How to play Perfect by Ed Sheeran
One of Ed’s most successful, best known songs, Perfect was released in 2017 on his third album, Divide. Perfect became a huge international when, in August 2017 it was released as the album’s fourth single. It became a no.1 song in many countries, top 10 in many others and has since become a weddings staple around the world.
Style : Acoustic guitar (steel or nylon strings) fingerstyle ; old-school Pop ballad in 12/8 time
Capo : Yes - at the 1st fret to match the pitch of the recorded version (or at a fret that suits the vocal range you are working with).
Picking : Finger picking ; mostly thumb, index and middle fingers
Chords : G Em7 Csus2 D Dsus4 - important to note you must hold your 3rd finger on string 2, 3rd fret whilst changing chords. This happens throughout the verse and chorus. Try to keep the thumb relaxed behind the fretboard. Too much pressure in the thumb leads to diminishing stamina in the fretboard hand.
How does the timing work? 12/8 time is four beats per bar, divisible by three quavers each. This means you are feeling the rhythm as four groups of three quavers, in every bar. The best way to count this is “1-and-a 2-and-a 3-and-a 4-and-a” ; there’s no need to count up to 12 in each bar! Make sure the bass notes are struck with a strong enough tone to sustain their sound whilst you pick the repeating chord notes above.
How do you play the ‘little note’ in Bar 8 ? In the first bar of line three you see a small ‘2’ preceding the third beat. You have to strike the note in that fret together with the note in the 3rd fret on string 2. As soon as you picked these two notes the little finger then hammers down onto the 1st string to create the note in the 3rd fret (string 1). This creates a Dsus4 melodic embellishment. The same thing happens on the 2nd beat in the 8th bar of the Chorus.
What does ‘Bridge’ mean ? The word ‘bridge’ describes a short section that connects the main sections of a song. Usually it is an instrumental interlude and, within a Pop song, is rarely more than four bars long. Often it will be a repeat of all, or part of the intro material. It may be heard more than once and may lead into an instrumental section later in the song.
What should the guitar play in the ‘Bridge’ and ‘Ending’ ? The suggestion in this chart is an arrangement of the bowed strings part (the violins) that feature in those sections. You may find it more challenging than the rest of the song but it will project the overall sound of the recording.
Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 : To learn more about finger picking technique and patterns look at pages 43 - 45. For more about embellishment chords look at pages 24 - 26, and page 38 will help you understand 6/8/and 12/8 timing.
Need a bit of help?
Modern Guitar Fingerstyle 1 is the perfect companion for our fingerpicking song guides- it is specifically designed to help beginners develop finger independence, tone and articulation, helping guitarists master their fingerpicking abilities!