The Rain Song (acoustic tutorial)

[Sowsun]

Hey man, this is awesome! I'm just learning to play guitar and I'm dedicating myself to learning how to play this song next. I know it's a pretty intense undertaking for a beginner but I'm absolutely in love with the tune right now (just discovered it recently) and I find that I get the most motivation to learn when I'm in this state.

I had a couple of questions though. Is all the sound in this video coming from that one guitar? And do you happen to have any tabs that you used for this?

Thanks

[danip46]

Yeah is fucking hard to play but is the song that i like more to play

[CamRonb68]

are you fingerpicking this?

[nickeax]

No, strumming with a pick.

[SIJAR]

WOOAH AWESOME MAN !!!! , you nailed it !!!

[nickeax]

Cheers. :)

[guitaristaenparaiso]

Thanks for the video! It sounds REALLY great! One of my favorite songs!

[nickeax]

You're welcome.

[se1zoot]

Thanks-I never would have got it otherwise.

[se1zoot]

Thanks! I am 53 and never tried to figure it out, you did a great job

[nickeax]

Cheers!

[enteei666]

i finally learned it thanks man

[nickeax]

You're welcome buddy. I'm very glad that I was some help to ya!

[busby2]

My kingdom for the tabs

[nickeax]

I don't have the TABs mate, but I think they are easily sought, online.

[kernalkorn]

I like the camera angle - very helpful! Thanks for posting!

[nickeax]

Thanks and you're welcome!

[lichithepelexa]

thanks man, this is the best vieo, please Put a video with the cancion whole

[nickeax]

I will try pal.

[ChristopherPrim]

Nice job. I was working with ericcongdon's version, and he's got the last part down, which you don't, but I can see the fingerings on yours!

Very helpful; thanks.

[nickeax]

Looks like I'll need to consult that video to learn the rest of this! Thanks for the tip.

[gooman989898]

its good, but i cant see what the fuck your doing.

[nickeax]

Ha ha!

[sashybigfoot]

what size strings are they

[nickeax]

Way huge.

[Chookiman]

Nice work man ! a song every guitar player should know.

[Purdey600]

Very nice playing

[nickeax]

Gee, thanks!

[petesashowoff]

na u fucked up mad times and u play it wrong u fuckin suck fuck u

[nickeax]

लेकिन अगर मैं बात, मैं परिभाषित, मैं सीमित है, और कम कर रहा हूँ.

[salvalogan]

Podrias ayudarme a afinarla a tu forma o decirme como?? por favor

[nickeax]

Sí, me doy cuenta de mi forma de tocar es un poco descuidado. Este es un video muy viejo, y quiero hacerla según más de un tutorial. Para mejorar tu forma de tocar, yo sugeriría tocando de todo, poco a poco y en partes poco primero. Enfoque en TODO en pequeñas partes lentas y conseguir que suene bien de esa manera. Entonces, y sólo entonces, comenzar a jugar más cerca de la velocidad correcta

[nickeax]

y combinar las piezas. Y lo más importante que puede hacer para mejorar tu forma de tocar es escuchar lo que usted está jugando. ¿Te suena como música?

[salvalogan]

Excelente cancion y la tocas perfecto... mi pregunta seria que de preferencia tendran que ser cuerdas de metal.... como apenas trato de tocarla pues me gustaria saber como suenan con otras cuerdas...

[mfs238]

very goog, thanks for the information

[Emmett006]

I think Nick has it perfectly:-) I couldn't make any of the different tunings work for me so I just tried by ear and it was similar to Nick's but had the 5th and 6th strings tuned the same and it sounds good so far. Weird thing is, I found you can play most of the spookey bits of the Bond themes. Open tunings rock!

[fatrippz]

hey could u tell me the little walk down i thionk its the little seven notes. from that A shape bass walk down ?? would rlly apreciate it

[nickeax]

If you can wait a bit, I'm making a better version of this soon. It will be a proper tutorial and I'll explore the whole song in detail.

Cheers,

Nick.

[loki4204freedom]

can you play that on a 12 string ,id like to hear you play it on one

[nickeax]

See the comment below this one. ;)

[fatrippz]

lol hjahah

[loki4204freedom]

hey nickeax is it possable to play this on a 12 string ? if you get one i'd like to hear you play it

[nickeax]

Yes, I will get one soon.

