For those who can't see the Petrucci/ Steve Morse connection.....

[SnakeEyes]

Please watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk_GMvIea6s&feature=related

Thanks! 

[hefdaddy42]

Please watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk_GMvIea6s&feature=related

Thanks! 

Are there people who don't see that connection already?

Probably only people who are unfamiliar with Morse.

[Perpetual Change]

I don't really know anything about Steve Morse. So year.

[hefdaddy42]

I don't really know anything about Steve Morse. So year.

He's friggin' incredible, and JP worships the ground he walks on.  With good reason.

[Perpetual Change]

So where do I start? And is there any relation with Neal Morse?

[SnakeEyes]

Are there people who don't see that connection already?

Probably only people who are unfamiliar with Morse.

Yeah, I have seen comments on this forum about how DT doesn't sound like the Dregs or something along those lines, which almost gave me a heart attack.      By the way, hef - Hillsong is awesome. 

[hefdaddy42]

Are there people who don't see that connection already?

Probably only people who are unfamiliar with Morse.

Yeah, I have seen comments on this forum about how DT doesn't sound like the Dregs or something along those lines, which almost gave me a heart attack.      By the way, hef - Hillsong is awesome. 

There are lots of "Dregs moments" in DT's music.  I think my favorite is the outro to Innocence Faded.

Yeah, I love Hillsong's stuff, from the very beginning to now.  Great lyrics plus good music.  Really moving (to me, anyway).

[SnakeEyes]

Agreed on all things, hef.  The Innocence Faded outro is exactly what I would use as an example, too. 

[Ħ]

So where do I start? And is there any relation with Neal Morse?

The only relation is that Steve, Neal, and MP are gonna start a supergroup project.  (with one other guy that I can't remember for some reason)

[wolfking]

Steve Morse is fucking incredible.  It's easy to see and hear the influence he has had on JP.

[hefdaddy42]

So where do I start? And is there any relation with Neal Morse?

There is no relation to Neal Morse.

Start with the Dixie Dregs.

[wolfking]

So where do I start? And is there any relation with Neal Morse?

There is no relation to Neal Morse.

Start with the Dixie Dregs.

Man the Dregs are fucking incredible!

[Mechanix1911]

So where do I start? And is there any relation with Neal Morse?

The only relation is that Steve, Neal, and MP are gonna start a supergroup project.  (with one other guy that I can't remember for some reason)

Dave LaRue 


Yeah... They're both big alternate picking fans.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Speaking of which, one of Steve Morse's most ass-kicking tunes, from his debut solo album "High Tension Wires" (soooo very good album), here's his alternate picking shredgasm, "Tumeni Notes":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76svWOj8B04


Wow, am I pathetic.  I clearly don't always bother to look at other peoples' YouTube suggestions.  I fail.     At least the following part is still relevant to point out.

Of particular note, is the section starting around 0:23.  He's alternate picking 4-note chords.  One note per string.  Up-down-up-down.  Insane, but notice how ridiculously cleanly he pulls it off.

[emindead]

Cozmo, check the link in the OP

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Post edited.

[cthrubuoy]

Of particular note, is the section starting around 0:23.  He's alternate picking 4-note chords.  One note per string.  Up-down-up-down.  Insane, but notice how ridiculously cleanly he pulls it off.

I was watching that part thinking "What's he doing there?... is he?... Holy shit!"

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Yes.

He is.

And it's unbelievable.  Like so (first two measures of that phrase):

      D U  D   U   D   U  D  U D U  D  U D  U  D U D  U  D U D   U D U
e||----------------------------------------------------------------|e
b||----------------------------------------------------------------|b
g||----------10--------------7--------------9--------7--------7---|g
d||-------10----10---------9---9---------10--------9---9----9----|d
a||----10----------10---10-------10---10--------10-------10------|a
e||--8----------------8-------------8---------8-------------------|e


Not only is that a ridiculous phrase to even THINK about alternate picking, the fact that he pulls it off so cleanly is insane.  I feel like the way he holds his pick may have something to do with it.  As you can kinda see in the video, he uses his thumb, index, and middle fingers, then anchors his pinky on the front of the guitar, just below the strings.

