Sheeran's Diverse Manipulation of Musical Elements

Although all of Ed Sheeran’s songs show his singer-songwriter qualities, he successfully manipulates the musical elements to create variety in his pieces. Sheeran writes for his own albums as well as collaborating with other artists and composing for movie sound tracks, showing his diversity. This range is the reason Ed Sheeran continues to top the charts and capture the hearts of those who love his fusion of pop and folk music. A clear example of Sheeran’s diversity is shown in his album X, released in 2014, by comparing I See Fire and Sing in relation to musical elements. I See Fire is a rubato folk piece, written for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. This is in comparison to the groovy pop piece Sing, which reflects on personal experience, with 120 beats per minute. The two pieces also contrast in expressive dynamics, as I See Fire is a mellow piano, reaching mezzo forte in the last chorus (3:56 – 4:46), unlike Sing, that stays mezzo forte for its entirety. The two songs use very vocal techniques also. I See Fire uses earthy, raw sounding vocals (0:00 – 0:31), as opposed to Sing, where Sheeran’s voice has been auto tuned in the falsetto in the chorus (0:39 – 1:09). Sheeran has created a warm, husky tone colour in I See Fire, through this vocal technique, alongside the use of the acoustic guitar, violin, cello and gong. This begins with a thin, monophonic texture in the beginning, with the vocals (0:00 – 0:31) and thickens as the song progresses. Sing vastly contrasts from I See Fire, as Sheeran has produced a track with a bright, occasionally breathy tone, through the use of lead and backing vocals, guitar, bass, percussion and synthesised sound effects (1:08 – 1:12). A thick, polyphonic texture is also maintained throughout. Although both pieces are in major keys (I See Fire in D Flat Major, Sing in B Flat major), many of Ed Sheeran’s works are in minor keys, all in his vocal range of G2 to A5. The majority, including I See Fire and Sing, follow the generic pop song structure of intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus and outro, although he alters this to create diversity from time to time. In conclusion, it is clear that Ed Sheeran skilfully manipulates the musical elements, in order to be continually admired for his diversity in the music industry.

Ed Sheeran - I See Fire (Music Video)

Ed Sheeran - Sing [Official]