Chords for Dream Theater's John Petrucci: How We Wrote 'Metropolis - Part I'
Tempo:
139 bpm
Chords used:
C
Eb
Gbm
Am
Bb
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
Hey everybody, this is John Petrucci from Dream Theater and you're watching Loudwire.
[Eb] What is the first part that you wrote from that song?
Do you remember?
Oh my god.
I don't know if I remember the first part.
Where did it begin, at least in your mind?
You're talking about the song Metropolis.
Metropolis won the song.
Yeah, the song.
I mean, probably, you know, back in those days, like, we were big fans of Queensryche
and, you know, stuff like that.
Some of those kind of, the main riff that I'm doing on the guitar uses a sort of technique
that they did with thirds and fifths and things like that.
[N] It's a very sort of signature sound.
So you hear that in the verses and stuff like that.
That probably would be around some of the first stuff I gravitated towards on the guitar I bet.
Gotcha.
So, one of the pivotal moments in the song is when your tone shifts.
And, I mean, is it an acoustic 12 string?
It sounds kind of like an acoustic 12 string.
Yeah, you know what?
It's actually not 12 string.
The funny thing about that record and the way that we recorded it is some of the things
that I did were not conventional.
Like the clean guitar sound came out of a little Zoom, like a Zoom made portable guitar
system that you can put on your strap and plug into it and it sounds.
And so, and the producer at the time was like really into this thing.
We like plugged in.
It's like basically like, I don't know, it's like a consumer level thing.
I've seen people walking like on the street playing their guitar with that on.
Yeah, I mean this was a long time ago.
And you know, that's like where that sound came from.
So, I don't know.
Wow, that's so odd.
It's sort of weird.
It sounds like a very beautiful, clean, like 12 string acoustic to me.
Yeah, it's not.
I mean, it's possible we doubled it with acoustic.
No 12 string though.
But what we did do in those days, same with like Pull Me Under, which had that kind of
signature sound, is we multi-tracked the clean part.
And then this was all to tape, remember, so not digital.
So we would change the tape speed every time I did another overdub.
So in other words, it would create the difference in speed and performance would create its natural chorus. Wow.
So we did like six different overdubs of the same part.
And then you get this like Pull Me Under sound, this beautiful chorusing sound.
So it was the same sound on Metropolis, Take the Time, songs like that.
And then later in the song, your tone gets very like old school video game-y.
It reminds me of like the old Sega Genesis.
Yeah, right, right, right.
Which I've written music for.
Sega Genesis?
Sega Saturn.
I wrote music.
Oh, the Saturn.
I remember that thing.
What did you write for?
I wrote for a game called Necronomicon.
Is that like an Evil Dead game?
I guess.
I never actually played the game.
But I wrote, yeah, if you get the game, you can hear.
It's got to be on YouTube by now. Probably, [Gbm] yeah.
[Am]
[N]
Cool.
So how did you go about getting that kind of video game-y tone?
Well, I think it's more like in the technique in the parts, because the tone is just a normal
like lead guitar sound.
Okay.
Yeah.
So I think it's kind of like in the nature of the parts.
You know, there's some things where we do dissonant harmonies where we're playing like
a minor second away from each other, which gives like that weird sort of video game thing.
And also some of like the faster kind of more, I don't know what you, they're like these
sort of bubbly like licks and things.
It kind of lends itself to more video game sounds.
But the actual tone, I mean, really it's just a normal same lead sound I would use on a
solo in Pull Me Under or something.
But when we were doing scenes from memory, we, you know, Metropolis on images always
said part one.
Yes.
So we're like, this is the perfect place for part two.
So we very loosely kind of tied in the story to that.
It was a stretch.
We had to make some executive calls to make it make sense.
Yeah.
Speaking of a stretch, I found one fan theory online that I'd like to throw by you to see
if there's any validity to it.
Does it involve Owen Wilson?
It does not.
That was my theory.
One person says that the song is structured to fit perfectly in between Home and Dance of Eternity.
Wow.
That apparently Home goes right into it and then right into Dance of Eternity.
And apparently the theory was that that was the plan.
Well, if that was the plan, then we're geniuses because now, you know, stuff like that is
so interesting for me to hear.
Because it's like, you know, the fact that things work out that way, it's just a weird coincidence.
It definitely was not purposely done that way.
Awesome.
But that's, I love hearing about stuff like that, you know?
Yeah.
It's funny.
