Ed Sheeran’s 4 Chords: Play 7 Pop Hits on Guitar (Em–G–C–D)

Can you really play hit after hit with the same four chords?

A few years ago, Ed Sheeran proved it live on Dutch TV.
On an RTL show he grabbed his guitar, played Em – G – C – D, and said:

“Name any song and I’ll play it with these four chords.”

The host threw out a list of songs, and Ed turned them all into one medley — same chords, different melodies.
In this lesson we’ll break down that Ed Sheeran 4-chord medley, so you can play it yourself on guitar.

In the video above I’ve added:

the chords
simple TAB examples
the strumming patterns / rhythm

so you can play along with each song.

The 4 chords Ed Sheeran used

The progression he used on the show is:

Em – G – C – D

You can think of it as the key of G major:

Em(7) = VIm
G = I
C(add9) = IV
D = V

So it’s basically the classic I–V–VIm–IV family, but starting on the relative minor (Em).
That’s one of the reasons it works for so many pop songs: the harmony feels familiar, even when the melody changes completely.

Songs from the Ed Sheeran 4-chord medley

In the RTL segment he ran through (at least) these hits using the same four chords:

Passenger – “Let Her Go”
Craig David – “Walking Away”
The Beatles – “Let It Be”
Madonna – “Papa Don’t Preach”
Spice Girls – “2 Become 1”
Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”

Some of the originals use a different key, but the functional harmony is the same — that’s exactly what Ed was demonstrating.

How to practice the 4-chord medley

Here’s a simple way to get it under your fingers:

Learn the shapes cleanly
1. Em7: 022033
2. G: 320033
3. Cadd9: x32033
4. D: xx0232
5. D/F#: 2×0232 (bonus chord)
Drill the chord changes
Practice the full loop slowly: Em7 → G → Cadd9 → D → (back to Em)
Add a basic strumming pattern
Start with something simple you can keep steady: Down – Down-Up – Up-Down-Up (1 – 2& – &4&)
Assign one loop per song
For example:
1. 4 bars = Let Her Go
2. next 4 bars = Walking Away
3. etc.
4. Don’t worry about copying Ed’s exact vocal lines. Focus on feeling how the same harmony supports totally different melodies.
Mix your own medley
Once you’re comfortable, add your own favourites that fit over Em–G–C–D or a similar I–V–VIm–IV pattern.
You’ll be surprised how many chart songs “drop in” without much effort.

Next steps: from copying to creating

Now that you can play Ed’s 4-chord medley:

Use Em–G–C–D to write your own song.
Try the same idea in a different key (for example Am–F–C–G).
Experiment with rhythm: arpeggios, palm muting, 8th-note grooves, etc.

The goal isn’t just to copy Ed Sheeran.
The point is to understand that with four well-controlled chords, you can already:

back up a singer,
play along with a ton of hits,
and start building your own songs.

That’s the real lesson behind the RTL moment.

Transcript

You name any song and I’ll play it with four chords.
These are the four chords: Em, G, C, D.
Passenger – “Let Her Go”
Craig David – “Walking Away”
The Beatles – “Let It Be”
Madonna – “Papa Don’t Preach”
Spice Girls – “2 Become 1”
Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”

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