How John Mayer Writes A Song | The Artists Series S1E5
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- Опубликовано: 4 май 2017
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Written & Directed by Friedemann Findeisen
Edited by Joanna Kiolbassa
When I listen to a piece of music for the first time one of the questions I ask myself is “how was this written?” In the case of John Mayer, it was immediately obvious to me that his songs start on the guitar. And while he may be known as singer, he’s actually more of a guitarist. And in a perfect example of how the music itself can tell you more about an artist than their own biography, I later found out that he actually started on guitar. He only changed course much later at Berklee, where he became the singer/songwriter we know today. 
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Wow incredible, this house has EVERYTHING! a door, a window, a roof EVEN walls!
I think the two of us would make for good realtors.
Haha yeah! It was exactly like this, when I was looking for a flat!
Mine was made of lego. Which in hindsight was a bit silly, because it got knocked down.
Maybe when I become rich like John Mayer, I can afford some floors!
Ehmmm..... It has no toilets though... Damn turns out it we were the sims all along!
John Mayer only went to Berklee for a semester. He's not a graduate.
dixie lou Carter two semesters
@@jl3436 technically he dropped out during the 2nd Semester and was skipping a lot of classes.
@@JonWatkins ha yeah skipping classes to sleep in and write songs in the evenings
2*
I hope you're not suggesting a music education has no value .. regardless of genre.
I'm really surprised you didn't go into the most interesting aspect of his writing...the Jazz Chord extensions/progressions he often uses, and the fact that his melodies often incorporate the 7th, 2nd, and 6th notes of the major scale. In my opinion, that is how John's songwriting really stands out from his contemporaries.
agreed. his chord progression is just crazy. he can make pretty pop song with unplayable chord for most people 😂
Exactly what I was thinking! His extended harmony combined with pop and blues elements is really what makes his music stand out. He brings jazz extensions into a pop/blues context wonderfully and it speaks for itself. Totally agree Jonny.
Because this video sucks.. He just covered basics.. Anyone could do that..
good point Jonny... nowhere is this more apparent than on CLARITY... the chords that John plays on that song are just nuts, but he made it work. I recorded a piano & vocal cover version of it for my channel, I couldn't match all the chords by ear, but it was fun trying.
is this guy even a fan of JM? dont think so
Imagine you're an architect... Of days that haven't happened yet
Can't believe a month is all it's been.
you know my paper heart, the one i fill with pencil marks, i think i might have gone and inked you in...
@@zbbjs9319 little by little, inch by inch
Whoever said John Mayer songs are easy to play on the guitar...clearly has never tried playing a john Mayer song on guitar. Learning how to play "Neon" took me more time than learning any SRV, Clapton, Jeff Beck or Hendrix.
True. There is always a gradient of difficulty. But what I find remarkable about Mayer's playing is that he is able to keep a song like Neon sonically interesting, with esoteric chords and weird picking techniques, and still maintain enough identifiable melody and lyrical prowess to make it listenable to a pop audience.
Blue Sk yeah i was learning neon too, the thumb and index finger picking pattern is crazy, but i finally got the hang of it
The songs neon, my stupid mouth, acoustic version like shadow days, queen of california etc it's very hard to play!
Chris P Emotion is highly subjective so I really don't think you can compare one guitar player's "emotion" to the other's. I personally don't enjoy SRV's style because I find it really aggressive. not that it's a bad thing and he's obviously a great player, but it takes away from the emotion I feel in his playing. It's largely a perception thing, because where I don't see Emotion other people do and vice versa.
Blue Sk - 100% correct. SRV et al have a very similar, familiar formula for anyone who's played that classic rock/blues style for a while. Whereas Mayer combines modern folk playing styles that he helped popularise (slap and pop / pluck and chuck) with less common soulful/jazzy chords... and then on other songs has the bluesy stuff going too. I was learning "Stop This Train" the other day, and the stretches that your hands need to do are ridiculously huge. Mayer's songs sound deceptively simple, when a great many of them are anything but.
