An "Astonishing" project

[Sebastián Pratesi]

Hi. I'm Sebastián, from Argentina. Back in February 2016, right after The Astonishing was released, I joined the forums for the first time. My first posts were in the album's 'Recurring Motifs' thread, which you can find here: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=45892.70

Collaborating with other fans on that thread was much fun and very constructive. Thanks to some people, I was able to notice many of the more obscure musical nuggets in the album. In March, Damien (from the French fan-club) mentioned our discussions to John P., and apparently he was impressed. That was so cool! (Thanks again, Damien!)

Anyway, that thread quickly stopped being updated, and the year went by. In June, I got to see the band play the album live in Buenos Aires, and -earlier that day- I attended a Q&A with John P. and Jordan. As if those were not enough happy memories, I got to ask the first question and Jordan complimented it. The guys from the local fan-club recorded the whole thing, and it's available on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/d3xqEbsrsH0

In short, The Astonishing is a very special album to me - not just because of the music (which I really love), but because of the whole experience: the forums, the show, the Q&A… Oh, and the videogame! (Too bad it was so short.)

That's one of the reasons why, in the last couple of months, I've been toying with the idea of creating a more "fleshed out" version of that 'Recurring Motifs' thread. The other reason is, I'm thinking of moving to an English speaking country next year, so this would be a great opportunity to work on my writing skills.

Now, it's very clear to me that The Astonishing isn't the most widely beloved Dream Theater album, so I'm not sure how much interest this tiny corner of cyberspace could attract. Hell: even the official micro-site -with all the characters' biographies, the songs' descriptions, and the big, loud NOMAC- is no longer available. (There is a simplified version in its place.)

But, if I was a teenager once again, I know I'd be ecstatic to have a place where I can check out and compare my discoveries while listening carefully to the album. That's how I felt back in 2007 when I came across that cool site by Fabien dedicated to Scenes from a memory (https://flabonde.free.fr/DTSFAM.htm)... And that other one by Chris on Octavarium (https://dt.spatang.com/octavarium.php)...

As for what I've already done:

• I've made an Excel file with basically every chord progression in every song, which I think will be helpful when it comes to comparing sections from different songs.
• I've corrected mistakes in the Excel file with the help of the previews -available in SheetMusicPlus- from the guitar and keyboard "Selections from The Astonishing" score books, released by Hal Leonard in 2016. (You see, my debit card was declined when I tried paying for the books/digital downloads, and I don't have a credit card. So, previews it is. )
• I've re-watched the 3 "Inside The Astonishing" videos (posted in late 2016 in the band's YouTube page), and took notes on the themes and other important stuff the guys talk about.
• I've read once again all posts in the 'Recurring Motifs' thread (including mine), to have an idea of what can be added, what can be modified, etc. (In the past 2 years, I've noticed some musical re-ocurring elements that were not documented back then.)

Furthermore, I already have some ideas on the format. But first, I'd like to know:

• Is anyone else interested in collaborating? We could work together on the music, or someone could take care of other aspects – the story, the genesis/cycle/tour, the different media involved.
• What type of site/document would you recommend for this? Maybe a wikia (with a forum)? Maybe a sub-section in one of the fan-club websites? I have zero experience as far as web design goes, but I'm sure there are many talented, creative people around here.
• Does anyone know how/where I can get the digital score books? I'd transfer the money to anyone willing to buy them for me but, according to SheetMusicPlus, buyers "may not distribute the file to others".
• Any suggestions/advice?

Thanks!

[noxon]

While the official site no longer has The Astonishing information, I've taken care to preserve most of the text at the fan club site: https://dreamtheater.club/discography/studio-albums/the-astonishing/

[bosk1]

Sebastián, that sounds really cool.  Feel free to use this site to post your expanded Recurring Motifs discussion here if you like.  You might find it a lot easier to get discussion in an established web community.  But it is up to you. 

That Q&A session is fantastic.  I hadn't seen that before.

[Indiscipline]

Helluva nice idea, hombre.

Should you need musical theatre scores for analysing references (TA is full of 'em), just ring a bell.

[Sebastián Pratesi]

While the official site no longer has The Astonishing information, I've taken care to preserve most of the text at the fan club site: https://dreamtheater.club/discography/studio-albums/the-astonishing/

Cool! Thanks for the heads up. 

Sebastián, that sounds really cool.  Feel free to use this site to post your expanded Recurring Motifs discussion here if you like.  You might find it a lot easier to get discussion in an established web community.  But it is up to you. 

That Q&A session is fantastic.  I hadn't seen that before.

Thanks! I was thinking of doing a separate site just in case some people not in the forums are interested in reading it; but yeah, the forums will be the best place to discuss and edit stuff!

As for the Q&A: yeah, it was such a great afternoon! The guys were so kind and in a great mood - we laughed many times, as you probably realized. At 24:49, you can see Jordan catching a flying NOMAC with his hands. (That's how great the man is. )

Helluva nice idea, hombre.

Should you need musical theatre scores for analysing references (TA is full of 'em), just ring a bell.

