Dream Theater - The Best of Times - Guitar Lesson

About The Best of Times

Few ballads in Dream Theater's catalog demand as much patience and precision from a guitarist as "The Best of Times." Written in D major at 120 BPM in E Standard tuning, the song moves through extended sections that shift between delicate clean arpeggios and full, driving chord work, so your picking hand needs to stay controlled across very different textures. The clean passages reward a light touch and careful dynamics, while the heavier transitions ask you to stay locked in rhythmically without rushing. John Petrucci's lead playing here sits in melodic, singing territory rather than pure technical fireworks, but phrasing those lines with the right sustain and vibrato is genuinely difficult. Use the Practice Toolbar to isolate the transitional sections slowed down, especially where the feel moves between the gentler and heavier parts. This is a Progressive Rock track that rewards slow, deliberate practice over trying to run it at full tempo too soon.

• The song stays in E Standard tuning and D major throughout, so no retuning is needed, but the wide melodic intervals in the lead lines require precise left-hand stretches.
• Clean arpeggio picking in the quieter sections demands a consistent, relaxed picking attack to keep the tone even across all strings.
• The heavier chord passages at 120 BPM sit at a moderate pace, but maintaining tight rhythmic feel through the long song structure is the real stamina challenge.