He dropped out at Berklee because he knew what he wanted to do with his life and Berklee wasn't it. He has gone back to Berklee as a guest speaker and the videos are very good and on RUclips.
I only read a summary of those talks, haven't seen the actual videos. Didn't know they were on RUclips, thanks!
Yes its very informative and a must see! Thanks for all your videos. They are some of the best videos on RUclips. I am sharing big time!!!!
Josh Elliott In Berkley are a lot of better Musicians than John. Don`t get me wrong...i love his Music but he`s nothing against Pat metheny or Mark Lettieri.
+Moritz rip, I agree with you regarding the technical level of musicians at Berklee, but music is not about speed and complexity. It's about emotion. Just my 2 Cents..
TurboTrompetenTraining Mayer is far more valuable to the music community than most people graduating from Berkeley purely because he's one of the only people in pop who make technically complex music listenable. I love Snarky puppy etc, but Mark is not a better player than Mayer just because he plays harder guitar parts. Constructing a melody and concept in song is far harder than just jamming on the guitar
4:33 wtf "kinda shit" those fills sounded pretty chill
Thought I was the only one who liked it
young placenta placenta yeah I think cliche is a better way to describe it
Im so glad I saw this, I listened to both versions and I much prefered it with his "shit" fills. Music is subjective at the end of the day, hard to call any way of composing shit.
young placenta placenta
Doesn't fit the song tho
but old school cheesy no creativity?
I've been playing guitar for 40 years, and I don't think I have ever attempted a more difficult song than "Neon". The further you dive into the song, the tougher it gets. I don't think anyone plays acoustic better than that.
John started write his own songs when he was 17 yo. He decided to sing himself because he thought no one could sing his songs like he wanted. on one of his interview he said all his song came melody first then lyrics. He rarely write song for other singer or become co-writer because he can be into someone else mind.
Interesting, thanks for sharing!
Hozier Please!!! I know he only has 1 album out but that man's musicality is inspiring
MonkeyPassion 21 I agree! His songwriting is amazing, so deep and mature for such a young artist.
He left Berkley as I understand it, dropping out after 2 semesters....seems to be doing fine without the degree though
John Mayer hasn't even peaked yet ! He is a genuis !!
Al Andrew I disagree strongly. But the statement isn’t he’s reached his peaked, he’s chilled out and doesn’t have a reason to prove himself anymore.
I think The Search For Everything MAY BE his best album! I did not expect it to be THAT good!
I love what he does with Dead & Company
"Songwriting can be smart without being clever"
That's some seriously great wisdom right there.
love it
Songwriting about how you make the melody & lyrics hook to people when listening to it.
Thumbnail: you see that, that's a C right there, that's what makes John Mayer special
Edge of Desire is the best song I've ever heard.
Same. It is my all time favourite song by any artist.
I disagree Mayer doesn't fill spaces with licks, only that his licks are often very rhythm based, like his pick, slap, hammer-on stuff! Definitely a great musician anyway though!
Good Love Is On The Way and Who Did You Think I Was are 2 good examples of him filling in licks over his vocals.
I think you're right to an extent. In his early days he used a lot of rhythm based fills, but I feel his music has got more sparse (in a good way) as the years have gone. He only uses fills and licks now that really embellish the song
Agreed, he actually builds and reacts melodically around what he creates on the guitar.
Was this a video on John or life? Going deep towards the end there. Love it :)
I love this channel, I love how deep you dig into the artists!
With that said I would love to see you dig into BON IVER. I find Justin Vernons song writing really inspiring and unique.
Same here and hope to do an episode on him in the future :)
Michael Hellqvist yep I asked for John and Justin in the last video. Great to see he's going to do it!
Holistic Songwriting can you do travis scott
I wouldn’t think John is known as a singer, but what do I know. Love this video. Ty for putting it together.
"Patience to listen" is one of the greatest lessons I've had in my life. Hope to progress with it in all aspects.
Thanks man! 😊
I've been praying for a RUclips vid like this about john mayer. God bless
The Strokes/Tame Impala?
