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If You Leave Me Now - Guitar Lesson

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Band Overview

Chicago emerged from the late 1960s Chicago music scene as one of the most ambitious rock bands ever assembled, blending rock, jazz, pop, and a full horn section into a sound that was genuinely unlike anything else at the time. Originally called Chicago Transit Authority, the band debuted in 1969 and quickly became one of the best-selling American groups of the 1970s. For guitarists, Chicago is a fascinating study in how to hold your own in a dense, horn-driven arrangement without overplaying. The band's primary guitarist, Terry Kath, is widely regarded as one of the most underrated players in rock history, with Jimi Hendrix himself reportedly calling Kath better than he was. After Kath's tragic death in 1978, guitarist Donnie Dacus briefly took over before Bill Champlin and later Keith Howland carried the guitar duties through the band's pop-oriented 1980s and beyond. Terry Kath is the reason guitarists should care about Chicago. His playing on the early albums (Chicago Transit Authority through roughly Chicago VII) is a masterclass in blending jazz voicings, bluesy bends, aggressive distortion, and tasteful restraint. He could shred with the best of them, but he also understood when to lay back and let the horns carry the melody. His rhythm work is particularly impressive: complex chord voicings that weave between the brass parts, often using jazz-influenced extensions like ninths and thirteenths. His lead work ranges from Hendrix-style psychedelic wah freakouts to smooth, melodic lines that sit beautifully over the band's complex arrangements. For a song like "If You Leave Me Now," the guitar role shifts dramatically. This is Peter Cetera's soft ballad from 1976, where the guitar work is delicate, acoustic-driven, and supportive. It is a great exercise in fingerpicking restraint, clean arpeggiated chords, and understanding how to serve the song rather than dominate it. Overall difficulty for Chicago material varies wildly: the early Kath-era material is genuinely advanced, requiring knowledge of jazz harmony and confident improvisational chops, while the later pop hits are more accessible and perfect for intermediate players looking to develop dynamics and clean tone control.

What Makes Chicago Essential for Guitar Players

Terry Kath's lead style blended Hendrix-inspired wah work with jazz phrasing, creating lines that used chromatic passing tones and bebop-flavored runs over rock rhythms. Study his solo on '25 or 6 to 4' for a perfect example of aggressive rock soloing with a jazz brain.
Chicago's rhythm guitar parts often feature extended jazz chords (maj7, min9, 13th voicings) played with clean or lightly overdriven tone. Learning these voicings will expand your chord vocabulary well beyond standard barre shapes and open chords.
On ballads like 'If You Leave Me Now,' the guitar is primarily acoustic with gentle fingerpicking and arpeggiated patterns. This is excellent practice for right-hand control, dynamics, and playing with a soft touch while maintaining clarity.
Kath frequently used volume knob swells and wah pedal manipulations to create expressive, voice-like tones that could cut through the dense horn arrangements. Practicing volume swells into sustained notes will help you replicate this signature sound.
The band's later pop era (1980s onward) features more conventional rock guitar tones with cleaner rhythm parts and melodic lead fills. These songs are great for intermediate players working on tasteful fills, chord-melody concepts, and playing in a keyboard-heavy band context.

Did You Know?

Jimi Hendrix reportedly told a journalist that Terry Kath was a better guitarist than he was after seeing Chicago perform live. Whether apocryphal or not, the quote speaks to how highly Kath's peers regarded his playing.

Terry Kath was known for using a Fender Telecaster with humbuckers on early recordings, an unusual choice for the era that gave him a tighter, more focused distortion tone compared to typical Les Paul rock sounds.

On the original recording of '25 or 6 to 4,' Kath's guitar solo was recorded in a single take with heavy distortion and a wah pedal, creating one of the most iconic rock guitar moments of the 1970s.

Kath would sometimes tune his guitar down a half step to Eb standard, similar to Hendrix, to get a slightly slinkier feel and darker tone on certain tracks.

