Dream Theater - Learning to Live #1 - Guitar Solo Tab

Once in a Livetime

1998 4:13

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About Learning to Live #1

Few songs in the Progressive Rock world demand this kind of sustained attention from a guitarist. "Learning to Live" is one of the longest and most compositionally dense pieces in the Dream Theater catalog, and the live version here captures all of that complexity in real time. Running in F# minor at 120 BPM in E Standard tuning, the song moves through multiple distinct sections, each with its own rhythmic feel and melodic character, so simply staying oriented is part of the challenge. John Petrucci's guitar work shifts between clean arpeggiated passages, heavy riff-driven sections, and fluid lead lines, asking you to cover a wide technical range within a single performance. The transitions between sections are where most players stumble, so isolate each one with the Practice Toolbar, loop it slowed down, and make sure your picking hand stays relaxed before bringing it back to tempo. Patience with the structure will pay off more than drilling any single lick.

• The song sits in F# minor in E Standard tuning, so no retuning is needed, but the key demands attention to minor scale positions across the full neck.
• Multiple section changes at a steady 120 BPM require strong internal rhythm and the ability to shift between clean fingerpicked textures and heavy picked riffs.
• The lead passages blend legato and alternate picking, so practising each technique separately before combining them will help you match the phrasing accurately.