Learn to Play "I Guess I Just Feel Like" by John Mayer on Acoustic Guitar

In this tutorial, we'll learn how to play I Guess I Just Feel Like by John Mayer on the acoustic guitar. This song is perfect if you're an early Intermediate guitarist, as you'll need your F#m Barre Chord and 16th-Note Strumming to cover it like John Mayer's original.

We'll focus on the acoustic parts and cover all the chords, strumming, and embellishments. We won't look at the electric guitar parts or solos in this lesson, but they're superb, so let me know in the comments if you want to learn them. :)

Pop your guitar capo on the second fret, and let's start with the main riff.

Main Riff: Chords & Strumming Pattern

For the main progression in the intro and choruses, we alternate between two chords: A and D/A. Playing A as a mini barre chord makes changing to D/A really simple.

🧐 Where does this grip come from? This version of D/A has a funny fingering. It’s really a D played as a C Shape Barre Chord but with finger 4 missing! :) This is an awesome chord that you'll hear in blues music.

The rhythm pattern is interesting too. :) It's a 16th-Note Strumming Pattern. I suggest you first practice it with muted strums so you can focus on your time. When you add the chords, your ears will tune in to the notes instead of the rhythm. So mute your strings and practice the pattern until it feels natural before thinking about the chords.

The pattern in the video is just a starting point – it changes a little bit in the song. Get hip with it, then listen to the song and try to mimic the variations.

When you add the chords, you have to be precise with your strumming hand: start the down strum from string 5 and the up strum from string 2. You can relax the accuracy for the final DUDU on each chord.

Have you learned the chords and rhythm for the main progression? Let's add some spice. ;)

Chord Embellishments

John Mayer often switches from A to D/A by hammering fingers 2 and 3 rather than strumming on the change. It sounds wicked.

There's also a lovely riff during the second repetition of these chords in the intro. It happens during beat 4 on the A chord and involves a hammer-on and flick-off with the little finger on the 9th. You then immediately switch to the D/A, creating a beautiful melody part.

This embellishment is obvious during the intro, but I don't hear it much in the rest of the song. When playing alone, I like to add interest to the listener. So it seemed natural to add in this embellishment now and again. :)

Verse & Instrumental Section

The verse progression is nice and easy. We alternate between A and D/A twice, then play F#m, D, F#m, and D. Watch out – in the final verse, there's an extra cycle of F#m and D.

John Mayer has enormous hands and can wrap his thumb around the top of the neck to play the F# bass note with his thumb! He also plays two notes with finger 3.

🤔 Thumb Wrap or Barre? – I often play F#m with the thumb, but this grip somehow feels much more awkward when I have to teach it! I also feel more inclined to use the standard F#m Barre Chord in performances because it’s more reliable. It’s up to you which one you choose!

The instrumental section uses the chords A, G, and D. Switch to the G chord on beat 4 of the first bar, then to D on beat 1 of the following bar.

The solo section also has a different chord progression: G, G, F#m, F#m; G, G, F#m, then E. After that, we play A, D/A, E/A, and D/A. Just slide the D/A shape up two frets to get E/A.

And that's all there is to it! The overall structure is intro, verse, instrumental, verse, solo, verse, then instrumental.

Have loads of fun playing I Guess I Just Feel Like! There are a ton of beautiful layers and weaving on the original recording. It reminds me of The Rolling Stones. :) Laters! :)

🎶 Up for more? Check out all my John Mayer song tutorials!