How to Play Back in Black on Guitar

This video is how to play “Back in Black” by AC/DC. Their guitarist, Angus Young, plays the song electric which I also do at the start of the lesson. But then I quickly switch over to the acoustic to teach you the song because it has more clarity and hopefully without the distortion you can hear the complex rhythms better.

This song is definitely mid-advanced level. It sounds easy at first but the rhythms are rather complex. I must confess that when I first trying to learn the song I thought it was going to be a lot easier than it actually was! I divided the lesson into to have the first half is the riff/verse and the second half is the chorus. The verse is made up of the cords E, A and D and followed by a short fill. This is repeated twice but with a different fill both times.

I include a lot of cuts in my playing during this video lesson to establish to you where the beat lies or where the snare should be. However in the actual song Angus Young does not play with cuts so feel free to use them as a tool to get the feel of the groove but then take them out of your guitar line as you progress.

The chorus section of the song can be divided into two parts: The chords for the first part is A, E, B, A, B and that is repeated twice. The second part is G, D, A, G, A and that’s repeated twice as well. The chorus gets a little complicated however because they decided to move all the chords later by ½ beat. Therefore, the whole entire chorus is grooving on the backbeat, and it resolves back to the “one beat” at the very end on the G chord.
If you’re really struggling with learning the rhythm try putting down the guitar and singing the guitar line while clapping your hands along to the mp3. You will feel like a dork but it will make you very aware of where the rhythm lies.
If you have never gotten into the backbeat then this is a great song to start learning it. I wish you guys the best with this song. It is challenging but lots of fun to play. Its definitely a rock n’ roll staple! Make sure to subscribe and I’ll see you next lesson. Thanks!
Dyce Kimura is a Fort Lauderdale Guitar Teacher giving lessons in the Sunrise Area
Call 7864573687 for questions or to book a lesson today. For more information about skype guitar lessons click here.
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