Developing Your Own Style

Musical influences have a lot to do with shaping creativity. The music you love is as persuasive as it is inspiring and the guitar has always given me a vessel to express what I love. That's why it always made sense to me to actively listen to many different genres of music. I've always prided myself on being a versatile guitar player. Much like creativity, being versatile comes from what inspires you. For me, the first time I heard Prince's Purple Rain I knew I wanted to play the guitar. Here I was, this fourteen-year-old kid with Iron Maiden and Ozzy Osbourne posters plastered on my walls and hanging in the middle was a Purple Rain movie poster. I always appreciated his approach to the guitar which was this incredible and unique blend of soul, blues, funk, jazz, and rock. Not to mention he had a presence that was definitely his own. Prince was the full package. In all he played twenty-seven different instruments including the guitar, bass, piano, and wide range of keyboards and synthesizers. He was also a talented percussionist with the ability to play the bongos, congas, orchestral bells, woodblocks and wind chimes. Couple that with a flamboyant and androgynous persona along with a wide vocal range of high falsetto and a trademark soulful scream, I'd say his legacy is at least in part defined by being arguably the most versatile musician the word has ever known.

It's easy for me to say that his legacy is inspiring and it's likely why today I use a versatile approach to playing the guitar. I really enjoy being able to play different genres of music. The blues, rock and roll, heavy metal, funk or the composers of classical music all can be heard in the music I write.

While musical influences play a major part in inspiring creativity and defining your style, you also need to grow your musical knowledge and incorporate your experiences and emotions into your playing. This helps lead to adapting new sounds and techniques. Being versatile does a lot for sharpening your skills and inspiring new ideas. Learning to be versatile always made sense based on the guitar's long relationship with so many musical genres. For me, the guitar represents the driving force behind music's evolution.  

Becoming versatile means listening to other styles and genres of music. I grew up on Rock and Metal. It's all I listened to. But the guitar player who first got me interested in the guitar was Prince. Then, I saw the movie Crossroads in 1986 and got a dose of something other than rock and roll or heavy metal. Of course, the main reason I went to the movie was to check out Steve Vai, but about halfway through the movie the soundtrack included an incredible slide guitar piece called Feeling Bad Blues by Ry Cooder. Before that, I had never really heard much blues music that interested me but the sound of that glass bottle neck slide brought the blues to life for me. It’s as if the guitar itself is weeping, pouring out the pain of the world.

When I first heard the song, I had no idea who it was playing. All I knew was that song gave me a profound appreciation for the blues. It's a style of music that is deeply expressive and steeped in relatable sadness. It also introduced me to the guitar’s poignant pentatonic scale, which translated into a more accessible approach to playing lead. After 40 years of playing, today the blues still reminds me of where I got my start playing lead and also that there's an interconnectedness between people and a continuity of life. Playing the blues has been a way to leave my mark and remind me of the impermanence of life and the enduring power of the guitar.

I suppose it's surprise that the rock blues style of David Gilmour also had a huge impact on me. His solos seemingly sing to the soul, flowing and speaking fluid melody through a progressive construct of melodic sensibility. His solos are both complex and rooted in emotion creating a perfect balance of virtuosity and expressiveness. He demonstrated a range of techniques, from bending notes and sliding to incredible use of vibrato, which gave his style depth and dimension. His ability to bend notes should be recognized for its precision and profound feeling. His influence is why to this day I rely heavily on bending notes when soloing.
During my first decade of learning to play lead, there were many guitar players who influenced me. Being that it was the eighties, arguably the best decade for the guitar, there were literally hundreds of guitar players to choose from, but the ones that really had the biggest impact on me were Tony MacAlpine, Gary Moore, Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen.
In my opinion the most important technique you can master when it comes to soloing is the use of vibrato and bends. Yngwie Malmsteen's use of both is insanely good, helping cement his legacy, placing among the all-time greatest guitarists. When you consider the energized balance of speed, depth, proportion and timing, all characterized by such unique tone. Then top it all off with exceptional use of bend and vibrato it has enabled one of the most technically proficient and fastest guitar players ever to also play with an incredible range of feeling and passion. 

Being such a huge fan of Yngwie would lead me toward music that was more technical and progressive. My musical knowledge got a huge boost when I started listening to Queensryche and Savatage, which would lead me to the inventors of progressive metal and arguably one of the best bands on the planet, Dream Theater. Known as a musician's band, it makes sense that they have had the most influence over my style. With every member a master of their craft, guitarist John Petrucci stands alone for being the band's founder, main song writer, lead guitarist, and producer of some of the most incredibly complex song arrangements ever. He effortlessly glides through ever changing time signatures and shreds intricately unison solos with the keyboards. At 56 years old, he is at the peak of his game.

As the leader of Dream Theater, his portfolio of accolades speaks for itself with two grammy's and numerous awards for Guitarist of The Year. With incredible shredding and sweeping technique mixed with a slow hand of deeply expressive bend and vibrato, he has rightfully earned his place in the upper echelons of the guitar-playing world.

Over the past two decades, Joe Satriani has led his G3 tour, always featuring two of the best guitarists in the world. It's not surprising that Petrucci has been invited to G3 more than any other player.
It's a well-deserved honor when you consider his huge international fan base and his legacy of being one of the top 5 guitarists of all time. During a recent interview he was asked what advice he would give to an up-coming guitarist. His answer was perfect and simple. Be creative.

For me, the process of learning to play the guitar in my own distinctive way means having a continuous dedication to what you do best. Having the skill to be versatile and the imagination to be creative inspires the willingness to put forth the effort to become unique. It means not being afraid of the work you have to put into it. Eventually you'll get there and carry with you greater knowledge of the instrument. The way you play will always need improvement in practical and theoretical ways. Thats the way it's supposed to be. If it was easy everybody would be playing. It's supposed to be difficult. That's part of what makes it great. Because it's hard one day you'll find yourself playing the way you always wanted and you'll hear the distinction between yourself and other guitar players.