When it comes to certain guitar legends, you either love them or hate them.
Jimmy Page is one of those polarizing guitarists who it takes some younger musicians a bit longer to really “get." That slithery, sloppy, no-holds-barred approach to Page’s lead guitar playing in particular is enough to throw some folks off the scent of his greatness, but that’s just it–that is his greatness.
People often forget that Page was a session guitar player before he founded Led Zeppelin. Session guitarists are notoriously brilliant players, and when you dissect Page’s guitar playing, you’ll find that he really was too.
Like scraping varnish from an old painting, Page’s guitar voice was so pronounced that he managed to mask his virtuosic skills under the guise of gritty, unapologetic rock n’ roll, whether he meant to or not. From his unmistakable in-front-of-the-beat groove to the flurries of never-ending pentatonic lines and smearing phrases, Page forged new sonic ground for guitar players and music enthusiasts alike.
No matter what your stance is on Page, examining his guitar habits and approaches will make you a better guitar player. Who doesn’t want that?
Tyler Larson is the founder of the guitar-centric brand Music is Win. His insightful, uncomplicated guitar lessons and gear demonstrations along with entertaining, satirical content about life as a musician receive tens of millions of video views per month across social media. Tyler is also the creator of the extremely popular online guitar learning platform, Guitar Super System. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Tyler has been teaching guitar for over a decade and operates a production studio in Nashville, TN.
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