John Mayer Explains: Phrasing Solos Like a Singer

John Mayer explains why you should phrase your solos like a singer #guitar #guitarsolo #guitarlesson #guitarsolo #guitarist #johnmayer

[Kylin.GD]

I relate this to the old jazz guy concept - something to the effect of “don’t play what you hear in your head - ACCOMPANY what you hear in your head” - that one exercise always frees me up when I think I’ve run out of ideas.

[semper]

In my opinion, one of the most underrated guitarists of all time. The guy is the true meaning of a music artist.

[lalarazafimahefa]

"If you can sing it 🎤🎼🎵🎶, you can play it 🎸👌🏻💯" : an absolute and fundamental truth that John Mayer reminds us, and the first rule for a composer ✌🏻️ to create tracks that are catchy, melodious and pleasant to listen to, which we can whistle, hum and sing along, especially for instrumental tracks 🤩💖 !!! Thanks for sharing 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 !!!

[NunyaBizznus]

John Mayer is pretty fantastic at explaining musical concepts as they relate to playing guitar. Rare quality for a guitar player.

[Hamppzah]

I love bending up to the flat seventh WTF

[Steven_H]

He was like, this doesnt vocalize well, then proceeded to do a nice vocalization of it.

[texasflood]

Love how he shares his know how..been trying to get past 1st base on guitar since the 70’s..now I’m 70…runnin’ out of time..😊

[RichardBreed]

my friends, your guitar maker there among them, have always held you such high regard, and You are deserving of such fans! I'm a Freddie King lover, especially the albums with Leon Russel

[FenderusiastKid]

Yeah that's what I was trying to tell people all the time. Mayer is right on point here.

[xyaeiounn]

I've learned things just sitting around with musicians, this right here is one of those moments that might seem basic to some, but would be absolute rocket fuel for someone else. This is musical culture.

[mysteryxmike]

I heard this advice in Guitar World like 15 years ago and it changed the course of my playing completely. If you can get to a point where you like what your guitar is "singing", your style feels more organic!

Also once you learn this method of conceptualizing what you want to play, if you ever get stuck and feel like you're not playing anything original or you're boring yourself... just imagine a different singer. When you channel this, there's a massive shift in what you'll come up with when you switch between thinking of SRV or Serj Tankian or Justin Timberlake etc...

[RichardBreed]

thank you for sharing your insights, so freely!

[benhubbell]

He summed up a lot of things I Tell in my lessons Mayer is great scat singing a solo will 100% make it easier to nail a solo if u can sing it u can play it

[antoniodal]

That reality of guitar is so true! I had the luck to play guitar so i can 'get' a lot of stuff pretty much more based on the playing feeling then on pure music. That is true for pretty much all guitarists, sometimes i listen to metheny's solo (which i love) and even there you have those little 'dead points' that are still very good in a guitar solo. Guitar is just that cool

[seandee]

This is awesome; and something I’ve done for years. Shocked! it seems more common than I thought!

[jacklavelle]

When you do a guitar solo, think of it like a saxophone. You have to pause to breathe, and that phrasing give you your sound.

[TimKnight-iswu]

I like that a guitar (or any melodic instrument) can diverge from the singing voice. If the guitar should only sound like a singing voice, then why have a guitar? Do what a voice can't do -- at least occasionally -- then something is added to an accompaniment beyond adding another voice.

[moodycreek]

dude is next level.. I'm going back to my rhythm strumming

[leechild]

i have gotten excited about a blues vocal line i had to find it on guitar. also if you can take lines a harmonica would play. thats hard but jeff beck could do it.

[spacevspitch]

I don't know. Maybe in a blues context but the 6 to b7 bend or conversely, the prebend b7 down to 6 is something I find myself singing all the time. But probably because I heard it first. And it just feels and sounds sweet.

But otherwise, it's true that each instrument has its domain where some things sound good on that particular instrument but when played note for note on amother instrument sound cringe.