You have no idea how comforting it is to watch guitarists who have played for a decade or more, struggle. It makes my own struggles less soul crushing. Thank you for sharing.

@HearMeLearn

4 жыл бұрын

I like this quote from jerry from Rick and Morty, life is effort and I’ll stop when I die. You never stop struggling, your struggles just become more advanced

@petercarlson811

4 жыл бұрын

@@HearMeLearn That's a good one.

@bigchestflex

4 жыл бұрын

@@HearMeLearn pulling a quote from jerry. nice one, man

@zedmelon

4 жыл бұрын

@PeterCarlson We all struggle buddy... keep up the effort. As long as it remains fun, it's an amazing and rewarding hobby.

@menamgamg

4 жыл бұрын

The struggle never ends no matter how good you get ;D

Even Eric Clapton described John Mayer as being a master guitarist...which is astronomically high praise.

@iTrove

4 жыл бұрын

Isn’t he also quoted when he And Pete Townsend saw Hendrix playing as “ Is he for real or is that the only song he knows”? Forever changing British Rock guitarists futures. Love them all!

@Pricklyhedgehog72

4 жыл бұрын

@@iTrove I heard it was something like, "this guy's gonna put us out of business."

@iTrove

4 жыл бұрын

Pricklyhedgehog72 Yeah, likely that too.

@Pricklyhedgehog72

4 жыл бұрын

@@iTrove I heard this from a Scottish guitarist, apparently Clapton called out to Jeff Beck, and said you gotta see this guy...

@rich1051414

4 жыл бұрын

I have never been a fan of john mayer, mostly because I was in college when he took off, and dave matthews and john mayer was being played poorly behind every door, but I have always appreciated the fact he could play the hell out of a guitar, even if it wasn't my style.

John Mayer's biggest playing secret: He is a massive human, and his hand can stretch down the entire neck.

@iwoszymczak4002

3 жыл бұрын

in the beginning of learning certain guitar techniques your hand is not able to do it. But after a certain amount of time your hands will transform and adapt to your style of playing (tommy emmanuel also said that his two thumbs have a different form now after the years of playing)

@andresbarriga5305

3 жыл бұрын

That can be a burden too, when your fingers are too big to perform small movements in small spaces.

@iwoszymczak4002

3 жыл бұрын

@@andresbarriga5305 when your fingers are too big or too small its always a disadvantage, but in most cases this is just an excuse for not practising. At the start everything felt too hard, but today my fingers are able to make movements which would never be possible according to my self of the past (I thought: "oh man my hands are just too small for this stretch" but this was just an excuse)

@crashraynor

3 жыл бұрын

There are some cases that this is true, like, could Shaq play the violin? Well...no, he physically can't do it. In general though, most people can physically play most instruments and it's just a matter of practice. Having said that...fuck the violin

@ColinBenjamin

3 жыл бұрын

@@crashraynor totally agree. There are just some songs - like the way he plays Stop This Train live with his thumb on the low E (3rd) stretching down to the 8th. I've tried many, many times. Can't stretch it.

She said I learned to play guitar in my style by failing learning his. It's funny because John Mayer says quote "you develop your own style when you fail to steal someone else's."

@svensvensson6705

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah. She copyed the quote from him

@SV-yo6nq

3 жыл бұрын

@Sven Svennson bruh

@svensvensson6705

3 жыл бұрын

@@SV-yo6nq not that Mayer came up with it. It is not what I'm saying. What am saying is that Spender got it from him.

@adriaanmuller4493

9 ай бұрын

Yea it’s funny how even John Mayer’s signature playing style was created by him not being able to play another style correctly. He even said this himself in an interview. (Can’t remember which interview though)

aah John Mayer song? calling: Paul Davids ....

@goldust823

4 жыл бұрын

Sorry guys... jamie harrison.

