John Mayer Describes His Songwriting Process

"Its like matching socks."
Source: Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center Masterclass, 17th September 2020.

[@rayt3894]

"Slugging away until magic happens, and then we take credit for it." John Mayer.

[@FaanaMusic]

Brilliant quote, haha!

[@n2n123456]

John Mayer should create a songwriting course. I used to be very focused on melody and instrumentation until I heard John Mayer. He has converted me into a lyrics enthusiast. Keep looking for the magic John. You're doing great!

[@XAVYMARTIN]

So true. Mayer is real good inspiration. Do you upload your own stuff 2 on KZbin?

[@whyaskmenoely25]

The voice and the lyrics are the most human part of the music. There's no interface between you and the human on the other side, opposed to an instrument. That's what you will connect to the most.

[@SeanHassard]

Keep waiting to see an ad from MasterClass! “Hi, I’m John Mayer, and this is my MasterClass”

[@illegallystalked3119]

Thats odd. I think his lyrics are generally not as good as the melody. Mothers be good....the exeption, incredible lyrics, but everything else, he strikes me more on the melody.

[@FaanaMusic]

That's so true! I often use this video with some of my students and they usually have so many great insights from it. Especially the metaphor of matching socks.

[@gstrummer]

John Mayer, I appreciate your generosity here, sharing your process, failures, grind, standards, and dedication. Quite a gift. Thank you.

[@XAVYMARTIN]

Indeed

[@buddhapeach]

So agree. So frustrating walking around with one really comfortable sock…and one flip-flop! 😳

[@XAVYMARTIN]

Haha. So true

[@petervad]

"just slugging away til magic happens". That's a great explanation. Love they way he describes thing - very articulate.

[@davebondanza8489]

A wonderfully talented musician. His intelligent lyrics combined with the masterful guitar play is a combo that results in music that will never grow stale. Couple this with his down to earth reality brings content like this. I listen to multiple cuts of his music daily. What else needs to be said?

[@dontletmebrown]

2:52 sounds like John had "when the right one comes" on the brain LOL

[@laurafay8474]

John gets the lyrics so right, every single time. Lyrics that are believable, relatable, magical and tell a story that feels so familiar and sound like John. He’s the only artist, for me, that takes me on a journey and connects to each song with real emotion. If you look at his songs, you see his name. I’ve not seen one with another writer (correct me if I’m wrong) but that’s why I think he’s so good. Because he’s singing and playing his own ideas that are deeply routed in him.

[@ymaaw3735]

Late reply hope you're doing well. Eric Clapton does that for me.

[@kellybarnes1911]

Thanks being such an A+ guy that you give suggestions and your own personal insights to help new songwriters.

[@songsidliketofinishwriting9525]

I really appreciate how he explains his process. Student forever, it’s gotta sound believable, slugging away until the magic happens!

[@gfunkk]

'i took em on a trip and then i threw them out of the car....before we got to disneyland.' god this guy has the greatest imagination ever.

[@ATX0705]

We're living in a dimension/reality/universe where songwriting is nearly a complete mystery and hardly anybody can really explain it.

[@robertwallace7213]

Three chords and the truth!.... Beautiful! ... Thanks for passionate description!..

[@vulzes]

i love the way he talks about this

[@LucaAnamaria]

It does get easier with time, but it's nice to hear that even John doesn't quite know whether or not a song will work out when he first starts writing one. There is definitely a mystery and uncertainty to songwriting, but that can also be part of the fun. Though maybe not when you have a deadline. 😬

[@ThankyouJword]

john mayer will never be strong enough

[@jeremyholcombe3202]

He absolutely nails it here, I reckon.

[@RobinMacGregor]

Thanks for this. I'm a songwriter in the Scottish Highlands. Really interesting to watch. 👏

[@itsallroses1847]

Yeah i totally relate its just waiting for the song to come rather than creating it. Its an absolute supernatural process I feel.. coming from God

[@leaveitorsinkit242]

2:56 I can’t believe no one noticed the Shot in the Dark melody. 😂

[@jorgeeherrera]

"we're just logging away until magic happens...and then we take credit for it" LOL!!!

[@evangelynespedido3876]

Hello John, I just want you to know that I love your music. 🖤 I'm from Philippines. Just a few minutes I was listening to your Shadow Days and it brought me into tears. I love your New Light. ❤️ Good thing I found you on this channel.

[@Stoneabba9999]

Most can write songs, but Great songwriters just have it

[@simonnitzl2192]

That´s what songwriting is all about. Thank you

[@robertjohnson4301]

This is Is a great analysis of the songwriting process. So how could all this complex musical and lyrical creation and integration result in a song like your body is a wonderland?

[@fredrik.s.official]

I wish I could be as articulate as him :)

[@oliverchapman51177]

Very intelligent and helpful. Thanks

[@savanaviolenta]

True and wise words.

[@alienmoondudes8071]

This video gives me comfort. Thanks John for talking about this topic

[@Jaz31day]

He is the magic that happens. Wow

[@lexuse3066]

Yo john analogies always make sense 🤣

[@comedycrackhead]

He described the process so perfectly

[@jasong4879]

AgreeD! Music is easy, lyrics are tough, lyrics I actually want to sing, harder still. Love the sock metaphor!!

[@WhiteDove73-888]

Lyrics are easiest when you are a poet

[@timothyallen108]

If anybody tells you they can teach you how to write a song..RUN AWAY FAST!

[@imacmadman22]

“Threw them out of the car…” 🤣🤣🤣 OH - BUT THE: “Line it’s ending on” - Write a song with that!!

