“Houses Of The Holy” by Led Zepplin

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Composer – Page / Plant

Where to find this song – Physical Graffiti track # 4

Release Date – February 1975

Led Zeppelin was the definitive band. It wasn’t just their interpretation of the blues — it was how they incorporated mythology, mysticism, and a variety of other genres, into their own unique sound. Led Zeppelin had mystique. They rarely gave interviews, since the music press detested the band. Consequently, the only connection the audience had with the band was through the records and the concerts. In turn, that made them cult icons and the hype on them never superceded the band at all. They were one of the few bands that were better than their hype.

Intro

Here’s what the intro sounds like with guitar and bass:



Guitar

Begin the first measure by placing your 1st finger on the second fret on the “D” string. Place your 2nd finger on the third fret on the “A” string. Play that once, and then move your 2nd finger to the fourth fret on the “A” string.
Play that once, and then lift that finger off and play the string open once. Once you have done that, use your 1st finger to barre the second frets on the “D” string and the “G” string. Play that twice, allowing the “A” string
to remain open. End the measure by doing just what you did at the beginning of the measure.

Begin the second measure by playing just as you did in the middle of the first measure. End the measure by barring the same finger, the 1st finger, on the second frets of the appropriate strings.


Bass

To play the bass part of this riff, use your 1st finger on the third fret
on the “A” string. Then, just use your 2nd finger for the fourth
fret on the same string. Play the same string open once, and then use your
3rd finger to play the seventh fret on the “D” string twice. End
the measure by using your 1st finger again for the third fret on the “A” string.

Go into the second measure by using your 2nd finger for the fourth fret on
the “A” string. Notice that you did this at the beginning of the
measure. Repeat the rest of this measure by using what you just learned in
the first measure of this bass part.



Verse

The verse riff is totally different. Here’s what the
guitar and bass sound like together:



Guitar

The guitar mostly utilizes common chord shapes:



 

Bass



Riff Resources

Complete Transcription To “Houses
Of The Holy” (PDF)

Complete Transcription To “Houses
Of The Holy” (Power Tab)

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