Led Zeppelin's "Going to California" - Full Guitar Lesson with Transcription/Tab

Really hope this lesson might be helpful! Best wishes with it!
0:00 Intro
1:58 Guitar
2:30 Lesson Terminology and Format
3:17 Tuning
3:46 Active Listening and Structure Chart
4:19 Arrangement
6:00 Travis Picking Exercise
7:09 Song Introduction
8:07 Verse
12:24 Transition
15:19 Bridge
17:15 Outro/Variation
18:32 Recommendations and Well Wishes
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Featured in this video:
‪@BreedloveGuitarCo‬ Discovery S Concertina: sweetwater.sjv.io/eKgKr1
Check out my ‪@jamplay‬/ ‪@TrueFireTV‬ course on technique in service of creativity: bit.ly/gretchenjp1
I'm now a ‪@sweetwater‬ affiliate: sweetwater.sjv.io/GmD5E9
Anything you buy from Sweetwater after clicking that link or any of the gear links below directly supports my channel and ability to do more videos, demos, reviews, and at no extra cost to you. Much appreciated. 🙏
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SOCIALS
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GEAR I have, love, and wholeheartedly recommend:
* GUITARS - Acoustic
Breedlove Oregon Concert CE - Natural Myrtlewood: sweetwater.sjv.io/xknPmR
Breedlove Oregon Concerto CE - Bourbon Myrtlewood: sweetwater.sjv.io/5gj3q9
Breedlove Eco Limited Edition, Exotic S Concert, Twilight Blue Burst: sweetwater.sjv.io/PyaZAN
Breedlove ECO Pursuit Exotic S Concert CE Nylon String - Red Cedar-Myrtlewood: sweetwater.sjv.io/Vm4WRa
Martin SC-10E: sweetwater.sjv.io/1rb3Xa
* GUITARS - Electric
Music Man Sabre: sweetwater.sjv.io/PyaZNe In love. My Sabre has become one of my main instruments now.
Music Man Cutlass: sweetwater.sjv.io/y2r5XB Classic with great feel and flexibility.
Music Man Majesty: sweetwater.sjv.io/75b7vV Love this for recording. Perfect for modern metal guitar.
Gibson Les Paul Standard '60s: sweetwater.sjv.io/Or1J7K My main guitar for Zepparella. I have one in cherry burst and one in a limited-edition Manhattan Midnight.
Gibson Custom 1961 Les Paul SG Standard Reissue: sweetwater.sjv.io/3e73gy The first Gibson I bought. I had played a few off-the-rack SGs, but then found a 61 reissue. It hurt my wallet, but it plays and sounds amazing.
* STRINGS
Favorite nylon strings: sweetwater.sjv.io/NkNVeb
Favorite electric Ernie Ball Strings, 10-52: sweetwater.sjv.io/5gj3JD
* EFFECTS/PEDALS
Strymon TimeLine Delay: sweetwater.sjv.io/xknPMO Incredible-sounding, seemingly endless delay possibilities
Strymon Lex Rotary Speaker Simulator Pedal V2: sweetwater.sjv.io/9ge3kQ It takes a special pedal to make it onto my permanent gigging pedalboard, and this one made the cut.
Xotic XW-1 Wah Pedal: sweetwater.sjv.io/5gj3rD I love this pedal so much I bought two. It is more expensive than other wahs, but worth every penny.
Strymon Ojai R30 Low-profile Guitar Pedal Power Supply: sweetwater.sjv.io/R5RXM2
AmpRX BrownBox II Tube Amplifier Input Voltage Attenuator: sweetwater.sjv.io/m5nBMZ If you love your amp…
Pedaltrain Classic 2 TC 24"x12.5" Pedalboard with Tour Case: sweetwater.sjv.io/nLnz5R
Pedaltrain Metro 20 20-inch x 8-inch Pedalboard with Soft Case: sweetwater.sjv.io/6eGKYE
* RECORDING/STUDIO
Neumann TLM 103 condenser mic: sweetwater.sjv.io/XY1qBM Yes, it’s a lot of mic, but it sounds like it, too.
Yamaha HS8 8-inch Powered Studio Monitor Pair: sweetwater.sjv.io/Vm4WXk
Golden Age Project Pre-73 MKIII Microphone Preamp: sweetwater.sjv.io/9ge3kY
Two Notes Torpedo Captor X Reactive Loadbox DI and Attenuator: sweetwater.sjv.io/XY1qMy
Tascam Portacapture X8: sweetwater.sjv.io/daRAD7
* VIDEO
I love my Lumix S5 SO much. If you noticed my videos getting a visual upgrade in the last year or so, it’s because of this.
Lumix S5 Camera + Lens: sweetwater.sjv.io/zNjkd7
Lumix S5 Camera only: sweetwater.sjv.io/R5RXQy
Rechargeable Battery for Lumix S5: sweetwater.sjv.io/NkNVLN

[@davidsparks6146]

My favorite mentor... so calm and patient....explains things extremely well.... expert guitarist.

