Jimmy Page Guitar Methods

Introduction

Jimmy Page was born in Heston, England in 1944. In the mid-60's, he started playing studio dates on rock albums. He joined a blues/rock band The Yardbirds in 1966 and two years later formed his own band called the New Yardbirds. They would eventually change their name to Led Zeppelin; a named coined from a friend who said that the band who sink like a lead zeppelin (a blimp which was later changed by Page who said, "No, sink like a Led Zeppelin"). Jimmy Page's style has always been bluesy, while with Led Zeppelin he revolutionized rock guitar with his heavy guitar riffs. He also tried to incorporate acoustic into his songs.

Deep Inside Jimmy Page's Style

01. Jimmy Page's Gear.
Page played live with his trusty Les Paul Custom, Danelectro LongHorn, or his double-neck Gibson SG. He tracked the first Zeppelin album and many others with a Supro amp. The 'Stairway To Heaven' solo was played with a Fender Telecaster through the same Supro amp! At live shows, he used a Marshall 100 watt which was hot rodded to put out 200 watts.

02. Jimmy Page Strumming Technique.
One of the most dynamic and versatile rhythm guitar players ever, Jimmy Page could switch between wall-busting power chords to barely-strummed triad chords or arpeggios. Jimmy was a master of acoustic guitar strumming as well (check out 'Over The Hills And Far Away' or 'Ramble On'). The keys to his brilliant strumming are dynamics (accents, loud or soft strums), mixing of single notes and chords, and skipping strums.

03. Brilliant Techniques.
Jimmy Page used a lot of great techniques which left other guitarists with no hope. Jimmy Page used to master the multi-hammer-on technique which is a way to play faster leads without needing to increase your picking hand speed. Few great guitarists ever mastered it in Page's time, fortunately for him he did. Page used to master another trick which was kinda original. This technique was mastered by using his fingers as a slide; the main idea behind this is using his first, second and particularly, his third finger to hold down partial chords and slide them around on the neck. This technique was used in alot of songs especially 'Whole Lotta Love.'

Page's Style In Songs

His best known work utilizes both his acoustic style and his bluesy style. This work of course is 'Stairway To Heaven.' Let's look at the intro riff, then the solo.

Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven
Intro:
E-------5-7-----7-|-8-----8-2-----2-|-0---------0-----|-----------------|
B-----5-----5-----|---5-------3-----|---1---1-----1---|-0-1-1-----------|
G---5---------5---|-----5-------2---|-----2---------2-|-0-2-2-----------|
D-7-------6-------|-5-------4-------|-3---------------|-----------------|
A-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-2-0-0---0--/8-7-|
E-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

E---------7-----7-|-8-----8-2-----2-|-0---------0-----|-----------------|
B-------5---5-----|---5-------3-----|---1---1-----1---|-0-1-1-----------|
G-----5-------5---|-----5-------2---|-----2---------2-|-0-2-2-----------|
D---7-----6-------|-5-------4-------|-3---------------|-----------------|
A-0---------------|-----------------|-----------------|-2-0-0-----------|
E-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

The intro really shows how Page likes to fingerpick arpeggios. The solo is based on the A Minor Pentatonic Scale. Sometimes he would add an F too, but if you look at the A Minor Pentatonic Scale you will see that if you change the E to an F you get the F Major Pentatonic Scale. Jimmy used a lot of pentatonic scales in his solos as you will see as we examine more of his solos.

Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven
Solo:
|----------5---------------|------------------8--8-|
|------------8-5-----------|-------------8b10------|
|---7b9----------7-5---7p5-|-----------------------|
|--------------------7-----|-7p5-------------------|
|--------------------------|----8------------------|
|--------------------------|-----------------------|

|--8b10---8--5  -----8--10-|-8-----------------------5-------|
|---------------8b10-------|---10-8----8h10------------8-5---|
|--------------------------|--------10-----------7b9-------7-|
|--------------------------|---------------------------------|
|--------------------------|---------------------------------|
|--------------------------|---------------------------------|

|----------------------------|----5------------------------|
|----------------------------|------8-5--------------------|
|-5---7p5------------5---5-5-|----------7-5--7p5-----------|
|---7-----7-5---5-7----7-----|-5------------7----7p5-7p5---|
|-------------7--------------|---------------------------8-|
|----------------------------|-----------------------------|

|---------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------13-|
|---------10-------------------12----12-14----|
|------10----12-10----10-12/14----14----------|
|-8/12-------------12-------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------|

|------------------------15b17-15-12----------------|
|--15b17-15-13--15-13-13-------------15b17-15-13----|
|------------------------------------------------14-|
|---------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------|

|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-13-15b17b15p13----13-15b17b15p13----13---15b17b15p13----13--15b17b15p13----|
|----------------14----------------14------------------14-----------------14-|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-13-15b17b15p13----13--15b17b15p13----13--15b17b15p13----13--15b17b15p13----|
|----------------14-----------------14-----------------14-----------------14-|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

|------------------------------------------15b17--|
|-13--15b17b15p13----13---15b17b15p13----13-------|
|-----------------14------------------14----------|
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------|

|-b17b15-12---12--------------------------------15--|
|-----------15---15--13----13-15-13---13--15b17-----|
|-----------------------14----------14--------------|
|---------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------|

-----------------------------|-----------17----------------------------------|
-15b17b15p13----13/12--13/10-|--------20----20-20----------------------------|
-------------14--------------|--19b21-21----------19b21b19p17---19--17----19-|
-----------------------------|--------------------------------19-------19----|
-----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
-----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|

|--------------------|--------------------------------|--------------|
|--------------------|--------------------------------|--------------|
|-19b21--13/12 13/10-|--14b17--14b17-14--12--14--12-12b14------------|
|--------------------|--------------------------------|--------------|
|--------------------|--------------------------------|--------------|
|--------------------|--------------------------------|--------------|

|-----------------------------------|----------8/7--8/5--|
|-----------------------------------|--------------------|
|-10b14----10b12b10-9-7----7--------|-7-9-7--------------|
|-----------------------10----10----|-------10-7---------|
|-----------------------------------|--------------------|
|-----------------------------------|--------------------|

|----20-p17------20-p17------20-p17------20-p17------20-p17-----20b22-|
|-17--------17----------17----------17----------17----------17--------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|

Here is an easier way to play the beginning of the solo. This riff can replace the beginning riff. It sounds the same, but it is easier to play:

E|-----5p3----------------|-------|
B|----------5p3-----------|-------|
G|-7b9-----------6p3--7p5-|-------|
D|------------------------|-7p5---|
A|------------------------|-----8-|
E|------------------------|-------|

The next riff I am going to show you comes from 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You.' This song has a great acoustic part and it shows the acoustic fingerpicking style of Jimmy.

