Music Radar recently caught up with guitar legend Steve Morse (Deep Purple, Flying Colors), who reflected 50 years of guitar playing, offering 12 tips to being a better player. An excerpt from his list is available below:

Know Yourself

Morse: "To a certain percentage of the fans, I don’t succeed as Deep Purple’s guitarist because I’m not Ritchie Blackmore. But to the majority of people, it’s clear that I’m doing a respectful dance between playing it my way and remembering his way on the classic tunes. I don’t really want to copy the exact way that Ritchie played, but I want to remind people of what he did on a solo, then take it out into a different area."

"It’s a balancing act. Imagine somebody out on the wire, and they start to slip, but they use the balancing rod to get themselves back. That’s how I feel, a lot of the time."

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Music Radar recently published an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci's touring setup. An excerpt from the interview is available below.

Music Radar: Which musician has been most influential in shaping your approach to guitar?

Petrucci: “For me, it would be Steve Morse. The moment I heard him play I was not only blown away, but really, really inspired to want to do better, to expand my playing and my writing. Then I got to see him play live and eventually meet him, become friends and play with him on G3. He just never ceases to be an inspiration - a positive light as far as sticking with things, having a strong practice ethic, being your creative best, working hard as a musician, pursuing tone, pursuing the craft of guitar building with Music Man… All the things that he does have been really hugely influential to me.”

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