How to Play "Stitches" by Shawn Mendes on the Acoustic Guitar

In this lesson, we'll learn how to play Stitches by Shawn Mendes on the acoustic guitar! You can play this pop hit with simple open chords, but there is more to explore. We'll learn several chord voicings - including the barre chords from Shawn Mendes' live versions - and also cover how to play Stitches using fingerstyle and with a pick, since both appear on the original. At the end, we'll dive into dynamics.

👨‍👧 Stitches is one of my daughter's favorite songs, and we love performing it as a duet. ;) She's super cute but a bit young for social media! Stick around to see us making music sometime soon.

Before starting this tutorial, watch his Live Lounge performance to see these barre chords and listen to his singing. Shawn Mendes delivers an amazing vocal, moving up and down his vocal range to reach all the notes.

Now grab your guitar, and let's start by learning the Stitches chord progressions. :)

Stitches: Chord Progressions & Variations

The chord sequences are simple, but we'll spice them up with different chord voicings and rhythm patterns. Play around and see what you like. :) And head to the video tutorial for a full guitar and vocal demo!

Guitar Chords & Sequences

The intro and verse chords are the same - the sequence is Am, G, C, F. We play this once for the intro and four times for the verse. :)

Then we go into the pre-chorus, which is:

F, G, Am, Am

F, G, Am, G.

And the chorus is two reps of:

Am, G, C, F

Am, G, F, |C  C/B |.

💡 Need extra help with these chords? Find detailed lessons and tips in my free Beginner Guitar Course - Grade 1.

Finally, a short bridge section leads into the final pre-chorus - the lyrics are "Needle in the thread, gotta get you out of my head…". We play Power Chord versions of the verse chords - A5, G5, C5, and F5 - using the cool rhythm in the Shift The Dynamics video chapter. :) Let's change up the voicings now.

Chord Options for G & F

We look at three options for the G, including two beginner-friendly grips: Weak-Finger G and the G Hack we learn in my Beginner's Course.

But you can also try the Shawn Mendes version. It's tricky but perfect for an intermediate player with a stretchy thumb. :) He plays G as an E Major barre chord with the thumb fretting the bass note.

🔥 Learn how to play the G Chord with the Thumb. I've gotta admit, playing bass notes with the thumb ain’t easy. It took me years to nail it!

There are five - yes, five - options for the F chord! You can play any of these three F Chord variations, the regular F Barre Chord, or even go for F with the thumb like Shawn Mendes. If you've nailed the G chord, the thumb version should be easy - just move the entire grip down two frets. :)

We can even play the verses with power chords to vary the dynamics. More on that further down. ;)

Add Melody to Your Guitar Playing

Shawn uses those barre chords to play a specific melody in the intro and verse. If you want to mimic his sound, you'll need to be super specific with your choice of grips and strings, so check out the Intro & Verse Chords chapter in the video tutorial for all the fine details.

Let's check out the strumming now.

Stitches: Fingerstyle or Pick?

As mentioned, the rhythm guitar on the original Stitches uses fingerstyle and a pick. And both have their advantages - the pick gives more scope for shifting the volume, but playing with your fingers enables you to mimic Shawn Mendes.

Whether you use a pick or your fingers, you'll want to play different rhythm patterns for the verse, pre-chorus, and chorus in Stitches. We look at the verses below; in the pre-chorus, we go for even eighth notes (strums on all eight beats) with an accent on 2 and 4. Old Faithful works great in the chorus - make sure to strum on beat 3 when you switch to C/B so we can hear the bass note.

Verse Fingerstyle Guitar

As for the verses, we use a "grip" pattern. The thumb plucks the bass note on beat 1, and the other fingers grab several strings at once.

The pattern stays the same as the chords change, but we grab different strings to mimic the melody. The thumb moves to pick different bass notes too.

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The downside to playing fingerstyle is that it obliges us to strum the pre-choruses and choruses with our fingers - unless you can quickly grab your pick between sections. ;) The fingers sound okay, but you don't get the same brightness as you do with the pick, and I'm pretty sure Shawn Mendes uses a pick in those sections.

Verse With The Pick

Here's the good news - we can mimic the verse fingerstyle by hitting the bass note on 1 and then doing a series of up strums. You can also mimic the fingerstyle melody by being precise about which strings you hit, but it's not a huge deal.

Using the pick helps you vary the dynamics and makes the power chords sound fuller. Speaking of which...

Vary The Dynamics - With Power Chords!

I highly recommend using power chords in the second verse after chorus 1. You can hear them on the original, and I love the sound. It shows the producers are paying attention to what the listener hears. :)

🔥 Verse 2 Drop: This drop is standard in pop songs. It brings the sound right down, grabbing the listener’s attention and enabling them to hear the lyrics.

We replace each verse chord with its power-chord equivalent and use palm muting with accents. I go for an open A5 chord, Root-6 G5, Root-5 C5, and Root-6 F5. There are several possible accent patterns, so watch the video lesson for inspiration or listen to the original and mimic it.

As for the choruses, make sure you bring the volume up. This is crucial - choruses are meant to be loud and get the audience singing! Strum heavier and sing louder to make them big. :)

Stitches by Shawn Mendes: Make It Your Own

It's clear that Shawn Mendes went for his preferred chord grips - and you should do the same. Which of these options works for you? You can even try ones we haven't covered in the video - or do a capo version. ;)

You can change the rhythm too. Maybe you could try a fancy fingerstyle part like I do in the video. :) Try things and see what sounds good!

There's tons to explore here - open chords, barre chords, power chords, fingerstyle guitar, rhythm patterns, and more! I know you're dying to practice now. ;) Laters!

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