Can Ed Sheeran really play?

Tannin · February 2023

Apparently Dutch guitar magazine Gitarist recently had a readers' poll for best acoustic guitarist in the world.

In there among a number of obvious candidates such as for example Tommy Emmanuel, Molly Tuttle, James Taylor, John Williams, and Joe Robinson - no surprise to see any of those names in a list like this one - we have at #2 (after Tommy, before James Taylor) Ed Sheeran.

Now I have never heard Ed Shearan play. Well, to be honest I once saw his name pop up in my You-tube feed and clicked "not interested", but that's as close as I've come. The only thing I know about him, other than that he is a teen idol who grinds the serial numbers off great old riffs and makes them his own (nothing wrong with that, I do it myself - so did Mozart), is that that he plays one of those overpriced and underwhelming Shearan-branded Lowdens which hit the shops a few years back, failed to sell, and never got re-ordered. I played one once. There was nothing wrong with it, it was a perfectly playable $1000 guitar with a $2300 price tag.

Anyway, I thought Ed Sheeran was a singer who strummed a bit. Can he really play? Would you mention him in the same breath as Tommy E or Molly Tuttle?

ditchboy · February 2023

Not in my opinion. But he can write catchy song after catchy song which ultimately is the more difficult skill.

m_c · February 2023

I'm not sure I would have put him that high up the list, but he can certainly play.

I don't go out my way to watch him, but I did see a vid where he made good use of a looper pedal during a live gig, and I've seen a couple vids of him playing songs that he's (co-)written, but not released himself where he's certainly done more than a bit strumming.

ICBM · February 2023

He plays solo to tens of thousands of people using only an acoustic guitar and a looper, so yes he can certainly play.

I'm not really a fan and I probably wouldn't rate him as highly as no.2 in the world as a guitarist - whatever that means - but he is a very competent musician.

John Williams is a *much* better guitarist technically than any pop/rock/folk/country/or even jazz player though.

Kilgore · February 2023

On the best acoustic guitarist in the world list I would put him at number $200 million. I don't think he would argue with that.

RocknRollDave · February 2023

I’ve had to play Tenerife Sea at weddings before now. G string is tuned down to E, so it’s:
E A D E B E. Nice little finger-picking tune.

Not up there with the likes of Tommy Emmanuel, of course, but I think it’s also unfair to dismiss him as a singer who strums a bit and gets by.

https://youtu.be/4rg6puSP9ks

guitarjack66 · February 2023

I have never intentionally heard a song of his despite them sometimes being on a telly in my gym,fortunately I have my own mp3 and music supply. Even if he is decent I'd say that at his young age and relatively small amount of experience versus Taylor,Emmanuel etc,he cannot be anywhere near the top 5. This is called 'recency bias' or some such pseudo scientific term.
If,in twenty years,people are still playing his tunes and attending his gigs in droves,then he has a genuine claim to be among the very best.

Kilgore · February 2023

Sheeran is a talented musician but no, he is not a virtuoso guitar player.

Comparisons to Tommy E are utterly pointless. It's apples and oranges. Emmanuel is virtuoso player and raconteur but appeals to a 'niche' market. Sheeran is globally successful pop artist. Never the twain shall meet.

In terms of longevity, Sheeran has been successful for over a decade and his popularity shows no sign of abating, which is decent run by anyone's standards.

He has probably played to more people on a single tour than Tommy E has during his entire career.

stickyfiddle · February 2023

He's great - he has absolute mastery of looping within songs that millions of people want to listen to, and does it on his own in front of 40,000 people. He's no Steve Vai but he's great at what he does

(also, humans seem to have an obsession with deciding what is "the best" in every category of person or item or art you can think of. It's utterly ridiculous)

monquixote · February 2023

I'd say he is a virtuoso of live looping performance, but not guitar playing although I think he is reasonably accomplished.

He's pretty unique in being able to entertain a stadium with a loop pedal.

He may not be for you but he's an extremely hard working and skilled musician and song writer who has paid his dues. (Playing hundreds of gigs per year when unsigned)

roberty · February 2023

He did two nights at Wembley on his todd so clearly up to something. Glad I wasn't in the audience tho

p90fool · February 2023

guitarjack66 said: Even if he is decent I'd say that at his young age and relatively small amount of experience versus Taylor,Emmanuel etc,he cannot be anywhere near the top 5. This is called 'recency bias' or some such pseudo scientific term.
If,in twenty years,people are still playing his tunes and attending his gigs in droves,then he has a genuine claim to be among the very best.

This is just bizarre. Ed Sheeran is 32 years old and has been at the top of his game for nine years - whatever else you want to criticise him for this seems the least valid.

All that aside, I think having a full Wembley stadium hang on your every note for two hours on your own is at least as much of a skill as your average bit of YouTube guitar noodlewankery.

TeleMaster · February 2023

ditchboy said:

Not in my opinion. But he can write catchy song after catchy song which ultimately is the more difficult skill.

Is it? Having a whole team of writers, and a formula for writing music is one thing, being a Jason Becker level of guitarist is something else entirely. Maybe they're both difficult things to achieve.

Danny1969 · February 2023

Sheeran is a songwriter, people like Tommy Emmanuel are virtuosos ... different skill sets. Although Tommy can certainly write a tune as well.
I'm not impressed with the looper thing, it's not difficult and it's boring to watch someone build the parts, then it's boring to listen to the song being stuck on the same chord sequence cos it's looping.

For me Sheeran is a wasted songwriter opportunity, instead of moving forward and creating new music now he has the time and the money to do so he seems content to rehash the same formula again and again. At least he was up to the point I started turning the radio off every time he came on.

