Premium
VIP
Beta Tester
About This Lesson
In today’s lesson I’ll teach you a fun guitar arrangement of Led Zeppelin’s Ramble On iconic bassline. My focus isn’t simply teaching the individual notes (which I will do), but additionally I’ll give you several tips on how you can add strumming between many of these bass notes. Using this approach, you end up with a very engaging and full-sounding guitar groove that is an absolute blast to play and repeat. Don’t miss my “secret stash” version of things, where I modify the second half of the bassline to make it even more strum-friendly.
- 0:00 Welcome
- 1:19 Bass Line, By Itself
- 7:47 Bass Line, with Some Strumming
- 12:13 Bass Line, with Full Strumming
- 15:39 Percussion Track & Bonus Videos
Instructional PDF 2 pages
Lesson Discussion
Zoomed Playthroughs
Here’s a few extra videos, made in thanks to those supporting me with Premium membership here on my Song Notes website. To those showing your support, you have my true thanks and appreciation — and I hope you find these additional videos helpful!
Level 1: Just the Bass Notes
Level 2: Bass Notes, with Some Strumming
Level 3: Bass Notes, with Full Strumming (aka my “Secret Stash” version)
Audio Practice Tracks
Here’s two different play-along practice tracks I created to help you learn this song. These recreate the constant 16th note percussion heard in Led Zeppelin’s recording, in addition to bass notes (E and A) that each measure alternates between. I’ve created two different speeds, one matching Led Zeppelin’s tempo (96bpm) and the other a bit slower (88bpm).
You can hear me play along with the slower jam track (88bpm) at the beginning of my main tutorial above, as well as in each of the playthrough videos on this page. Each practice track begins with a two measure count-in, before the full percussion & bass comes in.
Ramble On Reference Recordings
Led Zeppelin’s 1969 album recording – you can hear the bassline start around 0:10 into the song. This is played at 96bpm.
2026 live performance – from Robert Plant with the band Saving Grace. This one is slightly slower (88-90bpm), and a bit less high energy… but still sounds amazing.
Browse Related Lessons
Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:
Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!
Most of the lessons on my website are 100% free. If you have the means, please show your support with a tip jar contribution. I put many hours into every lesson — but it only takes you a minute to make a donation. You have my thanks!
Looking for More Song Lessons?
Featured Courses
Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made
Coming soon is Jambox – which shows all the video jam tracks I've made. It's note quite ready for the spotlight, but check it out if you like!
Subscribe to my YouTube channel
Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!
Recent Lessons
-
June 12, 2026
"Ramble On" Acoustic Bassline Groove (Led Zeppelin)
-
June 6, 2026
Melody, with Chords: "Love Me Tender"
-
June 5, 2026
"Love Me Tender" as played by Elvis Presley
-
May 29, 2026
Learning Triads with "Happy Birthday" (Key of G)
-
May 19, 2026
Guitar Jam Tracks: How I Make Them!
-
May 4, 2026
New and Improved! Song List Update.
-
April 24, 2026
Country Fingerstyle, Melody + Bass (feat. "Live Forever" by Billy Joe Shaver)
-
April 21, 2026
Sneak Peek! Step-by-Step Travis Picking Course
-
April 10, 2026
"Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty
