I Tried Learning The Hardest John Mayer Song...

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00:00 Intro
01:32 Trying To Learn Neon

[@sugatooth]

“Why is the thumb always involved” sounds like the “why is the rum always gone” equivalent for this series 😂

[@brianmagsipoc8718]

Part of it is just hand size. John has huge hands which allows for the thumb over the top method fretting the bass note while the rest of the fingers form different chords. It's part of what gives the song that fluid sound. Much harder to pull off for those of us with normal size hands lol.

[@MelbaToast7117]

That's what I was going to say

[@leaveitorsinkit242]

Size does matter unfortunately…

[@CMDRKailoren]

On top of that he also plays with a thinner neck to allow for the huge dinner plates he calls hands to stretch around it so easily

[@EJdub]

@@leaveitorsinkit242 I agree, ultimately. unless you have extremely extremley small hands, it's just about practising stretching your hands. Not a good excuse.

[@leaveitorsinkit242]

@@EJdub I was joking but ok.

[@Iskaral_Pust]

Neon is one of those pieces that relies primarily on whether or not you have the proper technique down. If you can't do the thumb & index "drum set" percussive picking pattern, you can't play it.

[@tres311]

It’s interesting because I actually have this particular skill set. Meanwhile 90% of the songs she slays on guitar, I have 0 ability hanging with.

[@400_billion_suns]

Yep, exactly, and that picking technique isn’t something you can expect to learn in one day. It’s one of those things where you have to do it over and over for many days until the coordination and muscle memory becomes second nature without having to consciously think about it.

[@ariadnaflores3205]

No didnt proper thum ir drum u.u

[@syins8076]

Not really. U can play differently, not doing the drum patten. There are a lot of examples here on youtube.

[@smail7196]

😂

[@despoticmusic]

Your frustration level is the same as mine - but I’m trying to learn Wonderwall! I love these learning videos.

[@aarish1337]

See guitarzero 2hero KZbin video

[@GothFather.]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@robnielmanalo]

lol

[@PanzerAce760]

I hope your being sarcastic. I'm awful at best and can pull off a decent wonderwall.

[@StudyTorque]

Your chances of getting laid are higher if you play wonderwall rather than neon tbf

[@tolkienfan1972]

It's really nice to see someone else go thru such frustration, because it's so rare, and it's very helpful. Especially since even at high frustration levels you don't lose your sh!t. It's a character lesson for everyone to live up to.

[@ariadnaflores3205]

😭

[@tolkienfan1972]

Rereading this it doesn't really say what I meant. It's rare that people share these frustrating moments. Having them is common. So I'm glad you're sharing it. We can learn that other people are able to work thru the frustration and achieve something.

[@n.c.varner9572]

I tend to lose my shit.......

[@tolkienfan1972]

@@n.c.varner9572 me too. :-)

[@smail7196]

😅

[@DonVite]

I hope we’ll get a part 2. Watching such an amazing player go through the same struggles as I do while learning a new song is actually motivating 🎸

[@rogersurprenant9669]

Very cool being a fly on the wall and seeing your process. Thank you for sharing your journey on this amazing tune!

[@rogerc3484]

Did she say F-you at 8:29? ....She's so down to earth about the struggle to playing, & learning guitar pieces...I think it,s great....makes me smile! Thanks Sophie you made my day!

[@gcs3668]

Paul David's breakdown of this song is how I learned to try to play this song. He does a great job on the tutorial and mechanics.

[@KarstenHeymann]

Yep, that video is superb.

[@chrisjude8794]

OH WOW, some crazy finger work on both hands going on there💯 The frustration of trying to achieve those shapes stretches I can totally relate to. Great work Sophie. Total respect 💯👍👍👏👏😎

[@CMHobbies]

I’ve tried to learn this song for years now. I play about like you do-haha. It is a weird song and it’s one of the most unique riffs ever. Thanks for posting it-it’s refreshing to see great, accomplished guitarists take on a challenge and not be instantly awesome at it. It humanizes you for all us bed room ax swingers.

