This classic song needs little introduction. Here we look at the main rhythm guitar for the song. The Eagles used a 12 string guitar with a Capo on the 7th fret, as we show here. There are also some lead guitar fills (and an epic solo), which we shall look at in separate ActionTabs.

We also show an easy version of the song in this ActionTab. It's a lot nicer for beginners. It sounds right and uses the same chords on a standard 6 string guitar.

Use this ActionTab to learn the main chord progressions for the verse and chorus. Then go back to the intro / picked parts and do them last. They are just variations of the main chord progressions, so will make more sense after learning the strummed chords first. At the core of the song is the same 2 chord progressions (verse and chorus). The whole song simply cycles between them both in one way or another:

Verse Chords - The basic chord progression for the verse is best looked at first (rather than the intro). Because a capo is used on fret 7 the chord shapes used give different chords than they would at open position. So we're giving you both names per chord in case you aren't used to using capos:

B minor (open E minor shape) - F#7 (B7 shape) - A sus2 (D sus2 shape) - Bm6 (Em6 shape) - G major (C major shape) - D major (G major shape) - Em7 (Am7 shape) - F#7 (B7 shape)

Chorus Chords - Like the verse, the chorus progression is also the same throughout the song. Here's what you need to know:

First half: - G major (C major shape) - D major (G major shape) - F#7 (B#7 shape) - B minor (E minor shape)

Just repeat that sequence again, with one slight change on the 3rd chord:

Second half: - G major (C major shape) - D major (G major shape) - E minor (A minor shape) - F#7 (B7 shape)

That is really all you need to know to play through the song. All the rest is just picking through the same chord sequences, albeit with a few finger changes. Learn the verse / chorus chords then go back to parts like the intro. It's just the verse progression, but single-picked. Rather than learn the whole thing note-for-note, you can just improvise by single-picking the chords in your own way. With a little work, it'll still sound great and very close to the original song. Don't forget to use the Loop / bookmark features to help you work through the song!