Don't worry if some parts of this lesson don't quite sink in at this stage, there is a lot of theory going on here as well as musicality. The main thing is to learn the piece. Once learnt, take some extra time to explore some of the courses recommended on this page to understand the concepts more deeply! Enjoy!
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John Mayer style guitar lesson!
20 May 2024
–Dan Holton
If you're an intermediate guitar player looking to level up your overall guitar playing skills, John Mayer is a perfect study partner! In this lesson we'll learn how he uses his fingers, the pentatonic scale and CAGED chords to create some Mayer Magic! Now, those are some pretty big subjects individually, so to combine them all is not an easy task! However, with this very cool little study piece we've created, we can guide you through all the elements in a gentle and fun way!
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Dan Holton
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The lesson
Firstly I just want to say a big thank you to everyone on YouTube who has watched this video! It's currently, at the time of writing this blog post, at around 140,000 views. Its great to see so many students online working with our material and getting a lot out of it! So, thank you again, and without further ado, here is the video! Also, grab the download for the audio track right here!
The tab & scales
Let's kick off by learning the main lead part that we have written in a John Mayer style. This lead part utilises the C#m pentatonic scale shape 1 & 2, and also uses the CAGED chord system. First up, let's check out that tab, so that you have it as a reference as you work through the track:
Right now the main focus in terms of understanding the theory is knowing which pentatonic shapes are at work here. We're using the C#minor pentatonic box 1 and 2, as shown here:
The CAGED system
It's fair to say that you can't have a complete understanding of how this piece works without studying the CAGED system. We have a huge amount of detailed content on this system, including the full courses I would recommend taking below. So try to get as much as you can for the moment from this video, and then move over to one of these courses to full immerse yourself in this wonderful system.
The chords!
Another important part of this lesson is learning the chords and groove. Dan breaks down the groove nice and clearly in the video, and the chords that he uses for that section are shown here. Remember, you can use any version of these chords you like, but these are the shapes we recommend starting with (again based around the CAGED system)
John Mayer study
I really hope you enjoyed this video and lesson, and you take some time to get this cool little track nailed! If you love John Mayer, check out our Player Study below, where we cover his acoustic, electric and trio work! Speak to you all soon!
