This song is a real masterpiece from his album Continuum. The song, for the most part, just features two chords and some beautiful guitar parts. As we hit the chorus, we look at the intricate chord shapes and the theory behind the changes. Thomas walks you through every aspect of this song in two videos, so get ready to learn!
The intro solo is all based around the G major pentatonic scale in shape 4. Make sure that as you play through the lick you can relate it to the shape pictured below.
The main progression in the verse is G major to C major. You can play these anywhere you want on the neck, but that Thomas plays them is as follows. These are really cool ways to play these chords and simply based on CAGED chord positions, as Thomas explains in the video. We also have some super cool chorus chords, which are shown below (After the G and C).
The main thing to remember when you learn the licks within the chords is that they are all based around the pentatonic shapes within the chord. This is a very cool idea and one that Hendrix mastered back in the 60's. To give you a better idea of the theory behind them, here are the chords coupled with the pentatonic shapes. If you love this style but don't fully understand it, try this course: Hendrix Style Guitar Course.
The solo from this song is all based around the G major pentatonic shapes across the neck. John Mayer is using a lot of slides between these shapes, which makes the fluid melodic sound of the solo. It is important to really know which shapes are where, so check out the scale shapes below.
As Thomas mentioned in the video, as you are using a lot of notes on one string, it is so important to practice your slides and vibrato. The vibrato especially really helps to make the notes 'sing' and add your own character to the solo. If you struggle with vibrato, then check out our vibrato course: Rock Vibrato Course.
Ready to move on? Remember to check out every lesson in this unit first – then try the next unit...
Slow Dancing In A Burning Room
For us here at YGA, this song is the stand out track from the album Continuum by John Mayer. It simply has everything. Great melodic riffs, cool chords, the Hendrix style approach and a fantastic guitar solo. Thomas walks you through the whole thing bit by bit!