Troy Stetina
Encyclopedia
Troy Stetina is an American guitarist and music educator with more than 35 rock and metal instructional methods to his credit, and total sales currently over 1 million units. He also operates his recording studio, "Artist Underground," in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. His current band is "Second Soul" and his side project is a progressive-metal band called "Dimension X." He was the director of Rock
Guitar
Studies at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
and writer for the GuitarOne magazine, and now teaches independently.
. He was the youngest in a prominent family of Olympic
cyclists, and won several national medals as a teenager. But racing was more of a family imperative than a personal choice and music was his real passion. His mother, an accomplished opera singer, supported his interest in music, and when he expressed an interest in guitar at age 12 she bought him a $60 beginner guitar and little practice amp.
While growing up, Troy developed an interest in late 1970s hard rock
titans such as Rush
, Led Zeppelin
and KISS
, later taking interest in the lead guitar
playing techniques of Randy Rhoads
and Van Halen
. Shortly after reaching the age of 18, Troy decided to attend astrophysics
classes in New Mexico
, and later discovered his unique talent at teaching. In the late 1980s, Troy released two very successful heavy metal
instructional books.
The same year the first book in his heavy metal guitar
instructional series was released, the young virtuoso
joined the prestigious Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, in Milwaukee. Although he eventually became Director of the Rock Guitar department, he left in the early 1990s to finally pursue a career as a recording artist.
"When I was 12 or 13 I started learning Kiss songs by ear. Everything off of Alive. Then I got into Aerosmith, Zeppelin and Rush—Really all the late 70s hard rock bands. During high school I started learning lead and got into Van Halen big time. Think I wore out the record grooves on Van Halen 1! Then in 1980 I happened to record this live Ozzy concert off the air just before Randy was killed. There was something about his tone and his note-choice that just hit me. I learned everything off it by ear. Randy was definitely one of my biggest influences and I still love his stuff. Around that time I was getting into classical stuff, too—Bach, Paganini and so forth—and even took classical guitar lessons for awhile."
After bumping around in a few garage bands through high school, at 18 he wound up in a gigging club band called "Titan". College was looming ahead, when much to his parents dismay, he put off a college scholarship to study Astrophysics in Socorro, New Mexico, quit bike racing and jumped into music with both feet.
"Later on, I figured out that my interest in cosmology
was really more about a personal search for truth and the existence of God
. So I don't think going that route would have been right. The math probably would have burned me out."
Troy started giving private guitar lessons part time at a local music store and found he had a knack for teaching. When a chance meeting with Hal Leonard author/editor Will Schmid occurred at the store, an opportunity to write a heavy metal instructional method materialized. His first effort was never published due to copyright issues. His second attempt resulted in the highly successful Heavy Metal Rhythm Guitar Volumes 1 & 2 in 1986, and the Heavy Metal Lead Guitar method in 1987.
"I never started teaching because I thought 'hey, I'd like to teach!' It was just a way to make ends meet really. But that's where the opportunities opened up for me, so that's what I did. Still, I always felt I was a player first and a teacher second. In fact, writing instructional stuff still always feels like work to me.".
" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
, "Caprice No. 10" by Niccolò Paganini
and "Prelude in D" by JS Bach.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. His current band is "Second Soul" and his side project is a progressive-metal band called "Dimension X." He was the director of Rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
Guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
Studies at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music is an independent music school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The conservatory teaches many types of music, including classical, jazz, rock, folk, and blues...
and writer for the GuitarOne magazine, and now teaches independently.
Early years
Troy grew up in IndianaIndiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. He was the youngest in a prominent family of Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
cyclists, and won several national medals as a teenager. But racing was more of a family imperative than a personal choice and music was his real passion. His mother, an accomplished opera singer, supported his interest in music, and when he expressed an interest in guitar at age 12 she bought him a $60 beginner guitar and little practice amp.
While growing up, Troy developed an interest in late 1970s hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
titans such as Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
and KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, later taking interest in the lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
playing techniques of Randy Rhoads
Randy Rhoads
Randall William "Randy" Rhoads was an American heavy metal guitarist who played with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot. A devoted student of classical guitar, Rhoads often combined his classical music influences with his own heavy metal style. While on tour with Ozzy Osbourne, he would seek out...
and Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
. Shortly after reaching the age of 18, Troy decided to attend astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
classes in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, and later discovered his unique talent at teaching. In the late 1980s, Troy released two very successful heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
instructional books.
