Jimmy Page Licks From Guitar World

7/27/2019 Jimmy Page Licks From Guitar World

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/jimmy-page-licks-from-guitar-world 1/8

Want to rip like Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page? We show you how!

Truly a guitar god, Jimmy Page is one of the most captivatingsoloists the rock world has ever known. Daring, spontaneous,melodic, Truly a guitar god, Jimmy Page is one of the most captivating

soloists the rock world has ever known. Daring, spontaneous,

melodic, bluesy, diverse, flashy, breathtaking, and, yes, sloppy—

all are adjectives befitting his singular style.

And while Page may occasionally crash and burn, the next

moment he's sure to be soaring to unprecedented heights. Let's

check out some of his most electrifying licks.

The Licks

Fig.1A contains the basic blues phrase that Page used to launch

many a killer lick. You'd be hard-pressed to find an early Zeppelin

rocker —―Good Times Bad Times,‖ ―Communication Breakdown,‖

―Dazed and Confused,‖ ―Whole Lotta Love,‖ ―The Lemon Song,‖

and ―Moby Dick,‖ to name a handful—that doesn't feature this

move in one permutation or another. Practice the phrase with

various picking strategies, including raking (all downstrokes), a

down-down-up pattern, and hybrid picking (pick and fingers). Fig.

1B features a 16th-note variation on the same lick; note the

rhythmic displacement here—the accents now fall on shifting parts



of the measure, rather than always on the downbeat. Page uses

this approach in the opening measures of his solo on ―Good Times

Bad Times‖ (from Led Zeppelin). Fig.1C reverts to a triplet feel and

adds 2nd-string pull-offs; this phrase recalls the one Page cycles inthe double-time section of ―Dazed and Confused‖ (Led Zeppelin).

Throughout Page's diverse solos, there is one common thread:

thematic repetition. While some themes appear as extended

melodic phrases (as in the opening bars of ―Black Dog,‖ ―Over the

Hills and Far Away,‖ and ―Achilles Last Stand‖), many come in the

form of cycled adjacent-string licks carved from major (1 –2 –3 –5 –6)

and minor (1 –f3 –4 – 5 –f7) pentatonic scales. Fig. 2A is an E minor

pentatonic –based (E –G – A –B –D) sextuplet figure played on the top

string pair. Perhaps the most famous example of this lick comes at

the end of the ―Stairway to Heaven‖ solo (Led Zeppelin IV , a.k.a.

ZOSO).

Consistent picking direction is the key for getting this one up tospeed (try up-down or down-down). Fig. 2B mixes triplets with

straight 16ths in a hammer-on/pull-off flurry of E minor pentatonic

notes. Fig.2C mixes A major (A –B –C# –E –F#) and A minor (A –C –

D –E –G) pentatonics in the same pattern Page uses to cap his solo

on ―Heartbreaker‖ (Led Zeppelin II ). Fig. 2D is pure A minor

pentatonic. Listen for this one in the stop-time section of ―Rock and

Roll‖ (Led Zeppelin IV ). Picking down-down here should make for the best outcome.



Page's lines are also peppered with scale sequences. Fig. 3A is a

pull-off-fueled, groups-of-three sequence that cascades down the

E minor pentatonic scale in 12th position. Page fires off a similar line in the outro solo of ―Good Times Bad Times‖ (Led Zeppelin).

Fig. 3B is a six-note sequence that travels up the neck via the A

minor pentatonic scale. This one's a bit trickier, as it employs

hammer-ons, pulloffs, and slides. Work through both examples

slowly, gradually increasing the tempo as you master the moves.

Page employs plenty of string bending in his solos. Fig. 4A

demonstrates unison bends, as heard at the end of ―Stairway to

Heaven.‖ For the first two dyads, keep your 1st finger fixed on the

1st string; and, with your 4th finger, bend the 2nd string to match

the pitch of the 1st string. Use your 3rd finger for the 3rd-string

bends. Fig. 4B shows Page's superhuman over-bends (―The

Lemon Song‖ and ―Whole Lotta Love‖ [Led Zeppelin II ]). Such

bends take some muscle, so give the string a good yank-just don't



hurt yourself.

