Why John Mayer's Solos Are Flawless (most players don't do this)

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John Mayer is one of the most polarizing figures in the modern guitar community, but there's one thing that he does that makes his solos undeniably great. Mayer knows how to leave space in his playing, phrasing like a vocalist or horn player, which makes his solos memorable and singable. Whether you love his style or not, most of us can't phrase on his level.

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[billhd]

Victor Wooten says you don't just leave space, you *play* the space like you play the notes. Intentional, meaningful. This video is full of great examples.

[mccloysong]

I toured with JM on his crew for 7 years, almost 300 2hr shows. He builds his solos, sentence by sentence, into paragraphs. That's why the listener can hear what he's saying. The space speaks.

[killerdude]

Mayer plays solos like he has something to say, not something to show. I absolutely love guitar players like this! It's why I'm a huge Gary Moore fan and why hes my all time favorite guitar player.

[KingGodson]

You know John Mayer has achieved legendary status when everyone plays Slow Dancing in a Burning Room but when John plays it, it’s completely his own.

[thebigsmooth]

His work with the Dead and Co has made him even better. Mayer is not about shredding or out-noodling the greats. He’s about giving the song just what it needs. He’s about making good, pro musical choices. He does something you don’t expect just often enough to keep you engaged, and never to the detriment of the song. There aren’t many like him.

[guitfinger]

Mayer is not only one of the best songwriters of his generation, but also a monster guitar player. Perfect taste, phrasing, and intense soulful intuitive playing. During his Trio tours with Pino Paladino and Steve Jordan he officially allowed recording this shows. There are a lot of quite good sounding bootlegs floating around where you can hear what amazing player he is, when he has room to stretch out his solos.

[jeffjfindley]

Some may scoff at this, but I think the solo in "Gravity" is absolutely incredible. So unbelievably unique and lovely.

[MrMojoRiiisin]

His best solo is the one on the live version Slow Dancing from Where the Light Is

That ending solo is some of the best playing I’ve ever heard. I go and listen to it every now and then and it always floors me. Captures the essence of the song perfectly. The sadness, frustration, everything in the lyrics is echoed through his guitar

[daleguyer]

Back in the 80s I played in cover bands. Our lead guitarist ripped a shredded solo and came up to me and asked what I thought of it. I said man, sometimes less is more. He says, what do you mean? Technically it was a great solo, but it was missing “the heart”.

The next night, same song, his solo made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. It came from deep in his gut. That’s the difference. It doesn’t matter how many notes you pack in, it’s how you tell the story.

[chrisshaw]

I love Mayer's playing, it's what got me back into guitar again after a long break. It's just so full of heart and soul, and I just connect with it.

[Richardgreenmusic.]

Eric Clapton phrases his leads with space and does it so well that as a listener you don’t even realize it because it just sounds so right and so good. True master.

[scosanf]

Another great guitarist who really leveraged this skill is Mark Knopfler. The guitar work on "You and Your Friend" from the "On Every Street" album is simply perfect.

[valentinagirott]

I think you touched some of john's main character with guitar but space is nearly the surface of it. Within that space is delicacy, melodically-driven choices and, most importantly, influence from blues singers and vocal lines from music he loves. He doesn’t play just to show he can, he doesnt play fast to melt down faces (just does it when the energy takes him there), and that makes him a special guitar player. What i call feel. No one from his generation has got it like him right now

[sugatonemusic]

Mayer is a musical chameleon IMO. I've always loved how he can play with the Dead, he can rip some blues, he can produce a hip hop track & write a pop tune. To me that speaks volumes more than anything else. Mayer is the reason I started playing the guitar over a decade ago but how he is so musically accessible is his true talent in my opinion

[richsadowsky]

Agree with you Rhett. Mike Campbell is another guy who lays down just what the song needs.

[MrJsteed]

To add to your very astute insight, I think of John’s playing like a conversation: it modulates differently at different points. It keeps it interesting and perhaps above all, it shows that he’s ‘feeling’ the piece, and so do the listeners 👍

[samuelhoctor]

I think the way he plays, his feel, spacing and style is what makes him one of the best.

[johnplunkett]

Mayer gives just an incredibly vocal quality to his solos. The big bends, the natural sounding vibrato, and use of space as if they were breaths - are very much like a great singer…

[ntcowing]

I'm also a lifer Mayer fan and one of my favorite things about his solos is that he always ends his solos as the perfect lead into the next part of the song. Things like "Only Heart." You can always tell when the lead guitarist is also a songwriter. You can tell he's a songwriter just by listening to his solos.

[thetrooth]

Covered in rain any given Thursday live... one of the best.