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Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Sam Smith

4 guitar songs · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Pop

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Artist Overview

Sam Smith is a British pop and soul vocalist who emerged in 2014 with the landmark debut album 'In the Lonely Hour.' While Smith is primarily known for their powerful, emotive vocal performances rather than guitar-driven music, the acoustic and electric guitar work woven through their catalog offers real value for intermediate guitarists looking to develop their accompaniment skills, dynamic control, and chord vocabulary. The songs lean heavily on clean, understated guitar parts that serve the vocal melody, making them an excellent study in restraint and taste. The guitar parts on Sam Smith recordings are typically handled by session musicians and live band members rather than a single iconic guitarist. Producers like Jimmy Napes and Steve Fitzmaurice shaped much of the early sonic palette, which leans toward minimal, reverb-washed clean tones and delicate fingerpicking patterns. In a live setting, guitarists like Ben Thomas and others have translated these studio parts into stripped-back, emotionally charged performances. The emphasis is always on supporting the voice, which teaches guitarists a critical skill: knowing when NOT to play. For guitarists, Sam Smith songs are a goldmine for developing your open chord voicings, arpeggiated picking patterns, and smooth chord transitions. Songs like 'Stay With Me' and 'I'm Not The Only One' use simple but effective progressions that sound deceptively easy. The challenge lies in dynamics, getting the right touch so you don't overpower the vocal line. These tracks are accessible for beginners and lower-intermediate players, typically sitting around a 3 out of 10 in difficulty. However, playing them well, with the right feel, clean tone, and dynamic sensitivity, requires a level of musical maturity that benefits players of all levels. If you want to develop your skills as a rhythm guitarist who can play in a band context or accompany a singer, Sam Smith's catalog is an underrated resource.

What Makes Sam Smith Essential for Guitar Players

  • Most Sam Smith guitar parts rely on clean arpeggiated picking through open chord shapes. Practicing songs like 'Stay With Me' will sharpen your ability to pick individual strings cleanly within chord forms, a fundamental skill for any accompanist.
  • Dynamic control is the real challenge here. The guitar parts often start whisper-quiet and build gradually alongside the vocal. Learning to control your picking hand pressure, moving from barely touching the strings to a confident strum, is essential for nailing these arrangements.
  • Chord voicings often include suspended and added-tone chords (sus2, sus4, add9) that give the harmony a modern pop-soul flavor. 'I'm Not The Only One' uses simple major and minor shapes but benefits from embellishments that add emotional color without complexity.
  • 'Writing's On The Wall,' the James Bond theme from Spectre, features a cinematic guitar arrangement with swelling clean tones and reverb-heavy atmospherics. This is a great track for practicing volume swells using your guitar's volume knob or a volume pedal.
  • Capo usage is common across Sam Smith songs to match the vocal key while keeping guitar-friendly open shapes. Getting comfortable with a capo at various fret positions and understanding how it changes voicing color is a practical takeaway from learning this catalog.

Did You Know?

'Stay With Me' famously drew a songwriting comparison to Tom Petty's 'I Won't Back Down,' resulting in a co-writing credit for Petty and Jeff Lynne. For guitarists, it's a great example of how common chord progressions and melodic shapes overlap across genres.

The guitar tone on most Sam Smith studio recordings is deliberately kept low in the mix, often blended with piano and synth pads. This teaches an important lesson about arrangement: the guitar doesn't always need to be the loudest instrument to be effective.

'Writing's On The Wall' was the first James Bond theme to hit number one in the UK. The guitar parts on the track use lush reverb and delay to create a cinematic, orchestral feel without distortion.

Sam Smith's live band frequently switches between acoustic and clean electric guitar depending on the venue and arrangement. Some live versions of 'Stay With Me' are performed entirely on acoustic guitar, showing how a single instrument can carry a full arrangement.

Many of Sam Smith's chord progressions follow classic soul and gospel patterns (I, IV, V, vi) which are the backbone of thousands of popular songs. Learning these tunes gives you a template you can apply across pop, R&B, and soul genres.

Producer Jimmy Napes often layered multiple clean guitar tracks with slightly different voicings and tones to create a wider stereo image, a studio technique worth studying if you're interested in home recording.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

In the Lonely Hour album cover
In the Lonely Hour 2014

This debut album contains the most guitar-friendly material in Sam Smith's catalog. 'Stay With Me' teaches clean arpeggiated accompaniment, 'I'm Not The Only One' develops smooth chord transitions and dynamic strumming, and 'Leave Your Lover' features a fingerpicked pattern that builds beautifully. It's the best starting point for learning tasteful, vocal-supportive guitar playing.