[@nathanchampionmusic]

2:52 - He nearly gave away 'shot in the dark' then :D

[@JDavid-gx8rs]

lol, im glad i can pull out my magic wand when I need to

[@rebeccajacobs8199]

My two cents… John needs a Hailey to his Justin - she will help match the socks, and likely much more.

[@kickistange4879]

I Love John Mayers Music very much Babe 💋❤️😘🥰💞💕💖 Have a nice Evening and Weekend too.

[@Techcensorshipbot]

Ravioli shoes the second serving.

[@brexxebender1204]

Lol... John just made young writers go inside and out then inside and out again and back to the beginning....yeesh

[@Songwritersbehindthecurtain]

😎

[@sujayanarula3913]

I listen to Mr. Mayer Copy Cat 🐱 😂and then I read some comments 😅😂 hilarious.! Only pardoned Turkeys are taken to tDisney Land not me !

[@tjbaileymusic]

And then we take credit for it. Lol

[@stellabandante2727]

Lyrics come more easily be everyone talks and knows language. Music is easy in pop tunes because it's all contained within a circle of a half dozen chords at best. Mayer, you should challenge yourself to learn a little more about harmonic theory.

[@nycfc4life884]

Why no love me is believable?

[@toroliciouslife8566]

Lol

[@Julius_Smith]

Yes

[@RandomVelocity]

He really doesn’t give you anything concrete here.

[@claychandler3468]

That made no sence

[@fasteddie9255]

first

[@WhiteDove73-888]

Sorry, I absolutely love your guitar playing but not necessarily your songs.

[@joebaby555]

How lucky are we to have a gifted musician/songwriter so open and free with his process and thoughts? Thanks John.🙏. “Sounds like Me”🔥

[@Shananaginns1887]

I’d give anything to be able to write lyrics. It’s so fucking hard.

[@LucaAnamaria]

Check out the book Writing Better Lyrics by Pat Pattison. It kind of changed my life (or at least my lyric writing process).

[@Shananaginns1887]

@@LucaAnamaria Thank you I’m looking into it now! I need a process desperately, I’ve got ideas but I get bogged down trying to pinpoint what I’m really trying to say and inevitably the song just fades away and it’s the most disheartening thing ever haha

[@LucaAnamaria]

@@Shananaginns1887 This book should definitely help! Popular Lyric Writing by Andrea Stolpe is another good one. And feel free to reach out if you have any questions! I don't have a lot of my stuff published yet, but I've been writing lyrics for ten years. I do plan on hosting lyric writing workshops in future. Another KZbin channel that is currently putting out songwriting content is Songwriter Theory by Joseph Vadala. Lots of amazing free content there. 👍

[@Shananaginns1887]

@@LucaAnamaria sheesh you are too kind! I really appreciate the guidance, I’m checking all of this stuff out and subscribed to your channel, thanks so much for the info and I’ll stay tuned for those writers workshops!!

[@LucaAnamaria]

@@Shananaginns1887 I like helping people! I also find that answering other people's questions about writing helps me become a better writer too because I'm forced to think through various challenges. I'm confident those resources will help and I wish you the best of luck! And thank you for the subscription. Guess I have to host those workshops now. 😜

[@Viper-dz2kw]

Yup, can completely relate to everything he says here, especially the part where you write stuff and throw it out

[@debbiegreen7051]

This was very interesting because we only think that it always comes easy for you. This why it always comes out like a rock star with you John. Looking so comfortably handsome.

[@ATX0705]

My best ideas have come while high on marijuana. Not afraid to admit that.

[@benallmark9671]

Lol , that’s the best at the end , so we’re just basically waiting for magic to happen. Ain’t that the truth.

[@robbietrout6316]

It's a difficult process

[@kindlotus]

Didn’t make the cut album from John would be insanely amazing.

[@randallfranklin2548]

16th comment…Boom!!! In all seriousness…..thanks for sharing your thoughts John!!!

[@WhiteDove73-888]

When you write the words and music at the same time! Eureka 💡 You can always change a lyric, a chord progression, time signature, genre etc…I have been writing poetry since the 4th grade. That’s the easiest.

[@luciendesar]

100% I can relate to this with songwriting. One technique that I found helpful was a tip from Gary Numan. You create the music, create a vocal track with just an instrument (piano) and then match the vocal/instrument track in beats. Then you write lyrics to match those beats in sequence. It is a lot easier to have the beat and music first and then have lyrics match it. Lyrics written independently is almost impossible to make it match. I've heard some songs where you can tell the lyrics were written first and the song just seems wordy - like the words run into each other. The other tip is to come up with a list of ideas for songs. Then when you are writing/matching lyrics for a song you can pull from that idea list. Lyric writing matching music is extremely mathematical. It is like matching socks - but I see it more like a puzzle. You are scrolling in your head for different words to match the beat and eventually, you get the right combination. It is like a combination lock you are cracking.

[@antoinettepierce3330]

What are you waiting for John? I've been here all along. Do you think it would be wrong if we collaborate a new song?

[@Stoneabba9999]

Certain words linguistically sound better. That’s the key

[@fiercekrypton]

Bob Dylan would have shipped all of it... maybe too hard on himself.

[@jeffrey3498]

We take credit for the good song even though we know we didn't do it. 😂

[@julioversolato6728]

ADHD LES GOO

[@vjkwaeguiv12]

This guy needs his own podcast.

[@Roddo731]

It’s a marriage… Awesome thoughts John thanks, so good to stick in my head to go to bed :-)