucci!)

Guitar Hero: A game for "wannabe guitarists"...

I'm not discouraging those who cant play a real electric guitar to stop using this Guitar Hero thing. I myself is a victim of this addicting rocker game! I'm a real electric guitarist but I'm having so much fun with this stuff! The idea behind Guitar Hero is not original. I once played a game called Guitar Freaks in arcade games and they are very very similar.

Like Guitar Freaks (released in 1998), Guitar hero is played using a guitar shaped controller. One difference is that Guitar Hero has five buttons while Guitar Freaks only has four. These buttons are pressed using the left hand just like pressing the frets of a real guitar. But instead of forming chords, you have to press the buttons and at the right time. There are no stings attached here to pluck! But you have a small clicky flipper to strum on. This game is more like a rhythm playing toy. Well, its not as easy as it sounds. Remember "Dance Dance Revolution"?

The game screen consists of a scrolling fret board that has various colored notes on it. Each color corresponds to one of the buttons on the guitar, which you must hold down while strumming on the flipper. You could play Guitar Hero using a standard PS2 controller, if you like, but i think thats stupid. You'll waste all the fun you can have if you don't use the cool guitar hero controller.

I know its just a toy. Its not a real guitar. But you'll feel like you are really rockin' while playing it! Sometimes, it's harder to play Guitar Hero than the real thing. Which is quite embarrassing for a toy that mocks an electric guitar.

Guitar Hero #1: Joe Satriani

Joseph "Satch" Satriani (born July 15, 1956 in Westbury, New York, United States) is an American multiple nominated Grammy Award multi-instrumentalist, best known as an instrumental rock guitarist. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, and some of his former students have achieved fame with their stellar guitar skills. Some of his notable students are Kirk Hammett(Metallica), Marty Friedman(Megadeth) and student turned colleague Steve Vai. Satriani has been a driving force behind other musicians throughout his career, as a founder of the ever-changing touring trio, G3, as well as performing in temporary positions with other musicians. Satriani is not just an outstanding guitarist but also an outstanding mentor.

Joe Satriani is probably my greatest influence amongst all Rock Instrumentalists. When we are talking about shredding (playing very very fast), speed and accuracy is always the primary requirement. Satriani has that and a lot more! Other than his "thousand-notes-per-second" ability, he is very skillful in creating very catchy melodies with the use of conventional and exotic scales. No wonder why some of his songs has the titles, Belly Dancer, Oriental Melody and Mountain Song. Boy! back then, I never knew you can turn Arabic Music into Rock Music!!!

He is heavily influenced by famous music icons such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. Since 1988, Satriani has used his own signature guitar, the Ibanez JS Series, which is widely sold in stores. He also has a signature series amplifier, the Peavey JSX, and a signature Vox distortion pedal, the Satchurator.

My favorite Satriani song is, "Always With You Always With Me" and "Mountain Song".