[@skipneumann1]

It helps to look at photos of Hendrix thumb size and you realize why normal size hands/thumbs is a real disadvantage to playing over the neck. And a song like this would take slow playing every day for a long time

[@davidwillis1617]

That was super entertaining Sophie! The chord grips look insanely difficult yet you managed to come relatively close to nailing it in a short time. Hats off, you're inspiring me.

[@riv4545]

Love you Sophie.....never give up! You're too good!

[@spuddy77]

there's something really comforting about seeing someone actually practice. like proper practice that doesn't necessarily sound good. cause like that's what a lot of guitar is but you just don't see that online, ever

[@monaural2.988]

Sophie, you’re such a doll doing this, because as I’ve stated in the past, EVERYONE thinks they alone have the hardest time with talking through a musical instrument. And even blinding-speed shredders struggle!

[@ronniejr38s18]

Old school Rocker here. Always did best learning by ear. You take that a few levels higher. Figuring these solos out by ear is mind boggle...and you nail it. Rock On

[@oldschoolkrist]

Love it! You got it, just keep playing with it. Make it yours

[@That-rogue-1]

Always wanted to see you play some John Mayer!!

[@Iskaral_Pust]

I respect trying to learn it by ear. That's a skill in and of itself that we should all develop. But most of the time I'll just use songsterr. It's worth it.

[@ThiagoStocco]

You rocked! It's very impressive how far you went in so little time. I've always found this song impossible (for me) to play, but watching you try to learn it gave me some hope I guess haha Great video :D

[@trupatriot1227]

You are super talented, but those freckles are just killing it.

[@bryang.6809]

You are an Amazing guitarist and I love the way u talk!!

[@dennishummel3527]

This is the first I've heard you talk, beautiful 💕 The left hand thumb is needed, keep trying

[@shanancovacevich4303]

Sophie knowing you can play anything...hearing you say I don't think my fingers can don't it...kinda funny from someone so good...you def rock this world Sophie🤘🔥🌹💕

[@seiunbklicky4364]

You made my day. I worked on this for ages. got to the point where I could do it sloppy and then gave up. You inspired me to try again...now that a couple years have passed

[@miguelamorim5323]

Neon is an awesome some. One of my favourites from John Mayer. I have already seen a lot of people attempt to play and cover this song, but to me no one will rival Sungha Jung's cover. He even recently released a full video cover, instead of only livestream clips and it's mind-blowing. Worthy to check it out, but he really is a talented and hardworking guitarist. Right now, to me at least, he stands in a different category that only some guitarists have reached (skillwise).

[@kevinknight470]

It's called a hard riff for a reason. Love Sophie, thanx for keeping it real. I like playing music, hate the learning curve.😃

[@kippsguitar6539]

Hard riff my arse,he's overrated

[@angelcolonvazquez5574]

Hola Sophie! It was fun! Thanks for sharing! Miguel 🇵🇷

[@LarryWilsonIII]

Super fun watching you learning this.

[@gregsLyrics]

That is the best "Leon" I've ever heard. 🤣 Love you Sophie.

[@Michael-Ray]

1:06 Would love to see you do a full acoustic cover of Running Up That Hill 🙏

[@timwindsor03]

That is a really hard song to learn. Thanks for sharing. Keep the content coming. Hope you have an incredible weekend. Much love

[@kippsguitar6539]

Hard? It's elementary, he's so overrated

[@manhattanmike6959]

I'm gonna Nearn Leon!!!

[@lawrencestark8983]

That's a hard song and you done pretty good. That guitar is to much for me I'm old school, I've been playing since 64 and that guitar is beyond me. Thank you for sharing

[@pietropezzoli6212]

I've been trying to learn Neon for the last four years, from time to time I like playing and understanding more and more this song. I think there are many videos on youtube showing the right hand technique, and some of them are actually really well done! My tip about it: put your right hand palm and fingers almost parallel to the strings when you play the riff. It seems a stupid advise but this is essential to play correctly the drum set as John mayer. Cheers!

