5 AC/DC Riffs Frequently Played Wrong | Guitar Lesson đž
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 22. 09. 2019
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Nick Bowcott shows you five iconic AC/DC guitar riffs that are often played inaccurately, and shows you how Angus Young himself played them.
#Sweetwater #ACDC
The Zoom F8N Multitrack Field Recorder was used to record the audio in this video, and can be purchased here: www.sweetwater.com/store/deta... - Hudba
Have you been playing these riffs wrong all this time? Let us know in the comments đ For more great lessons, rock 'n roll, and more like and subscribe!
Thanks! Love to see other lefties rock out. I haven't been playin those AC/DC riffs at all, because nobody in the band knows how to sing like AC/DC. But watching this was a perfect compressed lesson to grasp the style of Angus. Thank You very much!
I have a Guitar World special Angus issue from 2005, which has Nick's article w Angus from 2000 in it... so I've thankfully been playing them correctly!! :D
I'm sick and tired of people saying that we put out 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we've put out 12 albums that sound exactly the same. - Angus Young 2000
All of your songs sound the same.
"Yes, but it's a good song"
- Angus Young
Yeah, they all sound the same. Absolutely badass is all they sounded like.
If they put out 12 albums and they sounded the same but were shitty there would be no interview. Every other band with a " Legendary " record that put them on the map got critical shade from a follow up record that didn't sound the same. Music journalism has a track record that has no merit in the world of Artist
Rolling Stone magazine has ripped apart Led Zeppelin. Allman Brothers Band and a few others it may have been Skynyrd. I learned a long time ago that I can not like a band or song that doesn't mean they suck. I have to say that to people a lot more than you think. Few argue the statement. " Oh man{fill in name} they suck I can't stand them". I say. They don't suck. Just not your cup of tea. Not mine either. If they sucked we would not be talking about them
GENIUS
You'll notice that when Angus and Malcolm both played the same riff, Angus almost always plays it in a different neck position. This was done to give some more tonal variety to the riff, and make it sound more ball-breakingly massive.
Gotta love octaves. I
@@vlogress11c81 Same octave different position.
Great all round musical knowledge that you rarely see these days
Also malcom usually more percussive, angus lets em ring out more on a lot of riffs
1:51 god that TONE IS PERFECT
I was crossing my fingers for that Hellâs Bells at the beginning đ, guess Iâve been playing it right đ€
Yeah, I clicked on the video like "okay, time to unlearn 5 songs again" and is was a pleasant surprise that I had been doing that one right, at least.
Josiah Bell ik Im so happy bc that was one of the first riffs I leaned by ear s long time ago and just now I see that Iâve been playing it right
damn the tone sounds hella real
I know. Really wish they posted up the gear used.
Hes playing a real Gibson S.G. but the cheapest ones Gibson makes, the faded S.G. is the cheapest Gibson S.G. you can buy, the S.G. StanDard is the type S.G. angus uses, but his faded one doesn't too bad at all, yes he is playing left handed, when he played highway to hell, theres only so many ways you can arrange the dominate major a as for the f# to g major, he played it the same way as the tab, shows it being done, but since he thinks hes being slick about hiding what hes doing with the opening A major by covering what hes holding there at the open A , I got news for ya, the dominate note in the opening chord is an open A-major d-string at the 2nd fret along with the G-string also being held down at the 2nd fret, forming the A-major chord , but check,em out when he goes to show an tell everyone were all playing it wrong, ,LOL, I watched everything he did, and played right along with,em ,that high voltage part wasn't hard at all, if he considers that part hard , he probably doesn't play too many songs with scale runs an patterns, especially arpeggios , good luck my man, but I think its you that has the wrong idea about the opening of highway to hell, if your so convinced about how its done then show yourself playing without hiding your fingers , plus, there,s only so many spots there to place your fingers ,LOL, show us something really difficult or that you feel is the hardest stuff Angus pulls off, make a believer out of us, is all im asking give,em something to work on , make the newbies practice harder and more often ,LOL, practicing