Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Tove Lo

1 guitar song · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Pop Rock

Choose a Tove Lo Song to Play

Habits - Guitar Cover

YouTube Stats: 119K · 3.1K

Artist Overview

Tove Lo (born Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and pop artist who broke through internationally in 2014 with her debut album "Queen of the Clouds." While she is primarily known as a synth-pop and electropop vocalist rather than a guitar-driven artist, her music offers surprisingly rewarding material for guitarists looking to work on clean-tone chord voicings, atmospheric textures, and stripped-back acoustic arrangements. Her songwriting roots are deeply connected to guitar; she composed many of her earliest demos on acoustic guitar before layering electronic production on top, and several of her biggest hits translate beautifully to guitar-based covers and acoustic interpretations. For electric guitarists, Tove Lo's catalog is an excellent entry point into learning how guitar fits within modern pop production. Songs like "Habits (Stay High)" rely on simple but emotionally effective chord progressions that teach you how to play with restraint, dynamics, and feel rather than technical fireworks. The focus is on smooth transitions between open and barre chords, clean arpeggiated patterns, and maintaining a steady rhythmic pulse that supports vocal melody. This makes her material ideal for beginner to intermediate players who want to develop musicality and timing without being overwhelmed by complex riffs. The guitar parts in Tove Lo's live performances and recordings are typically handled by session and touring musicians who favor clean, reverb-drenched tones with subtle chorus and delay effects. The approach is textural rather than lead-oriented, which makes her songs great practice for guitarists who want to learn how to serve a song rather than show off. If you are working on fingerpicking patterns, clean chord transitions, or learning how to add tasteful embellishments to simple progressions, Tove Lo's music is a fantastic and often overlooked resource. Overall difficulty is beginner-friendly, with most songs sitting comfortably in the easy to intermediate range.

What Makes Tove Lo Essential for Guitar Players

"Habits (Stay High)" uses a repeating four-chord progression (typically Cm, Eb, Bb, Ab or capo-friendly equivalents) that is perfect for practicing smooth barre chord transitions and maintaining a consistent strumming pattern throughout an entire song.
Tove Lo's music rewards clean-tone playing with an emphasis on dynamics. Practicing her songs teaches you how to control your pick attack and strumming intensity to match the emotional arc of a pop song, building from quiet verses to powerful choruses.
Many of her tracks translate well to fingerpicked arpeggios on acoustic guitar. Working through songs like "Habits" in a fingerstyle arrangement helps develop right-hand independence and builds familiarity with common pop chord voicings.
Her live arrangements often feature guitarists using a capo to simplify chord shapes while maintaining the original key. This is great practice for learning how to use a capo strategically and understanding how it shifts chord voicings up the neck.
The synth-heavy production in Tove Lo's recordings can be emulated on electric guitar using clean amp settings with reverb, chorus, and delay pedals. Trying to recreate these pad-like textures on guitar is an excellent exercise in using effects tastefully to fill sonic space.

Did You Know?

Tove Lo wrote many of her earliest songs on acoustic guitar as a teenager in Stockholm before she ever touched a synthesizer or DAW, giving her chord progressions a natural, guitar-friendly feel even in their final electronic arrangements.

"Habits (Stay High)" was originally demoed on acoustic guitar with a simple strumming pattern, and that raw version heavily influenced the melancholic vibe that made the final production so emotionally powerful.

Tove Lo studied at Sodra Latin, the same prestigious music school in Stockholm that produced members of iconic Swedish bands, reinforcing her strong foundation in traditional songwriting and instrument-based composition.

Her touring guitarists typically use Fender Stratocasters or Telecasters with clean amp settings and heavy reverb to create the shimmery, atmospheric textures that underpin her live sound, proving that less gain can be more impactful.

The chord progression in "Habits" follows one of the most common patterns in pop music (i, III, VII, VI in minor), making it an ideal song for guitarists to learn as a gateway into understanding how pop harmony works across hundreds of hit songs.

Tove Lo has co-written songs for other major artists, and many of those writing sessions started with her sketching ideas on guitar, highlighting how guitar remains a foundational tool even in modern electronic pop production.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Queen of the Clouds 2014

This debut album contains "Habits (Stay High)" and several other tracks built on simple, guitar-friendly chord progressions that are perfect for beginners. Songs like "Not on Drugs" and "Timebomb" offer great practice for clean strumming patterns and smooth chord transitions in common pop keys.

Spotify Apple Music

Lady Wood 2016

"Lady Wood" features darker, moodier textures that translate well to electric guitar with reverb and delay. Tracks like "Cool Girl" and "True Disaster" are excellent for practicing atmospheric clean-tone playing and learning how to create tension with minimal chord movement.

Spotify Apple Music

Tone & Gear

Guitar

Tove Lo's touring guitarists typically use Fender Telecasters and Stratocasters for their bright, articulate clean tones that cut through electronic backing tracks without overpowering them. For acoustic covers and stripped-back arrangements, a standard dreadnought or parlor acoustic (such as a Martin or Taylor) works perfectly for capturing the singer-songwriter feel of her original demos.

Amp

Clean Fender-style amps are the go-to for replicating the guitar tones in Tove Lo's live setup. A Fender Twin Reverb or Deluxe Reverb set to a crystal-clean channel with the volume around 4-5 provides the headroom needed for shimmery, pad-like guitar textures. The goal is zero breakup; all warmth comes from the guitar's natural tone and effects.

Pickups

Single-coil pickups (like standard Fender Strat or Tele pickups) are ideal for this style. Their bright, glassy character and dynamic response let clean arpeggios and strummed chords ring out with clarity. If you are using a humbucker-equipped guitar, try splitting the coils or rolling back the tone knob to get closer to that airy, transparent pop sound.

Effects & Chain

Reverb is the most essential effect for nailing Tove Lo's guitar sound: a lush hall or plate reverb with a long tail creates the atmospheric depth her music demands. Add a subtle chorus pedal (like a Boss CE-2 or similar) for width, and a stereo delay set to dotted eighth notes for rhythmic shimmer. Keep everything clean and spacious. A typical chain would be: guitar into chorus, then delay, then reverb, into a clean amp channel.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Tove Lo's touring guitarists rely on the Strat's bright single-coil pickups and articulate voice to cut through electronic production without muddying the mix. Its natural clarity and dynamic response make strummed chords and clean arpeggios shimmer distinctly in her pop arrangements.

Guitar

Fender Telecaster

The Telecaster's glassy, transparent tone perfectly complements Tove Lo's stripped-back aesthetic, delivering punchy articulation that stands out against layered synths and beat elements. Its single-coil snap captures the singer-songwriter intimacy her music demands.

Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

This amp provides the expansive headroom and pristine clean channel essential for Tove Lo's spacious, atmospheric guitar textures. Its built-in reverb adds natural shimmer while the 4-5 volume sweet spot delivers pad-like sustain without any distortion.

Amp

Fender Deluxe Reverb

The Deluxe Reverb's warm, crystal-clean channel and rich onboard reverb create the lush, ethereal guitar pad quality defining Tove Lo's production. Its responsive dynamics let subtle articulations shine while maintaining the airy pop aesthetic her sound requires.

Pedal

Boss CE-2 Chorus

This subtle chorus pedal widens Tove Lo's clean guitar textures, adding dimension and space that blends seamlessly with her electronic production. Its warm, vintage character complements reverb and delay for the shimmering atmospheric depth her arrangements demand.

How to Practice Tove Lo on GuitarZone

Every Tove Lo 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 Habits - Guitar Cover