[@vampishsage3704]

Thank you so much for this video. I keep trying to learn and give up because it doesn't sound how I want it to. It was great to see your beginning and the progress until the end. You definitely will get it I'm positive. Good luck and thanks again ♥️

[@chrism1721]

Fantastic lesson to be learned here for all levels of guitarists, it takes time, practice and alot of frustration, even for the pros. Great to see how you learn from every mistake, analyse and apply and still keep the enthusiasm. Great example of what learning should be about!

[@mattmays9063]

Lmao, this was such a treat to watch; Especially after seeing Paul Davids' breakdown. I must also admit that you made it very fun with your goofy side.

[@mattmays9063]

I don't mean this to be rude or assertive, but you should watch Paul Davids' video of how to play 'Neon'. I think you'll honestly get it right away after watching it. I sure hope you see this!

[@Naughtez]

Love this - top video - honest and shows the struggle. Also, great playing!

[@Shane8]

I can follow all of those tutorials where they do it in slow motion but then they speed it up and just start doing something completely otherworldly with their right hand

[@LysanderLH]

I think looking at Hendrix and SRV thumbing would help. When and where they used a thumb over the top of the neck was more about what worked best, than for any sonic differences.

[@spiderguy01]

Dude tbh props for even trying ngl ,it’s for sure one of the hardest songs out there ,I still can’t play it perfectly and I don’t think I ever will tbh ,and I haven’t found a perfect cover of neon tbh. John is just out of this world and the fact that he plays it perfectly while singing is just mind blowing

[@adehorton7287]

I play with my thumb on the top two strings all the time as I can’t physically play barre chords anymore but I find it easier to play like that stood up. It might make a difference to you too. It was sounding pretty good near the end so keep going. 👍🏻🤘🏻

[@briandemeter2094]

“On Fire” by Van Halen🔥

[@michaeldurrant8446]

It's refreshing to hear you curse at your brain / fingers / guitar / eyebrows bc I do the same thing.

[@Hiro.the.God.]

What I’ve heard from the interweb is, when you switch to a new guitar, it makes playing harder because you’re not used to it. But we all know you got this. Try being a newb and going for Aces High by Iron Maiden, lots of head banging on the wall. You got this!

[@vubear]

The secret is to use a Clawhammer technique not the, from the knuckle joint, Travis picking technique. Form a claw but without the clawed thumb and move from the wrist and arm. There should be little in the way of finger motion.

[@joseandrespineda3771]

Amazing video ☺️ thank you so much.

[@AdamBurseMusic]

Great work Sophie, that was an awesome video of you learning this song 😀🤘🎵🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@kasraad]

This riff took a many time from me , more than any song I've learned ever

[@russellharris5072]

Wood shedding is always tedious and takes a long time,but what you get after breaking the tune down into small segments and wood shedding the sh*t out of it is muscle memory,so don't give up,don't let it beat you.That's how I used to approach learning.................................................................

[@alejandroguillemot4549]

Hi Sophie, I’m a big fan of your channel and you did a very good job with “neon” just keep practicing! Have you heard “Modoc” of Steve Morse, it’s one of my favorites! Regards from México!

[@robertdenton2638]

I love to see her go trough the process. This is the work that nobody sees. It's frustrating, and it's not pretty. Kudos to you young lady!

[@kippsguitar6539]

He's so overrated it's painful

[@WillNorburyUK]

1:24 "who is Leon?" *Knucks enters the comments*

[@davidkeeley7287]

Great effort Sophie. Have a look at the Sungha Jung version that came out recently. He seems to play it without the thumb over the top and as you probably know he's one insanely good player. In Sunghas version he almost 'plays' the vocals. I don't know how long it took him to nail it but even Mayer himself might struggle to play it Sunghas way

[@JarGuitarOfficial]

5:28 Beautiful sound✨ HAHAHAHAH😆 I feel you Sophie. This is the best content for us guitarist. The intimacy, our secret love with the fails, and learning" moments hahahaha. I tend to swear and get really mad when I start something, then within minutes I'm laughing at myself.

[@JarGuitarOfficial]

Ps: John is defeating Polyphia's hardest song HAHAHAH

[@SUPERGUITAR39587]

It's a great professional spirit, I can understand it.

[@TtL2024]

Thank you. This felt so real.

[@clint.87]

Amazing, you able to post a story on Instagram and play guitar at the same time👌👌

[@danieldiaz9948]

I appreciate someone showing how it’s really like to learn songs lol. I empathize with scouring KZbin looking for videos of ANYONE who shows the finger placement, haha

[@jasonbull3987]

Good on you. Great showing how you came at this challenging riff. Hope you nail it to help you sleep. I couldn't do this. I often wake up the next day, and nail the riff that haunted me all the day before. I think our brains must work on it still while we sleep. Cheers

[@antonskrobanek5291]

Imagine not only playing that, but singing along. ;)

[@bored9260]

I relate the guy who introduce me to play guitar was 6’2 with big hands… 🤷‍♂️ he can do the thumb thing but his fingers are to big to play the smaller part of the guitar. Plus when you watch john Mayer does his solo he leaves no room for others 😂

[@Lagger-HD]

For me I realized even if I obsessed over the right hand technique, I have short fingers/thumb so its basically impossible, You could omit or change a stretchy chord, but then the song wouldn't be the same at all, so realistically you will notice people with longer fingers can typically easily learn this because they can properly grip the chords cleanly, if you are doing a drum technique on your base string and you aren't putting enough pressure on the string it will give you those sharp staccato buzz sounds.

[@surrealestate06]

Yay you! All the NEW neural pathways you're making! I bet you'll get it and when you do it will actually affect all your playing. Well done and cheers!

[@jonathonvince561]

The quiet 'phuk' 😭😭😭🤣 Keep at it ✌️

[@galenday7734]

Starting with something like Heart of Life and learning that fingerpicking makes it a lot easier to go on to Neon, I'd highly recommend starting there!

[@ChristianThoresen]

Cool. I need to learn this!

[@anthonyward8587]

You're so honest Sophie, love it. Made me laugh a lot. I Would love to see you do the solo from 'Deep Purple' (Highway Star). Cheers from Oz.

[@jaynecobb5774]

I never wanted a Lava until this

[@roberthuntley-moore5239]

Sometimes you need a coffee and mellow out...then get back to it.

[@torduc22]

yep you are dead on! like you said, the fingers aren't picking, but rather the wrist is moving up and down, anchored nicely, so the index and thumbs are bouncing off the strings to get that percussive feel. It's a very ridiculous song lol which is why there's that inside joke "even if you think you know how to play neon, you don't know how to play neon" lol but you are on the right track! you got this

[@slimigan]

Great job! Gotta check out Paul David's breakdown.

[@gamby16a]

Very cool to see a full blown shredder struggle with a piece. It shows you're human. It sounded damn close when you dove in at 102 bpm. Great video idea.

[@aiden4016]

the fact that john mayer probally just freestyles this and made it up in one or two tries, makes you really appreciate how good he is. good job!!

[@danielleva5519]

If your struggling with the thumb over technique try it on thinner strat style guitar till you learn it then when you got it down pick up the acoustic and try it

[@tobynsaunders]

Thanks for keeping it real. Oh, what would I like to see next? Obviously Polyphia! They (particularly Tim) seem to represent a new frontier of guitaring.

[@GODHATESADOPTION]

Tim is the future

[@teejay9373]

Can’t wait to see once you get it down

[@chadbeck569]

And may I also suggest learning it on your favorite most comfortable guitar even if it’s an electric because keep in mind it was originally written and recorded on a strat

[@Jopeymessmusic]

I switched up my primary way of playing a while ago (around 20013/14) when I was introduced to Ben Howard. I was coming from a tech death/modern metal mindset and it was hilarious with how difficult I found basic strumming and percussive technique. You can always learn new ways of doing things on the guitar. It's one of the ways that makes the instrument fun!

Ben Howard does some tricky stuff though, not to mention the different tunings and partial capo placements!

[@Jopeymessmusic]

@ Yep. Super cool perspective on the instrument for someone like me to get used to!

