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Eye of the Tiger was solely written for the movie Rocky III, which we all know stars Sylvester Stallone.  Story has it that Stallone loves the previous album of Survivor  (Premonition) and asked the band’s primary songwriter to write the main soundtrack for his next movie. “Stallone thought the sound, writing style and street appeal could fit in his new movie, so he called called Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan, who were Survivor’s primary songwriters, and left messages on their answering machines.” – Songfacts

Learn to Play Eye of the Tiger Intro Guitar riff

Here’s how to play Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger.  Throughout the whole song you can hear a muted note. This is actually the C note on the 3rd fret of the 5th string. It is being played on the first 3 bars of the song before the power chord C major.

This riff begins with punchy power chords. To play a power chord, you play the bottom note with the your index finger, then on the next string up you play two frets up with your ring finger, and then on the next string up from that, play the same fret with your pinky finger.

For instance, to play the first chord in this riff- a C power chord- you place your index finger on the 3rd fret of the A string, your ring finger on the 5th fret of the D string and your pinky finger on the 5th fret of the G string.

From there you move this shape up and down according to the tablature.

 


Intro: Cm - Cm - Bb - Cm -
- Cm - Bb - Cm - Cm - G - Ab (4 times) (Cm)

Cm           Ab
Risin’ up, back on the street
Bb                                  Cm
Did my time, took my chances
Cm                                           Ab
Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet
Bb                                       Cm
Just a man and his will to survive

So many times, it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

(Bb-Cm7)Fm Eb Bb
It’s the, eye of the tiger, it’s the thrill of the fight
(Bb-Cm7)Fm Cm-Bb
Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival
(Bb-Cm7)Fm Eb Bb
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
(Bb-Cm7) Fm Eb Ab (Cm)
And he’s watchin’ us all with the eye of the tiger…

Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin’ tough, stayin’ hungry
They stack the odds still we take to the street
For the kill with the skill to survive

It’s the eye of the tiger, it’s the thrill of the fight
Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he’s watchin’ us all with the eye of the tiger…

Risin’ up, straight to the top
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I’m not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive

It’s the, eye of the tiger, it’s the thrill of the fight
Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he’s watchin’ us all with the eye of the tiger…

The eye of the tiger…
The eye of the tiger…
The eye of the tiger…
The eye of the tiger…