1. John Mayer By Lara Smith

2. Biography Born on October 16, 1977 in Fairfield, Connecticut. Son of Richard and Margret Mayer

3. Early years Played flute in elementary school. Played guitar for the first time at age 13. Performed in blues clubs with local band Villanova Junction.

4. inspiration A major musical influence of John’s is Stevie Ray Vaughn. Hospitalization over cardiac arrhythmia inspired him to begin writing his own music.

5. Development John attended Berklee College of Music for one year. Moved to Atlanta shortly after. Performed with several groups. Quickly picked up by Columbia Records.

7. Composition history Bigger Than My Body 3X5 Why Georgia

8. Bigger than my body Released on album Heavier Things in 2003 with Columbia. Ranked #33 on the charts. John was inspired to write this song after attending a Coldplay Concert

9. "I knew when I wrote that song that damn, I'm gonna have to explain another 'Body' song (...) It's dumb luck. And it wouldn't have been as good a song if I had changed the title, believe me, I thought about it."

10. 3X5 The song is written like a letter. Performing this song at the Southwest Music Festival in 2000, John was picked up by Columbia.

11. “If you can make a connection happen between the image and the music, it almost doesn't matter what you are singing about. People will understand it.”

12. Why georgia Performed alongside 3X5 at the Southwest Music Festival in 2000. This song puts to music John’s “quarter life crisis.” Released on Any Given Thursday

13. “I remember getting into some pretty dismal places money-wise and opportunity-wise. I kind of looked at my guitar and said, 'It's just you and me. I'll go where you take me.”

14. Listening Guide

15. Bigger than my body 0:00 - The song starts with a loud drum hit. The key is major. The tempo is moderate. 0:17 - Verse One begins. The melody has a descending contour, and remains in a major key. 0:52 - Begin Chorus. The dynamic level is forte. There is a key signature change between the chorus and the verse every time. 1:16 - Begin Verse Two 1:51 - Begin Chorus (again!) 2:24 - The bridge takes on a minor quality, however, major chords are still used. No vocals here. 3:27- Chorus. The climax of the entire song, at the highest dynamic level of the entire song, fortissimo, with fully developed chords. 4:04 - Vocals back in “oooo”-ing, with an ascending contour to the melody, as the song decrescendos until you can no longer hear it.

16. 3X5 0:00 - The song starts. The chords have a minor quality. The dynamic is piano. 0:21 – Verse one begins. The lyrics vary between major and minor, starting major, but having a minor feel as they get lowerThe melody has a descending contour. 0:40 – Chorus begins, and the phrase becomes ascending. The dynamics here are mezzo forte. 1:13 - Verse two. Dynamics are at mezzo forte. The melody and chord progression is the same as the first verse. 1:32 - The second repetition of the chorus. At a forte dynamic level. 1:55 - This is a bridge, and was lead into by a decrescendo followed by a crescendo. The melody is ascending and major. 2:34 - Vocals drop out, and dynamics drop to piano. 3:13 – Vocals come back in. Large crescendo, dynamics go from piano to forte. The melody is like the chorus, but the lyrics are different. 4:26 - Vocals drop out, and only guitar, and a brush stick on snare is used. The range of the notes used is wide. 4:44 - The song was major in the melody, and it is unusual that it ends in a minor chord.

17. Why georgia 0:00 - The song starts major, at a pianissimo dynamic. Tempo is moderate, but the rhythm is complex. 0:15 - Vocals come in. The melody has an arch shaped contour, starting up, going down a few notes, and going back. The range of this melody is very small and repetitive. Dynamic level is at piano, or mezzo piano. 1:09 - The key changes and the melody becomes major. and the chorus begins. The dynamics move to mezzo forte. 1:23 - The lyrics here are “Why, Why Georgia?”, which is what the song is named off of. 1:38 - Verse two begins. John takes more artistic liberty with here, and doesn’t sing true and exact the the melody like he did in the first verse. 2:24 - The second chorus at fortissimo. 3:12 - The vocals cut off, and the guitar plays a solo. Gradually more instruments come in, a synthesizer, and a drum set 2:41- All instrumentation drops out and vocals are a cappella. 4:25- Here is the final repetition of “Why Georgia, Why?” And John shows off his vocals singing with a broad range, and drawing it out. The chords are unresolved and minor. 4:35 - The song resolves in a major chord, and it is over.

18. Bibliography IMDB. (n.d.). Biography for John Mayer. Retrieved October 5, 2011, from IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1243604/bio Lets Sing It. (February, 11 2011). John Mayer - Biography. Retrieved October 5, 2011, from Lets Sing It: http://www.people.com/people/john_mayer/biography Moss, C. (2003, July 24). John Mayer Tries Hip Hop With Help From ?uestlove. Retrieved October 5, 2011, from MTV: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1474672/john-mayer-hooks-up- with-uestlove.jhtml People Magazine. (n.d.). Celebrity Centeral /Top 25 Celebs: John Mayer. Retrieved October 5, 2011, from People: http://www.people.com/people/john_mayer/biography Small, M. (n.d.). John Mayer '98: Running With The Big Dogs. Retrieved October 5, 2011, from Berklee College of Music: http://www.berklee.edu/bt/172/coverstory.html