The same year the first book in his heavy metal guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
instructional series was released, the young virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
joined the prestigious Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, in Milwaukee. Although he eventually became Director of the Rock Guitar department, he left in the early 1990s to finally pursue a career as a recording artist.
"When I was 12 or 13 I started learning Kiss songs by ear. Everything off of Alive. Then I got into Aerosmith, Zeppelin and Rush—Really all the late 70s hard rock bands. During high school I started learning lead and got into Van Halen big time. Think I wore out the record grooves on Van Halen 1! Then in 1980 I happened to record this live Ozzy concert off the air just before Randy was killed. There was something about his tone and his note-choice that just hit me. I learned everything off it by ear. Randy was definitely one of my biggest influences and I still love his stuff. Around that time I was getting into classical stuff, too—Bach, Paganini and so forth—and even took classical guitar lessons for awhile."
After bumping around in a few garage bands through high school, at 18 he wound up in a gigging club band called "Titan". College was looming ahead, when much to his parents dismay, he put off a college scholarship to study Astrophysics in Socorro, New Mexico, quit bike racing and jumped into music with both feet.
"Later on, I figured out that my interest in cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
was really more about a personal search for truth and the existence of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. So I don't think going that route would have been right. The math probably would have burned me out."
Troy started giving private guitar lessons part time at a local music store and found he had a knack for teaching. When a chance meeting with Hal Leonard author/editor Will Schmid occurred at the store, an opportunity to write a heavy metal instructional method materialized. His first effort was never published due to copyright issues. His second attempt resulted in the highly successful Heavy Metal Rhythm Guitar Volumes 1 & 2 in 1986, and the Heavy Metal Lead Guitar method in 1987.
"I never started teaching because I thought 'hey, I'd like to teach!' It was just a way to make ends meet really. But that's where the opportunities opened up for me, so that's what I did. Still, I always felt I was a player first and a teacher second. In fact, writing instructional stuff still always feels like work to me.".
Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar
Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar (ISBN 0-7935-0962-9) is a guitar tutorial book by Troy first published in 1990. It is designed to teach lead guitar techniques, how to practice and encourage evolving creativity. It is split into three sections Mechanics, Rhythm and Creativity. It Includes a rock version of "Flight of the BumblebeeFlight of the Bumblebee
"Flight of the Bumblebee" is an orchestral interlude written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, composed in 1899–1900. The piece closes Act III, Tableau 1, during which the magic Swan-Bird changes Prince Gvidon Saltanovich into an insect so that he can fly away to...
" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
, "Caprice No. 10" by Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
and "Prelude in D" by JS Bach.
Guitar Lessons: Book, Book/CD & DVD
Troy Stetina Series guitar lessons:- Metal Rhythm Guitar Volume 1
- Metal Rhythm Guitar Volume 2
- Thrash Guitar Method
- Metal Lead Guitar Primer
- Metal Lead Guitar Volume 1
- Metal Lead Guitar Volume 2
- Metal Guitar Tricks
- Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar
- Fretboard Mastery
- Secrets to Writing Killer Metal Songs
- Total Rock Guitar
- The Ultimate Scale Book
- The Ultimate Barre Chord Guide
- Left-Handed Guitar
- Left-Handed Guitar
- Beginning Rock Rhythm Guitar - DVD
- Beginning Rock Rhythm Guitar - VHS
- Beginning Rock Rhythm Guitar - book (English)
- Beginning Rock Rhythm Guitar - book (Spanish)
- Beginning Rock Lead Guitar - DVD
- Beginning Rock Lead Guitar - VHS
- Beginning Rock Lead Guitar - book (English)
- Beginning Rock Lead Guitar - book (Spanish)
- Troy Stetina's Guitar Lessons: Hard Rock
- Troy Stetina's Guitar Lessons: Funk Rock
- The Very Best of Ozzy Osbourne (with Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee & Zakk Wilde)
- Best of Foo Fighters
- Best of Rage Against The Machine
- Best of Black Sabbath
- Best of Black Sabbath - DVD
- Best of Aggro-Metal
- Deep Purple Greatest Hits
- Modern Rock - DVD
- Hard Rock - DVD