Andy Chase

It's actually not very often that I find myself wishing I had had the internet when I was a kid, but while playing guitar tonight it occurred to me to do a Google search for The Rain Song, one of my favorite Led Zeppelin tunes.

When I was an aspiring Rock Guitar God 16 years ago, I had a Led Zeppelin song book. It had tablature and chords, but I can't remember ever being able to learn anything from it. The notes were mostly right, but the arrangements were unplayable.

Especially The Rain Song, which was one of the reasons I pestered my parents into buying that particular book. The book had an arrangement in EADGBE tuning, and it just didn't sound right, no matter how slowly and cleanly I tried to play it. I remember impossible fingerings, and chords that just didn't have the right color. I remember asking my guitar teacher about it, and him mentioning that he was pretty sure the song was played in a non-standard tuning, but not seeming very interested in pursuing it. I remember giving up on that song.

Tonight, within 10 seconds of my initial search I learned that the song is played in DGCGCD tuning, and that it practically falls right off the fretboard; I would have been able to nail that song hands down back then had I known the tuning and had all this free tablature at my fingertips.

What must it be like to be an aspiring Rock Guitar God nowadays?