Alexa Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Hello, all! I'm a self taught guitarist, and I'm really struggling with these Zeppelin songs. I have a hand-me-down acoustic guitar that's rather large for me (I'm quite short), so that's one of several obstacles. I'm trying to tackle the acoustic songs, and so far, nothing good. They're rather difficult, and they always sound really crappy when I play them (but the guitar is very nice despite the fact that it's a hand-me-down). I have no clue how to play with a pick, but everything else I play that's not Zeppelin sounds pretty good without it anyhow. Is the pick (or rather lack thereof) the problem? Any tips you have are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much! Your fellow Zep-head, Alexa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggie29 Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chowder Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Hello, all! I'm a self taught guitarist, and I'm really struggling with these Zeppelin songs. I have a hand-me-down acoustic guitar that's rather large for me (I'm quite short), so that's one of several obstacles. I'm trying to tackle the acoustic songs, and so far, nothing good. They're rather difficult, and they always sound really crappy when I play them (but the guitar is very nice despite the fact that it's a hand-me-down). I have no clue how to play with a pick, but everything else I play that's not Zeppelin sounds pretty good without it anyhow. Is the pick (or rather lack thereof) the problem? Any tips you have are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much! Your fellow Zep-head, Alexa Many of the Zep acoustic songs are in non-standard tuning. It's not impossible to play them with normal tuning, but they won't sound as authentic. You should try to find some tablature online, or even pay for it. There are some good Zep compilation tab books out there. That will show show all the fingerings and tunings. I don't think it's down to the lack of a pick. Many great guitarists don't use them. My main advice would be to invest in an affordable electric setup. You'll be amazed how much easier they are to play than acoustics. And you can play the acoustic songs on them too - Jimmy did. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGDAN Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Hello, all! I'm a self taught guitarist, and I'm really struggling with these Zeppelin songs. I have a hand-me-down acoustic guitar that's rather large for me (I'm quite short), so that's one of several obstacles. I'm trying to tackle the acoustic songs, and so far, nothing good. They're rather difficult, and they always sound really crappy when I play them (but the guitar is very nice despite the fact that it's a hand-me-down). I have no clue how to play with a pick, but everything else I play that's not Zeppelin sounds pretty good without it anyhow. Is the pick (or rather lack thereof) the problem? Any tips you have are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much! Your fellow Zep-head, Alexa Hi Alexa, Here's my advice and help if you want it, Jimmy is no Strummer like a lot of so called modern guitarists so you will have to get used to using the plectrum for most of his songs but i can give you some advice on how i started, like you i am also self taught, what sounds good to me makes other guitarists cringe sometimes, but here goes. http://www.led-zeppe...x.php?m=byalbum GALLOWS POLE. I use an A-Am-G-D progression, there is little picking going on and in a short space of time you will be strumming away like a Pagey Pro. TANGERINE. Am-G-D-C Progression, you will need the Plectrum for this song but the solo is very easy to master. BRING IT ON HOME. Is a 12 bar blues song that i play in the E Chord shape, it also requires the use of the plectrum but again it is quite easy to master. WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS. You can play this song without the slide and it is easy to learn. OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY. A good song for strumming along to, based around the G-C-D Chord structure, you should find this one very easy. STAIRWAT TO HEAVEN. Mostly arpeggios and chords, you should be alright until the solo starts, have a break and then crash in for the finale. I hope that helps you to get started, please enjoy. Regards, Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermedalist Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Hello, all! I'm a self taught guitarist, and I'm really struggling with these Zeppelin songs. I have a hand-me-down acoustic guitar that's rather large for me (I'm quite short), so that's one of several obstacles. I'm trying to tackle the acoustic songs, and so far, nothing good. They're rather difficult, and they always sound really crappy when I play them (but the guitar is very nice despite the fact that it's a hand-me-down). I have no clue how to play with a pick, but everything else I play that's not Zeppelin sounds pretty good without it anyhow. Is the pick (or rather lack thereof) the problem? Any tips you have are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much! Your fellow Zep-head, Alexa Thats the Way is one of the easier ones, in open G. Babe Im gonna Leave You is one that would be good to start with too. Tangerine is pretty easy too. Overthehillsandfaraway may be a bit tough for a beginner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Can you afford a teacher? A thousand mile journey begins with one step. But I hear you about the big guitar. I play a full size classical (given to me by a friend) and am more comfortable playing with a capo even though the capo does get in the way at times. If there are certain songs that you absolutely love then stick with them and play them over and over and i mean OVER and OVER til they stick in your brain and eventually become second nature and you will never get tired of playing them. Also, if you get frustrated just put the guitar down for a day or two and come back to it with a refreshed mind. It really does work. Stay with it and you'll be hooked forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermedalist Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Can you afford a teacher? A thousand mile journey begins with one step. But I hear you about the big guitar. I play a full size classical (given to me by a friend) and am more comfortable playing with a capo even though the capo does get in the way at times. If there are certain songs that you absolutely love then stick with them and play them over and over and i mean OVER and OVER til they stick in your brain and eventually become second nature and you will never get tired of playing them. Also, if you get frustrated just put the guitar down for a day or two and come back to it with a refreshed mind. It really does work. Stay with it and you'll be hooked forever. It is good advice to walk away and take a break. You can get burned out. I learnd guitar in a variety of ways. Learning piano first helps. Took theory. And knowing how to read music is a must in my opinion. It is not that difficult to do. I would master the conventional chords first. Then the bars and scales. Learn the pentatonic scale, have it on a sheet. And use tabs. If you want instant gratification tabs are the way to go. But you have to develope the dexterity, and speed and the abiliity to play "clean" first. Different players can give you good advice.. I once had a guy at a park show me how to play In My Time Dying on slide. I was amazed. You also should learn to finger pick some too. When I play Stairway, ill play it with a pick the fist riff and then will finger pick it, simultaniously playing several notes with the pick hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 It is good advice to walk away and take a break. You can get burned out. I learnd guitar in a variety of ways. Learning piano first helps. Took theory. And knowing how to read music is a must in my opinion. It is not that difficult to do. I would master the conventional chords first. Then the bars and scales. Learn the pentatonic scale, have it on a sheet. And use tabs. If you want instant gratification tabs are the way to go. But you have to develope the dexterity, and speed and the abiliity to play "clean" first. Different players can give you good advice.. I once had a guy at a park show me how to play In My Time Dying on slide. I was amazed. You also should learn to finger pick some too. When I play Stairway, ill play it with a pick the fist riff and then will finger pick it, simultaniously playing several notes with the pick hand. I still have a hard time trying to read standard notation, especially going up the fretboard. But TAB helps a lot by combining the two. But it's not such a great sin to read only TAB because the lute was all written in it. But combining the two is even better. Classical is all fingerstyle but I do mess around with the pick now and then. Alexa, you should also always keep the guitar close by. Mine is right by my couch on a stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermedalist Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 I still have a hard time trying to read standard notation, especially going up the fretboard. But TAB helps a lot by combining the two. But it's not such a great sin to read only TAB because the lute was all written in it. But combining the two is even better. Classical is all fingerstyle but I do mess around with the pick now and then. Alexa, you should also always keep the guitar close by. Mine is right by my couch on a stand. Right next to the 38 caliber ane the Jack Daniels1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 Right next to the 38 caliber ane the Jack Daniels1 No whiskey but definitely the .357 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermedalist Posted September 26, 2010 Share Posted September 26, 2010 Many of the Zep acoustic songs are in non-standard tuning. It's not impossible to play them with normal tuning, but they won't sound as authentic. You should try to find some tablature online, or even pay for it. There are some good Zep compilation tab books out there. That will show show all the fingerings and tunings. I don't think it's down to the lack of a pick. Many great guitarists don't use them. My main advice would be to invest in an affordable electric setup. You'll be amazed how much easier they are to play than acoustics. And you can play the acoustic songs on them too - Jimmy did. Good luck! It costs alot of money to have good equipment,, lets face it. And a Les Paul pretty much "does the playing for you" as its so much better than a strat or a copy. I must disagree with the take on electrtic. I mean, the acoustical songs that are meant to be acoustical are better on acoustic. If you have a good acoustic no problem. I have asked many times but never get a response about buyiing a a straight up acoustic as opposed to an acoustic/electric. Playing them without an amp, do you think that the ones without the electrical pick up are better sounding? Then as far as the tunings, if you are going to play, learn the other tunings. The most often used other than standard of course is the drop D (used by Stones alot). DBDGBD instead of standard. EADGBE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoso94T Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 If you love the guitar,and practise,you can do anything!It will be really helpfull if you learn to play the blues.Jimmy's playing is based on the blues,but it's in the hard rock form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermedalist Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 If you love the guitar,and practise,you can do anything!It will be really helpfull if you learn to play the blues.Jimmy's playing is based on the blues,but it's in the hard rock form. Just improvise using the pentatonic scale. Best easy advice I could give. Or use tabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGuitarArmy Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Hello, all! I'm a self taught guitarist, and I'm really struggling with these Zeppelin songs. I have a hand-me-down acoustic guitar that's rather large for me (I'm quite short), so that's one of several obstacles. I'm