The ULTIMATE Immigrant Song Chords And Guitar Lesson (Led Zeppelin)

If there were ever to be an epic guitar riff played as warriors charged out onto the battlefield in a Hollywood film… Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” could be a good choice.

The main guitar part uses just one pitch (F#). Yet with that one pitch Jimmy Page created a thunderous rock guitar sound.

It’s so dirt simple.

However, just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s easy to play. But fear not. I’m going to share interesting insights into this song and unpack some of Jimmy Page’s signature rock guitar moves step-by-step.

So tune up, and let’s dive into this “Immigrant Song” chords and guitar lesson!

Who Wrote Immigrant Song?

“Immigrant Song” is a classic Led Zeppelin track written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. It’s known for its powerful riff and iconic vocals. It was first released in 1970 as a single and is featured on the group's third studio album, Led Zeppelin III.

As with many Led Zeppelin tunes, the song’s lyrics paint a vision in your mind. Inspired by Viking imagery and Norse mythology, Plant’s lyrics sing of Nordic warriors sailing from their homeland in search of new territories.

The thunderous opening line sings:

"We come from the land of the ice and snow,

From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow."

The song was written during the recording sessions for Led Zeppelin III at Headley Grange, a secluded house in Hampshire, England. The recording environment was unconventional; the band was using a mobile recording unit.

The inspiration for the song’s themes came from Plant’s fascination with Viking mythology and Scandinavian history. The song’s distinctive guitar riff, played by Jimmy Page, and the high-pitched wail of Plant’s vocals set the tone for this epic track.

The song reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and has been highly regarded as one of Led Zeppelin's most memorable tracks. Led Zeppelin performed epic versions of the “Immigrant Song” frequently during their live shows in huge stadiums. This explosive energy defined rock n roll in the moment.

An interesting fact: Robert Plant’s vocals on “Immigrant Song” display a high-pitched swooping sound. This technique was often used as a “war cry”, again inspired by the Nordic themes.

Now, if you’re trying to play this epic song on guitar you may be wondering…

What is the tuning for Immigrant Song?

The tuning for "Immigrant Song'" as recorded by Led Zeppelin is in standard tuning. Jimmy Page keeps things simple.

Standard tuning is spelled out as EADGBE. 

Here are the strings:

• E (6th string, lowest pitch)
• A (5th string)
• D (4th string)
• G (3rd string)
• B (2nd string)
• E (1st string, highest pitch)

Let’s next take a look at the…

Immigrant Song Chords

If you want to play "Immigrant Song'" on guitar then you’ll need to know 4 main chords E, A, B, and C. These combined with the iconic riff make up the meat and potatoes of the tune. 

Let’s take a look at a few ways these shapes can be played on guitar.

E is a pretty common guitar chord. Here we’ll play it in open position using all 6 strings like this:

A is played from the 5th string down. I bar it with just my index finger. (Sometimes I play it with as few as just the first 3 notes. This makes it an A5 power chord. See the video above for a demonstration.)

B is played as a bar chord in 2nd position like this:

Finally, C is played just like the B chord shape but moved up one fret like this:

Now that you know the 4 “Immigrant Song” let’s talk about…

What key is Immigrant Song in?

“Immigrant Song” as recorded by Led Zeppelin is in the key of F# minor. However, not all the chords fit perfectly into the diatonic scale of F# minor. For example, E, and A do, but B, and C are borrowed chords. B is a major IV chord. This is a common move that is used in millions of hit songs. Then C is a major chord a tritone away from the root. This chord is the most intense chord in the whole song. It’s a chord that builds up the intensity and takes you back to the home chord. Jimmy Page also played this as a C9 chord at the very end of the tune when the rhythm section is hammering out the ending. (More on that in a bit…)

Now that you know the key, you can start to understand…

Immigrant Song Scales And Soloing

If you would like to solo over this progression and song, the best choice scale for guitar players would be the F# minor pentatonic scale. This is a simple five-note scale that’s super common in rock, blues, jazz, and just about every style.

The F# minor pentatonic scale uses the notes: F# - A - B - C# - E

Here’s the scale in intervals as well:

• Root (F#)
• Minor 3rd (A)
• Perfect 4th (B)
• Perfect 5th (C#)
• Minor 7th (E)
  

The F# minor pentatonic scale can be played in a myriad of different ways on the guitar fretboard. Here’s a common pattern for the scale, starting on the 2nd fret:

If you want to learn the best ways to play this scale anywhere on your fretboard, get your hands on my free fretboard guide right here:

But remember, the chords, scales, and solos don’t mean anything without the…

Immigrant Song Strumming Pattern, Riff And Groove

The main underlying groove for "Immigrant Song'" is a rapid-fire, driving 16th-note rock feel. Strumming 16th notes on guitar means dividing each beat of a 4/4 time signature into 4 parts. 

To properly strum 16th notes, you need to understand how to count them within each measure. In a 4/4 time signature, each measure has four beats. When subdividing each beat into 16th notes, each beat is divided into four equal parts, giving us a total of sixteen 16th notes per measure.

To count 16th notes, you typically use the following syllables:

1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a 

Here’s the breakdown:

1: The downbeat (first 16th note)

e: The second 16th note

&: The third 16th note

a: The fourth 16th note

When counting out loud, it sounds like:

"One e and a, Two e and a, Three e and a, Four e and a"

When strumming 16th notes, your strum hand has to move in a consistent up-and-down motion like a MACHINE. This is key to getting the “feel” right for this song. 

But you don’t want to just strum away 16th notes non-stop in this tune. That might cause strumming pattern overload. Instead, you want to pepper these into your rhythm (like a chef seasoning a steak). Here’s an example of this along with playing the note F# in octaves as I talked about above.

This type of style of guitar part needs to be played as a strum, and is not easy for beginners to learn who do not have the proper fundamentals in place. From there, you could also add in the ultra-dissonant and downright disturbing tritone chord (C9) like this as well:

That's the final bonus chord I talked about C9. It's a variation on the C chord we learned earlier.

Conclusion

To wrap it up, the guitar part played by rock legend Jimmy Page on "Immigrant Song" is iconic. Using just the simple idea of an octave, combined with the roaring energy of Led Zeppelin’s rhythm section unleashed a sound like no one has ever heard before.  

As I said, it’s dirt simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to play on guitar.

Keep it up, and if you want to learn songs way faster, better understand the fretboard, and not waste years spinning your wheels with guitar, grab my free fretboard guide here right now: 

Jon MacLennan