John Mayer is a hugely popular artist who makes guitar songs to impress those you love. In our selection of of easy John Mayer songs on guitar we explore his best tracks that are ideal for beginners. Each track comes with a guitar tutorial which will guide you through the main riff of the song and the basic chord shapes. We hope you enjoy!
1. Neon
The guitar main riff in Neon is what you will want to focus on from this 2001 hit. The guitar is quite intricate and at a higher level the playing can be complex. However, the rhythm and harmonies for a beginner will be a great.
The main guitar part uses drop C tuning which is where your lowest E string is tuned to be a low C. This gives the guitar more of a range which adds to the sense of fullness which you get from the original track.
Even though the full version of the song is for more advanced players, if you deconstruct the rhythms to their most basic form it will be fine for beginners.
2. Belief
This song is a great one fro beginners because you will need to learn a faster tempo and how to move around on the fretboard quickly. You will practice sliding as well which is a good skill to pick up for future guitar playing.
The solo that features in this song is the perfect example of how Mayer uses melodic blues to write his songs. The track is energetic so you will really need to learn to keep up. Slow the tempo way down to begin with and then speed it up as you get used to moving around the frets. The more comfortable you get, the quicker you will be able to play the song.
3. Vultures
Funky groove songs are something of a rarity in the 21st century and their not as well executed as they used to be. However, Vultures by John Mayer proves there is such thing as a great modern groove song. The guitar solo is the most special part of this track and it uses the plucking technique on the strings. You may want to use an electric instead of acoustic guitar for this one as this is what Mayer used to record the original track.
4. In Your Atmosphere
In Your Atmosphere was from Mayer’s 2008 live album called Where the Light Is. This song also goes by the name of LA Song and it is one of the acoustic tracks featured on that album. Strangely enough it never cropped up on any of the artist’s studio albums so the live album was the first time fans heard this song.
The main guitar part is casual which makes it pretty easy to play. You will need to use music skills such as bends and slides as well as hammer-ons. These are all simple techniques but we do recommend that you practice them before having a go at the full song.
In this song you will also be using open tuning which includes open Esus 2 E, B, E, F#, B and E. There’s a lot of melody that comes from this sort of tuning which adds a lot more depth to the overall piece.
5. I Guess I Just Feel Like
This is a single that was released in 2019 and is one of Mayer’s more reflective tracks. It hints at his journey as a guitarist and that he continues to be surprised along the way. There’s a lot of balance to this song and the guitar features in the outro solo.
You’ll find the fairly simple chords have a more country feel with a few licks to add in accents between the vocals. If you’re a big John Mayer fan, you will find his outtakes for playing that solo on the end on YouTube. Not even the best guitar player in the world can play perfectly first time.
6. Daughters
Released on the 2003 album titled Heavier Things, Daughters won a Grammy for Song of the Year back in 2005. When you listen to the lyrics you will hear Mayer describing the side effects of the love that fathers give to their daughters. In terms of musicality this is a ballad style track that uses simple chords played on the acoustic guitar which will be pretty easy for a beginner to play.
7. Who Says
Here’s another acoustic ballad from Mayer that combines expressive chords with a superb leody. The song reached number on in the Billboard’s Triple A chart in 2009. It was featured on the album titled Battle Studies which was also released in 2009.
8. Back to You
Initially this was a track that was featured on Mayer’s Inside Wants Out EP in 1999. This had a lot of Eric Clapton inspired guitar playing in tracks of songs that would then go on to be re-released. The demos featured on that album can be heard on the Room for Squares album which was released in 2001. It’s classic Mayer style as he balances his pop style with all of the instruments and vocals he is well known for.
9. In the Blood
When you listen to this song you will hear Mayer highlighting his emotional inheritance on certain aspects of his life such as relationships. It’s a great ballad that features marked beat and meaningful lyrics. There’s even an emotional guitar solo thrown in there for good measure. The track comes from the Search for Everything album which was released in 2017.
Conclusion
So there you are. Some of the easy John Mayer songs on guitar that feature barre chords and other simple progression that you can play at the same time as singing. John Mayer is a good choice for beginner guitarists because the strumming patterns are generally laid back with his ballad style. Remember to look at the tabs and watch the videos we mentioned for each track to find out the finger styling and how to play the riffs properly.