Jimmy Page’s Style

This lick is in the style of Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin. His technique and style are influenced by many different genres because he started out his career as a session guitarist (just listen to the album “Houses of the Holy” to hear what I mean!). This lesson, however, focuses on his blues-rock style found in songs such as “Whole Lotta Love” or “Moby Dick”.

At the start of this example, I have added some rhythmic strumming- this is mostly for effect, but it also allows your picking (strumming) hand to “get in rhythm” before starting the lick proper.

The main riff here is typical of many of Jimmy Page’s, as it uses the E minor Pentatonic scale in 5th position (from the 5th fret). Hammering on the the E on the 7th fret, A string and then descending chromatically through the blues note on the 6th fret, E string (the flat 5th of the key). You should be using your first finger on the 5th fret, and your third on the 7th (leaving your 2nd finger for the 6th fret “blues note”). This first bar of the riff is similar to “Whole Lotta Love” as it uses the same position, shape, and key. The second bar of the main riff is influenced by chord progressions in songs such as “Kashmir” where the chords only change chromatically by one note at a time (here we are moving the note on the A string down or up by only one fret to create the progression). The chords are: D5 A/C# Am/C A/C# D and they are played with syncopation for a more groovy feel.

This is followed by a short, two chord “stab” and a guitar break (which is repeated four times). Each guitar “solo” section is based on the E minor pentatonic scale at the 12th fret and follows a “call and response” pattern. The very first repetition is the “call” or question, and it ends on a high note (copying “question intonation” from speech). This is answered by the next break which is the “response” and includes lower notes (again, copying the patterns used in speech) Just think about how you ask a question compared to how you answer one. When you ask a question your voice “goes up” at the end of the sentence, and when you reply to a question you voice stays pretty much on the same level. This is what is happening with the “call and response” pattern in music (one section is the “call” or “question”, the other is the “response” or “answer”), which makes the music seem to flow more like a conversation.

June 30, 2011 at 6:00 pm | How to, In the Style of... | No comments