Led Zeppelin - Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
E|-------0--------|----------------|----------------|-----------------|
B|-------------1--|-------3-----1--|-------3-----1--|-------1-------0-|
G|-----2-----2----|-----0-----0----|-----2-----2----|-----2-------1---|
D|---2-----2------|---2-----2------|---0-----0------|---3-------2-----|
A|-0-----0--------|----------------|----------------|-----------------|
E|----------------|-3-----3--------|-2-----2--------|-1-------0-------|

For Jimmy's heavy style I am going to show you two riffs and a solo. One riff is from 'Houses Of The Holy' and the other riff and the solo is from 'Whole Lotta Love.' The Houses of the Holy riff is based heavily on an A major pentatonic scale. It is a driving riff that really shows the hard edge of Jimmy.

Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
E|-------------|-----------2-2--|
B|--------2-2--|-------2-2-2-2--|
G|--------2-2--|-------2-2-2-2--|
D|--2-----2-2--|-2-----2-2-2-2--|
A|--3-4-0-0-0--|-3-4-0-0-0------|
E|-------------|----------------|

Here's the great riff to 'Whole Lotta Love.' This riff is another driving riff that Jimmy turned out:

Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love
E|-------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------------|
G|----------9-------9-------9-------9-------9-------9-------9\-|
D|---0------9-------9-------9-------9-------9-------9-------9\-|
A|---5---5--7-------7-------7-------7-------7-------7-------7\-|
E|-7---7------0-0-0---0-0-0---0-0-0---0-0-0---0-0-0---0-0-0----|

The solo to 'Whole Lotta Love' is based on the E Minor Pentatonic Scale. It shows a lot of heavy bluesy riffs which define Jimmy Page's soloing style.

Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love
Solo:
E |--------12----------------------------------------------|
B |-----12----15-12-----------------------------3----------|
G |-b14-------------15p14p12-14-12-b14~~~~--2/4---4\2-0-2p0|
D |--------------------------------------------------------|
A |--------------------------------------------------------|
E |--------------------------------------------------------|

E |-------------------------12---------15------------------|
B |----------------------12----b15-b15----b15~~~--17-b20r--|
G |0-2p0-------------b14-----------------------------------|
D |------2p0-2p0-------------------------------------------|
A |--------------2-----------------------------------------|
E |----------------0---------------------------------------|

E |-------------------b19-19-18-17-------------------------|
B |------20p17~~~--17--------------20p17-20-17~~~--17-19---|
G |21p18---------------------------------------------------|
D |--------------------------------------------------------|
A |--------------------------------------------------------|
E |--------------------------------------------------------|

E |------------19------------------------------------------|
B |b19-b19-b19----17~~~------------------------------------|
G |--------------------------------------------------------|
D |--------------------------------------------------------|
A |--------------------------------------------------------|
E |--------------------------------------------------------|

This final riff is probably one of the favourite Led Zeppelin Riff it comes from 'Black Dog.'

Led Zeppelin - Black Dog.
E|----------------|-----------------------|----------------------|
B|----------------|-----------------------|----------------------|
G|----------------|-5-------7--9---5h7p5--|--------5-------------|
D|----5--6--7-----|-----7-----------------|-7---7------7---5--7--|
A|-7-----------7--|-----------------------|----------------------|
E|----------------|-----------------------|----------------------|

E|---------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------|
D|--7-------------------2----------------------------------------|
A|------5---7---3---5---0----------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------------------|

Jimmy Page also won Third Prize as a Guitar Survivor. In the light of Page's outstanding third place finish in the Guitar Survivor competition, the following feature is designed to provide a resource for Jimmy Page, Born James Patrick Page. "Jimmy" grew to become arguably the most influential rock guitarist since Jimi Hendrix.

The guitarist, however, has been plagued by recent back problems, which has kept Page from appearing with the band on numerous occasions. Whatever Jimmy Page does or doesn't do for the rest of his career, he has made a lasting impact on the guitar community. Whether through his song writing style, or through his signature Les Paul sound, Page is fully deserving of his fine placing in the Guitar Survivor competition.

Conclusion

Indeed in many of others' opinion, Page was the most talented guitarist ever lived since Jimi Hendrix.

“I think when you're faced with a plight that's inescapable, and there's something you can do about it, you hope you can make a difference.” - Jimmy Page.

Well this is it, long but sweet, when you read this, you should get on your guitar and start practicing because there's no way you're going to get better by reading only.

Comments

[stevo192]

far too long and complex break it down more

[~TheLastWarrior]

Not even close to displaying the HUGE diversity Page had. And you forgot to mention he was the sloppiest player around in the 70s.

