John first played guitar at age 8 when he noticed his sister (who was taking organ lessons at the time) was allowed to stay up past her bed time to practice. He soon dropped it when his plan failed. At age 12, he began playing again when he was invited into the band of his friend Kevin Moore, who would later become the keyboardist of Dream Theater. John began to practice in earnest whilst also working out so that his body could absorb the ultimate brunt of true shred. He was a largely self-taught guitarist who developed his skills through attempts to equal the chops of his idols, who included Steve Morse, Steve Howe, Steve Vai, Al Di Meola, Alex Lifeson, and Allan Holdsworth. He has jokingly referred to his guitar idols as "the Steves and the Als".
John attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts with childhood friend John Myung (bass), where they met future bandmate Mike Portnoy (drums). These three in addition to another childhood friend of Petrucci and Myung, Kevin Moore (Keyboards), formed the band Majesty, which would later become Dream Theater.
While Dream Theater is what John is most commonly associated with, he was also a part of the band Liquid Tension Experiment and has appeared as a guest on several records by other artists such as the Age of Impact album by the Explorers Club. It is worth mentioning, however, that Liquid Tension Experiment also included Dream Theater co-members Mike Portnoy and Jordan Rudess, Jordan joining Dream Theater after LTE's success.
John also came out with a guitar instructional video, "Rock Discipline", which covers alternate picking, warmup exercises, sweep picking, chords, legato, and other techniques for developing one's guitar playing.
In 2001 he was chosen by Joe Satriani and Steve Vai to tour with them on the popular G3 guitar tour, which exposed him to a massive number of new fans and inspired him to record a solo album. Suspended Animation was released on March 1, 2005, and made available for order from his web site. He also appeared on the 2005, 2006 and 2007 G3 tours.
Petrucci also wrote and recorded two instrumental soundtrack songs for a Sega Saturn game titled Digital Pinball: Necronomicon. Each track is roughly two minutes long and they are simply titled "Prologue" and "Epilogue". Petrucci is an avid Sega Saturn gamer, and has revealed in interviews that he never tours without one.
In 2007, John Petrucci went on G3 tour again, this time with Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert.
In 2020 he released his second solo album Terminal Velocity with Mike Portnoy on drums and Dave LaRue on bass who also appeared on his first solo album.
Dream Theater bandmate Jordan Rudess revealed in an interview that Petrucci is a practicing Catholic. Petrucci is married to Rena Sands, a guitarist in the all-female heavy metal band Meanstreak, and they have 3 children, SamiJo and Reny (who are twins), and Kiara.
John Petrucci won the "Guitarist of the Year 2007" award recently in Total Guitar Magazine.
Glasgow Kiss
John Petrucci Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
As the title suggests, "Fife and Drum" is an instrumental piece by John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess. Throughout the song, the two musicians showcase their exceptional technical skills and masterful use of their respective instruments - the guitar and the keyboard. The song has a patriotic feel to it, reminiscent of military marches and parades. The title itself, "Fife and Drum", refers to two traditional instruments commonly used in military music - the fife, a small flute-like instrument, and the drum, which provides the rhythmic beat.
The song starts off with a slow, melodic guitar introduction, which is soon joined by the sound of a snare drum playing a marching beat. The guitar and keyboard then take turns playing complex solos, with the occasional harmonization and unison playing. The song gradually builds up in intensity, with the instrumentation becoming more layered and complex. Towards the end, the guitar and keyboard play a fast-paced unison melody, showcasing their incredible synchronization and technical proficiency.
Contributed by Peyton O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@bfeindel
This is one of those songs that I'll randomly remember exists every once in a while and every time I come back to it, it just blows my damn mind all over again. Just a masterfully written piece of music.
@rtqii
Ally the Piper covered this on the bagpipes and stole it.
@lfjoseph
exactly right. after some time and years now i got back here to listen, reading your words is exactly how i feel now
@manqbagan8147
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@manqbagan8147
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@sbeast64
Bitches love virtuoso guitarists playing technical celtic melodies.
@TheSecretJoe
Sbeast truer words have never been spoken.
@jamiemacmillan4056
Sbeast being Scottish this is one of the truly brilliant guitar melodies that can get girls just a shame I can't play it lol
@kleenx73
what are you even on about
@jamiemacmillan4056
Dillon Smiley I'm not sure if he knows himself