[vzwatyr]

i hope to play as good as that some day...

[nickeax]

If I were you, I'd aim a LOT higher!

[NSL4EVER]

yes please make a slower version, this is my favorite song :)

[nickeax]

Ok, I will do that.

[mattme020202]

Good job, check out this one in standard tuning while he sings Robert Plant's part!!!

watch?v=cqmmTzlIXDQ

[YorkeKin]

nice mate

i did learn it by watching ur video

btw i dont get why ppl keep calling this tuning dgcgcd when its clearly dcgcgd

from the high e string to the lower e string

ex: standard is ebgdae not eadgbe

can someone explain this to me?

[AGenericAccount]

Most people when listing tunings go from the lowest string to highest, hence EADGBE.

So DGCGCD makes sense as well, or the live tuning EADADE.

[enge1]

I was self taught and always thought the big string was the first string. Alot of people don't know that the small E is the first string.

[keeponblinking]

who cares

[nickeax]

Yeah, who cares!

[bobspark18]

Thanks very good angle for teaching

[nickeax]

You're welcome mate!

[MissZeppelin1]

Guy! You are awesome! Thanks a lot!!!

Good luck for you! Warm wishes from Kazakhstan!

[nickeax]

Thanks for the kind words! But they are too kind for me. :)

[mooncastle]

Really mostly accurate, definitely needs some refining in some spots (transcription-wise)...

[nickeax]

LOL! You're too kind. This is pretty terrible!

[minks1968]

awesome dude u got it

[nickeax]

Cheers.

[TheRastafarian]

so good

[nickeax]

Thank you.

[Mbizal]

Last 30 seconds wrong

[bonzo6880]

yes, it gets a little rough toward the end, but good in general. Are you getting that tone from vinyl strings?

[crash48one]

nothing is wrong, I hear a wonderful Feeling, peace. :)

[nickeax]

I don't know of vinyl strings. I am using steel strings on a Martin.

[streetkid0]

so pretty, my mom is gonna flip when I learn and play this for her

[jediangler]

That guitar has a beautiful sound, nice job.

[loveguitars]

Excellent Bro

[1overthehillsfaraway]

what do folks mean, not a tutorial? You have eyes don't you?

[PDTbn1344]

I think this is a great tutorial! Thanks for posting this. Hell, I'm a bass player and this is the by far the best way for me to learn chords. Your camera angle is what did it for me.

[RobLeepopart]

this IS a tutorial

[ChibiwolfXD]

Not a tutorial but a cover. Still, beautiful <3

[justinmathew111]

Not bad, This is not a tutorial though. It's just a video of you playing Rain Song, Some parts are off too, but all in all damn good guitar play

[barakshulman]

sounds beautiful

[jovan1152]

It is easier to understand the left hand, but Im struggling with the right now. This would work great with a split screen tutorial.

[nickeax]

Yes. Send me another camera. :-)

[joaokorb]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT!

[nickeax]

You're welcome!

[guitarteach]

That's the best way to show the fingerboard-from the player's point of view!

Congratulations! I wish more lessons would use this point of view. Thanks.

[nickeax]

Yeah, it makes sense to me. :-)

[fatspanner67]

yeah sweet man..page was a inovator for dropped tunings..try open e for sum other pagey stuff..great for slide as well......nice one geez..ROCK ON!!!!!

[nickeax]

Thank you, and I will look into some other Page techniques.

Cheers.

[MoFo2127]

y do u gotta tune it down

[Nexwert]

Good. But how it plays?

[nickeax]

Yeah, it's a great sound, but this is a six.

[kyeruu2]

meh, i need different guitar strings, i like steel string, not nylon >.>

[drummertech57]

you gotta look at "troubleclef's" version.He's got it down.

[nickeax]

I will do, thanks for the tip.

[FENDIN10]

This is a really great camera angle,I am just going to retune my guitar right now.

I did learn to play it in normal tuning in the key of A which is what page does on

The Song Remains The Same.

[zephead718]

He was doing v ery very good until 1:30, then he recovers around 1:37

[nickeax]

Ha ha ha! Seven seconds in the the wilderness? :-)

[scorps449]

really good tuorial,well done buddy,i'll definatly be trying this in the future.5 stars

[nickeax]

Thanks and you're welcome.

