Take It Easy | TAB
There’s plenty of TAB to go through if you want to play Take It Easy using the correct chords and rhythms, I’ve designed this so it would work on one acoustic or as the only electric player in the band using a clean sound.
Let’s start with the intro.
Getting the timing right here is essential. When I first started playing along I put the first big strum on the downbeat. When the drums came in it was a car crash, it must be on the 4+.
That last lick fits in nicely using just the open G chord. The scale is a G Major Pentatonic.
Here’s verse 1, again, it’s got a funny rhythm…
Play along with the original recording and make sure you follow the TAB, it may take a while to get this right. There are plenty of open strings in there to get you from one chord to the next.
Let’s look at verse 2 so you can see the difference, the rhythm is now much simpler.
OK, so let’s look at chorus 1 (which appears before verse 2).
To me, the hardest part is playing that opening bar in a relaxed and confident way, it’s so easy to want to strum more. We want it to be this sparse so we can increase the intensity later.
When that Em comes back it’s much bigger and the following C and G chords play on string 1.
The final lick is awesome if you can play it in a relaxed way.
Here’s chorus 2.
Apart from having a new chord in bar 2, there are more little details that differ.
When you feel confident, play along with the original recording and make the necessary adjustments for the sections not mentioned here.
If something doesn’t feel quite right, tune down to 432Hz.
Take It Easy TAB | Related Pages
Take It Easy | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn to play Take It Easy by Eagles/Jackson Browne using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| G | G |
Well, I’m a-running down the road tryin’ to loosen my load…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- American Pie chords by Don McLean
- The Boxer chords by Simon & Garfunkel
- Doctor My Eyes chords by Jackson Browne
- Hotel California chords by the Eagles
- Ventura Highway chords by America
Eagles tunes
Formed in Los Angeles, the Eagles released their debut album in 1972. They spent the next seven years becoming one of the biggest bands in the world.
Their best tunes include Take It Easy, Hotel California, Lyin’ Eyes, Life In The Fast Lane, One Of These Nights, and Take It To The Limit.
Eagles On The Web
Jackson Browne tunes
Jackson Browne wrote his first big hit at 16 and had it covered by three artists before he released it himself.
His best-known tunes include Doctor My Eyes, Running On Empty, Somebody’s Baby, and Take It Easy.
Jackson Browne on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This guitar lesson by Dan Lundholm features TAB and covers Take It Easy. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.