I don't think he's going to do it, they prefer "popular" artists for the business
For season 1, true :) In season 2, things will change!
Sean K there's so much music from Kevin Parker you might need a 30 minute video for him. He makes all the music in his head then physically makes little demos or composes it so to speak. There's so many unofficial tracks that have millions of views on RUclips. There's so damn much he's done. Please take a lot a lot of time with his things. - human Tame Impala encyclopedia who's also a musician
You will need to look at his song inspirations, he's borrowed quite a lot from Dungen and The Field
I think this has been one of your deepest videos in this series, especially at the end... I enjoyed this, even though I enjoy the modern sound more than the traditional sound. Hearing about production techniques, bending the "rules", and focusing on the contrast between old school & new was awesome.
I hope you continue this series... Although quite short, theyre packed with info. Subscribed & shot you a thumbs up. Dont stop with these please!
4:33 I actually really liked these licks haha,
I thought the same hahahaha
good licks but they didn't add to the song
John Frusciante would be very interesting.
Syrup Face would be awesomee!
Chris Cornell as well.
I love that you suggest there's no one set way to write a good song! After college, I was convinced there were certain "rules", but now I'm convinced, as you suggested that those rules always depend on context. Thanks for the excellent content, as always!
Thanks Kelsey! :) I agree, school tends to have that effect on people in general.
Absolutely love this series. You're saying things I would never have thought about and that really helps me a lot in my own songwriting. Keep up the great work!
FINALLY THANKS SO MUCH!!!
yes, i do agree. for me, learning "neon" while singing is way harder than learning the whole "cliffs of dover". remember, i said "for me".
but personally, i wouldn't say "neon" is john's hardest song to play WHILE singing. it has to be "belief" for me. getting the verse riff right while singing is pretty challenging, and up until now, i still can't play the chorus riff while singing. it sucks 😞
Bon Iver!!! J Vernon is just a genius, you should definitely do it.
John is not a Berklee graduate! His songs not easy to play also.....
Tamás Verók Exactly! Even his easier songs are still really difficult to play
Studio version, yes. Live, not so much
Words cannot express the value of this video. With all the content on RUclips, I'm glad the algorithm brought me this video. I've been learning much of what you've shared here but haven't been able to articulate it as you have. This has given me clarity in my current season in life. I hope your reach and influence stretches far and wide. It'll make for a much greater generation of authenticity in our craft. Thank you, friend.
Your background music choice, lighting, vocal pacing, and analysis all go so well together. Well done, sir. Subbed!
Max Martin!!!!
Ya
Love John Mayer's beautiful syncopated blues pop soul songwriting
Speechless at the brilliance of your analysis. Just watched four of your episodes. Wow.
"The guy knows when to shut up"
I wouldn't be that sure.
Nee Nee lol
I'm also that kind of guy
"Totally different. And kind of shit, right?"
The video is misleading. You are trying to generalize things about John Mayer's songwriting by comparing few songs. "Out of my mind" by John Mayer which has guitar licks everywhere when there are no vocals (opposite of HeartBreak Warfare). HeartBreak Warfare doesn't have licks because the song is of different vibe/genre - comparing that to the blues classic "Tin Pan Alley" by Stevie doesn't make any sense at all.
Komal Venkatesh that song is john going full blues mode. It doesn't reflect the tendencies that JM uses in many of his more famous songs
Komal Venkatesh You know that John Mayer experiments a lot and is very versatile. But the generalization of Mayer is clearly of what he is best known for...
Eminem sings in Hailie's Song, which doesn't suddenly label him as a singer..
Komal Venkatesh I was thinking exactly this. the points made are interesting but the not playing licks between vocal ignored most of John's work with The Trio which is the stuff most comparable to SRV
noquaz john Mayer's generalization is not only guitar
he's having great vocals . He's got 7 Grammy's for best male pop vocals not for the guitar playing only. JM's is best at everything.