[@gretchenmenn]

Thank you so much! Really glad if these lessons are helpful!

[@saltyassassin]

Gretchen's beauty is so captivating, I have to go through the lesson a few times to make sure I catch the information. Love this song.

[@bobbygilchrist3569]

You are one of the few guitarists who can really brake down the guitar parts of Jimmy Page, and your playing is always beautiful & inspiring. There may be others, however, your interpretations I find to be the most creditable, and, are given with such genuine graciousness. Thank you!

[@gretchenmenn]

Ah, thank you so so much! I really appreciate the very kind words.

[@triggerfish6619]

Beautiful playing Gretchen... thank you for sharing your amazing talent and grace..🙏✌️♥️

[@gretchenmenn]

Thank you so much!

[@franklinj1038]

How beautiful Gretchen very nice tune! 💛

[@metalpunk9519]

As always Gretchen reminding us of how these great guitarist created timeless music that shaped a generation & will never be duplicated ever! thx you for all that you do🙏 you are a big talent 👏Cheers 🍷🎼👠🎩

[@tornique7337]

So amazing ❤

[@clivetaylor27]

love to see the theory behind your beautiful playing, thank you for your sharing

[@kensnow9332]

So awesome!!!

[@Kliffy123]

So talented Gretchen. LZ was my favorite band growing up and would wait in line to be the first to get any new album. Saw them live at Kezar stadium 1973/74. You do every song justice! Jimmy would be proud. My opinion is that it takes more musical talent to copy a song than make one up. In my view, you are one in a million. Playing Page songs the way you do is off the charts talent.

[@keithchurchill3008]

Lovely.

[@jeffanderson8384]

Love my Breedlove! Time to break out the mando! Thanks for the lesson.

[@chargersfan246]

Thank you

[@gretchenmenn]

You are very welcome!

[@TroyNaumu808]

Your tutorials are always helpfull Miss Menn. Thank You !!!

[@gretchenmenn]

So glad if they are! That's my goal with these! Love to hear how you do with it, so keep me posted.

[@stratbluesman]

Very nice !!

[@zolitoth4022]

The beauty and the guitar.

[@gretchenmenn]

Aww, thank you!

[@tedmardesich8257]

fantastic instruction! Thanks!

[@gretchenmenn]

Glad if it was helpful!

[@spiritandsoulareone]

Just a few mins in and I love your way of teaching. Looking forward to working it out. Thank you, Gretchen!

[@gretchenmenn]

So glad if it's helpful! Good luck with it!

[@kathyhollenbach7413]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful details as you teach.❤❤

[@gretchenmenn]

You are so welcome!

[@ralphpomm4943]

Sounds really good. Thank you for the lesson 🙏 ❤

[@gretchenmenn]

My pleasure! Hope it's helpful!

[@scottalbee3211]

Fantastic- great teaching method!❤

[@gretchenmenn]

Thank you! So glad if you find it helpful!

[@user-zj8ne4wz3l]

Thank you for sharing your time and instructions, its easy to enjoy your work! Regards!

[@gretchenmenn]

Thank you for the kind words! I appreciate you being here!

[@chucks6318]

Great lay down and explanations Gretchen. I started messing with this one a few weeks ago and there are just so many variations out there it is hard to zero in This will become my go to target arrangement. Thanks Much.

[@gretchenmenn]

Yeah, the variations are overwhelming at times. I initially approached this song trying to hear and replicate all of them (and across multiple guitar tracks, no less!). But I rethought it. To me this song is so much about the story in the lyrics. Too many embellishments on my end risk competing with the singer and giving less support to the vocals and the mandolin.

[@bearman722]

Just finished learning Bron Yr Aur with your videos. Exited to start this song, thank you!

[@gretchenmenn]

Oh, wonderful! Love to hear how you do! Isn't Bron-yr-Aur lovely to play?

[@CarlosAlbertoLopesdeFreitas]

I love ❤

[@cenzo152000]

Appreciate your work and talent….

[@gretchenmenn]

Thank you so much

[@danijeladimoski]

Perfect clear... :D

[@gretchenmenn]

Thank you!

[@ten5487]

Beginner still learning but that was beautiful to hear and to watch.

[@gretchenmenn]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Serega-Pitersky]

Very beautiful, Your Majesty. ✨G💫M✨

[@mikestroud9969]

Nice job loved it. ❤️🙏💯👋👋🎸🎸. Redheads are my favorite ❤️🥰🔥💯

[@gretchenmenn]

Thanks for listening!

