How to play Take it Easy by The Eagles

Song Guides
Written By Michelle Nelson
Download the chart here

Classic country-rock hit Take it Easy by The Eagles is a great song for steel-string players. From their 1972 album Eagles,Take it Easy features a great example of high-energy rhythm guitar as well as signature solo lines. This chart is for the rhythm part and makes an excellent choice for established intermediate players ready for the energy demands of a fast tempo.

Chords: G C2 D4/C C D D4 Em Am G/B (G over a B bass)

Pick or Fingers? Pick ; the drive in this rhythm requires a strong, crisp tone with the downstrums really tight with the beat

Acoustic or Electric? Either will work for the rhythm guitar part but the lead part sounds best on electric. Not suited to nylon strings.

Lead guitar : The solo lines utilize the G Major pentatonic mode; this creates the classic country-rock soloing sound.

How does the intro rhythm work? The distinctive chord riff that starts Take it Easy is a syncopated pattern; the second strum is a downstrum on the 2nd upbeat but holds over the 3rd beat. The next strum is an upstroke on the 3rd upbeat. Follow the notated strum directions and count the rhythm as β€œ 1 2 and 3 and 4 and” etc.

Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 : To learn more about the chords and rhythms used in Take it Easy see pages 5, 8, 10, 12 - 14, 20 - 21, 24 and 30

Need a bit of help?

Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 is the perfect companion for our song guides. It will teach you how to read the rhythm slash notation used in our charts (and in professional theatre and studio charts) and is specially designed to help beginners speed up their chord changes, master strumming patterns, and many other techniques.

 
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Michelle Nelson

Michelle Nelson is a professional guitarist, composer, and educator with decades of experience across classical and electric styles. A fully accredited VMTA teacher, she has performed in rock bands, classical ensembles, and plucked string orchestras, and currently composes for the Birrarung Trio and Concordia ensemble. Michelle specialises in Classical (Classical era to Modern), Rock, and Blues guitar, and draws inspiration from artists like Ritchie Blackmore, Jeff Beck, Wes Montgomery, and Mauro Giuliani.

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