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John Mayer - Love On The Weekend - Guitar Lesson

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Key C major
John Mayer - Love On The Weekend guitar lesson video
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Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
The Search for Everything album cover
The Search for Everything
2017 3:32
Listen on Spotify
John Mayer Pop Rock 2017 C major
Capo Advisor 0 C major · Original key

About Love On The Weekend

At 92 BPM in C major, "Love On The Weekend" sits in that relaxed, open-feeling tempo where every note has room to breathe, which means your timing and touch are fully exposed. The guitar work here is central to the song's character: John Mayer builds the arrangement around fingerpicked and lightly strummed chord shapes that carry a warm, unhurried feel typical of the Pop Rock side of his writing. The voicings lean on open-string-friendly positions in E Standard tuning, so getting the chord transitions smooth and quiet is the real challenge rather than any single difficult lick. Pay close attention to how the picking hand controls dynamics, keeping the soft passages genuinely soft. If the fingerpicking pattern feels uneven at first, use the Practice Toolbar to loop a couple of bars slowed down until the right-hand rhythm becomes automatic. Clean fretting and a relaxed picking hand will get you most of the way there.

  • The song sits at 92 BPM in C major with E Standard tuning, giving fingerpicked chord shapes a relaxed, open-string-friendly feel.
  • Right-hand dynamics are the core technical challenge: the arrangement lives or dies on keeping soft passages genuinely light and controlled.
  • Practise the fingerpicking pattern in short loops slowed down before bringing it up to tempo, as uneven rhythm stands out clearly at this pace.

How to Play Love On The Weekend

Tuning: E Standard · Key: C major · Tempo: 92 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 92 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Mayer's foundation guitar before the PRS Silver Sky, his sunburst '64 Strat and Black1 Custom Shop model defined his early tone with their responsive single-coils that let his picking dynamics shine. The Strat's vintage tremolo and feel remain deeply embedded in his playing style and note articulation.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Mayer uses the '65 Twin Reverb for his cleanest tones, letting him achieve glassy, touch-sensitive breakup at moderate volumes without relying on gain. Its natural reverb and headroom complement his approach of using amp dynamics rather than heavy distortion.

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9
Pedal

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9

The TS10 pushes Mayer's amp into bluesy overdrive with midrange presence, essential for his soulful lead work on tracks like 'Gravity' and blues jams. This pedal adds grit without obscuring the pick dynamics and string clarity central to his tone.

Boss CE-2 Chorus
Pedal

Boss CE-2 Chorus

Mayer prominently featured this vintage chorus on 'Last Train Home' and throughout Sob Rock, using it to add shimmer and movement to his rhythm tones. The CE-2's lush, organic modulation fits his aesthetic of tasteful effects that enhance rather than dominate.

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay
Pedal

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay

The MXR analog delay provides Mayer with warm, repeating textures for slapback and ambient effects without digital artifacts. It sits perfectly in his pedalboard philosophy of color-adding tools that maintain the clarity and touch-sensitivity of his core amp tone.

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