@swervinervin2891

4 жыл бұрын

I read this in Paul David’s voice haha

@superman25671

4 жыл бұрын

😂

@somachakraborty9952

4 жыл бұрын

That's the best comment

@accountsequity5587

4 жыл бұрын

mattia polinelli oh yeah 👌🏽

The cool thing is, once you "master" a John Mayer song/rhythm it makes it easier to learn his other songs. Right now I'm struggling to play "Who did you think I was?" and sing at the same time, for some reason it's alot easier if I move my body and make "john mayer" faces while doing it.

@itsBennett

3 жыл бұрын

That’s the secret lol

@whitewalker608

3 жыл бұрын

Practice with a metronome, you should be able to learn all songs with singing without much trouble. Practice with metronome.

@trashowo6139

2 жыл бұрын

That's helpful

@StephanieVeeMusic

2 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂

@davidwollpert5276

2 жыл бұрын

@@whitewalker608 my problem with metronomes is they always get off the beat :0)

"It's the notes in between that are f**king with me!" - Kirk Hammett.

Interesting that John said a very similar thing, his failure to sound like his heroes is what makes him sound like him

@kylecardoso1

4 жыл бұрын

MorbidManMusic no it’s not, that’s also not how life works

@handsolo1546

4 жыл бұрын

@@kylecardoso1 😂😂😂

@xerougan720

4 жыл бұрын

Vh1 storyteller to Heartbreak Warfare. Super nice quote from him :)

@keithclements5148

4 жыл бұрын

Well that's what makes music move forward! Otherwise everything would be just a copy of what's gone before.

@TheGuitarislove

4 жыл бұрын

MorbidManMusic no it’s not obvious and how life works. A lot of artists are good at copying others, but never become their own, and that’s my point.

Well, every John Mayer's song is tricky to learn.

@Ginatzzo

4 жыл бұрын

The fact that he sings at the same time.. Make it really more difficult..

@neaituppi7306

4 жыл бұрын

Say isn't. Unless you are not used to picking.

@derekbravo7811

4 жыл бұрын

anish 99 Neon, edge of desire

@samme79

4 жыл бұрын

Especially if you play it the way he does. He used to always play chords differently. St.Patrick's Day has so much chords and they're almost jazz-like

@aiennakhariyah7807

4 жыл бұрын

that's what im saying when she said it's hard 😂😂😂 it's john mayer what can you say? lol

The true struggle that no one sees behind the scenes... God is it frustrating learning something unfamiliar to the fingers but oh so rewarding when you finally get it!

@andrewsheridan612

4 жыл бұрын

And also sucks when you don't play it long enough and forget it... dammit brain!

@LeandroSantos-yd3nj

4 жыл бұрын

@@andrewsheridan612 hahahaha yes

@cgavin1

4 жыл бұрын

Reminds of when I started trying to learn some Kossoff chords and play some Free songs 'properly'. Sheesh that was a shock. Similarly when trying to learn Texas Flood properly - again really tricky changes. Easy to bodge using 7ths or in the wrong key entirely, but hard af to do right.

Your humility is really refreshing. I mean you are evidently a very accomplished musician and yet you choose to share your vulnerability and challenges with the sometimes less-than-understanding public. That gives me great inspiration to persevere. Thank you.

He’s ergonomic with his playing *stretches pinky to infinity*

@metoo9644

2 жыл бұрын

To infinity and beyond

"I developed my style from failing at playing like John Mayer" I love that and can definitely relate! Seems like we chose the wrong artist to like because almost all his songs are this intricate lol

@alejandrocisneros7442

4 жыл бұрын

Well John Mayer said he's style is from failing to play SRV style lol.

@jaerys8823

4 жыл бұрын

Well it was John's quote. It was from a monologue from his career documentary. People just basically "incorporated it"

@breezydelacourt4498

4 жыл бұрын

who cares you ass?

@MatraBatra

4 жыл бұрын

thats what makes them fun too learn!

Persistence is the one thing failure can’t cope with. Cheers and be lucky.