[W4T3V3R]

er wtf page rules. No1 Solo ever written/played too (stairway to heaven)

[Sonneter maker]

I feel you didn't cover the pentatonic scales that defined jimmy's style enough, perhaps a delve into the hows and why's of his riffs. A bit vague on describing the riffs

[Sonneter maker]

i do like the way you let the music speak for itself

[sk8byf8bob]

how was he the sloppiest player in the 70's. try the greatest

[oscar7557]

jimmy page is the best but come on lets be honest there were only three stlys back then page's clapton's and hendrix and outa thoughs three page's licks are lazy witch is kewl

[SlashandClapton]

Sabbath was around the same time as zeppelin and you cannot compare Iommi to any of those 3, exept for the use of minor penatonic

[fingersofflame]

sorry, but this is a really generic look at page's style, cuz
1) you don't go nearly deep enough into page's many styles, like Kashmir, or the intro for Whole Lotta Love, which uses palm muting, which is basically a standard now for metal and anything under the umbrella of alt. rock
2) your explanations themselves were pretty generic, considering that it is painfully obvious when looking at tablature of zep that it is heavily based on the pentatonic scale
3) it wasn't a bad lesson, just somewhat mediocre

[Kadaj]

So apart from a few tabs that I've already seen, what does this tell me about Page?

[Kadaj]

Also, he wasn't 'the sloppiest player', he only did the tracks to songs once or twice, he didn't correct any mistakes because he preferred the live style. Just because other artists spent times correcting their songs doesn't make Jimmy the sloppiest.

[dr.guitar]

Jimmy's awesome!

[~TheLastWarrior]

Also, he wasn't 'the sloppiest player', he only did the tracks to songs once or twice, he didn't correct any mistakes because he preferred the live style. Just because other artists spent times correcting their songs doesn't make Jimmy the sloppiest.

Oh great now I'll have to explain myself.. Page did the best of three takes on studio albums. Heartbreaker is a great example of a solo that Page played sloppy on the album, and much cleaner and faster live ? after he had time to really learn/practice it. The legions of Zep fans, and the rest of the non-guitar playing world doesn't give a fat rat's ass!

And another thing, Page's TUNINGS! Heck, he didn't even mention them.

[coffeeguy9]

Bron-yr-aur, anyone? It let me down a little bit. And I think the one song that shows Jimmy's improv with the pentatonic the most is any live version of "Since I've been Loving You."

[CowboyUp]

Really should have talked about how he used alternate tunings. Kashmir, Rain Song, Bron-yr-aur, etc.

This lesson kinda dissapointed me. All it really did was show a bunch of tabs I've already seen. You should have also done more on his awesome rhythm techniques. You mentioned them, but you could write a lesson twice as long just on those.

[RoughDraft]

i love Jimmy Page but you guys over think stairway to heaven...
besides my fav. song by him is Since I've Been loving You

[freedom35]

Hey, I knew I saw this somewhere before, I seen on this site (http://www.guitarlessonworld.com/lessons/lesson.php?num=37&category=Lesso
n), but anyway this lesson is not to bad.

[zep_hed449]

Get your hands on "white Summer" live or studio, I havent heard or played anything that can compare. The lesson's the tip of the iceberg but good job anywho...

[zep_hed449]

Get your hands on "white summer" live or studio, nothing that Ive heard or played can compare in the creative aspect.

[RunRabbitRun]

white summer is crazy jimmy page rules

[LedZeppelin650]

Very undecribed version here, but Page is the absolute best guitarist. Nobody had that caliber of creativity. And on sloppy, look at Bron Y Aur, thats an incredible piece of guitar playing. WHITE SUMMER Jimmy Page is the best!

"A Zeppelin fan is a friend of mine anyday"

[blues dues]

erm ye twas a good read, but page did loads of folkie acoustic stuff you shud have done more on that

[blues dues]

oh ye and white summer is awsum, have you seen the live version?

[info2new]

fingersofflame :
sorry, but this is a really generic look at page's style, cuz
1) you don't go nearly deep enough into page's many styles, like Kashmir, or the intro for Whole Lotta Love, which uses palm muting, which is basically a standard now for metal and anything under the umbrella of alt. rock
2) your explanations themselves were pretty generic, considering that it is painfully obvious when looking at tablature of zep that it is heavily based on the pentatonic scale
3) it wasn't a bad lesson, just somewhat mediocre

Theres always somebody who needs to FuCk up the article with a stupid comment like this.

Stupid comment = Stupid/lame comment writer....,

Hope you liked it for those of you who enjoyed it, unfortunately it was too long and ultimate guitar asked me to delete some of the words and i had to, that's why there is a lot of information missing..... thanks anyways

[scottishmob]

info2new wrote:

fingersofflame :
sorry, but this is a really generic look at page's style, cuz
1) you don't go nearly deep enough into page's many styles, like Kashmir, or the intro for Whole Lotta Love, which uses palm muting, which is basically a standard now for metal and anything under the umbrella of alt. rock
2) your explanations themselves were pretty generic, considering that it is painfully obvious when looking at tablature of zep that it is heavily based on the pentatonic scale
3) it wasn't a bad lesson, just somewhat mediocre


Theres always somebody who needs to FuCk up the article with a stupid comment like this.

Stupid comment = Stupid/lame comment writer....,

Hope you liked it for those of you who enjoyed it, unfortunately it was too long and ultimate guitar asked me to delete some of the words and i had to, that's why there is a lot of information missing..... thanks anyways

Whoa, whoa, whoa!
How was that a stupid comment? He didn't just say 'its sucks' and leave it at that, he actually gave you critiscm!

[Guitargod12345]

fingersofflame wrote:
sorry, but this is a really generic look at page's style, cuz
1) you don't go nearly deep enough into page's many styles, like Kashmir, or the intro for Whole Lotta Love, which uses palm muting, which is basically a standard now for metal and anything under the umbrella of alt. rock
2) your explanations themselves were pretty generic, considering that it is painfully obvious when looking at tablature of zep that it is heavily based on the pentatonic scale
3) it wasn't a bad lesson, just somewhat mediocre

Okay this lesson focused on some of the greatist of Led. So I'll continue on what Info2new wrote. Palm muting that is used in Led is what influenced metal guitarists to Palm Mute. A method used by some one like Jimi Page has been use alot since 1969-1980 with Led so at this moment in time it looks generic. and finally, the pentatomic scale is the main scale useds in most of the guitar solos in classic rock, the scale that has the sound of Rock.

