 Page stated that he wanted Led Zeppelin to produce music that had " light and shade " . This began to be more clearly realised beginning with Led Zeppelin III , which made greater use of acoustic instruments . This approach has been seen as exemplified in the fourth album , particularly on " Stairway to Heaven " , which begins with acoustic guitar and recorder and ends with drums and heavy electric sounds . Towards the end of their recording career , they moved to a more mellow and progressive sound , dominated by Jones ' keyboard motifs . They also increasingly made use of various layering and production techniques , including multi @-@ tracking and overdubbed guitar parts . Their emphasis on the sense of dynamics and ensemble arrangement has been seen as producing an individualistic style that transcends any single music genre . Ian Peddie argues that they were " ... loud , powerful and often heavy , but their music was also humorous , self @-@ reflective and extremely subtle " . 