everyday for hours , is what makes you a better guitarist, play everyday for at least 5 to 8 hrs a day, and all weekend long, for about 10 yrs , by then you should be playing clubs, if not recording your own music , each person learns at there own pace, some might get playing down in 5 to 6 yrs some it may even take longer , becoming a good guitar player isn't easy, not by a long shot, if it was then everybody would be a guitar GOD,LOL, that's why you MUST put in the time and daily practice ,along with patients and determination , but if your really committed to learning how to be a great guitarist, theres no such thing as a short cut, it doesn't exist , it takes long ,very long hard practice, and more practice, and yeah did I say it takes more practice, yeah and more practice, if you stay at it, you might just become a great guitarist in the end, pick up your guitars and practice ,do it first, do it now, an keep doing it, til your fingers are as black as your fret board then you know you,ve done some practicing if your finger tips are blackened , or bleeding or both, plus the skin will callus up nice an thick ,making doing bends a lot easier , good luck
The68lespaul you know what an apostrophe is right? -> â â â LoL
@@The68lespaul Lad I've already got the playing side of things down. I just don't have the right amp. I already knew most of these things that he showed (except the Riff Raff one). Just that amp sounds killer. I just want to know the head, cab and any pedals.
@@The68lespaul Are you meaning "dominant" when you write "dominate"?
Bringing Nick to SW has been one of the best moves. Not only does he bring his years of knowledge and experience as a metal guitar player, he adds an element of humor that makes you want to watch the video whether you're interested in the topic or not.
One of my favorite guitarists. Angus takes simple and rocks the hell out of it.
Its really not that simple... brorock, metalcore, poppunk, some blues etc seems a lot simpler to me
Why can't other CZcamsr's explain things with the delivery that Nick Bowcott does? Humble, smooth, entertaining, and in a voice that you can listen to all day. And, he gets to the point without spending 20 minutes on how to play a 3 note riff.
"Now look sunshine. I was playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order" Eric Morecombe
LOVE Nick Bowcott!!! He is such a gem for SWEETWATER staff and LOVE his approach and interview style as well!! Need more lesson CORRECTIONS from him!!
Waidaminut... I'm about 10 minutes in and I realize something.. my first lesson at about 13 years old.. round about 2003 I had a VHS metal guitar lesson tape..with this guy in it. He was explaining guitar basics and talked about how cheap tuners were as he tosses it across the room... and I think it just broke hahaha. That video helped me understand bar chords and rhythm in an age when CZcams guitar lessons weren't really a thing... the things you remember
For Those About To Rock and Riff Raff are actually only era-correct. Angus often played FTATR that way in the mid-90s into the early 2000s, but the rest of his career it was played with the open B, whether or not he intended it or even realized it. To be fair, Angus is not known for his impeccable memory; he even lost his Schaffer-Vega at one point. Also, Riff Raff almost always was played with the open A, whereas in some concerts from 2016-17 he played the 2nd fret G for a few cycles in the intro, then stopped immediately when the drum beat kicked in. Any indication that it is normally 2nd fret G is simply a symptom of the really high-heavy tones he played with in the late 70s as well as the fact that he used T-Tops, which tend to sound a little thinner. On top of that, the Schaffer-Vega, which was used on Powerage, really accents string attack and makes your tone a lot snappier, giving the effect as though you could be playing on a thinner string than you really are, possibly even making wound strings sound like unwound strings. If you listen closely on the If You Want Blood live album, you'll be able to tell it's an open A. Regardless, Angus has had several style changes over his career (which is to be expected; it's a 45 year span), and some songs have undergone some occasional changes as a result. Also note: on Riff Raff nowadays Angus palm-mutes and does a hammer-on in the start of the main riff, whereas he didn't do that in the 90s and before when they played it. Just because he does something one way now does not mean that's how he always did it. AC/DC's my favorite band, and I've done loads of research on them over the years. I REALLY know my stuff when it comes to the DC.
