Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill - Guitar Cover

÷ (Deluxe)

2017 4:21

Listen on Spotify

About Castle On The Hill

At 160 BPM in D major, "Castle on the Hill" moves fast, and keeping your strumming tight without losing the driving, anthemic feel is the main challenge. The song sits in E Standard tuning and leans on open chord shapes, but the pace means your chord changes need to be clean and automatic before you try to play it up to speed. The verse picking pattern deserves particular attention: it builds the momentum that makes the choruses hit hard, so use the Practice Toolbar to loop it slowed down until the motion is locked in. Ed Sheeran is known for making acoustic guitar arrangements feel arena-sized, and this track is a solid example of that within the Pop Rock world. Once you have the picking and the strumming rhythm both solid, the real work is bridging between them smoothly. Focus on the transitions first, then build the tempo back up gradually.

• The song runs at 160 BPM in E Standard tuning, so clean chord changes under a fast strumming pattern are the core technical demand.
• A fingerpicked verse pattern contrasts with the full strummed chorus, meaning you need to shift between two right-hand techniques quickly and cleanly.
• All the main shapes are open chords in D major, making this a rewarding challenge for intermediate players working on speed and consistency.