I’ve been playing this song incorrectly for about 15 years. You inspired me to learn it properly. Thank you! TIP for people with tiny hands like mine: use a capo to nail the riff further up the fret board (I put it on capo 4). Once you nail it there, move the capo lower and lower til you can play it without one 🙌🏻

@Peter-xy2io

Жыл бұрын

That's a great tip! Learning the muscle movements is the critical part - stretching it over time is easy. Thanks!

@lordbuckethead6030

14 күн бұрын

A genuinely brilliant tip for anyone who sees this

I wish i could call Paul Davids to help me whenever i need it xD

@Mach1Greeble

3 жыл бұрын

"Keep talking Paul... i'm nearly there"

"I mean it's not neon" Damn true.

@colourfulpixels6897

4 жыл бұрын

Neon ain't that hard tbh

@aidilmubarock5394

4 жыл бұрын

@@colourfulpixels6897 you must've flexible thumb

@TheRedOctoberProject

4 жыл бұрын

That 🤬🤬🤬 triplet rhythm at the end of the main riff 😫

@sdictson7750

3 жыл бұрын

The crazy part abt neon is that John mayor finger picks it with only his thumb and pointer

@Jay16872

3 жыл бұрын

@@colourfulpixels6897 It's hard to play correctly. Anyone can half hazardly play the chords to the song...

I've loved Paul Davids forever. His is the master!!!!

@zedmelon

4 жыл бұрын

@JPVanDerBilt agreed (and upvote #100)

now THIS is some quality content. I love the realism behind this, we all struggle like hell learning some songs and this just reminds me how we are all human with different learning curves.

One fun thing is that this tricky C chord was easy for me to play when I first learned this song, but that's only because I'm brazilian and samba and bossa-nova artists put this kinda of stuff all over their songs, so I had that on my fingers and my ears long ago. What amazes me is how John, in a song from his early days and being originally a blues player, had adapted stuff like that into his playing. I can point many subtle bossa-nova and jazz influences on his first record and that's one of the things that I love about him, he's not where he is now because of luck or anything like that. He obviously studied the crap out of the guitar, as seriously as any of those praised players who are taken more seriously in the musician's circle even though it's just because they can't make tunes that stand out without relying on extensive (and often boring) showing off of guitar skills.

I’m really struggling with Smoke On The Water.

@lefteyeentertainment4693

4 жыл бұрын

I’m really laughing out loud!

@vishu4684

4 жыл бұрын

@@lefteyeentertainment4693 me too bro😂😂

@aleksssss

4 жыл бұрын

0-3-5

@moreorlesslikeso

4 жыл бұрын

It's actually not that easy at all when you want to add that 8th note ostinato on G (3rd fret on low E string) and still do the c!assic "main riff" rhythmically correct all the way through...

@seansyw143

4 жыл бұрын

That solo isn’t that easy

I feel you. When you listen to John it sometimes seems "easy" to play but when you try you realise that this dude has a lot going on on his guitar. 🔥

@zac3392

4 жыл бұрын

So true... saw a comment once from a guy saying he could play all JM’s song because “they’re all easy...”🤣 yeah, and I make a million every week daytrading bc "it's easy..."

@kristiansjstrand6727

4 жыл бұрын

HASHKIT plus he sing ontop

@HASHKIT

4 жыл бұрын

@@kristiansjstrand6727 exactly and i don't even want to try that on top of playing guitar the way he does. Full respect to John 🔥

@derekhornsby5063

4 жыл бұрын

but can you play smoke on the water?!

What I love about this video, is seeing Mary, who I consider an excellent guitarist, struggling in just the same way that I do, albeit at a much lower level, while working her way through a song which is outside of her comfort zone. It is all too easy to fool oneself that the musicians that we admire have been endowed with a "special gift" - I am sure individual talent does come into play. But, what this video shows is, that often, it is just a matter of grinding it out; nothing beats practice and putting in the hours. So, the next time I feel myself getting frustrated whilst trying to figure out a couple of bars of a song, I'll reflect on this video and press on.