Damn. You are one true and dedicated ACDC fan! That means you and I have that very much in common! Check my channel for some acdc tutorials just so you can appreciate another's journey to learning and hearing things most can't in regaurds to ACDC. đ€ Anyway, everything you said here is 100% correct. We can hear and see his progression as a player and his approach to his own riffs (Mals too). đ€đ„đ€
MisterSwagify I prefer marvel over dc honestly.
Seriously though dcs better, Batman was a good part of my child hood.
Really though, you know your stuff. And Iâm weird.
MisterSwagify Yes, yes, yes on the open B string in FTATR! Itâs clear as a bell on the studio version!
Dude you know you're shit
They didn't play Riff Raff in the 90's.
I humbly submit that the last two C notes on Riff Raff are pull-off's, not picked! I used to play it the same exact way, but if watch live videos and listen, I'm pretty sure I'm correct. Thanks so much for the lesson!
I think you are right on that, I was thinking the same thing.
Nice!!! Thanks so much for unraveling a few Angus mysteries that have been messing me up for years!!! Keep rocking!
Many years ago there was a youtuber called Dallas something or other, he of course got shut down, but he was like a Phd student in AC/DC playing, I learned so much about their playing from him. He taught the right way to play the chords. He taught all those songs you just played the "correct" way.
Are you talking about SoloDallas ?
@@x-daveonpc Yes, that the name. So good at playing AC/DC.
Fantastic lesson Nick! Thanks for this one! In addition to covering some great riffs you covered some great concepts such as the upbeat and swing. Also really liked how you shared the approach that Angus shared with you regarding the difference between where the cords can be played on the neck to very different effect and impact. So many great lessons that can be applied to everyday playing as well as to some great AC/DC covers!
Love this video! I remember when I first figured out about Angus's string attack and how much it makes his sound what it is, and of course he said it best that you just need to hit the buggers. And I have to do a bit of bragging that it took me about two minutes to figure out Riff Raff by ear. Thanks for telling these great stories!
I bought that issue back in the 90s, just for that article and still have it to this day!
Everyone says AC/DC is easy to play, until it comes time to play them. The technique to playing the notes is what sets those riffs afire. This gentleman plays his fretting right, but his pick sounds a little too gentle to nail the classic sound. He does acknowledge that they strum very hard though!
I love the way Nick runs his guitar playing down . Folks I seen this guy get on stage with sons of Texas , opening for THC and completely own the stage with a Pantera song . He's been rocking for years and hopefully has more years to go . Rock on
Thank you, sir, for confirming what we're doing right, righting us on what we're doing wrong, and just as importantly, doing it with "just the right amount of crunch" like it's supposed to have! So many people not only play AC/DC riffs wrong, but use too much distortion/saturation, and it absolutely castrates those colossal chords and hooks!
Thank you SW / NB / AV folks - this is awesome Nick, thank you! "And what's the answer?.... NEITHER!" I'm still chuckling at what you said to JJN - cheers!
Just found this - outstanding. Great insight and I remember the article your wrote, and mentioned here, way back when I was first starting. Well done then, and now, sir!
Man, thank you for this. I've been searching forever on that little spice on You shook me all night long on the opening chord, and now I've got it. Turns out it's easier to play as well.
Some of those I got it right, some needed adjusting as well. Pretty cool revisiting those tunes.
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Very informative and well put together! Wish I could have had a guitar teacher like you!!
PLEASE keep doing these videos, theyâre so cool
Thanks for all the great information. Practice time! And a great video too, thanks for sharing đ€
Being mostly a blues and metal guy. Getting to the root of rock nâroll is kinda refreshing thanks!!
that kicked ass man, you killed it. anyone that gave this a thumbs down deserves to have them broke off.
Hells Bells was our walk out song during my high school football days, that song made me feel like one bad dude coming out of the locker room with that blaring
Nick, thank you. I wish you and your family the greatest joy of this Holiday Season. You have more than competent technique and AC/DC tone for days. And, as far as I can tell those are only your faults. Rock on Brohiem!!
