Lesson Notes for Stairway To Heaven Background Stairway To Heaven would have to qualify as the most famous rock song in history. In my opinion it is probably to best song in the history of rock as well. Everything came together for Jimmy age and Robert lant in the creation of this masterpiece- their multitude of influences, age s technical skills, lant s way with words, John aul Jones arranging skills, their mastery of studio tricks, and all at a time when the group was at the peak of its creativity. The song was released in 1971 on Led Zeppelin IV and clocked in at over 8:00. The record label, Atlantic wanted to release the song as a single but the band refused. They also refused the proposition of creating a shorter edit for radio. In spite of its length it is one of the most play songs in rock history. Not being a single, it didn t officially chart in the U.K. until 2007 when the Led Zeppelin catalogue was made available for downloading. Song Notes The song was one of many tunes that age and lant started in 1970 when they were recovering from a long tour of the U.S. They spent some time at Bron- Yr-Aur, a small country cottage in Wales. The surroundings provided the atmosphere they needed and many great songs started coming together then. The opening progression to Stairway To Heaven features a chromatic descending bass line starting on an chord. This progression is very similar to one that age heard in the song Taurus, by the band Spirit, who had opened for Led Zeppelin on numerous occasions. The opening progression also uses an ascending melody line making good use of the compositional technique known as contrary motion. hords Techniques Involved The right hand uses an arpeggio technique of hitting notes of a chord individually, rather than strumming them together. Jimmy age generally plays his type of thing using a pick and 2 fingers. I prefer to teach this to students as a fingerstyle exercise. The strumming that happens later is then played with the fingers as well, holding the thumb and index finger together as if there was a pick being held- the invisible pick technique. A very important thing for the student to learn in this song is placing the left fingers on a chord in the order they will be played, rather than putting them all down at once. It is not absolutely necessary in Stairway To Heaven but it will make it sound smoother and will carry over into more difficult songs later.
Stairway To Heaven Theres a lady whos sure all that glitters is gold And shes buying a stairway to heaven When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed With a word she can get what she came for Ooh, ooh, and shes buying a stairway to heaven Theres a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure ause you know sometimes words have two meanings In a tree by the brook, theres a songbird who sings Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven Ooh, it makes me wonder, ooh, it makes me wonder Theres a feeling I get when I look to the west And my spirit is crying for leaving In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees And the voices of those who stand looking And its whispered that soon if we all call the tune Then the piper will lead us to reason And a new day will dawn for those who stand long And the forests will echo with laughter If theres a bustle in your hedgerow, dont be alarmed now Its just a spring clean for the May queen Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run Theres still time to change the road youre on Your head is humming and it wont go, in case you dont know The pipers calling you to join him ear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know Your stairway lies on the whispering wind And as we wind on down the road Our shadows taller than our soul There walks a lady we all know Who shines white light and wants to show How everything still turns to gold And if you listen very hard The tune will come to you at last When all are one and one is all To be a rock and not to roll And shes buying a stairway to heaven
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