Fig. 4C shows Page's pedal steel-influenced bends as heard in

―Over the Hills and Far Away‖ (Houses of the Holy ) and ―All My

Love‖ (In Through the Out Door ). Keep your 4th finger fixed on the

1st string while you bend the 2nd string with your 3rd finger. Fig.

4D is an example of Page's behind-the-nut bends in

―Heartbreaker.‖ As you hammer on and pull off the notes with your

fret hand, reach behind the nut and push down on the 3rd string

with your pickhand fingers.

Page also shows a penchant for pulling off to open strings. Fig.5A

features A minor pentatonic- derived pull-offs similar to the ones in

―Heartbreaker.‖ Fig. 5B is a sequenced minor-pentatonic-pull-off-

fest that he used in ―Whole Lotta Love.‖

Although he was a flashy soloist, Page could turn a slow-blues

phrase like no other. Fig.6A is inspired by his opening lick in―Since I've Been Loving You‖ (Led Zeppelin III ). Fig. 6B speeds



things up a bit with an E blues scale (add major 7th) (E –G – A –Bb –

B –D –D#) line like the one in ―The Lemon Song.‖

The Solo

The 20-bar, riff-driven solo [Fig.7] is based largely on an A5 chord.

The only change occurs in measures 13-16, where C Lydian

harmonies (Dadd4/C and C) modulate to E Mixolydian chords (D/E

and E5). The feel is hard rock with a funk undercurrent.





The solo opens with the lead guitar mirroring the main riff-an open-

position A5 chord vamp interspersed with G and C notes. This

continues for several measures before segueing to an open string-

fueled A Dorian (A –B –C –D –E –F# –G) lick inspired by the openingriff of ―Over the Hills and Far Away.‖ At measure 5, the solo begins

in earnest with a gradual 3rd-string bend that spans two and a half

steps (five frets!). If your guitar is sporting heavy strings, you may

want to opt for a whole-step bend, from B to C#. Next comes a

squirrelly A blues (A –C –D –Eb –E –G) lick that leans heavily on the

f5th (Eb). This is followed by a pair of quirky oblique bends: the

first is a half-step bend from F# to G, which results in a major 2nd(G – A) rub between the 2nd and 1st strings; the second is similar,

but the rub is even closer this time, with the bend producing a

minor 2nd (F# –G) between the top string pair. For both moves,

make sure you let the two notes ring together through the release

of each bend.

Measures 8 –11 provide rhythmic and melodic space with a

sequence of quarternote unison bends culled from the A minor

pentatonic scale. The rapid-fire phrase in measure 12 is inspired

by the opening licks from the ―Whole Lotta Love‖ solo. Fueled by

pull-offs and slides down the 3rd string, it begins with the A blues

scale (pickup notes), segues to A Dorian, and culminates in A

minor pentatonic notes. Put the phrase together bit by bit and you'll

begin to understand the sequential patterns at work.

The Dadd4/C –C changes in measures 13 –14 call to mind the

unique harmonies of songs like ―Dancing Days‖ and ―The Ocean.‖

Here, the lead guitar plays a pair of melodic motifs drawn from the

C Lydian mode (C –D –E –F# –G – A –B) and decorated with 3rdstring

bends and slides. Measure 15 brings D/E –E5 chord changes, and

the melodic motif reaches its conclusion on the 4th string with a

bend-and-release move (F# –G –F#) resolving to E. What follows issort of a backwards version of the pull-off licks in ―Whole Lotta



Love.‖ View this as an open-position E blues-scale pattern that

segues to a 3rdposition E minor pentatonic line, which in turn

yields to A major pentatonic notes around 5th position.

Measure 17 marks the return of the main riff with a bluesy,stuttering series of prebent C notes in a triplet rhythm. Measure 18contains a gradual whole-step bend from C to D, and the solo goesout with a couple of classic phrases lifted from ―CommunicationBreakdown‖ and ―Stairway to Heaven.‖

Documents

Jimmy Page Licks From Guitar World