Slow Dancing In A Burning Room Guitar Lesson

In this John Mayer lesson, we're going to break down the chords, licks and even guitar solo, so it's all here for you. As always, our focus is helping you to understand what John Mayer is playing, rather than just parrot fashion copy it and all of the deeper details are found in our courses and pathways that work alongside this lesson.

So, let's dive into this Slow Dancing in A Burning Room guitar lesson…

Slow Dancing Chord Progression

This song is based in the key of C#m and E major. I say both because they are one and the same in terms of the construction of the key, but you could certainly argue either way that it feels like it's in E major or C#minor. Both feel like home in the track to my ears, so I think it is worth accepting that you will simply need to shift the root note from C#m to E as and when needed in the track. There are two chord progressions in the track to be aware of, the basic loop that rolls through the intro and verse, and the chorus section. Let's start with the main loop, which is a C#m7, A and E major, like this:

So in terms of music theory, if we consider this the key of E major for a second, this is a vi IV, I progression (6, 4, 1 if you've never seen Roman numerals). If you've never heard of that theory before please do check out our Harmony course. This track is a great opportunity to practice your CAGED system in greater depth, so the chord shapes that I would choose, and John does choose a lot of the time (of course he has the skills to vary it as he likes) are as shown here:

As for the rhythm at work here, it's a simple back beat based around a 4/4 time signature. The term "back beat" simply means to highlight the "2" and the "4" in this time signature, which is where the snare drum plays. So we brush the lower end of the chord on the 1 beat and then hit the chord harder, and in the higher ranges, on the 2 and 4 beats.

When it comes to the A and E major there is an awesome "push" for the E chord. This means that the chord changes from the A to the E on the "2+" beat, as you can see below. This is a great songwriting tool to add a bit more interest to your basic chord progressions. Here is that groove then:

The Chorus section

As you move into the chorus part, we are slightly shifting the main progression and now working with a V, vi, IV, V, vi, ii progression… So a tad more complicated. In the key of E major this translates to a B, C#m, A, B, C#m, F#m chord progression like this:

We would recommend playing these chord boxes in their E shape form, which means moving up and down the neck a little, but it feels the most natural to keep it close to the original. Of course, you are also very welcome to use any CAGED shapes you like to work through these chords! Here are the basic suggestions:

You then move back into the main loop that we talked about above, and that really is the core of the song.

The guitar solo

As for the solo, I think this is an absolute masterpiece! It's entirely based in our C#m / E major pentatonic boxes 1 and 2, but the skill is within the sheer mastery of these pentatonic boxes. It's a lesson we learnt from Hendrix back in the 60's… Just how much can we get from one pentatonic scale box? The answer is a lot!

As always, there is no tab here for song lessons. Our mission is to help you understand the solo so that you can replicate it yourself, as well as take the best ideas and use them in your own improvisation. Watch the video as many times as you need to, but then try to let your ear, alongside the shapes, do a bit of guidance for you!

Conclusion

By the time you have finished learning this song, you will have a piece that encapsulates a modern style of Jimi Hendrix playing. The licks within chords, the bluesy yet fresh solo, and the whole thing glued together with great chords and a beautiful vocal. I wish you all the best with it, and please keep the song in your regular practice as it will ultimately develop over time as your guitar skills continue to improve.