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At some point, every guitarist is going to want to learn how to play Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin – even for the sole reason to play and scream “Ah-AH-ahhhhhhhhhhh-AH!” a la Robert Plant. This song has a very challenging guitar riff, but the good news is that once you learn the riff you have a large majority of the song completed. Here are a few tips:
- As always, follow the picking. The picking indicated over the main riff will help you internalize the rhythm physically. Rhythm is physical – not an abstraction. So, you need to use physical motions that reinforce the timing in your body, not just in your head. Go slowly at first. The repeat is weird because of the final note being a single 16th note, so think of the final note as a pickup note, as it anticipates the first note of the repeat.
- Listen to the song and get cues from the vocals. This phrasing is different than a normal song – the riff repeats 12 times hear, 8 there, etc. So it’s not like the normal “play the riff 4 times, then change to the next riff, etc.” Memorize the words and listen for cues to prepare for changing from the main riff to section B.
- Dampen the strings when playing the G minor chord at the end. Be sure to not let the A and high E strings ring when playing the final chord accents. Lightly dampen the strings with the pads of your fretting fingers.
Nate from Richards Guitar Studio plays a guitar cover and shows you how to play Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin on guitar as played by Jimmy Page. Use this guitar lesson and guitar tabs to learn the notes, alternate picking, chords, and strumming technique in this song. Guitar tutorial with guitar tabs.
Richards Guitar Studio offers professional private guitar lessons and bass lessons in Aston, PA. We serve Delaware County, including Media, Springfield, Swarthmore, and Ridley. We focus on quality guitar instruction for all ages, levels, and styles, including acoustic, beginner, metal, rock, shred, classical, blues, jazz, country, theory, and improvisation and composition.