"Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran - With a Guitar Looper!

Let’s learn how to play Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran with a guitar looper! Think of this lesson as a starting point - we look at several looper layers and some tips to make it sound awesome, but there's so much more to explore.

💡 Shape Of You is perfect for looping because the chord sequence and vibe remain the same throughout. It's a great one to try if you've never used a looper before.

We'll cover the equipment you need, the various layers I demo in the video - including the rhythm guitar, bassline, riff, and melodies - and further elements to explore. This is so much fun! Let's get cracking.

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran - Equipment

For this lesson, I used my Boss RC-3 Loop Station, but you can use whatever looper you like, as long as you know how to start, stop, and create an overdub. It’s a big advantage if you know the different settings on your guitar, because this allows you to create different textures - a crucial part of awesome looper playing.

Let’s start by creating a rhythm track.

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran - Step 1: Rhythm Guitar with Muted Strings

The chords for Shape Of You are Am, Dm, F, and G, and each lasts half a bar.

🚨 Know Your Beat 1: It’s crucial you start and stop the loop on beat 1 so you have a solid base. If the rhythm loop isn’t quite right, it messes up the rest of your layers. In reality, you want to play a bar or two of this pattern before starting the looper.

Let’s mute the strings with our fretting hand and strum them to create a drum-like rhythm. This is the first layer. For a nice starting groove, hit the thicker strings on beats 1 and 3, using the thumb, and all the strings on 2 and 4, using several fingers.

Hit the looper as you strum on beat 1, play two bars of this pattern, and stop on beat 1 again. :)

Step 2: Guitar Bassline

Now let’s add a baseline, picking the strings with our thumb to get a lovely, rounded sound. We play the notes A, D, F, and G, all on string 6 except the D. The rhythm uses 16th-notes, but it’s best to listen to the Ed Sheeran original and copy the bass. I use the front pickup to keep the sound delicate.

Press the pedal to start the first layer, then hit it again on beat 1 to start the overdub. Start playing the bassline on the following beat 1. Press the pedal again to stop the overdub, and you should have a nice bassline. If you mess it up, press down and hold to remove the last layer - most looper pedals have that function. :)

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran - Step 3: Guitar Riff

It's time to add a riff based on the chords. This is played by the keyboard on the original, but we’ll adapt it for guitar. We need some cool major and minor triad shapes on strings 4, 3, and 2 - learning them will help you better understand the CAGED system. I also change the sound on my guitar and add some palm mute. Check out the video for all the details! :)

Now that we have the rhythm and bass parts, let’s add some melody!

Step 4: Melody

It’s a cool exercise to play Ed Sheeran's vocal melody. Most of the notes are from the A Minor Pentatonic scale, and it’s not too tricky to figure out.

Another option is to jam with the A Minor Pentatonic scale or the A Dorian mode (A Minor Pentatonic plus B and F#). If I’m doing this, I change to the back pickup to get a rockier sound. You can even use a gain pedal for the lead or a delay pedal for the rhythm guitar!

🔥 Minor Pentatonic Scale: This is a super-common scale, a must-know for all lead guitarists. Check out my free Minor Pentatonic module to learn how to play it all over the neck in different keys.

It also sounds wicked to add in the melody from the “ooh-ah, ooh-ah, ooh-ah, ooh-ah” vocal. You only need four notes, and they’re all from the A Minor Pentatonic scale. ;) This works down an octave, and higher in the scale. Loop the three together and you get an awesome result.

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran - Extra Rhythm Ideas

Let's explore a couple of options to beef up the rhythm section.

It’s fun to add chips on beat 2 of each bar. Since the chords change on beat 3, you only play the chips over Am and F. I like grabbing an Am triad on strings 1-3 because it works well over both these chords.

You can also try power chords. I play them on beats 1 + and 3 + in the demo, but there are tons of other possibilities - get creative!

Shout-out to Looper Pedals

Looper pedals are tons of fun, and I think they’re the first pedal you should buy. They force you to work on rhythm. You’ll be surprised at how tricky it is to stay in time with a looper until you’re used to it, but you’ll notice a big improvement with some practice. After that, it’s all about creativity. :)

We’ve only touched the surface of what's possible. You can even try combining other pedals - an octave pedal to get a thick bass sound, a synth pedal to vary the texture, and many more. Enjoy!

💙 Love Ed Sheeran? Learn more of his songs in my dedicated artist section!