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John Mayer - Waiting On The World To Change Pt.1 - Verse & Chorus - Guitar Lesson

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Key D major
John Mayer - Waiting On The World To Change Pt.1 - Verse & Chorus guitar lesson video
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Amp Settings

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.
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John Mayer Blues Rock D major
Capo Advisor 0 D major · Original key

About Waiting On The World To Change Pt.1 - Verse & Chorus

The verse and chorus of "Waiting on the World to Change" give you a great early workout in clean, rhythmic soul-influenced guitar playing. John Mayer builds the groove almost entirely on a repeating chord progression in D major, and the challenge is less about hitting the right chords and more about getting the right feel: a loose, behind-the-beat strumming touch that sits into a shuffle groove rather than sitting on top of it. The Blues Rock DNA shows up in how Mayer leans on chord voicings that have a warm, open quality, so pay close attention to your fretting hand muting and how you release chord pressure between strums. Getting that rhythmic lilt to feel natural takes repetition. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the verse at a reduced speed and focus purely on the strum pattern before building back up to tempo. Once the rhythm locks in, the chorus transitions will start to feel effortless.

  • The song sits in D major, and many of the chord shapes are open or first-position friendly, making it approachable for intermediate players.
  • The primary challenge is nailing a relaxed, behind-the-beat strumming groove rather than any single difficult chord or technique.
  • Practise the verse chord transitions slowly and loop them with the Practice Toolbar before attempting the full verse-to-chorus flow at speed.

How to Play Waiting On The World To Change Pt.1 - Verse & Chorus

Key: D major

Use the section loop to isolate a passage and drop the speed to build each section 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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