[JoshBerg000]

This guitar sounds AWESOME!

Way to play.

[nickeax]

That's why I bought it! :-)

[reksub10]

excellent but this song is all about conveying feeling play it while watching the rain one day and mellow it right out and youll see

[nickeax]

I think I know what you mean!

[reksub10]

what kind of guitar have you got cos it sounds fantastic really clear sound i would give you 10stars if i could

[nickeax]

Thanks for the kind words!

The guitar is just a Martin DCX1E, but they are great value for money, IMHO.

[crazyjose111]

It not a girl playing this? yea it looks like a woman or a 10 year old girl.

[nickeax]

I thought that when I first watched it too! What a fucking sissy!

[limunan]

is this a open G turn?

[jstarang1]

am i the only one who thought those were girl hands? lol

[nickeax]

I thought that when I first watched it too! What a fucking sissy!

[mikerandy78]

you too are both losers with small dicks...what the hell does his hands have to do with anything...stop hating...if u 2 are the men you think you are you would pick up an axe and try this out...but you probably already did and failed...a lot like your lives i bet...

[nickeax]

I did try it, and I rocked it!

[mauricetomas]

its one thing to play the notes...a good musician can do that. A great musician can play the notes in time, use dynamics, and maintain intensity. Good job though

[nickeax]

I think I know what you mean!

[crash48one]

naiz^^

[TSOfan]

Wow, I don't remember changing the tuning....

[jakeisdead]

oops

[WAMEDJO]

Seems like you did the Coda towards 1:25 ? Nonetheless,

you've found the right angle for sure ! Is it the tuning used by J.Page (I sometimes had to put more fingers or play less strings, I think my guitar doesn't like to be detuned) ?

[nickeax]

I'm not really sure mate. I learnt this a while ago, off some obscure TABs. I probably shouldn't have classified this as a lesson.

[MyFing2cents]

Very close but wrong, especially at the run down. Totally off

[jimmydanpage]

how do you play it?

[jslinko]

fuck my string broke!

[ddudeman66]

low g not high lol i thought that also

[jslinko]

yeah!lol low G

[BlurSkate]

cool

[uuuush]

does anyone know where to get this tab or anything

[ZepKnebworth79]

what acoustic are you playing and what kind of strings?

[nickeax]

It's a Martin DCX1e and I suspect the strings are Dean Markleys of some regular type, sorry I couldn't be of more assistance!

[ZepKnebworth79]

i have a dxm, mine i think is more bassy than yours

[twalter]

I am having a problem with the little riff at 1:14 into the video. Could you give me the 7 notes that are played real fast at that juncture in the song? Thanks

[SABS1177]

What were you using to record that? Out of curiosity... And nice playing.

[nickeax]

A Rode NTK into a Great River ME-1NV into an EMU 1820m.

[imon6drugs]

you should try the live tuning....eadade. nice work, dude.

[cweekly]

The tuning looks right because it's close, but not quite. The Page tuning is actually C-G-C-G-C-D. The open drone strings help in a few places, and the dramatic lead-in to the chorus (which isn't played here) uses the (detuned to D) high E string... but whatever, this is a decent video of someone trying to help others which is to be encouraged. Keep playing nickaxe, you've got some talent.

[editfreek]

cweekly is exactly right. the low droning 5ths are crucial. and if you take that same tuning and tune the high D back up to E, you now have the tuning for FRIENDS (Zep III)

[motokev]

the tuning is correct. watch J Page play it, same thing. I have the tab for standard tuning, much more difficult my friends

[guitarstar0966]

I aint sure if its right, although I really enjoy the alternate tuning! It does sound good, but its missing something...oh yeah! The rest of the song! wheres part 2? btw, check out how "troubleclef" does it!

[Chookiman]

Your Guitar sounds amazing ! nice work.

[nickeax]

It is a nice guitar, and I take absolutely no credit for it's great sound. :-)

[Toxicpr0]

u fucking suck give me a tutorial ok bitch?

[nickeax]

Ok. I am sorry to disappoint you.

[Matt123ttam]

you have a martin i see. lol. ive got a martin d28; great guitar

[nickeax]

Yeah, it's a cheapo Martin!