[@RobertHollander]

So nice. I'm a guitarist. Perhaps, because of that, often I can tell the difference between guitarists who are finger picking on an acoustic guitar simply by the "texture" of the sound when they play notes. Your fingers sound beautiful.

[@gretchenmenn]

Thank you so much!

[@vintagetone22]

Beautifull music from a beautifull lady.❤🌹🌹🎸🎸👍👍👍🌹🌹🎸🎸🎸

[@gretchenmenn]

Thank you!

[@eduardorocha2345]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@stephenjones6030]

I hope you're back in Southern California again, soon.

[@PaulEckardt]

Thanks again Gretchen. Very clear and well presented lesson. I’ve just got to find someone with a decent voice to sing along with me now!

[@gretchenmenn]

So glad if the lesson was helpful! And yes--this one is absolutely about supporting the vocals, in my opinion!

[@pacalvotan777]

🤗❤️ 🎸 🎶 ✨

[@aleksandrsbaranovs2861]

Ради такого учителя можно выучить английский язык 🤗🥁🎸

[@CathodeRayNipplez]

😀

[@gretchenmenn]

🤘🤓

[@some2l9]

Hey your description on your channel page is pretty intense and I liked it, is that an original? Cool

[@some2l9]

lol are you calling him a horny nerd? oddest emoji-sequence… @@gretchenmenn Rock on.

[@gretchenmenn]

Noooo!! Haha! I use the nerd emoji for myself, a lifelong and unabashed nerd.

[@danieli.9252]

I need to go back to the first two in this series -- the thing I struggle with when playing fingerstyle is when the fretting hand holds part of a chord, but you need to move around and fret different notes as you play (does that make sense?). If the chord is static, I can do OK. I just need to slow down and take it one measure at a time.

[@gretchenmenn]

Yeah, I feel you. This one is a bit of leap forward from the first two. But you're exactly right--go slowly and work in tiny sections, and it'll happen with time, effort, and patience!

[@RainsonZeppelin]

Dear Gretchen, thank you so much this lesson, also for your Bron yr aur lesson (I have just been there and play it there!), and all your work with Zepperala, sometimes you are playing better than Jimmy himself! And you re also looking great! I have a question about the transition, at 12:30 it is a difficult chord. The 357. When I look at the video of Earls Court 1975, Jimmy does not playing that chord. Is he doing 355 ? I hope you will be touring Europe someday?

[@RainsonZeppelin]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJm5l6iXmNh_etk

[@gretchenmenn]

Jimmy often did things differently live, and what I'm showing here is how I've best approximated various layers of guitar on the album. If that chord is a pain for you, by all means adapt it/go for what JP did live!

[@RainsonZeppelin]

Thanks for your reaction! Again I hope to see you live with Zepparalla in Europe sometime!

[@lovelightshining4444]

Favorite Song, Favorite Guitarist, Favorite Guitar company. ~`•°{Heaven}°•`~ 🤍

[@gretchenmenn]

😃😃😃

[@StevenShults]

Fantastic lesson. And I keep encountering things that make me think it's time to get a 12-fret/shorter scale acoustic, this video is yet another! 🙂 ( Side note: Can I borrow your hands on occasion? They seem to work much better than mine. 😁 )

[@gretchenmenn]

Ha! My hands betray be more often than I'd like. I feel your pain!

[@StevenShults]

@@gretchenmenn 😊

[@AlbertColin]

My crush 😍

[@zikster99]

OK, California, I am coming! Gretchen I will bring you classic NY Italian pizza! crispy outside and fluffy inside... That's me too

[@gretchenmenn]

Pizzzaaaaaa 👹

[@thefrogvideo]

Hello - thank you so much for this great lesson. I may have missed something, but is there a way I can download your notation/tabs? It is a bit hard to practise without that. Is that on the Patreon or something? Thank you again!!

[@gretchenmenn]

Yes, I save some of the downloadable PDFs for my patrons on Patreon. So glad if the lesson was helpful!

[@stevenmccown4650]

Also Try getting a Harp Guitar if you want a richer sound & to go forward w/ your Guitar Talent! You will love it !

[@gretchenmenn]

I JUST decided I need one after hearing Muriel Anderson at Andy McKee's Musicarium last week (it's a 4-day guitar camp, and I was a teacher there this year). What an instrument that harp guitar is! I am afraid to look at what they cost.

[@some2l9]

Ooh… one of those very , Led Zeppelin 🤐

[@aleksvintagetechnics]

BEAUTIFUL. I WANT TO MARRY. MARRY ME