Even if it's not true, it's always funded.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's awesome.
[C] [Bb] [A]
[C] [E] [Ebm]
[C] [N]
[Eb] What is the first part that you wrote from that song?
Do you remember?
Oh my god.
I don't know if I remember the first part.
Where did it begin, at least in your mind?
You're talking about the song Metropolis.
Metropolis won the song.
Yeah, the song.
I mean, probably, you know, back in those days, like, we were big fans of Queensryche
and, you know, stuff like that.
Some of those kind of, the main riff that I'm doing on the guitar uses a sort of technique
that they did with thirds and fifths and things like that.
[N] It's a very sort of signature sound.
So you hear that in the verses and stuff like that.
That probably would be around some of the first stuff I gravitated towards on the guitar I bet.
Gotcha.
So, one of the pivotal moments in the song is when your tone shifts.
And, I mean, is it an acoustic 12 string?
It sounds kind of like an acoustic 12 string.
Yeah, you know what?
It's actually not 12 string.
The funny thing about that record and the way that we recorded it is some of the things
that I did were not conventional.
Like the clean guitar sound came out of a little Zoom, like a Zoom made portable guitar
system that you can put on your strap and plug into it and it sounds.
And so, and the producer at the time was like really into this thing.
We like plugged in.
It's like basically like, I don't know, it's like a consumer level thing.
I've seen people walking like on the street playing their guitar with that on.
Yeah, I mean this was a long time ago.
And you know, that's like where that sound came from.
So, I don't know.
Wow, that's so odd.
It's sort of weird.
It sounds like a very beautiful, clean, like 12 string acoustic to me.
Yeah, it's not.
I mean, it's possible we doubled it with acoustic.
No 12 string though.
But what we did do in those days, same with like Pull Me Under, which had that kind of
signature sound, is we multi-tracked the clean part.
And then this was all to tape, remember, so not digital.
So we would change the tape speed every time I did another overdub.
So in other words, it would create the difference in speed and performance would create its natural chorus. Wow.
So we did like six different overdubs of the same part.
And then you get this like Pull Me Under sound, this beautiful chorusing sound.
So it was the same sound on Metropolis, Take the Time, songs like that.
And then later in the song, your tone gets very like old school video game-y.
It reminds me of like the old Sega Genesis.
Yeah, right, right, right.
Which I've written music for.
Sega Genesis?
Sega Saturn.
I wrote music.
Oh, the Saturn.
I remember that thing.
What did you write for?
I wrote for a game called Necronomicon.
Is that like an Evil Dead game?
I guess.
I never actually played the game.
But I wrote, yeah, if you get the game, you can hear.
It's got to be on YouTube by now. Probably, [Gbm] yeah.
[Am]
[N]
Cool.
So how did you go about getting that kind of video game-y tone?
Well, I think it's more like in the technique in the parts, because the tone is just a normal
like lead guitar sound.
Okay.
Yeah.
So I think it's kind of like in the nature of the parts.
You know, there's some things where we do dissonant harmonies where we're playing like
a minor second away from each other, which gives like that weird sort of video game thing.
And also some of like the faster kind of more, I don't know what you, they're like these
sort of bubbly like licks and things.
It kind of lends itself to more video game sounds.
But the actual tone, I mean, really it's just a normal same lead sound I would use on a
solo in Pull Me Under or something.
But when we were doing scenes from memory, we, you know, Metropolis on images always
said part one.
Yes.
So we're like, this is the perfect place for part two.
So we very loosely kind of tied in the story to that.
It was a stretch.
We had to make some executive calls to make it make sense.
Yeah.
Speaking of a stretch, I found one fan theory online that I'd like to throw by you to see
if there's any validity to it.
Does it involve Owen Wilson?
It does not.
That was my theory.
One person says that the song is structured to fit perfectly in between Home and Dance of Eternity.
Wow.
That apparently Home goes right into it and then right into Dance of Eternity.
And apparently the theory was that that was the plan.
Well, if that was the plan, then we're geniuses because now, you know, stuff like that is
so interesting for me to hear.
Because it's like, you know, the fact that things work out that way, it's just a weird coincidence.
It definitely was not purposely done that way.
Awesome.
But that's, I love hearing about stuff like that, you know?
Yeah.
It's funny.
Even if it's not true, it's always funded.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's awesome.
