'A Nightmare... for the Fingers' has been written to illustrate all of the challenges typically encountered when tackling the parts John Myung has recorded with Dream Theater. These include upper register melodies, hard-hitting unison riffs, arpeggiated lines, and time signature and tempo changes. In addition to all of that, this track also includes a blisteringly fast, distorted bass solo.
Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above to get the PDF transcription and the audio files for this piece (available to subscribers only).
This course is 43 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:
This video is a demonstration of ‘A Nightmare… For the Fingers', performed on a Music Man Bongo bass strung with stainless steel Rotosound strings.
This video gives a brief overview of this difficult piece and the technical challenges that it presents. I’ll also be offering some advice on finding a suitable tone.
This video will show you how to play intro section, which features a melody performed on the bass in the upper register. This lesson covers bars 1-8 in the transcription.
This lesson will demonstrate the aggressive bass riff that forms the second part of the intro section. This lesson covers bars 9-16 in the accompanying transcription.
This section is a continuation and development of the riff that was established in the previous section. This lesson covers bars 17-32 in the transcription.
This section introduces some new elements into the main riff: shifting time signatures and arpeggiated ninth chords. This lesson covers bars 33-41 in the transcription.
This section features a new riff which again features some changing time signatures – a common element in Dream Theater’s music. This lesson covers bars 42-50.
In this section the bass returns to the main riff and ends with a metric modulation that enables the transition to the next part. This lesson covers bars 51-67.
This lesson will show you how to play the frantic bass solo and the up-tempo walking bass that follows it. This video covers bars 68-92 in the transcription.
This final video will show you how to play the outro section of the track, which is played at a much slower tempo. This lesson covers bars 93-112 in the transcription.
This lesson covers John Myung's tone and how it was replicated on the recording. It also offers advice on how you can achieve a similar – or suitable – tone.