@andrewguttry6886

3 жыл бұрын

@Jude Dawson Yes; people often overuse 'talent' when, as you say, the end product you're hearing is the result of endless practise and dedication to one's art. Tommy Emmanuel has said much the same when people speak of his 'talent' His amazing technique wasn't a gift from birth.

The world is a better place because of Paul Davids. I actually learned Neon (at least the intro/verse) thanks to his video.

@ValentinoMeijer

Жыл бұрын

Paul is legend.

favorite john mayer song, i remember my dad every time i listen to it. he was a huge john mayer fan and passed away 2 years ago.

@gerysasko3410

4 жыл бұрын

Marcio Maximo ❤️🎸

@zacholivermusic

4 жыл бұрын

check out my music !!

@MK_2023.

4 жыл бұрын

Zach Oliver don’t be an insensitive dick.

@morbius768

4 жыл бұрын

@@zacholivermusic yeah its shit

the most musician like video ive ever scene . I love the realism of this haha thankyou for making me feel normal haha. you've done killer job as well btw!

You're SO SPECIAL to put that out there and show others we ALL have struggles learning certain songs. So GLAD I found you.

This is so inspiring... thanks for sharing this journey of yours, Mary!

imagine doing this pre-internet mid-2000s that would just be impossible. thank you and worthy vid to walk us through

Amazing video. Seeing an artist of your caliber being so open about their frustrations learning a song is nothing short of refreshing. It’s just so human, whereas most artists seem to be busy trying to build up mythologies about themselves and how amazing they are. It’s so much more amazing to just be a real person, as you are. Ultimately that kind of personal integrity and humility makes its way into your art, yielding more genuine expressiveness.

You appreciate the music so much more when you see the effort that goes into creating it. Thanks for sharing

That emotion in your face!! I know exactly the feeling wow, I don't feel like I suck as much.

Lovely! That's a cool way to teach something and and a beautiful way to share music. Thanks Mary Spender!

Thank you for figuring this out! That riff has always been a mystery to me.

Mary's face when she nailed that tricky part takes me back to all the breakthrough's I've made in my own playing over the years. It's such a great feeling when you get to grips with something you previously considered beyond your ability. Well done Mary Spender.

I REALLY enjoyed watching you try to play this song. You really demonstrate the struggle and the accomplishment perfectly well. Made me smile. You're awesome Mary

Love to see how the struggle is real in everybody. love your accent

OH. MY. GOD. Your vocal timbre in that range. AHHH!!

That PRS Silver Sky in the background is so beautiful!

Sounds great!!! Never ever quit!

I see that PRS Silver Sky you got chillin back there.

From my years of failing on 2 instruments: flute starting when I was 12 and bass when I was about 21 years old, and years of good players and singers, and, last but not least, discovering the way the brain learns, many of my problems with playing well was 1.) finding a tempo that produced almost NO mistakes and 2.) practicing the difficult parts in "Chunks". A chunk may be only a few notes or a few beats of music. It is the mastering of these very small sections to perfection, or as close to perfection as possible, and then stringing them together one at a time until the entire section can be played at one consistent tempo, will actually cut down the amount of time in learning difficult sections of a tune. In recent years, I have found that having a quote or two from those musos I admire helps me stay focused on the conceptual side of learning the physical skills necessary for improvement in my own practicing. The following statement by Wayne Shorter, famous for his work with Miles Davis and Weather Report, is one I reference when I am forced to confront the issue of quality results and practicing slowly: "The long road is the short road". It speaks directly to practicing a passage too quickly, thus producing mistakes which cause you to have to go back and play the same passage again, only to recreate a flawed version similar to the previous one, resulting in yet another pass, and so on and so on. The fact that you have identified problems in your playing and are willing to relate some of your struggles to cyberspace is very brave and is to be commended. Many players struggle with what approach is to be taken when learning such passages. My apologizes for offering such unsolicited advice. That said, research these 2 concepts: tempo and "chunking". Good luck.

