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OneRepublic

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Counting Stars - Guitar Lesson

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Band Overview

OneRepublic formed in Colorado Springs in 2002 before relocating to Los Angeles, eventually breaking through in 2007 with the massive hit "Apologize" (remixed by Timbaland). The band is led by vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, but the guitar work falls primarily on Zach Filkins and Drew Brown, who together create the band's signature blend of pop-rock textures, rhythmic strumming patterns, and atmospheric layering. While they are often categorized as a pop act, their guitar parts offer a surprisingly rewarding study in tasteful restraint, rhythmic precision, and the art of serving the song rather than showing off. For guitarists, OneRepublic is an excellent entry point into modern pop-rock rhythm guitar. The majority of their catalog relies on clean to slightly overdriven tones, open chord voicings, capo usage, and syncopated strumming patterns that sound simple but require solid timing and dynamic control to nail properly. Songs like "Counting Stars" feature a hypnotic arpeggiated pattern that loops throughout the track, teaching guitarists how to lock in with a groove and maintain consistency across a full song. This kind of playing builds endurance, right-hand accuracy, and an understanding of how guitar fits into a dense, production-heavy mix. Zach Filkins tends to handle the more prominent electric and acoustic guitar parts, favoring clean Fender-style tones, ambient delays, and a less-is-more approach. Drew Brown fills in the sonic gaps with textural electric parts, often using volume swells, reverb-soaked arpeggios, and layered clean tones that sit beneath the vocal. Neither player is a shredder, and that is exactly the point. Their playing teaches the discipline of economy: knowing when to play, when to leave space, and how to make a two-chord pattern feel as compelling as a 12-bar blues solo. Overall difficulty is beginner to intermediate. Most OneRepublic songs are accessible for newer players, with straightforward chord shapes (many utilizing a capo) and strumming patterns that are easy to learn but reward careful attention to dynamics and feel. More advanced players can dig into the layered production to learn how multiple guitar parts interlock, which is a valuable skill for anyone interested in session work, songwriting, or modern pop-rock arranging.

What Makes OneRepublic Essential for Guitar Players

The main guitar part in "Counting Stars" is built on a repetitive Am-C-G-F arpeggiated fingerpicking pattern. Nailing the consistency and muting of this loop for an entire song is a great exercise in right-hand stamina and pick-hand accuracy.
OneRepublic frequently uses capos (often between the 2nd and 5th fret) to access bright, open-string voicings while singing in keys that suit Tedder's voice. Learning their songs trains you to think about capo placement as a creative tool, not just a shortcut.
Zach Filkins often employs volume swells and ambient delays to create pad-like textures underneath vocal passages. This technique, done either with a volume pedal or by rolling the guitar's volume knob, is essential for modern worship, ambient, and cinematic guitar styles.
Rhythmic syncopation is a core element of their strumming patterns. Songs like "Stop and Stare" and "Good Life" demand precise upstroke accents and ghost strums that give the rhythm its bouncy, pop-driven feel. A metronome is your best friend here.
The interplay between acoustic and electric guitar in OneRepublic songs is a masterclass in layering. Studying how Filkins and Brown divide responsibilities (one strumming open chords acoustically while the other adds filtered electric arpeggios or swells) teaches arranging skills that translate directly to recording and band contexts.

Did You Know?

Zach Filkins is largely self-taught and has cited U2's The Edge as a major influence, which explains his affinity for delay-driven, atmospheric guitar parts over technical soloing.

Ryan Tedder, though primarily the vocalist and songwriter, is a capable guitarist himself and often lays down acoustic guitar reference tracks in the studio that shape the final guitar arrangements.

"Counting Stars" was written on an acoustic guitar with a simple looping fingerpicking pattern, and the band intentionally kept that raw, demo-like guitar feel in the final production because it gave the track its intimate, organic energy.

Drew Brown has been known to use guitar synth pedals and octave effects to blur the line between traditional guitar tones and keyboard textures, contributing to the band's polished, radio-ready sound.

OneRepublic's recordings often feature dozens of layered guitar tracks per song, many of them barely audible in isolation. This production approach (influenced by Tedder's work as a pop producer) is a valuable lesson in how subtlety and layering can create a massive sonic impact.

Zach Filkins briefly stepped away from touring due to a heart condition, and during his absence the band highlighted just how integral his clean, atmospheric guitar approach was to their live sound.

