[Free tabs] Play 2 riffs in the style of John Mayer

In this lesson, Dan from Your Guitar Academy will take you through an in-depth introduction to John Mayer’s style of playing. John is a master of combining chords and scales to create beautiful melodies and rich guitar tones.

Riff N°1 from John Mayer

“John_Mayer_Riff_1_GP7.gp”
(click on the image to download the Guitar Pro 7 file)

“John_Mayer_Riff_2_GP6.gpx”
(click on the image to download the Guitar Pro 6 file)

This video lesson, as shown below, really focuses on the CAGED chord with pentatonic combination, and how to use it in your playing. 

The Theory

In this video, we are predominantly using the C# minor pentatonic shapes 1 and 2 to create these licks. However, rather than using them in a very lead-based way (as we typically would), we try to use multiple notes at the same time to create a more chordal approach. This approach helps to define John’s unique style. 

C#m pentatonic shape 1

C#m pentatonic shape 2

The Groove & Chords

Here are the 4 chords used in this study. As you can see the A and E chords are inversed. You can use the basic version of these chords but we recommend you to use these unusual shapes.

If you love this video and want to learn more about John Mayer’s style, please check out this free and complete John Mayer Course.

Encompassing acoustic grooves evocative of “Room For Squares”, the excellent blues of “Trio” and the commanding lead playing of “Continuum”, our John Mayer player study is a challenging course that will push any advanced player to new heights.

Riff N°2 from John Mayer

“John_Mayer_Riff_2_GP7.gp”
(click on the image to download the Guitar Pro 7 file)

“John_Mayer_Riff_2_GP6.gpx”
(click on the image to download the Guitar Pro 6 file)

In this video, we are taking a look at John’s more bluesy, SRV influenced, guitar playing. We use a combination of the dominant 7th chord with minor pentatonic notes, plus more of the CAGED chord with licks concept.

More About Your Guitar Academy

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Dan, managing director at YGA
Website: Your Guitar Academy