Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” - Guitar Lesson [Guitar Solo and Song Breakdown]

In this episode, I share my insights into the iconic 1969 track “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin. This track kicks off the band’s second album (Led Zeppelin II) with a relentless and lust-filled guitar riff. The lyrics and rhythm of the piece were written by Wille Dixon and released under the title “You need Love” by Muddy Watters in 1963. In 1969, Jimmy Page rewrote the piece with his iconic riff and one of the most memorable blues rock guitar solos in the history of rock.
Disclosure: That is me playing the guitar solo live against a TH-cam drums/bass backing track of an LZ outtake at the introduction to this episode. I did NOT use the actual Led Zeppelin guitar track. I’m playing through a Bogner ‘La Grange’ distortion pedal into my Fender Deluxe Reverb amp (which has been modified).
In this episode: (1) I breakdown and demonstrate the iconic guitar riff and define what a riff is and the history of riffs (Beethoven’s great motif (aka “riff”) makes a cameo appearance in this episode). (2) I also give the guitar solo a thorough analysis and demonstration illustrating the dialogue between the parts and the incredible swing and harmonic content implied within it. (3) I demonstrate and give color to the expressiveness of Jimmy Page’s soloing as well as his pitch perfect use of string bending. I suggest a helpful technique of “bending with the end in mind” (4) I also discuss the one variation to the riff at the outro where a major 3rd interval is introduced to create a “happy ending” to the story. (5) I discuss the power of open strings and open voiced intervals (greater than an octave). Finally (6), I share some insight into the prosody of the lyrics and music which is a specific and repeatable technique used in classical and operatic writing to supports the drama of the story within the music. This was an awesome and thrilling track to finally get under my fingers!
Stemming from my 40+ years as a professional artist, I bring a historical and a composer’s background to my love of rock music by analyzing and playing some of the most iconic music of all time. At the heart of all my videos is that I’m an enthusiast who has dedicated his entire life to composing and playing music.
Whether you’re a guitar player, musician, songwriter or just a music enthusiast, I’m sure you will find something in these videos to inspire you and help you smile.
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