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2010s-present · England

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran built his sound on a small-body acoustic, a loop pedal, and capos clamped high up the neck. The same setup gets a beginner most of the way to playing his catalog.

Era

2010s-present

Genre

pop, folk-pop, acoustic

Country

England

Instruments

acoustic guitar, loop pedal

Style for beginners

Sheeran's catalog runs on four-chord pop progressions in friendly keys, usually with a capo at the 4th-7th fret. The shapes a beginner already knows tend to be all you need.

Ed Sheeran writes pop songs that work beautifully on a single acoustic guitar, which is exactly why his catalog is one of the best teaching grounds for a beginner. The chords are open shapes you already know. The progressions repeat. The drama lives in the dynamics and the rhythm, not in technical guitar moves.

The capo is the trick. Sheeran clamps it high up the neck on most of his songs, often at the 4th or even 7th fret, then plays familiar shapes underneath it. Photograph in E sounds difficult until you put a capo on the 4th and play C-G-Am-F. Same with Castle on the Hill. The capo is doing the hard work; your hands stay in beginner territory.

If you only have one Sheeran song under your fingers, make it Perfect. The progression sits in the middle of the easiest chords on the guitar, the tempo gives you space to count the 6/8 feel, and the song is one of the most-requested at any informal music gathering. Once Perfect feels solid, Thinking Out Loud is the natural next step. After that, anything in the catalog is reachable.

The other thing worth borrowing from Sheeran’s playing is the percussive element. He hits the soundboard of the guitar between strums to add a kick-drum sound. You don’t need to do that to play the songs, but watching how he uses it will improve your sense of rhythm faster than any metronome drill.

Ed Sheeran songs ready to play

More easy Ed Sheeran songs for beginners

On the list of songs to add to the site next.

  • Thinking Out Loud

    Key D · 79 BPM · Beginner

    A four-chord loop in D with simple bar-counting. Slow tempo gives you time to think about each chord change.

  • Photograph

    Key E · Fret 4 · 108 BPM · Beginner

    Capo on the 4th, then C-G-Am-F shapes. Fingerpicking pattern repeats throughout, so you only learn one move.

  • The A Team

    Key A · Fret 2 · 84 BPM · Beginner

    Capo 2, then G-D-Em-C shapes. Fingerstyle lets you practice picking patterns without strumming pressure.

  • Castle on the Hill

    Key E · Fret 4 · 135 BPM · Intermediate

    Same C-G-Am-F idea but at a faster tempo. Get Photograph clean first, then graduate to this.

  • Shape of You

    Key C# minor · Fret 4 · 96 BPM · Intermediate

    Capo 4, then Am-Dm-Em rotation. The challenge is the syncopated rhythm, not the chords themselves.

Gear associated with Ed Sheeran

Sources