He is a good singer but the point of the video is valid...first and foremost JM is a guitar player.
john mayer songs are easy to play?????????
they're joking right?
they surely haven't played a single continum song or some RFS songs
I think he was literally just playing open chords.
yeah he was
but in some songs like bold as love, belief, neon, slow dancing in a burning room, gravity, lifelines and LOTS of other songs like that, he goes full guitarist mode because he is close to bb king than jason mraz in music(more of a guitarist), you feel me?
also that kinda offended me because john mayer is the reason i started playing guitar(not that playing open chords is bad) but i really look up to him as a guitarist and his songs have great and complex guitar skills to offer , that's all I'm saying.
Same here - John has some of the most difficult songs out there to me and many have tons of intricate chords, solos, and licks. Of all musicians I listen to he definitely has the most challenging guitar music. One thing I think he could have hit on too is that John has written so many different genres of music over time and many of his albums are very different - definitely something that makes him unique as an artist!
yeah this! ofc there are songs that are relatively easy. BUT why the fuck would an artist need to write shitloads of complex music if one can make simple to sound beautiful. AND if you really get into his music its nothing but easy to actually play it and sound good. yeah and good luck with trying to master his picking techniques, note voicings, rhytmical patterns/ techniques and well.. LIVE SOLOS then come to me and tell his songs are easy to play.
Saguto DragAce Most of his songs are easy to play, they are very pop. That doesn't mean you will play on his level or be able to replicate him totally.
But you could pick so many other songs that are very hard to just get the basic structure of the song right.
Following your thinking most songs made by basically any guitarist is hard.. . I could make a "hard" song on top of my head right away then..
Friedman, bro...
This music deconstruction video has been one of the best self improvement videos I've watched. Thank you for doing what you're doing. The world needs more people who take the time to understand and explain the world around us in a simple way.
As for John's music, he had a favorite quote: "A great song does not reward the need for a song. It rewards the need for expression". Hence: understand, then practice, then feel the way to your own style. No one is gonna spell it for you.
Rock on,
Jay
I left this video with much more knowledge than I came in with. Thank you for your page. I’ll be following.
YESSSSSSSS JOHN FUCKING MAYER!!!!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Pls do panic! at the disco bc i think his melodies are very different and unique
They sure are! We'll see, thank you!
this channel is gold. what a time to be alive.
What an amazing approach to teaching song-writing you have crafted over here. Seriously, it`s so refreshing to learn such complicated aspects with down to earth analysis of well known artists, seriously, it`s been an awesome journey, thank you so very much for that, and keep em coming!
Thanks srincrivel1 - so happy to hear that people enjoy this as much as I do :)
4:10 you clearly haven't heard him live
Cheers for the John Mayer vid, he's my favourite artist. Another one that would be interesting to do would be how Jeff Buckley came up with a melody, and how qawwali music influenced his song writing.
really cool in-depth analysis. I'm glad some people still talk about the music itself instead of gossip, outfits etc.your analysis is spot on.
Thank you! :) I've been bothered by the same things ;)
Truly appreciate your insights. Our band is just beginning to make the transition from cover-band to originals. This information will absolutely influence my song writing. I was afraid this might make me overthink things during the process, but instead it will be additional tools at my disposal. Thanks for sharing.
Well, as much as "Silence" exist in some of his songs I don't think it is characteristic of John Mayer. If you analyse Waiting on The World To Change, Gravity, Vultures - he does exactly the opposite to what you said he does in Heartbreak Warfare.
Other than that, fantastic video man!
Seriously...I was gonna say "Only Heart is practically nothing but trading space, with lots of little licks in between phrases". If I had to guess, this guy isn't a John Mayer fan, or he doesn't write his own series episodes (And whoever did doesn't really know John Mayer either.
just gotta say tho, and this might be an unpopular opinion but that silence fillers on Heartbreak Warfare werent too bad
Similarly with Come When I Call on Where The Light Is
Magnolia- John Mayer, Eric Clapton
Yes, john does a lot of trading space also. Probably 50/50
Please do Panic! at the Disco
John Mayer is a damn incredible Singer, Song writer, Guitar player while knowing how to not let success and fame all go to his head.
