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U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday - Guitar Lesson

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Key Bb major
U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday guitar lesson video
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
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U2 Alternative Rock Bb major
Capo Advisor 0 Bb major · Original key

About Sunday Bloody Sunday

The defining moment in "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is the martial, muted guitar figure that locks in with the snare pattern right from the top. Playing it well in D Standard tuning means keeping your pick hand tight and controlled, because the staccato feel is everything. The song sits in Bb major at 104 BPM, a tempo that feels comfortable until you try to keep that rhythmic precision locked in for the full length of a take. Edge's tone on the original leans heavily on delay, so if you want that shimmer, set your repeats in time with the pulse. U2 built the song around angular, post-punk-influenced chord work in the upper register rather than big open power chords, which is a useful thing to absorb into your own playing. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the opening riff slowed down and really nail the muting before you bring it back up to full tempo. The Alternative Rock vocabulary here is about restraint, not flash.

  • The song is played in D Standard tuning, dropping every string down a whole step, which slightly thickens the chordal texture in the upper register.
  • Edge's signature tone relies on a tempo-synced delay pedal, so dialing in your repeat time to match 104 BPM is key to sounding authentic.
  • The main riff uses tight, muted picking rather than open strumming, so right-hand palm muting control is the core technique to practise here.

How to Play Sunday Bloody Sunday

Tuning: D Standard · Key: Bb major · Tempo: 104 BPM

Tuned a whole step down to D standard, the lower string tension makes bends feel looser, so keep an eye on your intonation.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 104 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

The Edge uses American Vintage Stratocasters for their bright single-coil sparkle, delivering the glassy chime essential to clean arpeggios like 'One' where delay patterns need absolute clarity. The articulate tone lets every note ring distinctly through his dense effects chain.

Fender Telecaster
Guitar

Fender Telecaster

The Edge's 1975 Fender Telecaster Custom provides crisp, chimey tones for cleaner passages, offering single-coil brightness that cuts through his signature delay textures without losing note definition.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

While less documented than his Explorer, the Les Paul Standard's humbucker warmth and sustain complement The Edge's heavier, distorted textures on tracks requiring thicker tonal body.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

The Edge deploys the Gibson Les Paul Custom for specific heavier tracks, using its humbucker output to generate warmer, more sustained tones that anchor driving rhythms with midrange punch.

Gibson Explorer
Guitar

Gibson Explorer

The Edge's 1976 Gibson Explorer with modified bridge humbucker is his signature guitar, providing the midrange punch and sustain needed for his iconic dotted-eighth delay patterns on 'Where The Streets Have No Name' and 'Pride'.

Fender Deluxe Reverb
Amp

Fender Deluxe Reverb

The Edge uses Fender Deluxe Reverbs alongside his Vox AC30s for pristine clean tones and lush reverb textures, creating stereo width that showcases his delay-driven arpeggios with spatial depth.

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