Learn how to play "Born And Raised" by John Mayer on acoustic guitar!

Hey, how you doing? It’s Justin here, and today we’ll check out Born And Raised by John Mayer. Awesome acoustic tune this one – get ready for some barre chords and fancy stuff!

We’ll stick to how John plays this tune in the original recording. But the rhythm moves around a bit, so learn the basic pattern, then experiment and find your own take on it. :) Let’s get stuck in.

Born and Raised by John Mayer: Chords

The first chord in the intro is a G chord. I’m pretty sure John plays 3X543X, using the thumb for the bass note at 6:3 (string 6, fret 3). Using this grip means little finger is free to add embellishments; John adds it at 3:5 to get a sus4. You could definitely move finger 3 from 4:5 to 3:5 to get the same effect. Go for the option you find most comfortable.

Then we switch to a Bm7 (X24232). Use finger 1 to barre fret 2 and fingers 2 and 3 to fret the other notes. The next chord is F (1X321X), which is the same as the G but moved down two frets. Later in the song, John adds sus2 embellishments to this F chord by lifting off finger 2 to reveal the open G string.

Finally, we have a standard open C chord. He also plays the sus2 on this chord by lifting off finger 2 to reveal the open D string.

Born And Raised by John Mayer: Embellishments and Rhythm

Let’s look at those sus riffs in more detail. We’re using 16th-note strumming, meaning there are four hand motions for each beat:

1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U

The pattern over the G is:

1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
D     U D*U D   D U B   D U D

The * means add the sus embellishment, and the B means hit the bass note 6:3.

The pattern over Bm is:

1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
D     U D*U D   D U D   D U D

This is the same as for the G, except we play a downstrum on the “and” after 3. For the embellishment, add little finger to 2:4.

Now we switch to F. This one goes:

1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
D     U D*U D   D*  D*U*D*U D

Little finger goes down on 2:3 for the embellishment, making an F6 chord.

Time for the C chord now:

1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
D h   U D   D h   U D   D U D

On beat 1, we strum 300010, then hammer on finger 2 at 4:2. The same goes for the 2 e + a.

This is structure is pretty close to the original recording, but John starts mixing it up almost immediately, and you should too. You might wonder why we should learn these rhythms exactly if the artist only uses them once in the song. There is value in doing so. By learning the rhythm exactly, you get inside the mind of a music master! This will help you learn new tricks and break you out of your old habits.

I suggest you learn it as John plays it, then change it to suit yourself.

Born And Raised by John Mayer – Verses

The verses use the same chords as the intro. They have a similar vibe to the intro, but there’s no strict, repeating strumming pattern. Mayer uses the Fsus2 embellishment (1X301X) instead of the F6. And you can add your own embellishments – there are several options for each of these grips. Don’t go crazy though; it’s definitely better to do too few than too many, especially when there’s singing!

Born And Raised by John Mayer – Chorus

The chorus progression is really easy: Em for half a bar, G for half a bar, then a whole bar of C. This repeats four times for one chorus. The rhythm I go for is 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a. Use this as a framework and improvise as you go. As long as you keep the strumming arm moving, you can add strums or take them away as you wish.

💡Chorus Rhythm: The chorus wants to drive, so make sure the beats (1,2,3,4) and the “ands” are the loudest strums.

At the end of the chorus, a two-bar “bridge” leads into the next verse. Start on Em, switch to G on the “and” after 2, then to C on beat 1. Accent the first strum on the Em and G, then play light strumming.

Born And Raised by John Mayer – Bridge

The bridge starts on G, and we add an awesome riff to the basic chord. Play G (3X0003) using fingers 3 and 4. For the riff, finger 2 goes down on 4:2 and finger 1 on 2:1. Here’s the rhythm; add the embellishment where you see *:

1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
D     U D*  D     U D*U D*U

The G lasts two bars. At this point, John switches to eighth-note all downstrums and moves to C for half a bar, G/B (X2003X) for half a bar, Am for a bar. The rhythm changes slightly for Am: 1 e* + 2 + 3 + 4 +. On the “e” after 1, we lift off finger 1 to get a sus2. Repeat the C, G/B, Am section three times.

Now we go to a G/D (XX0433). This is a common G triad shape (XXX433), with the open D string in the bass. Use finger 1 for a mini-barre on fret 3 and finger 2 to play 3:4. Then we switch to D on the “+” after two, strum the chord and let it ring out. The rhythm for this is:

1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
D     U M D

M means mute!

Born And Raised by John Mayer – Outro

And all we have left is the outro part, which is the same Em, G, C as before. On the last repetition, he goes Em to D and plays a bass riff over the D using the thumb. Grab D/G (3X0232), using the thumb for 6:3, then play 5:0, 5:2 with the thumb, followed by 4:0, before moving to the C.

Have loads of fun with Born And Raised by John Mayer. Nail this basic structure and rhythm, then begin experimenting! If you dig John, I’ve got loads more lessons for his songs – just hit the link below. Take care, and see you for more guitar real soon.

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