This Is The Life (Dream Theater cover)

Gunnar364

Hi!

I've decided to put myself to the sword and share my Youtube videos with you guys here, so you could help mewith some tips and suggestions, both when it comes to singing and producing. My desire is to become as great as the metal titans of legend, so I think I'm way overdue to have my ass kicked. Come on and hit me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xEaxeXGcM4

Chris82

Good job on this! I've always loved Dream Theater, they are one of those rare bands where every member is beyond talented on their instrument of choice. Mike Portnoy is literally a drum god sent to earth to blow minds, I was sad when he left the band...

Gunnar364

@Chris82 Thanks! Just a little sad that LaBrie got badly food poisoned in 1995, his vocal chords never fully recovered to the godlike level you can hear on Images&Words and Awake. I haven't really kept that much track of Portnoy since he left, got brutally disappointed by the crappy Adrenaline Mob (even more so since Russell Allen is perhaps my favorite singer ofall time). What else has Portnoy done? What do you recommend me to check out?

Chris82

This is just insanely impossible, 104 time signature changes. I think even if I were immortal and played drums for 12 hours a day for 300 years straight I still wouldn't be able to do this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfydR1CQ76k

And this is his current band:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8GdH59yuD8

bentk

Hey! Thanks for sharing!

You need to work on your pitch for starters, especially when you go higher. I hear some good brightness in the tone, so keep working on that. Support the sound well! Maybe upload some audio/video doing the exercises? We can help you out with that. It's easier to help on the exercises than an actual song.

As for Mike Portnoy, man does he play in a lot of great bands. The whole thing with Dream Theater was a bit sad, but he went on to make so much amazing music. Everything he does with Neal Morse is usually killer (Neal Morse, Neal Morse Band, Transatlantic, Flying Colors), and other projects like Winery Dogs are also amazing. Highly recommend checking those out. During his days in Dream Theater he was already playing in different bands and projects, including Neal Morse, Transatlantic and Liquid Tension Experiment.

Gunnar364

@Chris82 @bentk Thanks for sharing some good music tips, this is sure to bring a ton of inspiration!

@bentk Thanks for the feedback! Is it possible to upload exercise videos directly on the forum? Don't feel like upload a lot of scales onto my Youtube account. But you're right, some professional feedback is the key to get to the next stage!

Wigs

You can keep the scales unlisted so only those with the link can view it. If you pop it in the student area then only other students will be able to see it. Or set up a second account (there are videos about how to do it, it's what I do for all my singing and scales to keep things seperate).

bentk

@Gunnar364 You can also use soundcloud. Video can be useful for us to check your posture throughout the exercise though. Wigs also provided some good suggestions here!