Jimmy Page: 10 Things Every Led Zeppelin Fan Must Know!

7) The idea of playing guitar with a bow was suggested to Jimmy Page by a string musician who he worked with during some of his early session work. The string player suggested that Page try to play guitar with a bow, but Page didn’t think it would work because the bridge of the guitar lacks an arch, as opposed to the bridge of the bowed stringed instruments. Nevertheless, Page was convinced by the session string player to give the technique a try, and he was fascinated enough with the results to continue pursuing the phenomenon.

8) With such a strong interest in hard rock, why did Led Zeppelin sprinkle in so much acoustic guitar? Part of the reason was to help create dynamics in the sound. The contrast between the hard and the softer sounding music enhanced the dramatic effect of both styles. If everything was loud hard, and electric, it wouldn’t have had as strong an impact overall.

9) Around the time of Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page wasn’t just listening to rock and blues; he also had strong interests in folk, classical and indian music. But considering the staggering diversity of Led Zeppelin’s sounds over the years, this shouldn’t be too much of a shock.

10) Most of Led Zeppelin was recorded with his custom-painted Telecaster. He did switch to a Les Paul for Led Zeppelin II, even though he still dug the Telecaster, because Joe Walsh introduced him to the Gibson and he fell in love with it immediately.

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