[LKap13]

So what's the connection? Is it just the alternate picking, because the style of playing is nothing like Petrucci's...
This is much more neo-classical than the vast majority of stuff Petrucci has done 1992-present.

[SnakeEyes]

BIGGEST HEAD SLAP EVER

[SjundeInseglet]

So what's the connection? Is it just the alternate picking, because the style of playing is nothing like Petrucci's...
This is much more neo-classical than the vast majority of stuff Petrucci has done 1992-present.

Steve's guitar style (or should I say "styles" as was voted best all-round guitar player 5 times in a row back in the early eighties) encompasses things he borrowed from many disparate music genres (namely baroque classical music, bluegrass, funk and rock... he was a jazz guitar major whose main instrument was the classical guitar when he attended the University of Miami in the early seventies). With "Tumeni Notes" he's just giving us his take on the whole Yngwie/neoclassical noodling that was kind of popular in the mid to late eighties. He wrote that just for fun (and you've got to hand it to him...  it IS a fun tune to play and listen to). There's a lot more to him and his music than that (though many people-- especially guitar aficionados-- obsess over it and never take the time to explore his other music). He's actually an excellent and savvy composer (who wrote almost all the music the Dregs recorded). Tunes like "Night Meets Light" (off the Dregs' "What If" record) or the spectacular "I'm Freaking Out" (off "Dregs of The Earth") showcase his writing talents pretty well and I'd recommend getting those two records to anyone who want to know what the Dregs and Morse are all about.

AFAIK Petrucci first taste of Morse came when someone played him "The Bash" (an energetic, high-speed bluegrass tune that's on "Night of the Living Dregs"). It made him want to perfect his alternate picking and play with (even) more precision. His approach to chromaticism is also very Morse influenced. There are lots of Dregs/Morse influenced moments in Dream Theater songs... one of the most obvious (and self-confessed... I heard Petrucci admit it somewhere... can't remember where but I think it was in one of the audio commentaries) ones is the guitar/keyboard unison in Metropolis (just after the bass solo).   

[ariich]

Steve Morse is great, I particularly love his work on DP's Purpendicular.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

So what's the connection? Is it just the alternate picking, because the style of playing is nothing like Petrucci's...
This is much more neo-classical than the vast majority of stuff Petrucci has done 1992-present.

Steve's guitar style (or should I say "styles" as was voted best all-round guitar player 5 times in a row back in the early eighties) encompasses things he borrowed from many disparate music genres (namely baroque classical music, bluegrass, funk and rock... he was a jazz guitar major whose main instrument was the classical guitar when he attended the University of Miami in the early seventies). With "Tumeni Notes" he's just giving us his take on the whole Yngwie/neoclassical noodling that was kind of popular in the mid to late eighties. He wrote that just for fun (and you've got to hand it to him...  it IS a fun tune to play and listen to). There's a lot more to him and his music than that (though many people-- especially guitar aficionados-- obsess over it and never take the time to explore his other music). He's actually an excellent and savvy composer (who wrote almost all the music the Dregs recorded). Tunes like "Night Meets Light" (off the Dregs' "What If" record) or the spectacular "I'm Freaking Out" (off "Dregs of The Earth") showcase his writing talents pretty well and I'd recommend getting those two records to anyone who want to know what the Dregs and Morse are all about.

AFAIK Petrucci first taste of Morse came when someone played him "The Bash" (an energetic, high-speed bluegrass tune that's on "Night of the Living Dregs"). It made him want to perfect his alternate picking and play with (even) more precision. His approach to chromaticism is also very Morse influenced. There are lots of Dregs/Morse influenced moments in Dream Theater songs... one of the most obvious (and self-confessed... I heard Petrucci admit it somewhere... can't remember where but I think it was in one of the audio commentaries) ones is the guitar/keyboard unison in Metropolis (just after the bass solo).  

