Learn "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi on Guitar

In this lesson, we'll learn how to play Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi on the acoustic guitar! This song is a beautiful ballad and is pretty easy to play. :) It's a four-chord song, except for the bridge, which has an extra chord.

🔎 There are loads of approaches to Someone You Loved. Our main goal is to emulate the piano from the original record using fingerstyle, but we'll also look at how to play an awesome cover with simple strumming.

Let's start by talking about the original key and how you might adjust it to fit your vocal range. Through the tutorial, we'll explore lots of tips and tricks as we go so that you nail this great song. :)

Someone You Loved – Guitar Capo, Key, and Voice

I cover and teach this song in a different key than the original. My guitar capo is on the third fret so that I can sing in a lower register. To match the original key, put your capo on fret 1 and sing an octave higher than me. :)

🎙️ Lewis Capaldi has an incredible voice and vocal range. I sound a bit ridiculous when I try to copy it! So I dropped the melody down an octave and moved the capo around to find the right key for me.

I suspect most people will find it tricky to sing in his range, but not a problem! Use the same chord grips and move the capo up and down the neck to suit your voice.

💡 Change the Key to Suit Your Voice! Learn my top tips for figuring out the best capo position for your vocal range.

Let's check out the chord progression for the verses and choruses.

Someone You Loved – Verses and Choruses

Good news – you'll only need one chord progression for the verses and choruses! It goes C, G, Am, and F, each for a bar.

💣 If the F Barre Chords is a little tricky right now, explore these F Chord cheats! Think of them as your get-out-of-jail chords. ;)

Since this progression repeats for almost the whole song, it's best that someone sings – whether you or a singer! Let's look at some practice tips to totally nail Someone You Loved.

Practice Tips & Strumming

To begin with, go for a super simple strumming pattern and nail the chord changes, especially if you're going to sing. It's a great idea to keep the chords simple and make sure you're playing on the beat before trying fingerpicking or trickier strumming patterns.

🚨 Keep It Simple! I still keep things really simple when I learn a new song, especially when learning the vocal. It helps me figure out how the vocal phrasing fits over the chords.

When you think it's time to change the strumming, try different patterns and see what sounds good. Old Faithful is a great option and strumming on all eight beats with accents on 2 and 4 as well. Give it a try, but remember to keep your hand moving even when you don't hit any strings.

The only other chord comes in the bridge – let's check out the chord progression.

Someone You Loved – Bridge

The bridge progression is Dm, Am, G (for one and a half bars), and Am (for half a bar). Repeat this twice, then switch back to the main progression for the next section. That's all there is to it!

The bridge vocal line poses a challenge. For one thing, the lyrics for the following chorus start during the final G in the bridge. It's a bit unusual, and if you're singing in the original key, you'll need to go super high at that point. Lewis Capaldi really peaks his voice. It's tricky to sing!

Now that we've looked at the chord progressions and strumming, it's time to check out the fingerstyle version. :)

Mimic The Piano Part From Someone You Loved On Guitar

We can play a fingerstyle part to emulate the piano part on the original recording. This sounds great and is pretty easy to play, especially if you've explored fingerstyle guitar already. It uses a consistent picking pattern, and we don't even need to play the full F Barre Chord here – there's a cheat. :)

The picking gets a touch trickier for the bridge. For one thing, we have to pick the Dm chord, meaning the thumb plays string 4. And the Am lasts only half a bar, so it slightly interrupts the picking flow.

🚨 REALLY Important! You might sometimes hit the wrong string when playing fingerstyle, but don't stop! It's crucial that you keep going and maintain good rhythm. Don't stop or try to correct your mistake – it'll make the music feel jerky.

The rhythm and feel are much more important than the notes. :) So, if you hit the wrong string, keep the rhythm solid. Your mistake won't matter at all!

This one also makes for a great chord melody…

Up For a Challenge? Create Your Chord Melody

The melody notes fall quite nicely under the chord shapes, meaning Someone You Loved is a great song for creating a chord melody. Why not try to work out the melody and play it? I'll give you a hint: the first note is the open G string. :)

🎸 These arrangements are a wicked way to play rhythm and melody together. Check out my Folk Fingerstyle lessons to start making awesome chord melodies. :)

Someone You Loved is a seriously beautiful song and fun to play! Since it's a piano song, I encourage you to get creative and make your own cover. I'd love to see them on social media, so post a video, tag me, and I'll check out your music. :) Laters!

🎶 Play this song with the JustinGuitar Lessons & Songs App. Pick up your free trial here!