Intro to 'Take it Easy'

fess

Senior Member
I'm trying to play along with the recording and it's making me crazy. It starts with that guitar chord. I know it's really on the 4& but since it the first thing you hear and it repeats every 4 beats, my brain immediately locks on to it as if it were on the 1. If I could count the song in, I think I'd be fine. But since it's a recording, I can't. Just thought I'd share my frustration.
 
I didn't find out that the guitar started on the & of 4 until I had heard the song about a million times. Which has really screwed me up, even now that I know better. If I'm not concentrating on hearing it correctly when the song starts, I still sometimes hear it starting on one. And once that happens, I can't seem to change where the one is in my brain. I have to be hearing it correctly from the beginning.

If I ever play it live, I ask the guitar player to give me a quiet count in. Which makes me feel like a complete loser. I'm as bad as those lead singers who need to hear a soft hi-hat quarter note during breaks to come back in at the right time. :(
 
If I ever play it live, I ask the guitar player to give me a quiet count in. Which makes me feel like a complete loser. I'm as bad as those lead singers who need to hear a soft hi-hat quarter note during breaks to come back in at the right time. :(

For me, the key was understanding the guitar changes chords on the & of 4. The intro fill is '&4&'.

When I first started/learning playing this song, I focused on those chord changes and internally counted a loud '&1' while tapping 8ths with my heel.

Most of the guys I've played this with like a soft pulse on hi-hat to start. Once they start playing, I feel out the intro and Take It Easy ;)
 
I've always thought the intro was off LOL whenever I was playing along with it I'd always just think to myself, okay come in at the wrong time, and I'd nail-it
 
With such things, i think things depend a lot on how you hear a song the first time, because regarding the Eagles song i always heard for myself clearly a sort of 'backbeat' going on in the acoustic guitar part..

But, as another example, i had the same problem for some time with this one, while maybe for other people is very clear from the beginning where the 'one' is..:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv5nOVNvRiI
 
With such things, i think things depend a lot on how you hear a song the first time, because regarding the Eagles song i always heard for myself clearly a sort of 'backbeat' going on in the acoustic guitar part..

But, as another example, i had the same problem for some time with this one, while maybe for other people is very clear from the beginning where the 'one' is..:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv5nOVNvRiI

Yeah, I'd never find my into that one.
 
Oh yeah, Take it easy threw me for a while, then once I heard where it started ('and' of 4) it all made sense. Then months later (well, now) listening to it again, I was hearing it wrong again, I'd forgotten where it actually starts. Now I'm hearing it correctly again. Check my thread The 'One' illusion that I posted last year,

www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138916

It's all about these cool types of intros that throw us. In fact, Take it easy is one of the songs mentioned at post #32.
 
..Then months later (well, now) listening to it again, I was hearing it wrong again, I'd forgotten where it actually starts. Now I'm hearing it correctly again. Check my thread The 'One' illusion..


Yes, i allready thought i posted that David Lee Roth example before..

Nice thread that is..
 
Yes, i allready thought i posted that David Lee Roth example before..

Nice thread that is..


Ah, I missed that one before. It's really good and threw me! Just now it took me many listens to figure out it starts on '+' of 1. It was easier to figure out when I heard the solo guitar riff again at 2:09 as it's in context from the groove just before it. It's one of those clever guitar riffs that you kind of have to get familiar with for the rhythm to make sense as far as counting it.
 
I've always thought the intro was off LOL whenever I was playing along with it I'd always just think to myself, okay come in at the wrong time, and I'd nail-it

Same here...could never count it so use the ‘feel it’ approach
 
Oh yeah, Take it easy threw me for a while, then once I heard where it started ('and' of 4) it all made sense. Then months later (well, now) listening to it again, I was hearing it wrong again, I'd forgotten where it actually starts. Now I'm hearing it correctly again. Check my thread The 'One' illusion that I posted last year,

www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138916

It's all about these cool types of intros that throw us. In fact, Take it easy is one of the songs mentioned at post #32.

As I mentioned in your thread, "Good Day in Hell" is another one the Eagles used the one illusion on, and they keep the illusion going for several bars, through the intro and well into the 1st V. Really cool and worth checking out.
 
..The bar where that drum fill comes in is either accidentally miscounted or very strangely written in 9/8..

..For real - count the intro. 8 measures.
On the 8th measure, count "1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + +"
The fill starts on 4 and is three 8th notes long..


Not correct..

When you count-in the song with 8th notes as 1+2+3+4+, then the guitar starts at 4+..

The drumfill starts in bar 8 on 3+..

When replacing the '+' for 'and', bar 8 would look like this..:

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and..

The highlighted counts are the counts from the fill..
 
If you’ve never run into these guys, you are in for a treat. They have a whole series but here’s the countin for Take It Easy.

https://youtu.be/bISlb3byI6k

LOL! That was great! Subscribed.

There a few songs over the years like this one that I could never get right. They just might be helpful.
 
Ohhhhhhh, yes I heard the version with the counting and the "4 and" is correct.


Oldkoolsoul and the others were right!
 
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