Hotel California Chords & Guitar Lesson
Welcome to my Hotel California chord chart by The Eagles. Such a classic song. Beautiful all around. I have gotten a lot of requests for this song on YouTube and through the contact form, so I figured why not.
So this version here is going to be the “Easy” version using a capo. We will still be in the same key as the original, so you will be able to play along with The Eagles, but it’s going to have less barre chords than the original which is always helpful.
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Hotel California Guitar Chords:
Hotel California Strumming Patterns:
Simple Strumming:
1 + 2+ 3+ 4+
D D DU
Simple Chorus Strumming:
1 2 3 4 +
D D D D U
Intro: P=picked note
1 2 + 3 + 4 + 1
D P P P D
Verse Strumming:
1 + 2 + 3 4 +
D D D U
Chorus Strumming:
1 2 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 3 + 4 +
D D D U D D DU DU
Want to learn more about 16th note strumming and improve on your playing? Check out Lauren’s Guitar Strumming Course.
Now, when I play this song, there is definitely A LOT of improvising on the strumming pattern. I will increase dynamics and intensity because on the lead guitar player too at times. Things to keep in mind for a song this amazing. I’ll give you a couple of examples of courses that you can play around with.
The intro, of course, has a lot of picking and again, this can all be improvised to. You can pick a few notes and strum as long as it’s in time. This is a timing that works well. Sometimes you can strum the 4 + and sometimes you can just hold on to the 3 and not strum. Variation is key.
Hotel California Guitar Lesson:
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Hotel California Chord Chart:
CAPO on the 2nd Fret. All chords are 2 measures each.
This means you will play the strumming pattern twice per chord.
Intro:
Am E G D F C Dm E
Am E G D F C Dm E
Verse:
Am E
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
G D
Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air
F C
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
Dm
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
E
I had to stop for the night
Am E
There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell
G D
And I was thinking to myself this could be heaven or this could be hell
F C
Then she lit up a candle, and she showed me the way
Dm E
There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say
Chorus:
F C
Welcome to the Hotel California.
E7 Am
Such a lovely place, such a lovely face
F C
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Dm E
Any time of year (any time of year) you can find it here
This file is the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It’s intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.
We do not distribute printable chord and lyrics charts. These charts are here only to support online learning. We highly recommend buying music from Hal Leonard or a reputable online sheet music store.