Thanks! Are you a musician/composer working in musicals?

[Indiscipline]

Helluva nice idea, hombre.

Should you need musical theatre scores for analysing references (TA is full of 'em), just ring a bell.

Thanks! Are you a musician/composer working in musicals?

Performer, I let smarter people compose. Got a lot of material gathered through the years.

[the keyboard wizard]

In March, Damien (from the French fan-club) mentioned our discussions to John P., and apparently he was impressed. That was so cool! (Thanks again, Damien!)

You're welcome I won't be able to help but I will be more than happy to translate that analysis into French when it's done!

[TAC]

That Q&A session is fantastic.  I hadn't seen that before.

I remember it being posted. They are easy guys to be fans of no doubt.


That dude standing at the door looks serious.

[Sebastián Pratesi]

Performer, I let smarter people compose. Got a lot of material gathered through the years.

Great! What instrument(s) do you play? Are you playing this summer?

You're welcome I won't be able to help but I will be more than happy to translate that analysis into French when it's done!

Génial! I can only translate to (and from) Spanish, so that would be awesome. Merci!

That dude standing at the door looks serious.

I'm assuming he is someone from their entourage - like a tour manager, or something. Making sure the event goes as planned.

[Indiscipline]

Performer, I let smarter people compose. Got a lot of material gathered through the years.

Great! What instrument(s) do you play? Are you playing this summer?

Human voice and word, but maybe PM is better suited for such questions and sheet music exchange, if you need it.

This thread is about your awesome project!

[RoeDent]

The Astonishing is one of my favourite things DT has ever done, so I'm very interested in this project. I'm also a huge fan of recurring motifs and themes, so this is right up my street. I do kinda wish JP and JR did more of those Inside the Astonishing videos, covering some of the other themes. The "Brother" one has helped me get a start on learning to play the "chromatic" version of that theme that appears in the closing track.

[Sebastián Pratesi]

Human voice and word, but maybe PM is better suited for such questions and sheet music exchange, if you need it.

This thread is about your awesome project!

OK, I'll count on it when I (or we) need your help. Thanks again!

The Astonishing is one of my favourite things DT has ever done, so I'm very interested in this project. I'm also a huge fan of recurring motifs and themes, so this is right up my street. I do kinda wish JP and JR did more of those Inside the Astonishing videos, covering some of the other themes. The "Brother" one has helped me get a start on learning to play the "chromatic" version of that theme that appears in the closing track.

Totally! In fact, when re-watching the videos, I realized that:

• There's a video set to 'private' in the "Inside The Astonishing" play-list.
• The episode about the "Astonishing" theme (which they mention in the 2nd episode) was never published.

Maybe that's the one?

That's a cool bit of the song you mention! Do you play keyboards?

Would you like to work together on this? If so, we could start exchanging ideas on how to approach this thing. (I already have a few of my own.)

[Ninjabait]

I have both the guitar and keyboard books so I'll be able to help out a little bit here and there as it fits into my schedule lol

[Sebastián Pratesi]

I have both the guitar and keyboard books so I'll be able to help out a little bit here and there as it fits into my schedule lol

Really? That would be so cool! Thanks.

Whenever you have some free time, could you please tell me if the books mention which album songs/themes are referenced in each song included in the book? The previews don't include the whole score for any song, so I can't tell if that's part of the book as well.

Also: the The Astonishing novel apparently includes "(...) song-by-song breakdown, and final synopsis as written by John Petrucci". (https://www.vaultbooks.pub/store/p17/The_Astonishing.html). Could anyone who bought the book earlier this year please confirm if those are the song descriptions that appeared on the micro-site back when the album was released? Or is it a breakdown of the musical elements? (I'd love to buy a copy, but unfortunately it's sold out.)

Thanks!

[Ninjabait]

The songs do not reference any leitmotives. Not every song on the album is on there, and the keyboard edition also doesn't have vocals. The full list would be:

02. Dystopian Overture (GK)
03. The Gift of Music (GKV)
05. A Better Life (GV)
06. Lord Nafaryus (K)
07. A Savior in the Square (GV)
08. When Your Time Has Come (GKV)
10. Three Days (GKV)
13. A Life Left Behind (GKV)
14. Ravenskill (K)
15. Chosen (GV)
16. A Tempting Offer (K)
19. A New Beginning (GKV)

22. Moment Of Betrayal (GKV)
23. Heaven's Cove (K)
25. The Path That Divides (GKV)
27. The Walking Shadow (GKV)
28. My Last Farewell (GKV)
31. Hymn of a Thousand Voices (GV)
32. Our New World (GV)
34. Astonishing (GV)

So that's only 20 out of 34, or 29 excluding NOMACs. Only 10 songs have all three

[Sebastián Pratesi]

The songs do not reference any leitmotives. Not every song on the album is on there, and the keyboard edition also doesn't have vocals.

So that's only 20 out of 34, or 29 excluding NOMACs. Only 10 songs have all three

OK, thanks for letting me know! Such a shame they left out "Begin again" - I'm still not sure if I transcribed the intro's chord progressions correctly.