For 'If You Leave Me Now,' the guitar arrangement was kept intentionally sparse to spotlight Peter Cetera's vocals and the string section, making it one of the rare Chicago hits where the guitar is almost entirely acoustic and supportive.

Terry Kath built and modified several of his own guitars, including rewiring pickups and experimenting with unconventional electronics to achieve unique tones that the stock instruments could not produce.

Chicago's early live shows featured extended jam sections where Kath would improvise for 10 to 15 minutes, channeling jazz fusion and psychedelic rock in equal measure, something rarely captured on their studio albums.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Chicago Transit Authority 1969

This double album debut is where Terry Kath's guitar genius shines brightest. Tracks like 'Introduction' and 'Beginnings' showcase his ability to move from aggressive, wah-drenched leads to gentle jazz chords within the same song. Essential for any guitarist wanting to learn how to blend rock intensity with harmonic sophistication.

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Chicago II 1970

Home to '25 or 6 to 4,' which features one of the greatest rock guitar solos ever recorded. The album also includes extended suite-like compositions that demand advanced rhythm playing, odd time signatures, and dynamic control. This is where you learn to play guitar in a big band context without getting lost.

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Chicago X 1976

This is the album that contains 'If You Leave Me Now' and represents Chicago's shift toward polished pop-rock. For guitarists, it is a lesson in restraint, clean acoustic tone, and how to create emotional impact with simple, well-placed parts rather than flashy technique.

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Chicago V 1972

Featuring the hit 'Saturday in the Park,' this album balances pop accessibility with strong guitar work. Kath's rhythm parts on this record are a goldmine of funky, jazz-inflected chord work, and the interplay between guitar and piano teaches you how to share harmonic space effectively.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Terry Kath was most closely associated with a modified Fender Telecaster fitted with humbucking pickups, giving it more output and warmth than a stock Tele. He also played Gibson SGs and various custom-built instruments. On softer material like 'If You Leave Me Now,' a standard acoustic guitar (likely a Gibson or Martin dreadnought) was used to deliver warm, fingerpicked arpeggios.

Amp

Kath favored Fender Twin Reverb amplifiers for their clean headroom and ability to handle his dynamic range, from whisper-quiet jazz chords to full-blast rock leads. For heavier tones, he would push the amp harder or use external gain staging. The clean, scooped Fender sound paired perfectly with Chicago's horn-heavy arrangements, allowing the guitar to cut through without muddying the midrange.

Pickups

Kath's modified Telecaster featured humbucking pickups (likely Gibson PAF-style units or similar aftermarket replacements) in place of the stock single-coils. This gave him a fatter, more compressed tone with less hum, which was crucial for playing at high volume alongside a seven-piece horn section. The humbucker output sat in a sweet spot that allowed clean articulation at lower volumes and thick saturation when pushed.

Effects & Chain

Terry Kath's primary effect was a Cry Baby wah pedal, used extensively on solos like '25 or 6 to 4' and various live jams. He also used fuzz and distortion units to push his clean Fender amp into heavier territory. Beyond that, his setup was relatively minimal by modern standards. His tone came largely from his hands, his guitar's volume knob, and the natural dynamics of a tube amp pushed to its limits. For acoustic-driven tracks like 'If You Leave Me Now,' the signal chain was essentially straight to the board with no effects.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Fender Telecaster

Terry Kath's modified Telecaster with humbucking pickups delivered the fat, compressed tone needed to cut through Chicago's seven-piece horn section without muddying the mix. The upgraded pickups gave him versatility from clean jazz chords to thick, saturated rock leads.

Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Kath's Fender Twin Reverb provided the clean headroom and scooped midrange that let his guitar sit perfectly alongside horns while maintaining dynamic range from whisper-quiet passages to full-blast solos. The tube amp's natural breakup was essential to his tone-shaping approach.

Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

The Cry Baby wah was Kath's signature effect, most famously used on '25 or 6 to 4' to add expressive movement and color to his solos. It became a defining textural element in Chicago's early rock sound.

How to Practice Chicago on GuitarZone

Every Chicago song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice If You Leave Me Now - Guitar Lesson