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The Thrill of It All album cover
The Thrill of It All 2017

The second album introduces slightly more layered guitar textures and a grittier soul influence. Tracks like 'Too Good at Goodbyes' and 'Pray' feature clean electric guitar parts with subtle rhythmic complexity. This album is great for working on your sense of groove and learning how to lock in with a rhythm section.

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In the Lonely Hour (Drowning Shadows Edition) album cover
In the Lonely Hour (Drowning Shadows Edition) 2015

'Writing's On The Wall' is included in this expanded edition and offers a completely different guitar challenge compared to the stripped-back pop tracks. The cinematic arrangement requires volume swells, heavy reverb control, and a patient approach to building intensity. It's a masterclass in atmospheric clean guitar playing.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Sam Smith's live and studio guitarists typically use a mix of acoustic and clean electric guitars. Common choices include a Martin or Taylor dreadnought acoustic for stripped-back arrangements, and a Fender Telecaster or Stratocaster for clean electric parts. The Telecaster's bright, articulate single-coil tone cuts through dense vocal mixes without competing, while the Strat's neck pickup provides a warmer, rounder option for arpeggiated patterns.

Amp

Clean Fender amps are the go-to for replicating the Sam Smith guitar sound. A Fender Twin Reverb or Deluxe Reverb set completely clean (volume around 3 to 4, no breakup) with the reverb at about 4 to 5 provides the spacious, warm foundation heard on tracks like 'Stay With Me.' The goal is headroom and clarity, not grit. A Vox AC30 on the clean channel is another solid option for a slightly warmer character.

Pickups

Single-coil pickups are ideal for this style. Standard Fender single-coils (around 6k to 7k output) in a Strat or Tele provide the bright, clean articulation these parts demand. The low output keeps every note transparent and responsive to picking dynamics. For a slightly warmer, jazzier tone on ballads, the neck pickup position on a Strat with the tone knob rolled back to 6 or 7 is a great starting point.

Effects & Chain

Simplicity is key. A quality reverb pedal (such as a Strymon Flint or Boss RV-6) set to a hall or plate setting with moderate decay is the most important effect for nailing this sound. A subtle chorus (like a Boss CE-2W) can add width on arpeggiated parts. For 'Writing's On The Wall,' a volume pedal before the reverb allows for smooth swells. Overall, the chain should be minimal: guitar into a volume pedal, a touch of chorus if desired, reverb, then a clean amp. No overdrive, no distortion. Tone comes from clean fingers, clean strings, and clean amplification.

Recommended Gear

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Sam Smith's guitarists use the Strat's warm neck pickup for delicate arpeggiated ballad patterns, rolling back the tone knob for a rounder, jazzier character that complements his intimate vocal delivery without cluttering the mix.

Fender Telecaster
Guitar

Fender Telecaster

The Telecaster's bright, articulate single-coil tone cuts cleanly through dense vocal arrangements on Sam Smith tracks, maintaining note definition and picking dynamics without competing for space in the mix.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Set completely clean with spacious reverb, the Twin Reverb provides the expansive, warm foundation that defines Sam Smith's signature sound on ballads like 'Stay With Me,' delivering maximum headroom and clarity.

Fender Deluxe Reverb
Amp

Fender Deluxe Reverb

The Deluxe Reverb's vintage clean headroom and built-in reverb create the intimate, spacious backdrop essential to Sam Smith's stripped-back arrangements, offering slightly less power than the Twin but the same tonal clarity.

Vox AC30
Amp

Vox AC30

On its clean channel, the AC30 adds a slightly warmer, more colored character to Sam Smith's guitar tone compared to Fender amps, perfect for ballads requiring additional harmonic richness and vintage character.

Boss CE-2 Chorus
Pedal

Boss CE-2 Chorus

This subtle chorus adds width and shimmer to arpeggiated parts in Sam Smith's arrangements, enhancing the spacious, lush quality of his sound while maintaining the clarity and cleanliness his vocal-forward productions demand.

How to Practice Sam Smith on GuitarZone

Every Sam Smith 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 Stay with Me - Guitar LessonPractice Stay With Me - Guitar CoverPractice I'm Not The Only One - Guitar Cover