Excellent first post.  Welcome.

As far as Morse's other styles, I love songs that showcase his classical guitar abilities.  Modoc and Point Counterpoint are excellent examples, as is Highland Wedding.

[chaotic_ripper]

The most obvious to me is the beginning of Raise the Knife, it's just like the opening lick from the Dregs song Take it Off the Top

[SjundeInseglet]

Excellent first post.  Welcome.

As far as Morse's other styles, I love songs that showcase his classical guitar abilities.  Modoc and Point Counterpoint are excellent examples, as is Highland Wedding.

Thanks. I've actually been around for a long, long time (I started lurking the dt.net forums in 2001 and eventually registered as "Quantum Soup" sometime after... I've been lurking over here since the 5/8-DTF split... so yeah, I kind of feel like I know you guys pretty well despite being a lurker/unregistered user).

I love "High Tension Wires". It's probably my favorite Morse record (barring "Dregs of the Earth" and "What If"). Morse has written a lot of great tunes that showcase his classical influence extremely well... you can really hear it in the guitar/violin duets he wrote for the Dregs (such as "Northern Lights", "Little Kids" or "The Riff-Raff") and in a lot of electric bass/classical guitar duets he recorded with the Steve Morse Band (such as "Slice of Time", "Flat Baroque" or "Delicate Balance"). Still, my favorite classical-influenced Morse tune has got to be "Go For Baroque". Love the way the guitar, piano and violin interact in that one.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

It's been a while since I heard Flat Baroque and (sadly) I'm not as well versed in Dixie Dregs stuff as I should be.  I definitely have to go back and give this stuff a listen.

[nineaxe]

The intro sounds like the inspiration for the glass prison arps.

[goo-goo]

What's Morse's heaviest and best record?

I've been meaning to start listening to him but I think now it's a great time.

[liquidtension]

What's Morse's heaviest and best record?

I've been meaning to start listening to him but I think now it's a great time.

I don't think much of his work is "heavy" although I think some of his work with Deep Purple rocks.  Ted the Mechanic is brilliant (imo).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nld0TnAV_8&feature=related

[cthrubuoy]

I really like his version of 'The Clap', and (if it's not too blasphemous on a prog forum) think it's better than the original version.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I really like his version of 'The Clap', and (if it's not too blasphemous on a prog forum) think it's better than the original version.

The Steve Howe (Yes) tune, right?  It's "Clap".  I seem to recall reading a bit with Steve Howe where he was a little irritated that it keeps getting called "The Clap".  

[cthrubuoy]

I think it's 'The Clap' on the Steve Morse album I've got? (Prime Cuts) I'll have to double check when I get home.

[ZBomber]

I think it's 'The Clap' on the Steve Morse album I've got? (Prime Cuts) I'll have to double check when I get home.

It was originally called "The Clap" on the tracklisting for The Yes Album, but Steve has said many times it just "Clap". I think they finally fixed the error on the latest CD pressing of The Yes Album.

[cthrubuoy]

It should be renamed 'That awesome acoustic song by that guy in Yes' to avoid any further confusion.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

It was originally called "The Clap" on the tracklisting for The Yes Album, but Steve has said many times it just "Clap". I think they finally fixed the error on the latest CD pressing of The Yes Album.

Right.  Wiki says:

The Yes Album was remastered and reissued in 2003 by Rhino Records with several bonus tracks, including a studio version of "Clap". The original LP and CD version of The Yes Album refer to the song as "The Clap", given Jon Anderson's erroneous introduction of the song on the original release (although it may merely be the case that by strongly emphasizing the d in "this is a song called clap" it gives the impression of an extra syllable such as could be interpreted as the word 'the'). The Rhino reissue clears this matter up and correctly refers to the song as "Clap" on the traycard, as Steve Howe intended.

It should be renamed 'That awesome acoustic song by that guy in Yes' to avoid any further confusion.

This, but then it'd be confused with "Mood for a Day".