Newest AVOYP just out of the oven: Stairway to Heaven.
Now I’m ready to hit the guitar shop and try out all of their guitars, LOL!
Joking aside, there’s some layers to this one … First, when I first picked up a guitar, back in my teens, the first few bars of Stairway to Heaven were one of the first things I’ve learned, and I loved it! Unfortunately I did not really learn to play it (or play guitar for that matter) then; in that sense, picking it up now was a bit like chasing a “dreamer” song and getting it at least half decent.
Problems? Timing is still an issue, especially after pauses or longer notes - took me 3 takes to get a version I’d consider sharing. And also the dynamics: as sometimes the wrong note is louder than it should be, or when the section with the plectrum starts (the chorus, I believe), my strumming is much too loud compared with the fingerpicking.
Overall I feel that this song is above my current skillset (the lesson on the website is rated at Grade 6, although it includes the solo). But on the other hand, this song is so awesome that I could not avoid playing it. Extra bonus: one plays the first bar and everyone immediately recognizes it, and drop their jaw (at least those who don’t play) in awe of the performance.
If you are going to hit the guitar shops just make sure you are ready with the Smoke on the water riff as well, and some white stripes, 7 nation army, just to keep everyone in the store really happy
Thanks everyone for listening in and offering your feedback, much appreciated!
No sweat, I have that ready for their delight Smoke on the Water AVOYP
(and I still have Seven Nation Army in my toolbox, from back in Module 3)
I had quite a chuckle from this comment
Update on the song: since recording that I start practicing the fast Am->G->F->G bit in the outro. This is supper fast 16th-note strumming with a fairly (to me) complex strumming pattern; it was not “clicking” when I tried to go slowly, but after some repetition I was able to pick-up speed and it felt much more “natural” to play - and I’m following Justin’s advice to the letter, my hand never stops between strums. One funny (in hindsight) thing is that I looked at that bit only in terms of the chord names, and tried playing it using open chords; had a very hard time changing chords fast, only to realise that I can use bar chords for G and Am, and then it’s a simple slide and lifting one finger to have the whole progression done.
Very well played. Most of the strummed sections on the record are louder than the finger-picked passages. Your dynamics throughout the piece are very good. Try practicing the outro strums more slowly and when you feel confident of the pattern increase your speed.
Just a quick info. Stairway to heaven changes BPM as the song progresses. It is changing speed and becoming faster. Maybe this confuses the mind. Jimmy Page did this to have tension as it’s getting closer to the end.
You sound just like me. I took an ultra-ultra-cheap guitar to college with me when a guy on my dorm floor tried to teach me this as my first song. But he quickly ran out of patience, and I quickly decided to chase women instead. I never even gave the callouses a chance to form, and I never learned this song. Maybe someday… I got my start again 40 years later by first learning some of my favorite songs. Sometimes I think that’s the best way to get hooked.
