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SHAPE OF YOU

BY ED SHEERAN PART 3 CONT. PERCUSSION

There are so many different techniques for percussive playing, and coupled with that
the end result will sound different depending on what electronics are in the guitar, what
woods are used in its construction, the shape of your guitar, even your hands! - The
sounds you can get are virtually limitless. I'd urge you to do an internet search to
introduce you to some highly accomplished inspiring players who have truly made this
playing style into an artform - from the earlier players like John Martyn to modern

day players such as Jon Gomm and Tommy Emmanuelle, Mike Dawes, the list is endless.
(NECESSARY?)

So now we have discussed the different types of electro-acoustic guitars, established
what type of guitar you have, and looked at the percussive techniques we can use - let's
put them into practice here.

This notation is written with all players in mind who want an introduction to percussive
acoustic guitar, who aren't necessarily familiar with musical notation, laid out in a simple
and accessible format.

We'll start off simple with our first looped beat. Whether you're using the piezo or mic'd
method covered in the two previous pages, the notation is the same for both guitars. in
this instance we'll be using 1, 2 and 3 on the notation - where 1=kick, 2=tom and 3=snare.

So let's apply this to 'Shape of You'

First off, we will be building this up slowly - adding a kick effect or '1' on the 1st, 3rd, 5th
and 7th beat of the loop. Alongside your bassline (the E and A string) as a guide, it will
look like this in our notation.

Play along with it, using the loop we already have stored - hitting the 'kick' as shown
below, but don't record yet. Get comfortable with it first.

PLAY▶ AUTO

kick ¦---1-----------¦--1-----------¦--1-------------¦--1-----------¦

a ¦--4---4---4--¦--------------¦--0---0---0--¦--2---2---2--¦

e ¦--------------¦--2---2---2--¦---------------¦--------------¦ fig 1.

Ok, now you've had a few run-throughs, let's record your bassline. Remember the 'run
up' we covered in the beginning, take as long as you need and hit rec when ready.

REC STOP

kick ¦---1-----------¦--1-----------¦--1-------------¦--1-----------¦

a ¦--4---4---4--¦--------------¦--0---0---0--¦--2---2---2--¦
e ¦--------------¦--2---2---2--¦---------------¦--------------¦