Learn The Rhythm Guitar For "Gravity" by John Mayer!

John Mayer’s guitar playing is always top notch, and Gravity is no exception. This song is among the best from his popular album Continuum, where he perfectly exemplifies his unique style. It features some tasty Hendrix-inspired rhythm parts alongside some lovely, simple, melodic solos.

For this lesson, we’ll cover the basic chord structure and some embellishments. Switch over to the Gravity solo lesson to learn the awesome lead parts. Before you do though, give them a go on your own! Transcribing is great practice for your ear and helps you learn your fretboard inside out. :) These solos aren't difficult to figure out, and learning the key and chords first is a big advantage.

Gravity by John Mayer: Chord Sequence

Yes, a lot of guitar playing is about practice, but there are some aspects where anatomy plays a significant role! John Mayer's famously long thumb lets him play notes on the thickest string with incredible ease, so we often have to get creative when performing his music.

💡 Adapt it to you: You might be unfamiliar with some of the fingerings or find them uncomfortable. No problem - seek voicings that suit you and your anatomy. :)

The progression has eight bars: G, C, G, C; Am, D, |Gm/B♭ E♭ |, D. This is the basic chord structure, but there's a lot more going on.

For a start, the organ plays C6, and I think John plays C/E. For Am, he goes for Am7 with the thumb. This is an unusual grip and is too stretchy for me! Gm/B♭ is a cool chord - we use three notes from the Dm barre shape and add the note B♭ on string 6. Find out exactly how to play these chords in the video. :)

Melodic Rhythm Guitar

John adds a lot of melody to his rhythm playing in Gravity. To mimic this, you'll need to play G with the thumb and add embellishments with finger 3 or 4. He also adds Hendrixy embellishments by playing G as a C-shape chord. :)

For C/E, we play a mini chord from the G shape. This shape is the A mini barre moved up three frets, with an extra note on string 5. The advantage of this grip is that you can add Hendrixy embellishments with finger 3.

He also uses a picking pattern over Am7 and D - check the video lesson for the details. :)

🚨 Stay in time: The key to incorporating these melodic ideas is to remain aware of the beat. No matter what you play, you still have to stay in time. I suggest jamming with the original to absorb the feel. :)

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