[C] [Bb] [A]
[C] [E] [Ebm]
[C] [N]
Key:
C
Eb
Gbm
Am
Bb
C
Eb
Gbm
Hey everybody, this is John Petrucci from Dream Theater and you're watching Loudwire. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Eb] What is the first part that you wrote from that song?
Do you remember?
Oh my god. _
I don't know if I remember the first part.
Where did it begin, at least in your mind?
You're talking about the song Metropolis.
Metropolis won the song.
Yeah, the song.
I mean, probably, you know, back in those days, _ like, we were big fans of Queensryche
and, you know, stuff like that.
Some of those kind of, the main riff that I'm doing on the guitar _ _ uses a sort of technique
that they did with thirds and fifths and things like that.
[N] It's a very sort of signature sound.
So you hear that in the verses and stuff like that.
That probably would be around some of the first stuff I _ _ gravitated towards on the guitar I bet.
Gotcha.
_ So, one of the pivotal moments in the song is when your tone shifts.
And, I mean, is it an acoustic 12 string?
It sounds kind of like an acoustic 12 string.
Yeah, you know what?
It's actually not 12 string.
The funny thing about that record and the way that we recorded it is some of the things
that I did were not conventional.
Like the clean guitar sound came out of a little Zoom, like a Zoom made portable guitar
_ system that you can put on your strap and plug into it and it sounds.
_ And so, and the producer at the time was like really into this thing.
We like plugged in.
It's like basically like, I don't know, it's like a consumer level thing.
I've seen people walking like on the street playing their guitar with that on.
Yeah, I mean this was a long time ago.
_ _ _ _ And you know, that's like where that sound came from.
So, I don't know.
Wow, that's so odd.
It's sort of weird.
It sounds like a very beautiful, clean, like 12 string acoustic to me.
Yeah, it's not.
I mean, it's possible we doubled it with acoustic.
No 12 string though.
But what we did do in those days, same with like Pull Me Under, which had that kind of
signature sound, is we multi-tracked the clean part.
And then this was all to tape, remember, so not digital.
So we would change the tape speed _ every time I did another overdub.
So in other words, it would create the difference in speed and performance would create its natural chorus. Wow.
So we did like six different overdubs of the same part.
_ And then you get this like Pull Me Under sound, this beautiful chorusing sound.
So it was the same sound on Metropolis, Take the Time, songs like that.
And then later in the song, your tone gets very like old school video game-y.
It reminds me of like the old Sega Genesis.
Yeah, right, right, right.
Which I've written music for.
Sega Genesis?
Sega Saturn.
I wrote music.
Oh, the Saturn.
I remember that thing.
What did you write for?
I wrote for a game called Necronomicon. _
Is that like an Evil Dead game?
I guess.
I never actually played the game.
But I wrote, yeah, if you get the game, you can hear.
It's got to be on YouTube by now. Probably, [Gbm] yeah. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [N]
Cool.
So how did you go about getting that kind of video game-y tone?
Well, I think it's more like in the technique in the parts, because the tone is just a normal
like lead guitar sound.
Okay.
Yeah.
So I think it's kind of like in the nature of the parts.
You know, there's some things where we do dissonant harmonies where we're playing like
a minor second away from each other, _ which gives like that weird sort of video game thing.
And also some of like the faster kind of more, _ I don't know what you, they're like these
sort of bubbly like licks and things.
It kind of lends itself to more video game sounds.
But the actual tone, I mean, really it's just a normal _ same lead sound I would use on a
solo in Pull Me Under or something.
But when we were doing scenes from memory, we, you know, Metropolis _ on images always
said part one.
Yes.
So we're like, this is the perfect place for part two.
So we very loosely kind of tied in the story to that.
It was a stretch.
We had to make some _ _ executive calls to make it make sense.
Yeah.
Speaking of a stretch, I found one fan theory online that I'd like to throw by you to see
if there's any validity to it.
Does it involve Owen Wilson?
It does not.
That was my theory.
One person says that the song is structured to fit perfectly in between Home and Dance of Eternity.
Wow.
That apparently Home goes right into it and then right into Dance of Eternity.
And apparently the theory was that that was the plan.
_ Well, _ if that was the plan, then we're _ geniuses because now, you know, stuff like that is
so interesting for me to hear.
Because it's like, you know, the fact that things work out that way, it's just a weird coincidence.
It definitely was not purposely done that way.
Awesome.
But that's, I love hearing about stuff like that, you know?
Yeah.
It's funny.
Even if it's not true, it's always funded.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's awesome.
