--- description: Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" was played on classroom instruments by Jimmy Fallon and The Roots on The Tonight Show title: Ed Sheeran Sounds Better With Classroom Instruments image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ed Sheeran and Jimmy Fallon Played Classroom Instruments and the Results Are Masterful by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 28, 2017 4:44 PM CUT by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 28, 2017 4:44 PM CUT Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” got a remix courtesy of Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and a bunch of classroom instruments on _The Tonight Show_ on Monday. The British singer’s chart-topping tune sounded like third-grade recital material (albeit with better vocals) thanks to the addition of xylophones, tambourines, and kazoos. Sheeran multi-tasked during the performance, handling the vocals and rocking a banana shaker in time with the music, while The Roots and Fallon took care of backing vocals and the instrumentation. It’s no Lonely Island “[I’m on a Boat](http://time.com/4338454/the-lonely-island-jimmy-fallon-im-on-a-boat-remix/?iid=sr-link4 "undefined")” (because, what is?), but the song is a worthy addition to a collection of remixed songs that include Adele’s “[Hello](http://time.com/4126869/adele-fallon-hello-tonight-show-classroom-instruments/?iid=sr-link5 "undefined")”, Madonna’s “[Holiday](http://time.com/3817086/madonna-holiday-roots-jimmy-fallon/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined")”, and Metallica’s hard-hitting “[Enter Sandman](http://time.com/4574550/metallica-classroom-instruments-jimmy-fallon/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined")” which showed that in the right hands, even classroom instruments can be metal. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4685447/ed-sheeran-jimmy-fallon-song/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4685447/ed-sheeran-jimmy-fallon-song/"},"headline":"Ed Sheeran and Jimmy Fallon Played Classroom Instruments and the Results Are Masterful","datePublished":"2017-02-28T16:44:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:41:29.561Z","description":"Ed Sheeran's \"Shape of You\" almost sounds better on classroom instruments","url":"https://time.com/4685447/ed-sheeran-jimmy-fallon-song/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","Music","jimmy fallon","The Tonight Show","The Roots","ed sheeran"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4685447/ed-sheeran-jimmy-fallon-song/","name":"Ed Sheeran and Jimmy Fallon Played Classroom Instruments and the Results Are Masterful"}}]}] ```