Neon was written in the mid to late '90s and first appeared on John Mayer's 1999 EP 'Inside Wants Out'. However, the song first became well-known on his hugely successful album 'Room for Squares' (2001).
In this lesson we're going to be looking at the live version of the Neon, taken from his 2007 live album 'Where The Light Is'.
Neon is no. 49 on my Top 60 Fingerpicking Songs of ALL TIME list. If you've not seen the list be sure to check it out and sign up to my weekly email lesson. That way you won't miss learning any of these great fingerstyle songs.
This is not a song for beginners by any means - there's a huge amount to learn and so many techniques you need to know. So buckle up and prepare yourself for a little frustration as you learn to master this brilliant, but very complicated song.
Neon Song Details:
- Key - C minor
- Tempo - roughly 106 bpm
- Tuning - drop C (C, A, D, G, B, E)
- Difficulty - advanced
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The Intro:
Let's start off with the jaw dropping intro John Mayer does on the live recording of Neon. If you're up for a guitar challenge then this is it, it really is very hard and will require a lot of practise and technical ability. So much great stuff to learn in here that you can rob and put it your own playing.
Take your fingerstyle playing to the next level!
Intro (part 2):
It doesn't get much easier here I'm afraid.
Learn more about the techniques used in this song.
The Riff:
The majority of the song is played between the thumb and first finger, so make sure you pay close attention to the fingerings written above each note. You will likely find this a very bizarre technique if you've not done it before.
The software ALL guitarists should have.
All tabs were created using Guitar Pro, start your FREE TRIAL today and get transcribing all your favourite songs.
Pre-Chorus
Don't feel as though you have to play this note-for-note, as I'm sure John Mayer mixes things up every time he plays Neon.
Serious about your playing? Try one of Six String Fingerpicking's courses.
Chorus:
Some pretty awkward chords for the chorus here. Find which fingerings work best for you and watch your timing as you work your way through the progression.
The software ALL guitarists should have.
All tabs were created using Guitar Pro, start your FREE TRIAL today and get transcribing all your favourite songs.
Bridge:
Finally we have the bridge to look at. Watch out for the crazy triplet runs at the end!
If you want to make sure that you're really on the right track with fingerpicking, then try one of my fingerstyle guitar courses - find out more here.
If you have any questions or want to share anything at all, then please leave a comment below.
I hope you've found this lesson useful and thank you for reading.
Hey dude!
Thank you so much for this lesson and especially for the intro & bridge parts from the live version. Your lessons are the best out of the lessons I’ve seen so far for this song. I’ve managed to get the main riff, pre-chorus and chorus down ages ago allready and hats off to you for making the lessons on the most difficult parts.
Hey thanks Charlie, really happy that you like the lesson. I’m glad I put the extra effort in to do the intro/bridge, was bloody hard! Enjoy.
Hey Chris
Thought I’d ask how are we suppose to reach up to the 17th fret on an acoustic without a cutaway as an attempt to do that would be tough to do?
Hey Charlie,
The honest answer is ‘with great difficulty’. You’re going to have to take you’re hand virtually right off from the fretboard, up from underneath the neck and reach across.
It’s bloody hard but you can do it! If you watch John Mayer play it you can see he’s not using a cutaway.
A great tutorial it is wanted to know is the right hand pattern on the main riff exactly the way john does? Does it include the slap notes on the e string (c string)?
As far as my ears tell me it’s really very close. But really you need to decide for yourself using your ears.
Best tutorial!!!
I start learning and its so hard but i van do it!
Thanks for tutorial.
Thank you! Just keep going and you’ll get it.
Hi,
Great tutorial, and so awesome that you just put it out there… Can I make a contribution to your site?
Thanks!
Thanks Daniel, glad you like the lessons.
I don’t have a donation offering I’m afraid but thank you so much for wanting to, it’s very kind and I truly appreciate you appreciating my work.
Awesome tutorial, best I’ve found. Same feeling towards your top 60 list. For the chorus part, what should I do with the 5th and 1st string? When I’m strumming with the chords given in the tab, hitting either of those two open strings just kills the sound.
Hey Dante, really happy you like the lesson, it’s such a great song! You have to mute those two strings out with your fretting hand or yes, it will sound horrendous.
When I sign up for the course is there downloadable PDFs of these songs that will be available?
Don
You’re absolutely right that you need to get into Mayer’s technique to make this work. Otherwise, it’s a lost cause. Thanks for the amazing lesson.
Yeah, I find it really helps me to get the groove right. Some people do it well using three or four fingers but often times it’s just not quite right.
Fantastic lesson. Thank you for putting all of this together and making it so easily available. It’s much appreciated!
It’s a real pleasure Matt.
Thank you so much for the videos!! They are really helping so much. They are easy and understandable and well put together. Thank You!!
Thank you, I’m really happy you like the lessons