[C] _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ [Ebm] _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ [N] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Eb] What is the first part that you wrote from that song?
Do you remember?
Oh my god. _
I don't know if I remember the first part.
Where did it begin, at least in your mind?
You're talking about the song Metropolis.
Metropolis won the song.
Yeah, the song.
I mean, probably, you know, back in those days, _ like, we were big fans of Queensryche
and, you know, stuff like that.
Some of those kind of, the main riff that I'm doing on the guitar _ _ uses a sort of technique
that they did with thirds and fifths and things like that.
[N] It's a very sort of signature sound.
So you hear that in the verses and stuff like that.
That probably would be around some of the first stuff I _ _ gravitated towards on the guitar I bet.
Gotcha.
_ So, one of the pivotal moments in the song is when your tone shifts.
And, I mean, is it an acoustic 12 string?
It sounds kind of like an acoustic 12 string.
Yeah, you know what?
It's actually not 12 string.
The funny thing about that record and the way that we recorded it is some of the things
that I did were not conventional.
Like the clean guitar sound came out of a little Zoom, like a Zoom made portable guitar
_ system that you can put on your strap and plug into it and it sounds.
_ And so, and the producer at the time was like really into this thing.
We like plugged in.
It's like basically like, I don't know, it's like a consumer level thing.
I've seen people walking like on the street playing their guitar with that on.
Yeah, I mean this was a long time ago.
_ _ _ _ And you know, that's like where that sound came from.
So, I don't know.
Wow, that's so odd.
It's sort of weird.
It sounds like a very beautiful, clean, like 12 string acoustic to me.
Yeah, it's not.
I mean, it's possible we doubled it with acoustic.
No 12 string though.
But what we did do in those days, same with like Pull Me Under, which had that kind of
signature sound, is we multi-tracked the clean part.
And then this was all to tape, remember, so not digital.
So we would change the tape speed _ every time I did another overdub.
So in other words, it would create the difference in speed and performance would create its natural chorus. Wow.
So we did like six different overdubs of the same part.
_ And then you get this like Pull Me Under sound, this beautiful chorusing sound.
So it was the same sound on Metropolis, Take the Time, songs like that.
And then later in the song, your tone gets very like old school video game-y.
It reminds me of like the old Sega Genesis.
Yeah, right, right, right.
Which I've written music for.
Sega Genesis?
Sega Saturn.
I wrote music.
Oh, the Saturn.
I remember that thing.
What did you write for?
I wrote for a game called Necronomicon. _
Is that like an Evil Dead game?
I guess.
I never actually played the game.
But I wrote, yeah, if you get the game, you can hear.
It's got to be on YouTube by now. Probably, [Gbm] yeah. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [N]
Cool.
So how did you go about getting that kind of video game-y tone?
Well, I think it's more like in the technique in the parts, because the tone is just a normal
like lead guitar sound.
Okay.
Yeah.
So I think it's kind of like in the nature of the parts.
You know, there's some things where we do dissonant harmonies where we're playing like
a minor second away from each other, _ which gives like that weird sort of video game thing.
And also some of like the faster kind of more, _ I don't know what you, they're like these
sort of bubbly like licks and things.
It kind of lends itself to more video game sounds.
But the actual tone, I mean, really it's just a normal _ same lead sound I would use on a
solo in Pull Me Under or something.
But when we were doing scenes from memory, we, you know, Metropolis _ on images always
said part one.
Yes.
So we're like, this is the perfect place for part two.
So we very loosely kind of tied in the story to that.
It was a stretch.
We had to make some _ _ executive calls to make it make sense.
Yeah.
Speaking of a stretch, I found one fan theory online that I'd like to throw by you to see
if there's any validity to it.
Does it involve Owen Wilson?
It does not.
That was my theory.
One person says that the song is structured to fit perfectly in between Home and Dance of Eternity.
Wow.
That apparently Home goes right into it and then right into Dance of Eternity.
And apparently the theory was that that was the plan.
_ Well, _ if that was the plan, then we're _ geniuses because now, you know, stuff like that is
so interesting for me to hear.
Because it's like, you know, the fact that things work out that way, it's just a weird coincidence.
It definitely was not purposely done that way.
Awesome.
But that's, I love hearing about stuff like that, you know?
Yeah.
It's funny.
Even if it's not true, it's always funded.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's awesome.
[C] _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ [Ebm] _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ [N] _ _ _