trying to tackle the acoustic songs, and so far, nothing good. They're rather difficult, and they always sound really crappy when I play them (but the guitar is very nice despite the fact that it's a hand-me-down). I have no clue how to play with a pick, but everything else I play that's not Zeppelin sounds pretty good without it anyhow. Is the pick (or rather lack thereof) the problem? Any tips you have are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much! Your fellow Zep-head, Alexa I'm a self taught guitarist as well, and my advice is the tunings are important, as for the pick, just use a medium gauge... also, the most important part, is see exactly what Jimmy is playing, on videos... that helps tremendously in finding put if a tab is wrong. And play around alot with the attack on the strings, that effects more than one can imagine. Lastly, be really sloppy!! hahaha Good luck playing the intro to Bron Yr Aur Stomp!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I'm a self taught guitarist as well, and my advice is the tunings are important, as for the pick, just use a medium gauge... also, the most important part, is see exactly what Jimmy is playing, on videos... that helps tremendously in finding put if a tab is wrong. And play around alot with the attack on the strings, that effects more than one can imagine. Lastly, be really sloppy!! hahaha Good luck playing the intro to Bron Yr Aur Stomp!!! I just realized I'm in the Guitar Army but am still a buck private. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermedalist Posted October 9, 2010 Share Posted October 9, 2010 I'm a self taught guitarist as well, and my advice is the tunings are important, as for the pick, just use a medium gauge... also, the most important part, is see exactly what Jimmy is playing, on videos... that helps tremendously in finding put if a tab is wrong. And play around alot with the attack on the strings, that effects more than one can imagine. Lastly, be really sloppy!! hahaha Good luck playing the intro to Bron Yr Aur Stomp!!! Agree that medium gauge is the only pick I would ever use on an electric. A heavy on acoustic only if you dont have a medium. I think medium are the best for all playing. As for the tunings, thats where it would be a luxury owning several guitars. Pain in the butt to keep chaning and it takes its toll on the strings. Once you have played a Gibson Les Paul, you dont ever want to play anything else. On acoustic, I would say its very debatable as to what the best is. Many good ones and I would not rate Gibson at the top in acoustics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starbreaker Posted October 10, 2010 Share Posted October 10, 2010 Once you have played a Gibson Les Paul, you dont ever want to play anything else. Amen Brother! As of now your quote will be my new signature. As for getting better at playing Jimmy's acoustic stuff, the advice I would give has been said earlier in this theard. You must practice, practice practice, practice, and more practice. There's a reason Jimmy Page is God, and it's because the stuff he wrote ain't easy to play. Also a lot of the songs (Bron-Yr-Aur, That's The Way, etc.) are not in standard tuning. As for getting tabs, DO NOT EVER USE TABS FROM THE INTERNET. Most of the time they are wrong, and looking them up is a waste of time. There are plenty of good Zeppelin tab books out there that are accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireOpal Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 A Gibson Les Paul might be too heavy for her - she mentions that she's small. A lot of the smaller guitarists I've seen (might be a coincidence, I don't know) like Angus Young & Robby Krieger choose the Gibson SG. Don't get the double-necked one though, they're the reason Pagey has back problems. I liked the advice to learn the pentatonic scale. Also, some folks have recommended that you choose one song that you really love and stick with that - and play only that - until you can play it well. Then choose another song and get that down solid, and so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Where's Alexa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireOpal Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Probably off practicing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Probably off practicing Yep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrashroc. Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 start with the easyest songs of zep ,and make brakes between the exercises , shake the fingers , and strongen them (>riff grip , or a tennis ball for finger strengh) , listen intensiveley and much to the original songs , learn the riffs slow till you can play them in sleep , then get faster , but this are only some tips on a long way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdc Posted November 16, 2010 Share Posted November 16, 2010 Take some basic guitar lessons and learn about the 12 bar blues and pentatonic scales (this could probably be done for free on youtube). Get yourself a decent electric guitar and amplifier. Use the thinnest strings you can find. Buy the Led Zeppelin double DvD. Watch Page's hand technique! Try to mimmick the style. Nowadays there is also plenty of tab and free intructional footage on youtube, I use those resources, but definetely watching and learning is a big part of it, that and practicing hundreds and eventually thousands of hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonzoLikeDrumer Posted November 16, 2010 Share Posted November 16, 2010 Tangerine is not that hard, neither is Thank You. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olipticle Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 Just keep at it man, Alot of it is timing and and alot of practice. Also i find it helps to have the music in front of me and learning it in sections of course. Song choice is also an issue, It depends what you are trying to play. All in all try stayin on the same song for a while. im sure youll get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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