Originally published in Guitar World magazine · December 2010
Herman Li, Matt Heafy comments (excerpts)
Article1 min read
Herman Li (DragonForce)
What album/song inspired you to play fast?
One album that really gave me the drive to learn to play fast was Dream Theater's Images and Words. At the time I was already listening to a lot of guitar instrumental albums and had seen plenty of instructional videos, but Images and Words was the one that broke down the doors for me. I felt like, Okay, I get it now! Maybe it was the way John Petrucci's guitar solos were composed, because his use of speed along with melodies really made total sense to me.
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Matt Heafy (Trivium)
What helped you progress dramatically as a guitarist?
John Petrucci's Rock Discipline. I would watch the tape and learn the exercises in the booklet. To this day I still use the memorized exercises to warm up before every show, using a metronome, proper form and sitting upright.