Take It Easy Lick

Hi! This is Steven Eulberg for Jam Play’s Lick library. We’re going to take a look at a lick that was used at the beginning of “Take it Easy” by the Eagles, which is a really fun little thing to have in your repertoire. What we’re going to do is use a small bar on the 3rd fret playing on the B and the G strings that’s somewhat like the double stop slide and that we’re using the same strings. However, we need that small bar. So your first finger is just going to cover—We’re going to cover all three strings the G, the B and the E, but we’re not going to play the high E, we’re just going to play these two. This time, the hammer on is from the 2nd finger onto the 4th fret of the G string, and it’s like a grace note [Demonstration] And after you play that, I’m going back and I’m putting my finger—I ran out of fingers so I can’t just do something else. I could do the lick this way but it’s much more awkward for me to do it that way. So after I do the hammer on the B, we’re playing the B note, I’m going down to A, G, and then E, D. I’m plucking everything. [Demonstration] There we go and that’s how it starts. Try that real slow with me. Small bar, hammer, hammer, B, A, G, E, D. [Demonstration] That little B flat to B thing is a real fun kind of thing to store in the back of your mind for other songs as well. It’s got a bluesy feel when you do that. Let’s take a look at the board so you can see. Here are the notes that we’re actually playing. B flat and D together hammering to B. We do that twice in a grace note kind of way, and then B, A, G, E, D. Hammer, hammer, B, A, G, E, D. You’re holding the B just a little bit longer, slightly longer. Here is what it looks like here with our small bar on the third fret, hammer to the fourth fret, and then 4, 2, 0, 2, 0. Let’s see it one more time on the guitar. Here we go. [Demonstration] There you have it. The Take it Easy beginning lick.