John Mayer

SONG TITLE: SOMETHING’S MISSING

ALBUM: HEAVIER THINGS
LABEL: AWARE/COLUMBIA c 76 Blues/Pop
GENRE: ROCK POP
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Intro

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WRITTEN BY: JOHN MAYER
PRODUCED BY: JACK JOSEPH PUIG

UK CHART PEAK: NOT CHARTED

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RSL-877835082484 / 1 / sharon vincent / sharonjevons@hotmail.com

BACKGROUND INFO
John Mayer released Heavier Things in September
of 2003, following the huge success of Room for
Squares. The record was a further departure from
the acoustic sound that got him noticed and it
incorporated a layered approach including the use A
of loops and horns. The record hit number 1 on the B
Billboard 200 Chart and the single ‘Daughters’ was a [3]
huge success earning Mayer much critical acclaim and
a Grammy Award for Song Of The Year.
The trio toured regularly and released a live
album, Try! The record was very well received and
Mayer followed it in 2006 with a studio album titled
Continuum that added a pop vein to the blues sound
T of the trio. The mix was exceptionally well conceived
4 ‘Gravity’.
and yielded classics such as ‘Vultures’ and
Continuum was a huge success and won a Grammy
Award for Best Pop Album. Mayer’s guitar playing
was by now regarded as influential, leading to many
collaborations
Verseand the nickname ‘Slowhand Jr.’ in
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reference to Eric Clapton. Mayer followed up in 2009

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m11 which was also a huge commercial

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‘Something’s Missing’ is a classic John Mayer B with Battle
C Studies

composition from the period. His soulful vocals and
nimble guitar playing are quickly identifiable and
contributed to establishing him as a guitarist of note.
Bassist David LaBruyere played bass on the recording,
he has been a long-time collaborator of John Mayer.
In spring 2005, looking for a further change in
direction, Mayer formed a trio with drummer Steve
Jordan and bassist Pino Palladino. The trio delivered
an explosive mix of blues and rock and pushed
Mayer’s vocal and instrumental delivery into a much
more soulful and raw sound. This change captivated
audiences and the band was acknowledged by critics
as a force to be reckoned with. Jordan and Palladino
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success, the promotional tour grossed 450 million
US dollars, but critically the record attracted divided
opinions.
John Mayer is also a social and political
commentator and a guitar and watch collector. He
continues touring and recording and he allows public
T recording of his live concerts. Mayer has been an avid 4 4 4
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beginning of his highly successful career.
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Bass Grade 6

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provide a solid and sophisticated backbone to Mayer’s

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ever developing playing and vocal style.

21
 Something’s Missing
John Mayer
c 76 Blues/Pop Words & Music by John Mayer

Intro
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[3]

Verse
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RSL-877835082484 / 1 / sharon vincent / sharonjevons@hotmail.com

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Bass Grade 6

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[11]
22 © Copyright 2003 Goodium Music Inc.
Reach Global (UK) Limited.
Print rights administered for the World by Hal Leonard LLC
All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured.
 C # m11 B/D # B sus 4/F #

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[15]

Verse 2
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B/E

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Bass Grade 6

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[23]
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 Chorus
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[29]

Bridge

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Bass Grade 6

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Breakdown
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RSL-877835082484 / 1 / sharon vincent / sharonjevons@hotmail.com

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[41]

Outro/Chorus
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Bass Grade 6

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 Walkthrough
A Section (Bars 1–4)
The bass supports the guitar riff with some long notes in the
opening line.
Bars 1–4 | Long notes and ties
The opening note falls on beat 2 of the bar and should be
held for the duration of the bar. Bar 2 has some ties with the
chord changes supported by the bass. Bars 1–2 are repeated
in bars 3–4.
B Section (Bars 5–16)
The verse is established and a combination of eighth and
16th notes are used to drive the section.
Bars 5–8 | Eighth and 16th notes
The chords are supported with some driving movement in
the bass created by using eighth and 16th notes. There are
some slides in bars 6 & 7, giving some smoothness to the
line, with some mutes to look out for in bar 8.
Bars 9–12 | Repeated harmony
The chord sequence in bars 5–8 is repeated with some subtle
variations in the bass line although the feel should remain
the same throughout.
Bars 13–16 | Repeated phrases
The riff from the intro is repeated here as is the bass line the
only difference being a quarter note on beat 1 of bar 13.
C Section (Bars 17–24)
The chords of the second verse are repeated from section B
although the bass pattern changes and provides a different
feel to the piece.
Bars 17–20 | Dotted 8th–16th note patterns
The rhythm of dotted 8th–16th note is featured in this verse
with some variations at the end of bars 18 and 20. Hand
position changes and correct fingering will be essential to
keep the flow of the line.
Bars 21–24 | Repeated rhythm
The feel of the line continues with some further variations.
Practice the individual phrases at a slower tempo using the
‘1 e & a’ counting method.
Bass Grade 6
26
D Section (Bars 25–30)
The chorus section moves to the relative major chord and
some consistent 16th-note phrases appear. Alternating the
first and second fingers of the picking hand will work best to
achieve these phrases.
Bars 25–28 | Solid 16ths
The feel is changed slightly again by introducing some solid
16th and broken 16th-note phrases around the 1, 6, 4, 5
sequence. Watch the temptation to speed up in this section
and make sure the rests are observed when playing the
phrases. This section is repeated again.
Bars 29–30 | 16th and 32nd notes
These bars are quite tricky in that the first bar requires some
string skipping and the second bar introduces two 32nd
notes in the middle of a 16th note phrase.
E Section (Bars 31–38)
The bridge section features some more relaxed rhythm work
and longer note values.
Bars 31–34 | Broken 16ths and ties
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The chord sequence moves between the fourth and fifth
degrees with some added extensions and is supported by a
new rhythmic pattern in the bass.
Bars 35–38 | Repeated harmony
The chords in bars 31–34 are repeated here and the rhythm
is almost identical in the bass line. Bars 37 and 38 both
feature the third in the bass – this is common device used
when the chordal harmony doesn’t change but a subtle
change is required.
F Section (Bars 39–42)
The four bar breakdown section follows chords from the
verse section although with some longer note values and
rests. The ‘1 e & a’ counting method will help to capture the
16th notes in bar 42.
G Section (Bars 43–47)
The chorus is repeated once again with the bass line
appearing familiar from earlier in the piece. The final bar
has a dotted half note on beat 2 of the bar which resembles
the opening theme.