I love how approachable you are and open to your failures/shortcomings as a musician - it's super refreshing! We all fail and it's great to focus on how truly hard it is to be a good player :-).

So many songs that I have listened to, but never really "heard" until you sang them. Thank you for opening my eyes.

She's smart, appealing, candid and gifted. A lot to like here!

John Mayer should TOTALLY feature you in a song. Sounds incredible.

This video popped up on my feed, I watched and instantly subscribed. I have been struggling to learn guitar on and off for a bunch of years. It’s extremely helpful to know that someone who is a legit musician also struggles with how to learn certain bits and techniques. Can’t wait to check out the rest of your channel and other work!

I was very happy to see that you nailed it in the end. Congrats on your win ! It is a good feeling when you finally get right, even for somebody watching, (I felt like I was cheering you on). This song may have to wait a little longer before I add it to my wish list.

2:19 is me every time I play something a little more difficult than I'm used too and 2 weeks after I can play it I think to myself: "how did I ever find this difficult."

@mt-nv4jd

3 жыл бұрын

Muscle memory is real thing.

Great job! Why Georgia VERY underrated song....well played

You are delightful...even more so because you have so much talent and are willing to share your struggles rather than just the polished stuff. Subscribed.

You are fun to watch. I can relate. Nice work, Mary.

Your voice is so beatiful especially when singing

As fellow musicians (who are way more untalented than you are) we'd like to say that it's kind of easing to see someone struggling to learn an instrument, or a song in particular and finally making that one little progression that takes you further in your whole journey. There's no one, who can ever take that feeling from you! And as you progress there will be situations like this every now and then, but it just means that you develop your skills and yourself! Keep going the rocky road! :)

I felt that look of relief and accomplishment after you got it in my soul. I do almost the exact same thing when i finally get a decently clean play through of a part.

Great job, you had a fantastic teacher to guide you!

I’ve been trying to piece together John’s Lenny intro to Man On the Side from Any Given Thursday. Still giving me a run for my money

He said himself that you develop a style when you fail to sound exactly like the one you wanna sound like, so that's perfect

such a great, honest and useful video! Love it!

Absolutely love it Mary… you can do this

This was really entertaining. Well done for being so honest and candid. (Don't worry, we won't believe you if you say you've got it down.)

I was smiling throughout. Been playing 50 years and it is the same for me. But, you will have stuff you invent that require the same effort from others : )

As someone learning to play, this might be the most inspirational video I've ever seen you post

That was cool to watch Mary, nice!

7:20 Paul says "Ooh, yeah, 'mooi' "- and the Dutch word "mooi" means pretty or beautiful.

@19todd87

3 жыл бұрын

I think he said almost 😔

So, you didn’t cover the song note for note, but what I hear, I like. Your voice and sense of timing without having exact recreation is very nice. Maybe that’s you coming through there. I would pay to sit down and hear you play.

Fantastic Mary, sounds brilliant.

Thanks for sharing your journey; the valleys and peaks

When you played that G with your middle finger instead of your thumb I knew you were gonna have a hard time lol

I always improvised that tricky part saying "eh, close enough."

Love your passion. Keep working at your craft.

it's been said but it bears repeating. When we get to see someone like you go through the learning process it's a realization that it's what we ALL go through. Thanks for sharing this.

Easier forJM. He wrote it. The rest of us don't have "his" muscle memory so for us it is often a big learning curve. Never been one for covers but yeah it definitely pushes you out of your comfort zone and in the end that makes for a better, more rounded guitar player. Nice one Mary, sounded great to me :)

@whyaskmenoely25

4 жыл бұрын

That then raises the new question; HOW THE HELL DID HE WRITE IT? 😂

@yamahamusicians

4 жыл бұрын

@@whyaskmenoely25 Oh he's a very talented chap that's for sure! I guess it's a mix of pure talent and a lot of dedication to his craft :)

I'm on my way to learn classical gas from tommy emmanuel, just a tiny bit every week or so because it's definetly challenging to say the least, meanwhile I'm learning some other fingerstyle songs just to get better at the whole thing while also learning one of the hardest pieces of the genre I don't know if you did it or not but while learning a song or a specific part of a song it's soooo helpful to see how who wrote it plays it live, judging by the fact you didn't use your thumb over the neck, you didn't watch John Mayer playing the song live or you didn't catch it.

@misternevercot8706

4 жыл бұрын

Try the Original from Mason Williams. Much more Melodic IMHO.

What I Love is your honesty. You give great insight to developing the ability to achieve an interpretation of an arrangement. I think all musicians struggle at times to play someone's version & then reinterpret to our own style. Thank for sharing this process. It sounded great as you arrived at a version that worked for you.👍

Thanks Mary. So inspiring to see this. Just knowing your hand cramps up too makes me feel less alone!

moonlight sonata was one I finally mastered (on piano) but the one that's haunted me since I was about 10 was The Peanuts theme. I cant get my hands to play the 2 rhythms they are asking for. I'm a pianist and a drummer so you would think this wouldn't be a problem. The other ironic part is the the harder hand (right) is the one I'm fine with. It's the bass line that gets me.

@MusicDABIsMe

4 жыл бұрын

I comes in time. I had the same struggle with it. Now, my struggle is the piano solo lol. Just when I thought the hard part was over.

@ivilkai

4 жыл бұрын

@@MusicDABIsMe I finally came to the realization that all people really cared about were the first 30 seconds anyway. So once I play that and people laugh or smile, I move on to another song I know completely. lol. I'm afraid it will always be my unicorn song though.

@derp195

3 жыл бұрын

@@ivilkai Same here. It took forever, but one day it kind of just clicked. I can't play it if I think too much about how I'm doing it though. I kind of just have to let my hands go and try to think about something else.

Nice guit ma'am. John mayer songs all drive me crazy because the guy is simply that good. Now imagine that this popped out of his head one day as a result of his life's tribulations.

You are wonderful. Paul is wonderful. It made me very happy to see two people I admire so much working together. Rest assured that your humility in the face of obstacles is helping many other musicians keep going and plenty of people are developing their sound by failing to imitate you. Thanks for sharing this and all of your other content.

That was awesome. hahaha I Felt your joy when you got it on that last take!!

HEEE, you found the best person to teach you. Paul is an amazing teacher. Greettings. XDDDD

That's not lucky in the least. That's practice. Nice work.

Sorry but it's sooo refreshing to see that someone as accomplished as you struggle with a song just like us mere mortals do. Thanks for sharing.

I admire your perseverance, Mary. And love your voice by the way. Keep it up.

Hi, my name is Paul Davids and this is my beard What an awesome vid Mary

8:25 "That's lucky" - no it's not! You literally put the time and effort in; that's hard work!

Good Job! Keep on going!!! You are the best!

You have such a nice voice! it's really calming

The one i'm tackeling at the moment is the intro to Crazy On You by Heart, it's very different from my usual finger style which makes it a hell of a lot harder.

I'm struggling with these at the moment. Here comes the sun. Nothing else matters. And a couple of Cat Stevens songs.

@caffers7744

4 жыл бұрын

You'll get there eventually! I find that every song becomes easier and faster to learn once you get past the ones that make you struggle.

Thanks for sharing this! And congrats, you worked hard and reached your goal 👍

You have an excellent teacher!

Life is like playing guitar in that you have to keep on persevering in order to succeed.

I'm struggling with Plini electric sunrise 😂 screw 13/8

@juno980

4 жыл бұрын

I stand with you on this. Fuck 13/8 and 19/8 (fuck you soundgarden and zappa)

Just discovered your channel. Love your music.

Great job Mary... i love your videos and your heart

I read it as why 'Georgia' by John Mayer is a hard song 😂😂

“He’s ergonomic with his playing” not with for those of us with normal thumbs

your voice is so calming I could use for meditation