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John Mayer – ‘Who Did You Think I Was’

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This great song by the John Mayer Trio features the one and only Pino Palladino on bass. Pino shines in this minimalist band setting (with guitarist/singer Mayer and drummer Steve Jordan), supporting the song with a supple, bluesy line that he played on a Fender Precision bass. Pino makes extensive use of the major and minor pentatonic scales here: as a result, his line is a showcase for just how much can be achieved with these simple scales.

When learning this piece, you might find the following courses (all included in the monthly subscription cost) useful:

A FREE transcription (with TAB and without) is available for this course. To download it, please visit the Free Stuff page.

This course is 51 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. ‘Who Did You Think I Was’

This video is a demonstration of the song performed on a Fender ’67 Custom Shop Precision Bass strung with stainless steel Rotosound strings.

2. Course Overview

This video contains an overview of the song and the challenges it presents, as well as offering advice on choosing the right instrument and tone for a piece like this.

3. Intro Section

This video will cover the song’s four-bar intro, which establishes the main bass groove. This section closes with a minor pentatonic-based fill.

4. 1st Verse

During this first verse section, the bass continues to play the line established in the previous section, but with minor variations that are nevertheless worth studying.

5. 1st Chorus

The short chorus section features some simple chord changes, with the bass playing licks based on the major and minor pentatonic scales underneath.

6. 2nd Verse

The second verse is supported by the already-established groove, although there are some more complex fills to learn this time around.

7. 2nd Chorus

The second chorus section is extended to include some additional chord changes. The bass continues to play variations on the established parts.

8. 3rd Verse

The third verse is once again based on the existing bass groove, this time with fills that ascend the neck into the middle and upper registers.

9. 3rd Chorus

The third chorus is extended in the same manner as the second (with additional chord changes) and includes only simple variations on the existing parts.

10. Guitar Solo

The bass part becomes more active underneath the guitar solo and there are several great more complex to get your teeth into here.

11. Middle 8

The middle 8 is based on chord movements that have been used in previous sections, but with a lot of variations in the bass part.

12. Outro

The outro of the song is built around a repeating one-bar riff that is based on the A blues scale (A-C-D-Eb-E-G-A). This simple line brings the piece to a close.