Dream Theater: How To Lock In With Bass & Drums

Interview: Nick Cracknell

Getting your band to sound tight is tougher than you think. Dream Theater reveal how they lock in their instruments

Nick Cracknell: Most people think of the drums and bass as a band’s rhythm section. How important is it for you to lock in with that as a guitarist?

John Petrucci: The funny thing is in Dream Theater the rhythm section is the guitar and the drums. We record the drums and guitars first and the bass last, so we’re different in that respect. Rhythm is very specific and I really try to lock in with the drums. Playing lead (guitar] is different, that’s more expressive.

NC: How important is it for a guitarist to communicate with the drummer when playing live?

JP: I like a lot of Mike [Portnoy] In my ear monitors. We don’t need to have eye contact because we have such a long history together that we’re tight, but it keeps us focused.

Mike Portnoy: If I’m gonna hit a downbeat or weird cue those guys are right there with me. John [Petrucci] will make a certain face If the tempo’s too fast!

NC: What about improvisation? Do you experiment onstage or is it too risky?!

JP: Yeah, we do improvise. Sometimes we’ll get lost in it but that’s the beauty of improv!

MP: We do a lot of improv jams, but I have my ‘secret cowbell’ electronic pad that only we can hear. it’s so crucial to cueing the guys – when to change key, when to stop or start. It’s a little trick we’ve developed over the years.

NC: When you’re writing a guitar riff do you have a possible bass part In mind, or do you leave that up to your bassist John?

JP: A lot of times there’s doubling going on between us – John’s playing what I’m playing most of the time. He can pretty much do anything I can do on guitar [John plays a six-string bass]!

We have a close relationship. A lot of the riffs come from me and then we’ll sit down together and I’ll show him the riffs. It’s a little bit of give and take, but the band would tend to follow me and Mike really.

NC: So, what role does the bassist take in the rhythm section of Dream Theater?

John Myung (bass): Primarily, I play along with what goes on on the guitars and put in that bottom end perspective. The music is very guitar and drum-oriented though. The language of metal music is a relationship between guitars and drums. My role is to support that the best I can.

NC: Which Dream Theater track shows the relationship between bass and drums most effectively?

JM: The new single, ‘A Rite Of Passage’, has an interesting interplay where I start the melody then the guitar takes over. There are points in that song where I’m grooving with Mike, and I define the rhythm on the solo section.

NC: How can bassists more effectively lock in with the drums?

JM: The best thing is to do whatever it takes to be relaxed when you’re playing so you’re not on top of the beat. Just be really familiar with what you’re playing. One of the most direct ways is to find something you like listening to and have an appreciation for and play along to that – especially if you’re self taught. As far as accomplishing something creatively, the biggest part of it is finding the right people that you can evolve with.

NC: Finally, what other bands do you look to for examples of rhythm sections that work well together?

JP: We modelled our sound after certain bands early on. Like Rush, but their bass is more locked in with the drums. I always saw Metallica’s rhythm section – where Hetfield’s guitar is very tightly locked in with the drums – as my role in Dream Theater.

JM: In terms of bass and drums, Rush are awesome. They have chemistry, and with any band the chemistry of what’s going on with each musician and how they approach how they play is a huge part of it.

MP: John Bonham and John-Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin are the ultimate. If you watch The Song Remains The Same it’s amazing how John-Paul Jones is just standing, hovering over Bonham all the time, watching every move he makes.