Bad Habits

How to play Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran on guitar

This song is a great beginner pick because the groove is steady and the progression repeats in a way that helps you lock in quickly. You get a strong pop feel without needing a lot of flash, so it is satisfying to play once the changes start feeling natural.

You will mix open shapes like A, D, G, E, and Em with harder barre shapes like F#, Bm, and F#m, so the main challenge is keeping those shifts clean. The change to watch most closely is the opening move from F# to Bm to F#m to A, since it asks you to move between barre grips and a more open shape without losing time.

Start by practicing the opening progression slowly and evenly until each change feels automatic. Then loop the full chord cycle at a relaxed tempo, and only speed up once your hands can move without hesitation. After that, play along with the track and keep your focus on steady timing rather than perfect speed.

Use the play-along above to follow each chord change in time with the music, or learn the shapes first with the chord diagrams below.