That's what makes him an amazing artist.
Incredible channel with great analysis! You touched many points and left some questions in the air that I´ve never thought about. Thanks! Subscribed RIGHT NOW.
Coldplay!!!!!
Yes to Coldplay!! Fantastic band!
Please, could you do it about Coldplay? Thanks!!
Bravo, this just helped me. I have a repeating couple of lines in my chorus of a song I'm currently writing, repeats 3x. I just sliced the track, muted the 2nd repeated line in the choruses, created space. Instant improvement that took me less than a minute to do. Thanks
I love how you formulate your philosophy here man! Totally agree with it! I think a great example of a late artist who knew this and used it to its full potential is Prince.
This was awesome! Thanks dude
I caught you here Eddie , I'll remember this haha !
Just one correction: John Mayer was in Berkeley for just two semesters :P
The tone, feel and vibe of your playing (in the Heartbreak Warfare clip) was exceptional!
yu are one of the best finds on youtube period
That was pretty good man ! I liked the comparison to his biggest Idol SRV! I think he is really good at what he does and yes, its true, he just becamse a singer because he wanted to become listenable, which is pretty important. He is also quite eloquent and uses weird words sometimes :D
pink floyd bro!!!
I don't often comment on any of the social media platforms but bro, that last quote from you, made me realize how much I should allow my philosophical and conceptual takes manage a part of song writing. At least that's what I would say it means. It might be something obvious to most song writers but I believe it is necessary to have conviction in your intended message that is congruent with you as a person and as a songwriter, otherwise you're probably just packaging bullshit that no one will care for.
I've had this video in my queue for years, finally got to it. The timing, probably for a reason, which is that I wouldn't have understood before. At least not the way I do now. I appreciate the effort you put into this video man. You got my subscription.
Thank you Carson!
Just discovered this channel, subscribed after barely a minute. Your content is great! I learned something today.
Really awesome video. Thanks!
you don't have to look into process of music that one makes or how does he makes , if its blues than admireing JM's blues music
will result in your own style of playing blues.
you just admire the genre of music or the and from that music you develop your own kind of style which is universal in your own way.
Making original music is one's own understanding of that particular genre of music.
“Songwriting can be smart without being clever.” What a chestnut!
fantastic message & video. thank a bunch for putting this together! love your channel
Can you do a video about coldplay. Btw your videos are great.
Thanks :) Getting more and more likely!
First off, many thanks to you for broadening my horizon. You told me things I never knew existed. And I know you are more focused on the lyrical aspect of songs, but recent trends have shown that EDM and such form of electronic music sell a lot. Could you feature one such artist and explain why this sells and how exactly does such music work?
Hm! Would be interesting for sure. Got any artists in mind?
+Holistic Songwriting Well, you could do Martin Garrix. Or David Guetta. Or DJ Sanke maybe.
gonna jump in here and humbly request for Porter Robinson. Particularly from his Worlds album it's very emotional
Just started watching you and your videos are fantastic. All true, valid advice given in a concise way without bullshit.
Hey man, im just getting into the songwriting & musically landscape with an more admirational feeling, not per se practical reason. Just to think&be aware about how people made a song and what goes on inside their minds and behind the scenes, the procces. In this case John Mayer , who's in my eyes a very skilled and talented musician. Beautifully done, thankyou for your time and effort for making this informative video. This inspires me to start creating songs/music. And brings a whole new fresh level of admiration of the musicc that has already been written.
Recently discovered this channel. I find the insights and presentation style engaging.
Glad to hear it :)
Coldplayyy pleaseee
I've been binge-watching this series.. I love it.. so helpful and insightful.
Love that closing statement. Great video!
Love this video. I think a Frank Ocean video would pop off like crazy.
Trent Reznor, please! :)
Cody111079 I have a feeling that Reznor might be a bit out of this guys wheelhouse....
Didn't know the requests are restricted in some way..