The guitar tone on many OneRepublic tracks is achieved by running a clean Fender amp with a healthy dose of studio compression and reverb, proving that you do not need high-gain distortion to create compelling, commercially successful guitar parts.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Native 2013

This is the album that contains "Counting Stars" and represents the peak of OneRepublic's guitar-forward pop-rock sound. Tracks like "Counting Stars," "Feel Again," and "Something I Need" offer a range of fingerpicking patterns, rhythmic strumming, and clean electric textures that are perfect for beginner to intermediate players looking to build timing and dynamic control.

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Dreaming Out Loud 2007

Their debut album features more organic, guitar-driven arrangements before the band leaned further into electronic production. "Apologize," "Stop and Stare," and "Say (All I Need)" showcase open chord voicings with capo, clean arpeggiated passages, and acoustic strumming that rewards precise right-hand technique. A great album for learning how to play tasteful pop-rock rhythm guitar.

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Waking Up 2009

This album pushes the guitar arrangements into slightly more adventurous territory. Songs like "All the Right Moves" and "Good Life" feature syncopated strumming, layered acoustic and electric parts, and some mildly overdriven tones. It is the best album for studying how two guitarists can complement each other within a pop-rock arrangement without stepping on each other's frequencies.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Zach Filkins is most commonly seen with Fender Telecasters and Taylor acoustic guitars. He has used a range of Telecaster models including American Standard and Custom Shop versions, favoring the bright, snappy single-coil clarity that cuts through dense pop mixes. Drew Brown has been spotted with Gibson ES-335 semi-hollows and various Fender Stratocasters for their warmer, more rounded clean tones. Acoustic parts in the studio are frequently tracked on Taylor 814ce or similar grand auditorium body shapes for balanced frequency response.

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The live and studio tone leans heavily on Fender platforms, particularly the Fender Twin Reverb and Fender Deluxe Reverb, run clean with just a touch of natural breakup. Vox AC30s have also been part of the setup for their chime-like clean tones and harmonic richness when pushed. The amps are generally kept at moderate volumes with the emphasis on pristine cleans rather than power-tube distortion, allowing pedals and studio processing to shape the final texture.

Pickups

Filkins' Telecaster pickups are typically stock Fender single-coils with that classic bright, twangy character. The lower output of single-coils is essential to their sound, keeping the tone dynamic and responsive to picking intensity. Brown's semi-hollow setups use PAF-style humbuckers for a warmer, rounder voice that blends underneath the mix. The contrast between single-coil brightness and humbucker warmth across the two players is a key part of how their guitar tones occupy separate sonic space.

Effects & Chain

Delay is the cornerstone effect: think dotted-eighth and quarter-note delays (similar to The Edge's approach) using units like the Strymon Timeline or Boss DD-series. Reverb is always present, ranging from subtle spring to lush hall settings via the Strymon BigSky or similar. A volume pedal (Ernie Ball VP Jr.) is frequently used for swells and fade-ins. Light overdrive from a Klon-style or Ibanez Tube Screamer pedal adds grit on occasion, but the emphasis is on clean, effected tones. Compression pedals are also used to even out fingerpicked arpeggios and keep dynamics smooth across entire song sections.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Drew Brown uses Stratocasters for their warmer, rounded clean tones that blend smoothly under Onerepublic's dense pop arrangements. The guitar's versatility in expressing dynamics pairs perfectly with their delay and reverb-heavy effects chain.

Guitar

Fender Telecaster

Zach Filkins favors Telecasters for their bright, snappy single-coil clarity that cuts through layered pop mixes without muddiness. The lower output of these pickups responds dynamically to picking intensity, essential for their clean, effected aesthetic.

Guitar

Gibson ES-335

Drew Brown's semi-hollow ES-335 provides warm, rounded PAF-style humbucker tones that occupy separate sonic space from Filkins' brighter single-coils. This tonal contrast is fundamental to how Onerepublic layers guitars in their production.

Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

The Twin Reverb's pristine clean headroom and natural reverb circuits shape Onerepublic's signature lush, spacious guitar tones. Running it clean with moderate volume keeps the focus on effects processing rather than power-tube breakup.

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Fender Deluxe Reverb

The Deluxe Reverb delivers the same pristine clean platform and responsive reverb as the Twin but in a more compact form for live settings. Its moderate wattage allows natural breakup when needed while maintaining clarity through dense effects chains.

Amp

Vox AC30

The AC30's chime-like clean tones and harmonic richness add texture and shimmer to Onerepublic's guitar layers. When pushed lightly, it contributes the band's signature blend of pristine cleans with subtle harmonic complexity.

How to Practice OneRepublic on GuitarZone

Every OneRepublic song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice Counting Stars - Guitar Lesson