Semester Project John Mayer By Steven Burton Biography

Semester Project – John Mayer By: Steven Burton

Biography • John Mayer was born on October 16, 1977 in Bridgeport Connecticut. • He found himself learning the guitar after a neighbor gave him a tape of the blues artist Stevie Ray Vaughan when he was thirteen years old. • Two years later he was playing in blues bars and surprised everyone with his skill.

Biography • The Berklee College of Music recognized John’s talent on the electric guitar in 1997, and gave him a warrant admission to the school. • He only lasted two semesters before dropping out. • Started his musical career.

Biography • John Mayer’s first album “Inside Wants Out” was released in 1999. • His second “Room For Squares” was released soon after in 2001. He won a Grammy Award for one of the songs on the album called, “Your Body Is A Wonderland”. • His third album “Any Given Thursday” was released in 2003. Along with the album, a DVD was also released.

Biography • Also in 2003 he released another record entitled, Heavier Things. He earned another Grammy Award two years later for the song “Daughters” which was one of the many great tunes on this record. • He decided to try a more bluesy rock sound. He formed the John Mayer Trio and they released their first and only record in 2005 called, Try!

Biography • The album “Continuum” was released in 2006. He earned another Grammy Award for the first track on the album called, “Waiting on the World to Change”. • In 2007 he released a single called, “Say”. The song got as far as the top 12 on the charts and he earned a Grammy Award for it.

Biography • His most recent album was released on November 17, 2009 called, “Battle Studies”. The production of this album was by John Mayer and Steve Jordan.

“All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye” • This song was a part of the album called, “Battle Studies”. The album was released on November 17, 2009 on Columbia Records in the United States. It was produced by John Mayer and Steve Jordan.

“All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye” Listening Guide • 0: 00 – Verse 1 begins: The form is slow during this song. The music is really soft (only one guitar), and the vocal is soft as well. Melody vocal is walking and has a good range of notes. • 0: 29 – PRE-Chorus: Piano, strings, ride cymbals, bass, etc. join the song. Texture becomes richer. Melody vocal is still alone. • 0: 43 – Chorus: Two voices sing the melody, harmony vocal joins in. Rhythm existent in just a hi-hat on beats 2, and 4. • 1: 13 – Verse 2: Rhythm now joins in the song (drums). Harmony vocal joins the melody for one line.

“All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye” Listening Guide • 1: 42 – PRE-Chorus 2: Harmony vocal joins the melody this time. • 1: 56 – Chorus 2: Harmony and melody vocals is the same as the first chorus. The only thing different this chorus is the beat is there. • 2: 25 – Bridge: Drums stop, violins and piano take over with a soft rhythm. Harmony vocal on the third line follows the descending melody. • 2: 41 – Guitar solo: All instruments back in the song. The guitar’s simple melody is sliding up and down, and because it’s simple it doesn’t take us away from the song. Violins join the guitar near the end of the solo.

“All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye” Listening Guide • 3: 07 – Chorus 3: Texture is rich and full. Melody vocal takes a minor change in one note. The chorus repeats and a counter melody vocal is added, keeping a steady beat and has a nice range. • 4: 05 – Outro: Dynamics are soft again. Only ride cymbals to keep the beat. Sliding lead guitar with a wide range of notes.

“Perfectly Lonely” • “Perfectly Lonely” was released in the album Battle Studies on November 17, 2009 on Columbia Records in the United States. Production of this album went from February to August of 2009, and it was handled by John Mayer and Steve Jordan.

“Perfectly Lonely” Listening Guide • 0: 00 – Intro: The form is medium fast during this song. Melody of walking lead guitar has a wide range of notes. After a couple of notes the dynamics explode and all the instruments join in. The texture is full, and the timbre is excellent. • 0: 22 – Verse 1: Two soft rhythm/lead guitars. Dynamics are soft and melody vocal has a wide range of notes. • 0: 44 – PRE-Chorus: Dynamics continue to be soft. Harmony vocal joins the melody on the last few lines. • 1: 03 – Chorus: Full texture and dynamics get louder and melody and harmony vocal walk together. Dueling guitars Timbre is great. Lead guitar at the end of chorus and does the same as the intro.

“Perfectly Lonely” Listening Guide • 1: 36 – Verse 2: Dynamics are softer, and melody vocal changes from the first verse. Dueling guitars continue during the verse. • 1: 56 – Pre-Chorus: Dynamics continue the same. Melody vocal follows the same pattern as the last Pre-Chorus. Harmony vocal joins for the last few lines. • 2: 16 – Chorus 2: Dynamics are loud, and full texture. Dynamics climb as the chorus continues. • 2: 38 – Bridge: Dynamics continue to climb through the bridge. Keyboards join the song. Drums get a little harder. Melody vocal has a great range of notes and continues its walk.

