I’ll admit I wasn’t sure what to make of Ed Sheeran for a while…
These days, breaking into the mass music market is so incredibly difficult that for a long time, I assumed that he just got lucky and some record company puppet masters decided to promote him.
But there’s more to it than that.
Because Ed has been playing music for a really long time. In fact, he put out nine extended plays independently before he “got lucky” and that deserves some respect.
And though the electric guitar isn’t as popular as it used to be, I’m pretty sure that Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift are two of the biggest reasons that acoustic guitar is seeing a resurgence among today’s youth.
He even has his own brand of acoustic guitars made by Ireland’s Lowden company: I don’t mean just one signature model, but an entire freaking series!
So whether you just play as a hobby at home or like to gather with friends to jam, knowing some Ed Sheeran songs is a no-brainer.
And here are some songs that span his whole career, which you can master on guitar even if you’re new to the instrument.
1. The A Team (Simplified Chords)
We have to start somewhere so why not start at the beginning, right?
The A Team was Sheeran’s first single after signing to a major record label (Atlantic Records) and I find this song very enjoyable.
One thing to note about this song is that for beginner guitarists, most people recommend avoiding “color” or alternative chords and just using “standard” chords, which is what will be covered here.
On this early track, instead of using a drummer, Ed creates his rhythm by palm muting the chords, instead of letting them ring out.
And as the video tutorial below points out, although the strumming pattern is simple down-up, you can make it sound even better by playing the second and fourth (out of 4) downstrokes more vigorously.
Here is how the song breaks down using beginner chords (and capo on second fret).
Verse: G D Em C G (listen to the song to memorize the timing of the changes!)
Pre Chorus: Am C G D
Chorus: Em C G (three times)
Em C G D
Then go back to Em C G for choruses that repeat the “angels to fly” section.
And on the chorus before the bridge, end the chorus on Am so (Em C G D Am)
Bridge: Am C Em G Am C
And here’s a lesson:
2. Thinking Out Loud
Here’s a love song that has recently caused quite a bit of headache for Mr. Sheeran due to its similarities to Marvin Gaye’s classic tune Let’s Get It On.
Well, there’s no such thing as bad publicity though right?
And in the end, he didn’t have to pay royalties for copying the chord progression in the verse and I have to agree with Ed on this one: there are only a limited number of chords and notes that songwriters can use.
But hey, if you learn this song you should also be able to play Let’s Get It On as an added bonus!
And this is a great song if you want to practice adding a percussive slap to your acoustic playing.
Here is how to play the song (with no capo).
Verse: D D/F# G A (about 8 times)
Pre Chorus: Em A7 D
Em A7
Em A7 Bm
Em A D D/F#
Chorus: G A D D/F# (three times)
G A
Bm A G D/F#
Em A D
And here’s a lesson:
3. Galway Girl – Ed Sheeran and Beoga
This song sounds a little different than a lot of Sheeran’s (earlier) work, combining an upbeat Pop song style mixed with Irish Folk music.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t be played at home and it sounds just fine stripped down to only a guitar and vocals.
Here is how to play the song (put a capo on the second fret to match the recording).
Intro: Em G D Cadd9 G D
Verse: Em G D C
Em G D G
E G D C
Am7 G D
Chorus: C G D C G D
Cadd9 G D Em (play these four chords twice on the first chorus and four times on later choruses)
And here’s a lesson:
4. Salt Water
At the time of putting this list together, Ed Sheeran has just released a new album titled “-” (Subtract), and this is one of the new songs from it.
And the new music sounds pretty good!
The guitar isn’t as prominent in this song as it was in Ed’s earlier work but you can definitely hear it in the mix.
And it’s super easy to play this one as it only has five chords to remember and a very simple strumming pattern. In fact, for doing this one solo, I would probably make the strumming a bit more lively.
There are subtle differences in the length of the song’s parts and the chords that they end on, which you need to remember though.
Here is how the song goes (put a capo on the fourth fret).
Verse 1: Am F C G (four times) F
Chorus 1: C F C G (two times) Am
Verse 2: Am F C G (two times)
Chorus 2: C F C G (two times) Dm
Bridge: G Am Dm G C F
Verse 3: Am F C G (two times) F
Chorus 3: C F C G (three times)
And here’s a lesson:
5. Life Goes On
6. Borderline
7. Barcelona
8. Small Bump
9. Afterglow
10. I’m a Mess
11. Shape of You
12. Supermarket Flowers (Transcribed for Guitar)
13. Drunk
14. Castle on the Hill
15. Perfect
16. Give Me Love
17. River – Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran
18. End of Youth
19. Happier
20. Overpass Graffiti
21. Photograph
22. Boat
23. You Need Me I Don’t Need You
Hello there, my name is Ramiro and I’ve been playing guitar for almost 20 years. I’m obsessed with everything gear-related and I thought it might be worth sharing it. From guitars, pedals, amps, and synths to studio gear and production tips, I hope you find what I post here useful, and I’ll try my best to keep it entertaining also.
