My Top 10 FAVORITE Led Zeppelin Riffs

Hey, what’s up you guys? Marty here with Marty Music, and in this lesson, I’m breaking down my 10 favorite Led Zeppelin riffs—from Good Times Bad Times to Whole Lotta Love! 🎸

I’ll walk you through the theory, technique, and tasty nuances of each riff, from blues boxes and power chords to chromatic movements and alternate tunings. Whether you're new to Zeppelin or just want to tighten up your classic rock chops, this one's for you.

Here’s what’s inside:
⦿ E Mixolydian tricks in “Good Times Bad Times”
⦿ Drop D magic with “Moby Dick”
⦿ Chromatic riffing in “Heartbreaker”
⦿ The secret sauce in “Whole Lotta Love”
...and a bunch more!

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Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. The link above is an affiliate link, that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission on.

0:00 – Intro: Marty’s Top 10 Zeppelin Riffs
1:17 – #10: Good Times Bad Times (E Mixolydian Magic)
4:26 – #9: Moby Dick (Drop D Blues Box)
8:24 – #8: The Ocean (Groovy Riff in Odd Time)
10:00 – #7: Immigrant Song (Epic Octave Force)
12:05 – #6: Heartbreaker (Open A Blues with Modulation)
14:27 – #5: Communication Breakdown (Driving Open E Riff)
15:42 – #4: Bring It On Home (Blues to Rock Transition)
17:18 – #3: Black Dog (Blues, Chromaticism & Riff Variations)
19:44 – #2: Kashmir (Exotic Tuning & Chromatic Power Moves)
22:10 – #1: Whole Lotta Love (The Secret Sauce Revealed)
25:31 – Final Thoughts & Outro

[PeterTea]

My favorite Led Zeppelin riff is usually the last one I listened to.

[GigaChadMob]

Ah yes, Killing in the Name of Moby Dick - my favorite Zeppelin classic.

[metalguru]

Love all these. Jimmy Page has so many incredible riffs. "Houses of the Holy", "Over the Hills and far Away", "Achilles last stand" etc. etc. It's a very long list.
Thank you for the great video Marty.

[aidenbeavers]

Marty you inspire me everyday to continue on playing, and you really are the best teacher on YouTube. One of the first songs you’ve taught me was a zeppelin song and of course it was the forbidden riff lol.

[jaimealfaro]

Lot of time in all those magnificent riffs for Bohnam to brigth like the super nova he was!

[jonathanhazlett]

Never knew about the secret sauce in Whole Lotta until now. That's a nice little gem to include.

[CasuallyJapan]

Physical Graffiti needs some love! Custard Pie, The Rover, Trampled Underfoot, the list goes on!

[XxCorvettexX]

You’ve been helping me learn to play for like ten years now- every holiday my dad jokes and asks if he “should set a spot at the table for Marty too, ” since you’re like a part of the family haha
Thanks again

[Law_Pug]

I know it was limited to 10, but I was hoping to see Ramble On. Both the acoustic and electric riffs are amazing and one of my favorite songs to play.

[Antman-sown]

Marty you should do some more Boston lessons like “Rock and Roll Band” or “Foreplay/ Long Time” I would love to learn them if you did a lesson on them. Keep on rocking Marty🤘🎸

[xboxfreaks]

Hey Marty it's been a while since I watched one of your videos. Just wanna say thanks for still posting all these tutorials. I've been watching you since I was in the 5th grade when I first got my guitar. I remember u taught me the very first two riffs I learned. Eye of the tiger and smoke on the water. I just now graduated high school and moving on into college this fall. It's great to see u still making content! I am still not the greatest player and consider myself a beginner at guitar since i spent months and months always giving up and letting my guitar collect dust. I am now playing guitar more than I ever have. I'm playing up to 12 hours a week just practicing the songs I really want to learn.

[qsounds]

Out On The Tiles and Celebration Day are some killer underrated Zep riffs and songs. Maybe you could do lessons of them in the future

[gnawbabygnaw]

Was just thinkin’: You have stood the test of time. Your commitment, while whatever dollars are involved, truly seems to be to teach this complex animal to others. Your playing is stellar. You, what seems, effortlessly show the wrong way and the right way to do these licks. Almost never a missed note. Great work Marty. I’ve been stealing stuff from ya since you started. Funny to look back at some of those early early ones. Well done ❤️

[scerni]

Yeah. More. Yeah. Zep or others. Love the explanations and tie backs to blues classics and / or interactions w pentatonic scale changes etc. Advanced beginner loving these licks. Learning more each day for the past x+ years.

[massyz]

The "secret sauce" at the end shows that one song can be played in infinite ways! The power of guitar with bends and slides...!

[danielmerek]

I’m calling it, Black Dog is gonna be in Marty’s top 5, if not top 3

[Shaggy-pfeb]

Been playing whole lotta love for ten years. Thanks for the secret sauce now I sound even better on that riff.

[BDizzleMySchnizzle]

Loving that old school stereo/record player in the back.

[shannonhondo]

Zepp made songs about love, Vikings, Vikings making Love

[maxbeale]

Great choice of riffs Marty, “The Ocean” is one of my favourite Zeppelin riffs as well