In my oppinion this lesson was a great method. This other guy just based the lesson along with modern day guitar methods made during this moment.

[peanut head]

man, you really messed up alot! you didn't even delve into his more bluesy stuff, or his alternate tunings. and his main guitar was not a 'les paul custom'it was a les paul standard dumbass!

[g-unitie]

didnt help me at all....way to long and i think your facts were a bit off

[fronkpies]

He used a telecaster for the first album

[Sonneter maker]

Play the fender emmulator

[Glen'sHeroicAct]

ok it wasnt bad, but it didnt really show any ways to learn Page's style or how to play like him, it just said that he used pentatonic scales, which everyone uses, and that he hand picks arpeggios and stuff. its nice to know this stuff cuz i dont get to listen to Page too often, but i think a little more detail would make it much better.

[info2new]

peanut head wrote:

man, you really messed up alot! you didn't even delve into his more bluesy stuff, or his alternate tunings. and his main guitar was not a 'les paul custom'it was a les paul standard dumbass!

First thing.. YOU are a dumbass... he didn't just use a Les Paul Standard he used, Telecaster for the first album, and then "which you saw as a LES PAUL STANDARD" that was a Les Paul Custom made on the Les Paul Standard so it means that he used a Les paul standard but he customized some ShIt

[eskycorp]

I think some people are taking this article way too seriously. It was a good read meant to give some brief examples of what makes him a great guitarist, and what we think of now as common techniques, were kinda inventive in 1968.

[iggy pop]

bow to Jimmy Page. the rock god!

[cmonfeelthenoiz]

he also used a danelectro for some of his rythm playing
and about the "sloppy" playing, that is what makes him interesting to listen to

[harmdogg]

since everyone is on here picking on everybody in their ignorant matter-of-fact opinions, i thought i'd clear a few things up:

1. it was keith moon who said page's new band would 'fall like a lead zeppelin'. page & grant thought it would be a good idea to change it from lead to led so people wouldn't mispronounce it.

2. his famous les paul was actually given to him by joe walsh. and page did is own modifications: pick-ups, switches under the pick guard, built in phaser, etc. (fun fact: walsh also taught page the 'slide technique' and he's even still a little bitter because he was never thanked formally.)

3. his sloppy technique. this is one of the 239,756 reasons why he's #1 in my book. sloppy doesn't mean bad. if you own the 2 disk dvd set of them, check out 'i can't quit you babe' and you'll see what everyone means by sloppy and how awesome it is. that's jimmy page at full speed baby and every page fan loves it. if you don't, i guess you're not :-(

4. all you morons givin info2new grief because he didn't talk about the songs you think accent his 'technique', since you know so much about it, why are you on here in the first place? make your own damn article if you can do it so much better.

info2new, is was a nice gesture to make an article on his technique. maybe i read it way too fast, but i didn't notice anything about his actual technique. you pointed out a few songs but thats it. and actually a better word to use would be, style. i don't know why it's so important to sound like jimmy page in the first place. yes, he's my favorite but i don't want to sound exactly like him. i want to sound like me. plus, it would be impossible because we all have different hands, guitars, strings, taste in music, drug habits. take all these things into consideration, listen to all your favorite guitar players and bands, breathe it in, appreciate it for what it's worth, let all the little licks and bends and chords and notes influence you. then put out your own style.

truth is, there's nothing you can read and then pick up your guitar and sound like jimmy page, or billy gibbons, or jimi hendrix, or clapton. honestly, i don't even know why i'm on here. just listen to your tunes and pick up that guitar and bang the hell out of it man!

happy playing

[highway_star]

Well, I love Zep and Pages playing but as years roll by and you hear other stuff you realise that some (not all, but some) of Jimmys stuff isnt that original. 'White Summer' is kind of in the 'Black Mountain Side' idiom and Jimmy basically ripped that off from Bert Jansch on an instrumental piece that goes way back; 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' was by Anne Bredon. There are another bunch of songs that Zep have been taken to court over and sued 'cos they claimed them as originals. Jimmy in full flight is superb but I guess an artical like this doesnt have the space to really cover the roots of his music and what he tapped in to for his inspiration going back to stuff in the 50's/40's/30's (he was born in the last year of the second world war after all!).

Anyhoo, my personal axe hero was Blackmore. (Hendrix too of course, you should all dig out 'Axis Bold as Love', an astonishing display of hard rock/blues guitar playing )

[cmonfeelthenoiz]

harmdog rocks
in addition to the 2 disc set check out how the west was won, which is a 3 disc set. its incredible.

[LongLiveRock628]

i have seen the exact same thing on a different website. all you learn r some riffs.

[benbold]

It's a good article. Some of you braindead rock dudes are so churlish (look it up in the dictionary, dics).

[goodfella91]

WAAAAAYYYYY too short to even BEGIN to describe page and his broad techniques
- good try, though...

[Donkey Fly]

'Jimmy Page used a lot of great techniques which left other guitarists with no hope'


How exactly?

[highway_star]

There are some claims here that leave me stunned. Apparently, Page/Zep are responsible for palm muting techniques in metal today?...where do people get these nuggets of information? palm muting is a technique used in god knows how many styles of guitar playing. Page/Zep had nothing to do with it. An excellent guitar player yes, but please lets get some perspective on just how good he was.

I've no problem with the lesson as such, it will help someone, but some of the stuff surrounding it - oh boy!

[Led_Zeppelin992]

~TheLastWarrior wrote:

Not even close to displaying the HUGE diversity Page had. And you forgot to mention he was the sloppiest player around in the 70s.

Dude he wasn't sloppy, your just deaf.

[theguitarist]

Checked.


And stop bickering.

[floydzeppelin77]

Needed to broaden a lot more on his acoustic style. The acoustic style is almost always forgotten or left very short in these Zeppelin lessons, taking into account Led Zeppelin III was largely acoustical and every other album has had at least 1 to 2 acoustic songs. The lesson was extremely short and I would have proposed focusing a one of Page's styles instead of all of them. Encompassing one style would have been much more effective. No doubt he was an excellenet guitarist (in my mind the best) not only because of his style, but more so because of his quiality of production which exceeds Hendrix's which to many people fell short.

[Mike_Callahan]

sk8byf8bob wrote:

how was he the sloppiest player in the 70's. try the greatest

he was really sloppy....but that made his sound different than everyone else. but anyways..this lesson...like mine...is lacking a bunch of content. I think that you need to focus alot more on the riff. Anyways page was amazing...and ya

[Maitinin]

i'm sorry, but this review isn't really telling me anything. you talk a lot about how influental he was and what he kinda did, but you haven't been in depth with things, so nope, I'm not getting a better guitarist by reading this...

[~TheLastWarrior]

Dude he wasn't sloppy, your just deaf.

Umm... have you ever heard a song called 'Heartbreaker'? I've said it before and I'll say it again, Pagey was always much cleaner in the live shows (not always though...)

[guitarledzep]

limmy has some more styles!!!!! come on guys!!!

[slash-no1-]

Jimmy Rocks, Great Article, This article wasn't much about his technique dude, after all it says Jimmy Page Guitar Methods it doesn't mention any Techniques into the Title, he just Showed us a few points about Jimmy Page's Methods, thanks info2new!!!

[David.O]

Come on y'all!! Page was/is GREAT...I seen 'em live several times and they put on a hell of a show.
Anytime i can learn sumthin from someone trying to write this stuff down,I feel greatful.
IF we had the talent of our heros we wouldn't need this stuff.

[theguitarist]

slash-no1- wrote:

Jimmy Rocks, Great Article, This article wasn't much about his technique dude, after all it says Jimmy Page Guitar Methods it doesn't mention any Techniques into the Title, he just Showed us a few points about Jimmy Page's Methods, thanks info2new!!!

Don't thank him, this column is plagarised.

[Led_Zeppelin992]

he's right it is

[lespaulkevin]

this was so stupid what a waste of an article the author obviously dosn't know anything about jimmy page. You totally looked over the other bands jimmy was in. Also how his style progressed.

[LongLiveRock628]

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/f/p/fpm108/glw/lessons/lesson37.htm

the exact lesson on a different site but ive known of this b4 it came up on UG. info2new u r a sad man

[I_Dont_Know]

~TheLastWarrior wrote:

Also, he wasn't 'the sloppiest player', he only did the tracks to songs once or twice, he didn't correct any mistakes because he preferred the live style. Just because other artists spent times correcting their songs doesn't make Jimmy the sloppiest.


Oh great now I'll have to explain myself.. Page did the best of three takes on studio albums. Heartbreaker is a great example of a solo that Page played sloppy on the album, and much cleaner and faster live ? after he had time to really learn/practice it. The legions of Zep fans, and the rest of the non-guitar playing world doesn't give a fat rat's ass!

And another thing, Page's TUNINGS! Heck, he didn't even mention them.

I know!!! that must have started so much praug rock

[highway_star]

What about his tunings? most were from other people - DADGAD for instance was something a guy called Davy Graham (born in England, though of Scottish/Guyanan parents) introduced to other guitarists. If you go to this site,

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?z=y&EAN=5020393305020
&ITM=3

scroll to track 17 and listen to the sample (which dates to around 1963/64) you will hear Davy Graham playing what is clearly an excerpt that Page ripped off from him for 'White Summer' - not just this 30 second sample but the entire damned track! and then claimed he wrote it. Pathetic. Zeps plagiarism of other peoples music is notorious.

[harmdogg]

highway star,

there's no plagiarism there. they're not one to steal music. like on babe i'm gonna leave you, or on whole lotta love (when they went to court), that's not theft. how often have you listened to the radio and heard a song, and not been able to think of the artist. me? a few times, **** it. who's gonna care? (except tom petty, haha... and i guess willie dixon) have you ever played homage to a band? yeah, you hear a lot of stuff on the radio, they took a few lyrics. howlin' wolf played these songs originally, but written by willie dixon. why don't you criticize him. it doesn't matter. it's the blues! get over it, DOESN'T MATTER!!

chill. DADGAD was a very popular tuning, sounds a little complex than your drop d, i know... wait, most? i think there was only two? maybe three? made up his own. DGCGCD (rain song), CFCFAF (bron yr aur), DGDGBD (bron yr aur stomp, going to california & that's the way). it's ok, that's a few. don't forget he's playing crazy tunings on his BANJO on gallow's pole. mr negative, why are you wanting to learn about jimmy page in the first place. hey, i have a tuning for you... F U

[harmdogg]

plus, mr star,

that song was only played in concert. never on an album. you know how many covers they did in concert?! can i say, "sh!t tons"?

[highway_star]

FU? cant see anyone on here called that....well, I want to learn about Page because I like Zep and I like Pages guitar playing but I dont kid myself about where some of their stuff came from. And you are quite right about the blues as a style in which people lift other riffs - the blues is pretty restricted as a style of playing.

What really hacks me off about the stuff on here is how Page is referenced without question as being the source of all things when in fact he himself had in fact picked up on a whole bunch of other stuff by other players.

Borrowing ideas is ok, every style of music does it - it doesnt get away from the complete rip off of White Summer, like it or not; or indeed Black Mountain Side. Can you pass that on to FU for me. Cheers.

Love you xxxx

[blacksides]

actually he uses a danelectro dc2 not a longhorn

[acidgreeny]

maybe page was sloppy, maybe,so what, his legacy to rock and to guitar is as great or greater than most.he inspired more pimple faced kids to pick up a guitar than hundreds of others and redefined how many musos play their music.have you heard u2's live at red rock thats sloppy ,but who gives a damn.i wait to be inspired by "last warriors" contribution to music.

[acidgreeny]

it's sad that most of the critics dont realise that they play jimmys licks everyday .

[irishRW]

~TheLastWarrior wrote:

Not even close to displaying the HUGE diversity Page had. And you forgot to mention he was the sloppiest player around in the 70s.

Fair enough, he played sloppy sometimes - you only have to watch the live dvds to see evidence of that. But that's cause he was so outofit on booze an drugs every night! Also, some of the best players every are renowned slops - Jimi Hendrix played sloppy, Jeff Beck makes mistakes all the time! The true test of a great guitarist is their ideas, their creativity. You look at the mountains of lightning fast shredders nowadays who never make a mistake, anybody can attain those kind of skills with practice and discipline. What makes the likes of Pagey, Hendrix and Dave Gilmore so special isn't masterful technique. It's the original and beautiful music they make that makes us love them so much.

And who cares if he ripped off every blues artist ever to strum or stole some obscure instrumental track that nobody even likes that much anyway. Everybody is a ripoff artist. Things like this don't come out of thin air. Ideas are developed not born from nothing. It's the end product that matters. Stop slandering the zep, fool.

[Caseguitar]

i liked the article. it was a good lenght. as for a comment about there was only 3 styles back then u r dead wrong. some classic zep stuff that i like r the copenhagen one i believe(only saw a portion but amazed non the least) and the bbc sessions. the solo on thank you on it rivals stairway and what ever one you can think of. and oh i agree definitly with last warrior. its about creativity and exploration.

[Caseguitar]

sorry i agree with the irsh dude

[Caseguitar]

acidgreeny wrote:

maybe page was sloppy, maybe,so what, his legacy to rock and to guitar is as great or greater than most.he inspired more pimple faced kids to pick up a guitar than hundreds of others and redefined how many musos play their music.have you heard u2's live at red rock thats sloppy ,but who gives a damn.i wait to be inspired by "last warriors" contribution to music.

amen brother!

[acidgreeny]

hey irish, true comment ,the warrior hasnt quite understood that creating a great solo isnt about what you put in but what you leave out.its about tension and resolution about question and answer.its not about filling a space with music.if you dont feel it you cant play it.ive beenplaying for more than twenty yrs done my gigging paid my dues but still learn everyday. TheLastWarrior is either a great artist whose skills outshine the masters or just a wanker.what do you think

[guitar_freak_20]

truwly, a solo is baout understanding the hcords, the notes, scales, and communicating with the audience, Jimmy Page was also pretty smart during soolos, he used what are now called motifs, which little musical ideas that you can screw around with on the key or rythme. My point is that Jimmy Page wasn't sloppy at all, he thought about what he was playing and understood what he was dong, which in my opinion is what a geat musicien is made of.

[guitar_freak_20]

but hey, that just my opinion - mind the spelling errors by the way.

[guitar_freak_20]

If you ant to hear another amazing guitarit listen ot mark knopfler

[acidgreeny]

too true guitar freak listening to a great soloist is like hearing a great story and knopfler is a great storyteller, its like a conversation he has with you,personally.

[irishRW]

That's strange, I'm listening to Sultans of Swing as I read this I've only really discovered Knopler lately but he's already left a big impression on me. His lyrics remind me of Phil Lynot's (Thin Lizzy) style.

"if you dont feel it you cant play it" I totally agree man. I'm a big Floyd-head so feeling is everything for me. That's not to say I can't apprecciate a great technical player, though. Some of them manage to balance speed with emotion, Gary Moore, John Petrucci. Nuno Bettencourt is probably my fabourite guitarist at the moment, he always tempers his unbeleivable technique with gushes of emotion - one of the greatest modern songwriters in my opinion. And yes, TheLastWarrior is possibly an amazing musician - but's prolly just a dick

[JannikGuitarboy]

Well Dude I Also love Jimmy Page he is like the ultimate guitarist of all times nice work man I'll definately try it out.

[JannikGuitarboy]

I know I'm still a newbee here at ultimate guiatr but I sure as hell love playing guitar. Me and my band played this song and I played the solo it is just so cool I love his style it is just so mellow and cool.
If u have the time please dont hesitate to send me a message or something.

[sarkames]

I ♥ Strwy 2 hvn though

[sarkames]

I Love Stairway to Heaven

[acidgreeny]

a small dick with a massive ego

[acidgreeny]

love thin lizzy i guess with a name like irish its understandable you love them too.gary moore and snowy white what a team.the solo on "i'm still in love with you" is a true classic.fantastic synchro guitar riffs and a full rockin sound.just awsome.

[mattfm]

complicated. too many tabs, too little explanation

[LedZeppelin650]

eskycorp wrote:

I think some people are taking this article way too seriously. It was a good read meant to give some brief examples of what makes him a great guitarist, and what we think of now as common techniques, were kinda inventive in 1968.

I find what you said here kind of off. I mean to say his techniques were common, hell i've never seen any guitarist create work like him. He's the Beethoven of classic rock. And i don't exactly see any one guitarist doing anything like him. I mean these days to be called a guitarist you just have to be able to play powerchords. Not like saying what you said was dumb, but its just the fact that everything back then from music to automobiles was more innovative than anything today.

[yng_hplss]

jimmy is my iDOL!! his style on the guitar is the best & it helped me alot when i was first learning. i think the harder the music tabs u use, the better u r in the future. so use classic rock tabs or jimmy's here to improve. it'll be VERY hard in the beginning, but it's TOTALLY worth it on the end. TRUST ME!!!

[ajink101]

he may have been sloppy...but look at how much money he made, compaired to most of you....so it really didn't matter PLUS this isn't about anything else except some of his styles.

[cheeseisthebomb]

this was an okay lesson. It didn't make me a better guitarist or anything, but i DID learn the whole lotta love solo, thank you for that ;->.

[irishRW]

yng_hplss wrote:

jimmy is my iDOL!! his style on the guitar is the best & it helped me alot when i was first learning. i think the harder the music tabs u use, the better u r in the future. so use classic rock tabs or jimmy's here to improve. it'll be VERY hard in the beginning, but it's TOTALLY worth it on the end. TRUST ME!!!

