Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page Used to Tune His Guitar in a Strange Way
The world knows Jimmy Page as Led Zeppelin’s guitar god. He eventually became talented enough to have a strong opinion about the butchered version of a classic Zeppelin song, but he had humble beginnings. Page tuned his guitar in a strange way before he became a guitar superstar.
Jimmy Page found a guitar and dedicated himself to mastering the instrument
Page’s family moved to a new house when he was a child. It was either fate, coincidence, or divine intervention, but the former owners left a guitar at the new home. The abandoned guitar changed his life.
Page played (and replayed) alongside 45s as a way to meticulously master guitar solos. Before long, he started playing in local bands. Page later became a session musician and joined the Yardbirds before forming Led Zeppelin in 1968.
Long before he became an ace musician and rock ‘n’ roll icon, Page tuned his guitar in a very strange and unique way when he first started playing.
Page revealed he tuned his guitar using a church organ before choir practice
You don’t become a founding member of one of the most successful bands of all time without having an ear for music. So our guess is Jimmy Page became quite skilled at recognizing notes and scales by the time he formed Led Zeppelin.
But it wasn’t always that way.
As he compiled pictures for his photographic autobiography Jimmy Page, the guitarist uncovered a photo of himself as a choirboy. The photo belonged to the choir director, who revealed in a roundabout way that Page tuned his guitar using the church organ (via Guitar World’s YouTube channel):
“To clear the photograph, I [went] to the estate of [choir director] Mr. Coffin, and it was his son-in-law. I didn’t actually speak to the son-in-law, but he said to the person who was dealing with this on my behalf that he remembered Mr. Coffin saying, ‘Oh yes, I remember young Jimmy coming to the choir practice early with his guitar to try and tune it to the organ.’ Where there was a will, there was a way!”
Jimmy Page admits he tuned his guitar in a strange way
Page didn’t have the luxury of using a handheld, battery-operated tuner when he started playing. Pitch pipes and blow-in tuners were likely available, but Page unconventionally tuned his guitar to the church organ and left a lasting impression on his choir director.
The guitarist continued to carve a unique path playing in Led Zeppelin
Page tuning his guitar in a strange way clearly left a mark on his choir director. Page carved a unique path throughout his Led Zeppelin career.
Led Zeppelin I proved to be a hit out of the gates. Most guitar players wouldn’t risk messing with what works, but not Page. He made two major changes before recording Led Zeppelin II, and he was clearly inspired by them.
His love for experimenting with recording techniques led to him creating a guitar symphony on the Led Zeppelin song he calls his baby. And Page let his love for various musical styles — folk, rockabilly, avant-garde, Middle Eastern tones — shine on dozen of Zep tunes.
Jimmy Page tuned his guitar in a strange way when he first started, but it definitely didn’t have a negative effect on his career.
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