That guy is a brilliant pianist unfortunately most of ppl think NIN is all abt industrial rock
Cody111079 I guess you missed that meeting. That is a shame.
Wow I am so glad I found this channel. You sir have earned yourself a sub
dude this channel is so damed good i directly ordered your book ;) -want more-
Prince. Good luck!
Haha! ;) Good point.
hey maybe not next episode but please soon do an Avicii analysis! !! there is no avicii music analysis on YT and if you do one it'll both be really interesting and you'll be the only one on YT and could go viral! !!!!!! Thanks
love this vid series Thank you so interesting music and the creative mind!!! I am now subscribed and officially addicted to this channel!
LOVE these videos! If you ever did a follow up, I'd like to hear more about the melodic choices he makes, but thanks so much for making these!
Thanks Dave! Yeah, would definitely be on the list, along with chord choice. :)
Another request would be Ryan Tedder - he's written so many chart songs that it would be interesting to see what makes him 'him' (like Halo by Beyonce was clearly Ryan Tedder for example, but why??). Thanks again!
Elliott Smith anyone?
Simone Rumac yes please... Elliott Smith.... and Nirvana!
lol...john mayers song arent easy. There is so many aspects that define his songs- strumming, muting, selective chord notes, pauses, finger picking to name a few. I tried to learn his songs through guitarpro tabs, but could never get the 'feel' of it.
Only way i could sound similar to him, was by building upon the basic chord structure and then hearing out for subtle notes and rhythm patterns.
what a great analysis... this is awesome & what is more (& thoroughly deserved) it feeds back in to your video on the music business & how to make alternative income streams to support your career as a professional musician... i have already counted 2 book sales from these comments alone....& soon to be 3! thanks for sharing your thoughts Friedemann & keep up the great work!
Thank you :)
PLEASE DO JOHN FOGERTY NEXT! CCR has written so many awesome hits I'd love to hear you break that down. Awesome vid! *Subscribed*
Please do Mumford and Sons!!
please
I think Elton John would be great for one of these videos. He takes lyrics that his partner Bernie already wrote and writes songs around them. Very interesting.
Awesome video! Didn't know so much about John Mayer's songwriting. My pick for the next songwriter to cover is Ryan Tedder, the frontman/lead songwriter of OneRepublic and also the writer of some of the biggest songs, e.g. Halo (Beyonce), Happier (Ed Sheeran), Wings (Birdy), Burn (Ellie Goulding), Rumour Has It (Adele), Maps (Maroon 5), Right Now (One Direction) and so many more!
That last line.... Man I love that. "Progression never comes from those who are set in their ways, that have refused to give the other side a shot. Rather it comes from those who have the patience to listen and to understand." Well said. I started out as a metal guitarists, I now listen to a lot of rappers, pop, and electronic music to better my knowledge on every genre out there. Both for production and developing as a song writer. Very good video! :)
Thanks Wes :)
I'd really love to know about Hozier. He is like 'dark' Ed Sheeran, if I can call him so :D
Please do tame impala!!
I am a huge fan of your work and ive bought all of your books. It would make My year if u did one of theese on dire straits. I think they have a really unique sound! Thanks!
Can't wait for John Mayer's tour this summer!! XD
I wanted Radiohead, I'm so curious, but I don't think a lot of people want it.
They've been suggested a number of times, actually :)
Higor Campos please yes
Holistic Songwriting oh, that's so cool. You're doing it then, right?
Yasss please.
Radiohead would also be quite an occupational hazard. It's a new band every new album so it'd be pretty crazy. But yes please do some Radiohead
Terrible video, doesn’t tell us anything about John Mayer’s songwriting. Also whoever said that playing John on guitar is easy they don’t know anything about playing a guitar. Even his less complexed songs are so detailed and hard to learn. I love John Mayer with all my heart and i believe that he is so underrated. His music is so so good compared to other musicians in today’s industry. And the man’s a master guitarist.
Wow. Excellent video, my friend! Thank you so much for the advice.
your providing high quality content. love that