Punk + Pop + Jazz
Before becoming a hugely successful solo artist, Sting was the singer, songwriter and bass player in The Police, alongside Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers.
Between The Police and his solo career, he has created an extraordinary catalogue of tunes, from Roxanne, Every Breath You Take and Message In A Bottle to Fragile, Englishman In New York, Shape Of My Heart, Fields Of Gold, It’s Probably Me and Seven Days.
For guitar players, Sting is interesting because his songs rarely sit neatly inside one musical box. The Police combined punk, reggae, ska and jazz, while his solo work opened the door to Soul, Sophisticated Pop, Jazz, and even classical influences.
That musical curiosity is a big part of what makes Sting’s catalogue so rewarding to study.
From The Police to a Solo Career
After The Police achieved massive worldwide success between 1978 and 1983, Sting embarked on a solo career the following year.
He was already a household name, which meant he could surround himself with some of the world’s finest musicians. The result was a much more expansive sound than the raw New Wave power trio of The Police. Some recordings featured large ensembles and orchestral arrangements, while others left plenty of space for the individual musicians to shine.
His first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985), produced the hit If You Love Somebody Set Them Free. The musicians involved included some serious Jazz players, immediately signalling that Sting wasn’t simply going to recreate The Police with a different name.
He followed it with …Nothing Like the Sun (1987), containing Fragile and Englishman In New York. By this point, Sting had firmly established a solo identity.
Englishman In New York is one of his greatest compositions. Study the structure carefully and you’ll find that much of its brilliance is in the details. Learning to play it on a single acoustic guitar is not only a great challenge—it makes for a pretty impressive party trick!
A Musician’s Favourite
After …Nothing Like the Sun and The Soul Cages, Sting released Ten Summoner’s Tales in 1993. This is where I think Sting’s appeal to musicians becomes obvious.
Rather than simply being a collection of songs designed around a singer, the album feels like a group of exceptional musicians having fun with great material. The arrangements are sophisticated without becoming inaccessible, and there is something for virtually every musician to listen to.
Drummers, for example, will immediately appreciate Vinnie Colaiuta, whose playing is a huge part of what makes these recordings so exciting.
Guitar players have plenty to get their teeth into too, but that’s really the point: Ten Summoner’s Tales isn’t just interesting if you play guitar. Bass players, drummers, singers, keyboard players and other musicians can all find something to study. That’s a good test of a great album.
The songwriting is strong enough to stand on its own, but the arrangements give the musicians room to contribute. You can listen to the album several times in a row and hear something different each time.
Sting’s Songs on Guitar
Although I’m mainly interested in Sting’s solo repertoire here, some of the tunes connected to him through The Police are too good to leave out.
Every Breath You Take is perhaps the most obvious example. Written by Sting and recorded with The Police, Andy Summers’ famous guitar part demonstrates how a relatively small harmonic detail can completely define a song.
Then there’s Message In A Bottle, another Police classic that has become a genuine guitar challenge. Its instantly recognisable guitar pattern is a great example of how rhythm and repetition can carry an entire arrangement.
And, of course, there’s Roxanne, the tune that helped establish The Police in the first place.
Sting’s choice of covers also connects to some very different material. My Funny Valentine and Angel Eyes brings out his jazz influences, which you can clearly hear if you compare Autumn Leaves to his awesome Moon Over Bourbon Street.
Together, they show just how wide Sting’s musical vocabulary has become.
A Songwriter Who Keeps Changing
One of the remarkable things about Sting’s career is how little interest he seems to have in staying in one musical lane.
He went from a punk-influenced New Wave trio to sophisticated jazz-influenced pop, then continued exploring different styles throughout his solo career.
He’s also collaborated with an astonishing range of artists, appearing on recordings by Les Paul, Melody Gardot, Shaggy, Ricky Martin, All Saints, Sheryl Crow, James Taylor, Tony Bennett, Sam Moore, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, the Black Eyed Peas, Craig David, Tina Turner, and Phil Collins.
Perhaps most famously, he provided backing vocals on Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing. That list tells you something about Sting. He’s never really been confined to one particular musical world.
A Huge Catalogue to Explore
Including his work with The Police, Sting has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and received numerous major awards, including Grammy Awards, Brit Awards, a Golden Globe and an Emmy.
He has also received recognition from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Police, the Kennedy Center and the Polar Music Prize.
His later career continued the same pattern of collaboration and experimentation. His album 44/876, recorded with Shaggy, earned the pair a Grammy in 2019.
But for me, the real reason to spend time with Sting isn’t the awards or the sales figures. It’s the music.
Whether you’re learning Englishman In New York on acoustic guitar, tackling Message In A Bottle, working out how he approached the harmony of My Funny Valentine, or digging into the sophisticated arrangements of Ten Summoner’s Tales, there is always another detail to discover.
And that’s what makes Sting such a useful artist for building a guitar repertoire. His songs can teach you about chords, rhythm, melody, arrangement and musicianship—and they also encourage you to listen beyond your own instrument.
The best guitar repertoire isn’t just a collection of songs you can play. It’s a collection of music to explore. Sting has plenty of it.
Sting Tunes | Related Pages
Angel Eyes | Chords + TAB
You can learn Angel Eyes by Frank Sinatra using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, backing tracks, and an acoustic arrangement.
| Am Am/G Am/F# Am/F | Am/E Am/Eb |
Try to think that love’s not around…
Englishman In New York | Chords + TAB
You can learn to play Englishman In New York by Sting using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| Em7 A | Bm Bm9 Bm/A |
I don’t drink coffee, I take tea, my dear…
Every Breath You Take | Chords + TAB
You can learn Every Breath You Take by The Police using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| Aadd9 | Aadd9 | F#madd9 | F#madd9 |
Every breath you take, and every move you make…
Message In A Bottle | Chords + TAB
You can learn Message In A Bottle by The Police using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| C#sus2 Asus2 | Bsus2 F#madd9 |
Just a castaway…
My Funny Valentine | Chords + TAB
You can learn My Funny Valentine from the Real Book using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| Cm | Cmmaj7 | Cm7 | Cm6 |
My funny Valentine, sweet comic Valentine…
Roxanne | Chords + TAB
You can learn to play Roxanne by The Police using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, backing tracks, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Gm | Dm/F | Ebmaj7 | Dm |
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light…
Start learning with the full lesson series: Roxanne – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Sting on the web