I agree man, learn the hard tabs, it'll be hell at first but it pays off. Powertab is where its at. Not only can u hear the song syncronised with the tab and practise reading music - the tabs are usually always accurrate with few exceptions.

[ElThomas]

hey page rocks. all of you bashin on him should die. his sloppiness was what made him a god

[eddievhjunior]

Nice article. Only one complaint: his Danelectro was a 3021 SHORThorn.

[Les__Paul__630*]

wow, if it weren't for Jimmy Page, I wouldn't even be playing guitar

[krew118es]

jimmy is the best. no one can come up with the shit he did and thats why he's famous. he has his own style. if it's sloppy or slow or lazy or not technical enough for anyone then they can **** off. jimmy did his own thing and he was recognized for it.

[jimmy_page90]

damn jimmy pages dragon telecaster was sick why cant they make a signature guitar series for him?

[paul87]

you should have talked about his middle eastern influence and alternate tunings ex. Bron y Aur, Kashmir, White Summer. He played solos from other scales besides minor pent.

[trainwreck4444]

Yes this article is not very detailed. I found tons of zeppelin how to play dvds at note4note.us. these things are awesome, they include all the guitar parts

[-heartbreaker-]

this was pretty flawed and it was a waste of time.

Page played live with his trusty Les Paul Custom

he used that guitar for like 3 years and it was stolen. he was famous for a LP Standard anyways.

Here is an easier way to play the beginning of the solo. This riff can replace the beginning riff. It sounds the same, but it is easier to play:
E|-----5p3-----|-----|
B|-----5p3-----|-----|
G|-7b9-----6p3--7p5-|----
-|
D|-----|-7p5---|
A|-----|-----8-|
E|-----|-----|

thats a completely improper way, yeah.
this was also a very brief article, and apparently its stolen?
LAME.

[craftercon65]

Tbh culd hav got these tabs from UG anyways but thx for the explanation of his techniques. 7/10

[Crazy Metal Man]

u morons.....JIMMY PAGE RULES..... and yea this articale was pretty good..... cuz u cant freeeking cover everything about one of the best guitarists in one aritcal

[JimiatWoodstock]

Nice article.
The arpeggio section helped a lot(Changing the E to F)
Very detailed.

[Righteouss11]

JIMMY IS THE BEST!

[redhavok]

i think the name of the doubled neck SG is called an EDS-1275..or sumthin similar

[will-loves-zep]

how do i get his screaching solo sounds; any tips for distortion pedals? for his amp settings go distortion channel, high mid range (about 7-8), and hold the treble (5-6) and bass (5). go about 6-7 on gain, higher if you want to distort it more. (this is courtesy of total guitar, i think its great)

[will-loves-zep]

sk8byf8bob wrote:

how was he the sloppiest player in the 70's. try the greatest

i agree but would push it to greatest player EVER

[billytalentROKS]

jimmy page, jimi hendrix and ian dsa are my top 3 guitarists

[SpartaX]

page missed out notes and was at times "sloppy" but he did play more notes than most guitarists!!!

[Metallic Dogma]

wow! this is amazing. this was posted to be a "lesson" site and it turned into a comment conflict. what a bunch of d*** heads! oh, by the way, PAGE RULES!!! no doubt the best ever!!!!

[Metallic Dogma]

yes, this is part of that comment conflict I know

[Metallic Dogma]

Les__Paul__630* wrote:

wow, if it weren't for Jimmy Page, I wouldn't even be playing guitar

i feel the same way man

[aburamla]

Jimmy page is so very original, he could never be called a plagiarist. Anyone here heard of davy graham and bert jansch ? Bert composed a beautiful arrangement for the Irish folk song 'black waterside' or was it black mountainside ? anyway he did this in the early sixties, years before Zeppelin were formed.Thats the great thing about Jimmy, he always gives credit where it's due,almost the entire zeppelin catalogue sounds uncannily identical to a lot of other peoples work.

[paulwellerrocks]

Of course he's a bit sloppy. look how low he plays his guitar

[rokknrollldude]

hey ppl...just a quick fact...the 59' sunburst les paul that was jimmy's go-2 guitar was given to him by the very joe walsh.....

[satti_petrucci]

starway to heaven makes me cry :'(

[guitardude2012]

sorry dude but all you did was slap a couple generic explanations and the solo for stairway to heaven. it wasn't very helpful to me.

[LittleMrJimmyJr]

jimmy page used a 58 les paul standard, not a custom and a Danelectro 3021 not a long horn, and jimmy page used a 100 watt (not 200 watt) 1973 marshall super lead

[sbauer187]

he may have been a bit sloppy at times during live performances but in the studio, his work is dead on...one of the great producers of all time...listen to the studio version of the song remains the same and youll see what i mean...a guitar god to say the least

[hunta7989]

coffeeguy9 wrote:

Bron-yr-aur, anyone? It let me down a little bit. And I think the one song that shows Jimmy's improv with the pentatonic the most is any live version of "Since I've been Loving You."

I hate to burst your bubble, but he uses a natural minor scale for that song. They are somewhat similar though.

[kennyvspenny]

we could all stand to learn a thing or two from jimmy page.

great article!

[IRISH_PUNK13]

DUDE ITS GOOD BUT SOME OF THE STUFF YOU TALK ABOUT COULD BE RE-WRITTEN IN ENGLISH( MULTI HAMMER-ON TECHNIQUE ) YOU COULD HAVE EXPLAINED IT BETTER AND IN SOME PARTS IT WAS A LITTLE BORING SO OTHER THEN FALLING ASLEEP & GETTING DROOL ON MY AXE ITS ALL GOOD

[jpage73]

page didnt even write the black dog main riff so that entire area is irrelevant. And for babe im gonna leave you (at least live) he picked it.

[Zeppelinrocker7]

led zeppelin is the greatest band ever

[godin_Detour17]

Zeppelin schools all But ima have to say that the greatest song ever is either Hot Dog or Since i've been loving you

[raymo39]

hot dog? lol noob

[MetaMegaMagic]

I'm learning Stairway as one of my first songs. Jimmy
Page is an amazing guitarist in my opinion and this lesson's been pretty useful.

[afrosk8er395]

i love jimmy pages sloppy style it sounds a whole lot better than clean playin and i like to play the way jimmy page does.

[IRISH_PUNK13]

~TheLastWarrior wrote:

Not even close to displaying the HUGE diversity Page had. And you forgot to mention he was the sloppiest player around in the 70s.

ok he was sloppy but so what im sure every player is sloppy in some sense the thing about page is he used it to creat a unique style that no one can match

[irish roots]

im too lazy to read all of these coments so i dont know if anyone pointed this out but page started on a fender telecaster and even recorded stairway to heaven with it

[irish roots]

oops nevermind

[roland_96]

irish roots wrote:

im too lazy to read all of these coments so i dont know if anyone pointed this out but page started on a fender telecaster and even recorded stairway to heaven with it

But when ever he played live he used his double neck, and used a pick. It also didn't talk about how Page thought that beggining guitarists should use good equipment because it "fosters good technique."

[roland_96]

floydzeppelin77 wrote:
No doubt he was an excellenet guitarist (in my mind the best) not only because of his style, but more so because of his quiality of production which exceeds Hendrix's which to many people fell short.

Not quite as far as production. Henrix was a massive user of sound effects and trying to emote colors and feelings in sound. Page was more along the lines of amazing as far as traditional production where as Hendrix was more of the avant-garde.

[!Headbanger!]

i will give my left nut to watch Page play

[Draken68]

jimmy didnt base his solos on scales...he didnt even play scales...his solos are amazing but they were just him playing the best thing he could and some turned out like scales...
"I can’t play a scale. You think I’m kidding but I’m not. I can’t. Well I can, I can play the notes but it’s true though. I can’t play a bar chord. It’s true. It’s unbelievable, isn’t it [much laughter]? It’s true though."

[greeneyedguitar]

The first notes of Stairway To Heaven's Solos actually come on the four 16th notes leading into it. They (and the following notes which you have transcribed as the beginning notes) are:

E-----
B-----
G-----7p4-----7b9-----
D-----7p5--- --
A-----
E-----

[greeneyedguitar]

The first notes of Stairway To Heaven's solo actually come on the four 16th notes leading into it. They (and the following notes which you have transcribed as the beginning notes) are:

G-----7p4-----7b9-----
D-----7p5-----
A
E

[greeneyedguitar]

ok, so no matter what I do it won't give correct spacing to the font. What a bunch of shit. This ****ing forum sucks.

[AustinGuitGod]

I saw some people mentioning Page's White Summer. I wanted to drop some knowledge on you. He stole that from a great British acoustic guitarist named Davey Graham. His song, "She Moved Thru' the Bizarre/Blue Raga", released in 1963, is pretty much note for note what Page did. Page cleaned it up a bit and made it a little less "sloppy" and improved (at least on the recorded version he did).

I am not saying this to diss Page. I still love Page's work, but he was known for some occasional straight out thievery in the early years.

Anyway, check out Davey Graham, if you love instrumental acoustic playing. He's one of the originators, right up there with John Fahey. Great stuff.

[GibLesPaul]

~TheLastWarrior wrote:

Not even close to displaying the HUGE diversity Page had. And you forgot to mention he was the sloppiest player around in the 70s.

Yeah Page was sloppy. Studio musicians are known for sloppyness and generally not knowing how to play very well.

[andi2609]

Jimmy Page one of my favourit musicans i like how he play !!! and a will it do to

[Con-Hair25]

i dont see how jimmy page is sloppy i mean come on he is considered one of the best u cant be one of the best if ur sloppy and if u still think he is sloppy come on he was high on ever drug in the book lol...

[stobbsyboy]

ok ur info about the gear is pretty shaky, he had 59 les paul standard with a really thin neck, 4 push pull pots for coil slitting phase inverting and series parallel stuff, nick named "number 1" his "number 2" was to the same spec except it had extra switches under the pick guard so he couls easily do what the pots did while he was playing, his les paul custom was stolen at an airport, so it hasnt seen much action with led zep, he had 3 telecasters, one blonde with a dragon design, a nice beep brown one and a light blonde one with what looks to be the little rail humbucker pickups, the double neck sg as u put it is correctly called the eds-1275, but his was custom with mahogany necks because if i remember correctly he needed one after they stopped production, he used many amps, but in particular his marshall, was a 1959hw as its known today, and it was modded to handle kt88 power valves which resulted in doubling the output power, he used orange heads, rickenbacker cabs, even hiwatt amps, and u forgot to mention he used a tone bender distortion pedal through his marshall and i think it may have been a vox v845 wah he used, and various other pedals, eg "nobody's fasult but mine" and "trampled underfoot" as for his playing techniques, he used lots of little dynamics such as playing the 2 d's in "whole lotta love" but bending the fretted d, even i missed that first time i learned it, u need to study everything more in depth before u post something like this about him, he was a sloppy player, but he made it work so well that u dnt even notice, he was never sloppy in the studio, but when he was on stage he was just completely free with what he did with the guitar, and by looking at him and seeing what he was drinking before he got onstage, u can understand why he was a wee bit sloppy, but all in all the best guitar player ever

[Spelunkersplunk]

Can anyone post ver batim how Jimmy's guitar playing was described in the Led Zeppelin boxed set? A music critic described his playing as being something to the effect of 'south of eden' or 'south of heaven' or maybe east of eden or east of heaven? I'd give anything to have this quote again for the quoting. I used to own the booklet that came with the boxed set but like an idiot gave it away to a friend.

[Spelunkersplunk]

p.s. Please e-mail @ [e-mail] if you can provide me ver batim with the above info I'm requesting.