LED ZEPPELIN GOING TO CALIFORNIA

We reveal the alternate tuning and fingerstyle technique Jimmy Page used for this track that still resonates 50 years on

In 1971 Led Zeppelin were poised to become the biggest rock band in the world. It was the year they released their magnum opus, the untitled ‘Led Zeppelin IV’. In amongst big hitters like When The Levee Breaks, Black Dog and Stairway To Heaven is this month’s track – the album’s penultimate song, written while the band were recording at Headley Grange with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. With no drums, the arrangement consists of just a mandolin (delivered by bassist/ keyboardist John Paul Jones) and two guitar lines – an acoustic six-string and an overdubbed 12-string part, both played by Jimmy Page.

Going To California is played in double drop D tuning (DADGBD), so you will need to retune your guitar before you start. The song is a great introduction to Travis picking, a fingerstyle technique that adds melody notes to a constant alternating bass pattern. This invaluable technique will take your performance skills to a whole new level.