Harry Styles - Sign of the Times - Guitar Cover

Harry Styles

2017 5:41

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About Sign of the Times

Few pop singles from 2017 carry as much weight under the fingers as this one. "Sign of the Times" is built around a slow, sweeping feel that sits at 173 BPM in a broad, anthem-like pulse, so keeping your strumming even and unhurried is the real discipline here. The song is in F major, which means if you are playing in standard tuning you will either be reaching for a barre chord at the first fret constantly or rethinking your capo position. The chord movement is deceptively straightforward, but the emotional arc of the track demands good dynamic control: knowing when to pull back and when to push through a swell. Harry Styles sits firmly in the Pop Rock world here, and the guitar work reflects that: clean, purposeful, and serving the song. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the verse-to-chorus transition slowed down until the barre chord changes feel smooth and automatic.

• Playing in F major on a standard-tuned guitar means frequent first-fret barre chords, so clean fretting pressure and thumb placement are worth drilling carefully.
• The broad, anthem-like tempo rewards a controlled strumming hand, keeping dynamics in check to match the song's gradual emotional build.
• Using a capo at the third fret and reframing the chord shapes in D major is a common approach to ease the barre chord demands of this song.