[@archieguitarz4700]

It might be a bit frustrating and painful, but just know you give strength to countless thousands of fellow guitar players. I mean who hasn't struggled at some point, even a stellar guitar player like yourself on occasion can run into challenges just show's it happens to everyone. Thanks for keeping it real, major cred to you! 🤘

[@joemorris4424]

Only makes sense for him using his thumb as it is anatomically possible. If you need to use your pinky that’s more personal and means you are learning more about yourself and your playing 🤟🏻 loved the honesty in this too, you hadn’t rehearsed x

[@cameronwatsky]

well done, it was super cool to watch this happen. If I were you, I'd look at Paul Davids, Musiciswin and Guitarzero2 hero and their videos. I think you will learn a lot from watching each of these fine gentleman dissect this performance of Neon.

[@kryptauknight7172]

It’s not his hardest song, his hardest is undoubtedly in your atmosphere

[@timothyscibor9504]

yes youre hitting the same string twice with the index, its a WILD SONG. its a actually a triplet with the middle space muted. trip lp* let. Or trip *mute* let*. The index finer swing does this, its why his finger motions look so crazy, cause theyre so precise, they are playing two different rhythms. The thumb is playing, the base line, the the index finger is playing the melody. But its different, cause the index fingers plays 4 strings, and you use the same index finger, to hit the same note twice in that triplet fashion WHILE ALSO going up to the g, the b and e string. In one like reverse stair-like repeatable motion. Also the chords are separate from the bass line which makes this tricky af. edit also the percussive elements is a bass slap on the Open C. Its not like 2 and 4 drum beats, its to reset on the open string, as its the first base note. Try hearing the two things separate, play em separately then put them together. Start with bassline, than melody than see what hes doing to put it together. Im sure he started playing with the motion of his right hand before he did the chords.

[@e-man7143]

It's a tough one for sure! Try learning, "never going back again" and "big love" by Fleetwood mac. Lindsey Buckingham is an absolute demon on guitar. It doesn't even make sense to me.

[@gordonbezanson4710]

Never goin back again is a crazy flow took me many hours still cant hit it right off couple of tries before i get the the flow. I would love her to do that for sure.

[@e-man7143]

@@gordonbezanson4710 it's rough lolm big love is a little harder. If you can believe that lol

[@Wozniak_15]

Exactly... Lindsey is insane Those songs will make u give up guitar 😂

[@neilallso400]

Ah, you are human. Glad you found it hard like us mere mortals. Great effort, I tip my hat to you.

[@saspencer1992]

Yeah I gave up on using my thumb on that last chord of the phrase lol. I’m at the point where I’ve played it live for years now and I still have “flubbed notes”. I’m convinced only John will ever be perfect at this song 😂

[@matthewtaylor8682]

that's a really cool guitar once i save up a bit i probably will get one . it just takes a bit of time to practice the movement of the hands i suppose i am a beginner myself . keep up the gd work Sophie x .

[@ferryadams10ify]

You can also do the dumb around the neck, but keep in mind that your guitar has a very wide fretboard which makes it more difficult than on the guitar John's playing

[@l5tmeno]

There’s another song called “Real” by Unprocessed and there’s a bit where Tim Henson and I think that it could make a great video

[@themandohunter3969]

I’m grateful it didn’t take me that long for Neón and happy I got it whilst singing like a few days ago now I go do it for my audition. I thought I wasn’t going to get Neón before the audition but I got it early 🎉🎉🎉🎉 (I’m not trynna brag I’m just happy I can do it for the audition)

[@xtop23]

The random...... pluck pluck.... "oh, fuck you." Killed me

[@ascentiall]

definitively relate to the thumb buzz aha

[@theonlyredspecial]

Very brave if you to put this up. Warts and all. You are a fine player and this was interesting to watch. Very cool to show the experience !

[@UItimateGuitarCovers]

The best bit was, ufck you, that made me laugh

[@EChapstick]

8:29... ive had this feeling many times hahahaha

[@wastingtime]

good on you for giving finger style a crack, its incredibly hard to master every style...I used to play mainly electric solo stuff and swung heavily into acoustics with my old age and think I've purely improved cause I've focused mainly on that.

[@Grizzly406]

I know you’re not going to read this but Blue Öyster Cult - Black Blade (Cultösaurus Erectus album) you know what to do.