Dream Theater - The Best of Times - Guitar Lesson

About The Best of Times

Few songs in the Progressive Rock world demand as much patience and stamina from a guitarist as this one. "The Best of Times" is built on long, carefully shaped melodic lines that require clean picking definition throughout, since the arrangement is open enough that any sloppiness in your fretting hand will be clearly audible. In D major and E Standard tuning, the guitar parts sit in a comfortable range but ask you to sustain phrasing across extended song sections, which is a different kind of challenge from pure technical speed. The real test is keeping your dynamics consistent across a track that stretches well past ten minutes, moving between delicate, restrained passages and fuller, more driven moments. Use the Practice Toolbar to isolate and slow down any transition where the texture shifts, because those seams are where timing tends to unravel. Dream Theater write parts that reward slow, deliberate repetition far more than running them at full speed early on.

• Played in E Standard tuning and D major, the guitar parts rely on melodic phrasing and dynamic control across a song that runs well over ten minutes.
• The biggest technical challenge is sustaining clean pick attack and consistent tone through long, slowly evolving sections rather than any single fast passage.
• Looping individual sections slowed down with the Practice Toolbar is especially useful here, as the song's length makes full run-throughs a poor way to fix specific weak spots.