Stare Way to Heaven
Led Zeppelin "Stairway To Heaven" Song Analysis
I thought I'd analyze Led Zeppelin's iconic "Stairway To Heaven" in honor of the anniversary of the band's Led Zeppelin 4 album, which was released 40 years ago this week. The song was voted #3 in 2000 by VH1 on their list of the "100 Greatest Rock Songs." It was the most requested song on FM radio stations in the United States in the 1970s, despite never having been released as a single. This apparently was a decision made by the band's manager, Peter Grant, so fans would buy the album instead of the single. As with all song analysis, we'll look at the song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production.
The Song
"Stairway To Heaven" is one of the most interesting songs ever in terms of song form. Everything about it breaks the rules of what we consider "pop song" form, but that's what makes it so cool. Here's what the form looks like:
Intro (8 bars of guitar), Intro (16 bars with Mellotron), Verse (20 bars), Interlude (8 bars), B section (8 bars), Verse (8 bars), Interlude (1 bar), B section (16 bars), Verse (16 bars), Interlude (1 bar), B section (16 bars), Verse (16 bars), Interlude (1 bar)
That's just the first part of the song! As you can see, every section is somewhat different length-wise. Now comes the C section up-tempo outro:
Intro (2 bars of 7/8), Guitar Solo (36 bars), Vocal (36 bars), Outro (16 bars), Ending
There are a couple of interesting things here. First of all the C section intro is in 7, which is highly unusual for a rock song, then both the solo and vocal are 36 bars each, or 9 times through the pattern instead of 8. Once again, this is so much different than what you'd expect, yet it works.
The Arrangement
The arrangement for "Stairway" is brilliant in that there are only 7 instruments, yet it the sounds much bigger.
The beginning of the song is mostly acoustic guitar and mellotron flutes, and a Fender Rhodes electric piano holds down the bass from the 1st B section
I thought I'd analyze Led Zeppelin's iconic "Stairway To Heaven" in honor of the anniversary of the band's Led Zeppelin 4 album, which was released 40 years ago this week. The song was voted #3 in 2000 by VH1 on their list of the "100 Greatest Rock Songs." It was the most requested song on FM radio stations in the United States in the 1970s, despite never having been released as a single. This apparently was a decision made by the band's manager, Peter Grant, so fans would buy the album instead of the single. As with all song analysis, we'll look at the song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production.
The Song
"Stairway To Heaven" is one of the most interesting songs ever in terms of song form. Everything about it breaks the rules of what we consider "pop song" form, but that's what makes it so cool. Here's what the form looks like:
Intro (8 bars of guitar), Intro (16 bars with Mellotron), Verse (20 bars), Interlude (8 bars), B section (8 bars), Verse (8 bars), Interlude (1 bar), B section (16 bars), Verse (16 bars), Interlude (1 bar), B section (16 bars), Verse (16 bars), Interlude (1 bar)
That's just the first part of the song! As you can see, every section is somewhat different length-wise. Now comes the C section up-tempo outro:
Intro (2 bars of 7/8), Guitar Solo (36 bars), Vocal (36 bars), Outro (16 bars), Ending
There are a couple of interesting things here. First of all the C section intro is in 7, which is highly unusual for a rock song, then both the solo and vocal are 36 bars each, or 9 times through the pattern instead of 8. Once again, this is so much different than what you'd expect, yet it works.
The Arrangement
The arrangement for "Stairway" is brilliant in that there are only 7 instruments, yet it the sounds much bigger.
The beginning of the song is mostly acoustic guitar and mellotron flutes, and a Fender Rhodes electric piano holds down the bass from the 1st B section