John Mayer Gives Blues Guitar Lesson On Instagram Live [Watch]

John Mayer went live on Instagram last week to provide another guitar lesson to his five million followers.

Known for a successful solo career and his role with Dead & Company as the band’s singer and guitarist, Mayer has always been a student of the instrument, studying at Berklee College of Music under Tomo Fujita. Unlike many well-known guitar professionals, however, Mayer offers semi-regular guitar lessons for free on his Instagram.

“I want to get into phrasing. Namely, the idea of vocabulary,” he said at the beginning of the video. Throughout the opening portion, Mayer discussed the spatial overlaps between major and minor pentatonic scales, and how a guitarist can open up the fretboard if they think about them in a different way.

Targeted towards intermediate-level players, this guitar lesson from John Mayer focused on how to think about playing the blues, rather than simply on how to play them. As the video progressed, Mayer discussed the importance of “messing up,” ways to practice while watching TV, and even his desire to play with a band as the given the ongoing health crisis continues to preclude regular live performances.

The 46-minute lesson is worth a watch for those who aren’t musicians, as well. After discussing a concept, Mayer will often put it into practice, providing viewers a seemingly endless supply of blues improv. Watch John Mayer delve into the blues with his latest guitar lesson, below.

John Mayer Blues Guitar Lesson

[Video: Guitar Music Pro]

Mayer was scheduled to hit the road with Dead & Company this summer, beginning on July 10th at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO, however, that tour has since been canceled due to the coronavirus. The band noted in the announcement that all shows for 2020 would be canceled. Head to the band’s website for the latest information and be sure to check out Live For Live Music‘s concert cancellation tracker for daily updates on shows across the globe.