Play Like John Mayer With CAGED in 10 Days

Day 4. Color tones (E shape)

Every interval has an impact on the mood of a song. Using color tones adds an emotional sophistication to your soloing.

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Today, you’ll use the E shape to add a colorful sense of longing like John does on Edge of Desire (from his 2009 album Battle Studies). You’ll focus on targeting notes like the 7th and 2nd to yield the unresolved yet cool quality that’s familiar to Mayer’s style.

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Day 5. Intro to minor CAGED

Today, you’ll explore the darker side of the musical rainbow with minor CAGED shapes. Luckily, moving from major to minor CAGED doesn’t take much – you only change one note for each shape.

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Parallel major/minor scales come into play in this lesson. They share the same root note yet unfold a different tonality from that point. You’ll dive into the parallel C major and minor pentatonic scales in the E shape to tap into the sounds from both worlds.

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Day 6. Classic box (G/Em shapes)

John Mayer is known for playing with light and dark in his songwriting, both lyrically and harmonically.

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Slow Dancing In A Burning Room allows us to navigate both major and minor tonalities within one song. The tonal center shifts – emphasizing both C# minor and its relative major cousin, E major.

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Today, you’ll take a second look at this epic ballad and explore the relative relationship between the G and Em shapes.

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Day 7. Hendrix-isms

John Mayer is an excellent example of how inspiration can be channeled into a uniquely original voice. Whether it’s Hendrix, SRV, or even Jerry Garcia, he can transcend the clichés and find a unique personal connection to famous guitar forefathers' approaches.

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Today, you’ll get insight into how Mayer’s love of Jimi Hendrix informs his playing using Wait Until Tomorrow (covered by John Mayer Trio on his 2005 Try! album.) You’ll work over a classic Hendrix progression: E, G, and A. It’s one Mayer also uses in his songwriting.

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Day 8. Major, minor, and Mixolydian (E shape)

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to play three distinct sounds – major pentatonic (uplifting), minor pentatonic (traditional rock feel), and Mixolydian (the best of both worlds) – over a dominant 7th chord.

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By the end of this lesson, you’ll know when and how to choose between these sounds as you start to blend them into your own unique voice.

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Day 9. Major to minor switches

In this lesson, you’ll continue your exploration of parallel major/minor scales with Mayer’s mega-hit Gravity (from his 2006 album Continuum) as the backdrop.

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The key to this lesson is understanding when to use G major vs. G minor to capture the right mood. This concept will enable you to play with greater intention behind your soloing – the hallmark of a confident lead guitarist.

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Day 10. Mayer CAGED outliers

To cap off the class, you'll explore some John Mayer moves that don’t fit neatly into the CAGED system. After all, music is about breaking rules.

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You’ll work on double-stop slides, harmonized 6ths, and a tasteful tapping lick in the exercises.

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Performances

Tie a bow on the course by digging into three Mayer-inspired solos: Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Gravity, and I Guess I Just Feel Like. For each solo, you'll get a lick-by-lick breakdown from Daniel along with interactive TAB to learn it for yourself.