Open_G · February 2023

In terms of songwriting talent I once heard Ed Sheeran described as a Michelin starred chef who’s chosen to ply his trade at McDonald’s. It kind of hit the nail on the head for me.

roberty · February 2023

To quote Super Hans from Peep Show: "You can't trust people, Jeremy. People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis"

CaseOfAce · February 2023

The clue is in the poll title - "readers' poll for best acoustic guitarist in the world.
If you substitute "best" for "most recognised" then he has a pretty strong claim to the rating in the contemporary music scene.
Granted it's not exactly a crowded field these days... (Taylor Swift? Noel Gallagher? erm...?).

As a player - from what I've seen - he's average at best - but he's certainly no Doyle Dykes - and I would guess at home in his Suffolk mansion with 200 million in the bank he's really not that bothered what anybody says about his abilties. ;-)

robinbowes · February 2023

ICBM said:

John Williams is a *much* better guitarist technically than any pop/rock/folk/country/or even jazz player though.

Apart from, perhaps, John McLaughlin

EricTheWeary · February 2023

p90fool said:

guitarjack66 said: Even if he is decent I'd say that at his young age and relatively small amount of experience versus Taylor,Emmanuel etc,he cannot be anywhere near the top 5. This is called 'recency bias' or some such pseudo scientific term.
If,in twenty years,people are still playing his tunes and attending his gigs in droves,then he has a genuine claim to be among the very best.

This is just bizarre. Ed Sheeran is 32 years old and has been at the top of his game for nine years - whatever else you want to criticise him for this seems the least valid.

All that aside, I think having a full Wembley stadium hang on your every note for two hours on your own is at least as much of a skill as your average bit of YouTube guitar noodlewankery.

I often think the 'does it stand the test of time, will it be remembered in twenty years' approach is just bizarre when applied to what it essentially a disposable product like pop music. And I'm sure there were people composing their prog classics in 1974 who thought we would all be still humming them in 2023 and have been bitterly disappointed.

bertie · February 2023

can ed sheeran really play ?

does anyone really care ?

Creed_Clicks · February 2023

"The best" lists are shit anyway. Rember the "Claption is God" wankery.

Creed_Clicks · February 2023

"Does it stand the test of time" is a bit subjective though.

BillDL · February 2023

stickyfiddle · February 2023

TeleMaster said:

ditchboy said:

Not in my opinion. But he can write catchy song after catchy song which ultimately is the more difficult skill.

Is it? Having a whole team of writers, and a formula for writing music is one thing, being a Jason Becker level of guitarist is something else entirely. Maybe they're both difficult things to achieve.

He got where he is writing mostly on his own - his first 2 records are mostly Ed-penned with help from whoever was producing, which is very normal.

Pretty much the opposite of the standard Katy Perry/Beyonce thing where every album has about 15,000 songwriters.

merlin · February 2023

He's 32 today and has earned more money that I have earned or ever will earn ever. Indeed ever. Did I say ever? Did I say in 10, 20, 30 of my lifetimes? Well that too.

I'm not a fan but he's got drive, ambition, and enough skills and talent to fill stadiums. What that says about his audience is another question.

Good luck to him.

drofluf · February 2023

CaseOfAce said:

The clue is in the poll title - "readers' poll for best acoustic guitarist in the world.
If you substitute "best" for "most recognised" then he has a pretty strong claim to the rating in the contemporary music scene.
Granted it's not exactly a crowded field these days... (Taylor Swift? Noel Gallagher? erm...?).

As a player - from what I've seen - he's average at best - but he's certainly no Doyle Dykes - and I would guess at home in his Suffolk mansion with 200 million in the bank he's really not that bothered what anybody says about his abilties. ;-)

I think it was a few weeks ago on here that somebody posted the "Best" band/guitarist/bassist etc. from Sounds, NME or Melody Maker from the 70's. There was a huge correlation in the top 3 between the "best" band and its members appearing in the various categories.

It would seem that little has changed in the intervening years and this polls are basically "tell us who your favourite guitarist is"

Gulliver · February 2023

I don't know anyone else who has had the same cultural impact as Ed - how many acoustic guitars have been sold in the last 5-10 years off the back of his career?

Maybe one of those will become the next Tommy Emmanuel / James Taylor / Andy McKee.

Kilgore · February 2023

Ed is good at what he does. Granted, he's no Steven Seagal. Which, thankfully, is a relief to all of us.

GTC · February 2023

Well - Mr. Ed is definitely more adept than his "doppelganger" Prince Harry.

To be frank, I'm more surprised that James Taylor is on the list.

Tannin · February 2023

GTC said:

To be frank, I'm more surprised that James Taylor is on the list.

James Taylor is a top drawer guitarist in anybody's language. Yes, he made his name in the 1960s and 70s as a maudlin but popular singer-songwriter, and he was good at that, sure. He sold a ton of records. But in the many years since then he has honed his instrumental skills and these days is better known as an acoustic guitarist of virtuoso grade. Absolutely no surprise to see him on that, or any other list.

guitarjack66 · February 2023

Kilgore said:

Sheeran is a talented musician but no, he is not a virtuoso guitar player.

Comparisons to Tommy E are utterly pointless. It's apples and oranges. Emmanuel is virtuoso player and raconteur but appeals to a 'niche' market. Sheeran is globally successful pop artist. Never the twain shall meet.

In terms of longevity, Sheeran has been successful for over a decade and his popularity shows no sign of abating, which is decent run by anyone's standards.

He has probably played to more people on a single tour than Tommy E has during his entire career.

As I said,let's wait 20 years and see if he still has the appeal. He will certainly be a better player whatever. The term 'best' or 'legendary' is bandied around far too readily in all walks of life yet is only deserving of the elite. Sheeran is not that after only a decade.

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Can Ed Sheeran really play?

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