[Matt123ttam]

lol

[nickeax]

Sounded waaaaaay better than anything else for that money. :-)

[Matt123ttam]

good job by the way but one of the parts was wrong: starting at 1:26 . most of it was wrong

[chevron34]

i have a lot of trouble playing that part from 1:13 to 1:23

[Perbjarne]

thx a lot for this simple, but excellent tutorial mate!

cheers

[jalqui6]

Tener el dedo pulgar siempre en esa posicion debe ser muy mamon no?

[dgamers07]

TEMAZO

[Lavall9000]

It's a bit off, sounds good though listen to the song again, really listen

[zabac456]

Thanks for that !!!

[LedHead303]

Nice i tried to figure it out myself and i got most of it but what i couldnt i learned from this video, thanks man. Good camera angle its very helpful. Also what guitar did you play this on, is it a Martin? Cause it looks exactly like mine.

[nickeax]

No worries mate! And yes, this is one of those cheap arse Martins.

Still craps on a lot of more expensive guitars I've played. :-)

[markkenworthy]

could you do everyone a big favor and pluck each string once so we can tune our guitars by ear,i cant tune it otherwise, im not a guitar techie,i would really appreciate it if you could upload the tuning then i can start to get to grips with this beautiful piece of music, you play it wonderfully by the way.if ya cant upload the tuning , no worries. mark.

[chevron34]

they have these little chromatic tuners for that, or you could try to find each individual note online

[boomer61]

The camera angle was genuis.Now with the drop tuning its sounds a lot harder then it really is. Thanks again

[gunnabeangus]

do you need to tune up to the notes or down? like up as in higher tension, and down lower tension

[nickeax]

All down except for the B string, it's up to 'C' mate.

[RobinPillage]

Well, now I know I've been playing it wrong for about 20 years. I knew Page used a different tuning when playing the Rain Song live, but I always thought it was in standard tuning. My way was close, but not quite correct. Now I don't have to fake it anymore. Thanks for the post.

[jakadaba]

thanx

[jonomutiny]

Nice work man, you play it sweeter than me, and I dont have a fat neck on a gut srtung guitar to cope with either - aint J Page a genius??

Peace

[tmartin3]

Page is a genius.  He "hears" things that I just can't. T pluck out that melody and chord structure took a lot of innovation and creativity.

[guitarac311]

would you happen to have the tabs?

[tmartin3]

Try "tabpower".  Com

[finalcut2o6]

like you know how standard tuning to relative tune with standard tuning you do the 5th fret thing like whats the relative tuning for this song its kind of confusing

[Kruelwanderer911]

thank you for making this.

it made my soul at peace.

[HmmWzUp]

thanxs man

[mojopreest]

I was watching this vid and I noticed the stratabond neck. I'm a big fan of Martin's X-series guitars and was wondering which model you're playing that song on. I'd love to find a 000XM because I like that size, but they quit making them and I can't seem to find a used one that anyone will let go of. Part of me wants to believe they quit making them because they sounded "too good", as in lower profits and they actually sound better than their solid spruce top, all wood guitars.

[intrasource]

Best tone of all youtube rainsongs..

[twalter]

What I think a lot of people would like if you strummed each individual note to tune the guitar to learn this great song. Most of the tutorial I picked up on. The hard part was the indiviual picking in towards the end. If you could slow down on that and play each note to tune everyones guitar that would be a winner.

[leftypride126]

this song is PURE GENIUS!!!!!!!

[lonetrueg]

Good Job son!

[Axloooo]

how can i tune my guitar to play that song and which is the C string? please somebody

[texasmoose1963]

EADADE, live vers.

DGCGCD, studio vers.

also for complete tab do a google search for "Rain Song Guitar Tab"

[Axloooo]

can somebody tell me how can i tune my guitar to play that song?

[lilchawawa]

Great help. One suggegestion for us neophytes on guitar. Repost using a guitar that has dots on the frets. It tough to makeout what the chords are.

Still an excellent job though. Thanks.

[alvarad4]

THANKKKKKSSSS man!!!!!!

[andrewjon]

you saved me some time. sweet

Wonderful.

You're really good, and so's the song. Makes me appreciate Jimmy Page all the more for thinking it up.