Rare backstage footage of John Mayer getting a guitar lesson from Andy Summers has emerged online.
Mayer and Kanye West linked up with the Police for an intriguing version of “Message in a Bottle” during their Live Earth performance in 2007 at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey, and it appears that Mayer needed a few pointers ahead of the spot.
The footage has been uploaded to Summers’ YouTube channel, and he likely had a nostalgic and sympathetic chuckle at the clip, in which he’s sporting a Stratocaster rather than his preferred Fender cut, a Telecaster. Mayer, meanwhile, has a Martin 000C-28 Andy Summers signature acoustic guitar on his lap, and he looks hugely appreciative of Summers’ guidance.
In the short video, Mayer is seen trying to get to grips with the song’s chord pattern, with some visual aids helping ensure he was hitting the correct big, stretched-out shapes.
Mayer fingerpicks his way through the progression, with some words of encouragement — “That’s it… you got it!” — from Summers along the way, who understands the size of the task.
The song’s iconic, chorused riff is actually Sting’s doing, and Summers knows all too well of the pain trying to master its hand-wrenching chord shapes.
Speaking to Guitar Player in 2019, he confessed: “It’s a famous riff, and I have to admit, it’s hard to play. People want to play it, but a lot of them can’t — the stretches are too big. You have to be a real guitarist to do it well.
Once he’s got the hang of it, everyone else — Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Kanye – can get involved with a quick backstage run-through, with a notable “F#!” coming from Summers at one stage. It appears that Mayer had switched to his signature OMJM acoustic for this final rehearsal.
The footage then cuts to the performance proper, in which, having switched to a Strat, Mayer kickstarts to a sizable cheer from a packed-out stadium.
The Police were headlining an evening that had seen Mayer perform in his own right earlier in the day. Other notable performances included the Dave Matthews Band, Bon Jovi, and The Smashing Pumpkins.
In related news, John Mayer has recently recalled how he was forced to put his brand-new Custom Shop Strat in the freezer “because I was so desperate to have something molecular happen to the guitar”. He has also offered cash-strapped young players solid gear-buying advice, saying this pedal is the next best thing to a real tube amp.
Elsewhere, Summers has revealed the role he played in writing “Every Breath You Take” and has even claimed its streaming success makes it his riff the most-played in history.
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