“Perfectly Lonely” Listening Guide • 2: 58 – Guitar solo: Simple melody for the guitar solo. Music at full dynamics and texture. • 3: 20 – Chorus 3: Dynamics softens then climbs again for the outro. Melody and harmony vocals are the same as previous choruses. • 3: 40 – Outro: Dueling guitars are at their climax and continue to duel as the melody and harmony vocals are in the background.

“Good Love Is on the Way” • “Good Love Is on the Way” was released in the album Try on November 22, 2005 on Columbia Records in the United States. It was recorded live with John Mayer on guitar and lead vocal, Pino Palladino on bass, and Steve Jordan on drums.

“Good Love Is on the Way” Listening Guide • 0: 00 – Intro: The form is fast in this song. Dynamics are loud. The lead/rhythm electric guitar starts it off then accompanied by drums and a bass. Texture is rich and full during the whole song. • 0: 43 – Verse 1: Dynamics are only slightly softer during the verse. Melody vocal comes in and doesn’t have a wide range of notes. The lead/rhythm guitar continues its course during the verse.

“Good Love Is on the Way” Listening Guide • 1: 04 – Chorus: Dynamics increase again. Melody vocal has a bigger range of notes. Harmony vocal comes in and follows the melody line. • 1: 25 – Verse 2: Melody vocal has a wider range. Dynamics are slightly softer. The lead/rhythm guitar still going at it and keeping the flow of the song. • 1: 46 – Chorus 2: Dynamics are back up, texture full, melody and harmony vocals remain the same as the first chorus.

“Good Love Is on the Way” Listening Guide • 2: 07 – Bridge: Dynamics and texture remain the same from the chorus. Lead/rhythm guitar carries a melody, until the vocals come in to carry the melody. Melody vocal has a good range. Music stops except for drums at the end of bridge and dynamics are low only for a second. • 2: 30 – Guitar solo: Dynamics pick up again as the song continues will all the parts in. The guitars melody has a wide range of notes and is pretty complex. • 2: 55 – Bridge 2: Everything is the same from the first bridge. At the end of the bridge the music stops again except for the drums and they go back to the intro for only a few measures.

“Good Love Is on the Way” Listening Guide • 3: 35 – Chorus 3: Lead guitar plays during this chorus and carries a sweet tune as the melody and harmony carries the same tune as before. Melody gets a bit more range during this chorus. • 4: 18 – Outro: One measure of the bridge melody and then the song ends. Loud dynamics and full texture.

“Say” • “Say” was released on November 20, 2007 on Columbia Records in the United States. It is a song on the film “The Bucket List”. John Mayer received a Grammy Award for it not too long after.

“Say” Listening Guide • 0: 00 – Intro: Form is medium fast. Dynamics are soft. Only a Ukulele at the beginning. • 0: 12 – Verse 1: Dynamics are still soft, vocal melody has a fairly good range. • 0: 34 – Chorus: Dynamics build as an orchestra joins in the song. Harmony vocal also helps build the dynamics. Texture is full. • 1: 03 – Verse 2: Dynamics are louder, texture full, and rhythm starts with the drums. Melody vocal continues to be the same as the first verse.

“Say” Listening Guide • 1: 26 – Chorus 2: Dynamics are the same. Orchestra is a little louder and plays a different melody. Melody and harmony vocals are the same as the last chorus. • 1: 50 – Bridge: Loud dynamic wise and melody vocal has a wider range of notes. More vocals in the background, giving a richer texture. After the bridge the song softens down again. • 2: 18 – Verse 3: Ukulele and violins carry the music with a few ride cymbals. Dynamics are soft then build as the verse goes on. Harmony vocals joins melody vocal for a few lines. • 2: 40 – Chorus 3: Full texture and dynamics are loud again. Same vocals as before.

“Say” Listening Guide • 3: 03 – Chorus 4: A counter melody then joins with a wide range of notes. Dynamics are loud and texture is full. The song fades out and ends.

Resources http: //www. billboard. com/artist/john-mayer/373098#/artist/john-mayer/bio/373098 http: //abcnews. go. com/Nightline/Playlist/nightline-playlist-john-mayer/story? id=3456101 http: //www. johnmayer. com/community/showthread. php? t=1522 http: //www. infoplease. com/biography/var/johnmayer. html http: //www. sing 365. com/music/lyric. nsf/john-mayer-biography/853 c 044633 f 2545348256 ba 000309504 http: //www. lyricsfreak. com/j/john+mayer/biography. html http: //avaxhome. ws/hraphile/vinyl/john_mayer_try_hqvinyl. html http: //www. last. fm/music/John+Mayer/Battle+Studies