Oh my effing God. I bought a guitar and amp and chose this as my first tune to learn. I was being told to use the B string drone which in the end made me throw the guitar into the attic. I was gutted !
I just watched this whilst trying to get inspired, got my guitar dusted off and nailed it within 5 mins. Iâm now enjoying getting the chords down . I canât thank u enough
Absolutely love learning the nuances to Malcolm and angus's playing style. Much of what they do is based upon the groove. Rick on
Loving these Nick vids. Awesome stuff. Please keep 'em coming. \m/
a humble guitarist is always a great teacher. your great
Keep em coming, these are awesome vids. To keep time with an AC/DC song one most stomp thy foot and bang thy head!
Great video. I knew the HTH riff was coming. I've never been able to make it sound right and I've never really heard anyone else play it right. Now I know why! Good advice.
I liked how Malcolm always referred to their music basically having a 50's vibe rock 'n roll 'swing'. The rock formula that always works. A perfect example of this are the live versions of 'High Voltage' from the Bon era... makes you want to get up and move. Now, if I could just figure out how to play 'Big Jack' correctly haha. Thanks again.
Well done Sir! Damn, I still love those songs. So greatđđ»
I actually remember the Guitar World interview Nick did. It was great! I also specifically remember the bit about how he played Hells Bells up the neck.
My favorite ACDC song now has to be "Up-Down-Up", lol! Excellent lesson.
This is a well done video. I enjoy seeing the correct way to play things. The video of 50 Zepplin Riffs is note correct but a quarter of it is position inaccurate. There is a lot more open chords than the guys plays. It makes a huge difference.
Nick Bowcott is absolutely awesome. Great player, instructor and interesting commentary...lol
Love your videos they make me smile and very happy thank you brother â€ïž
THANK YOU!!! Brilliant and insightful. I don't have an SG, but I do have a Les Paul and Jackson RR that do well for this "Heavy Bike" guitar work.
Hi Nick,
I apologise as Iâve watched a couple of posts from you this morning that (Iâm afraid to say) Iâd never previously seen. I may have seen you review an amp at some time? The Code? Not sure, but Iâm not a huge viewer.
All I can say is many thanks and Hurrah to you also. There are many âexpertsâ out there who constantly wish to point out oneâs alleged ineptitude when playing many of these riffs. On most occasions all that is required is a better ear (or inside information đ).
Before I go Iâd like to add three things, power chords have no place whatsoever when playing Problem Child, you are 100% correct regarding everything here and I could never, ever forget the Beating Around The Bush riff.
Iâll keep a closer eye out for more of your stuff in the future.
Best wishes and I hope you and yourâs can stay safe during the current situation.
Cheers,
Si.
Enjoyed this video alot. Nic is a down to earth cool bloke !!
as a fellow lefty, this was easy to follow without having to mirror everything. thank you
love watching a fellow lefty play, makes mirroring so much easier! Keep it up Nicky boy
That guitar tone was fantastic. Cheers Nick
This was very helpful, especially the up-up-down guidance on Highway to Hell!
Open strings DO sound differently than closed. Great demo of the differences!
Also, excellent job matching the tones and distortion of the originals :)
Wouldnât mind jamming with this guy. Great job and great presentation.
Nick you are a badass Heavy Metal guitarist period! đ€đŒđ€đŒđ€đŒrock on brother. And I absolutely love your Riffer Madness dvd, i Purchased 10 of them for x-mas 2019 stocking stuffers for all my friends.
Black Sabbath next. There's so many of their riffs played wrong.
Agreed.
There was a video he did about Paranoid being played wrong that Sweetwater uploaded a week ago.
Sabbath are HUGE blockers. Waste of time
@@allgrainbrewer10 that sucks
Luke Kern yea. Rick Beato has talked about it in past episodes
Cool videoâŠand that sweetwater shirt is the bomb bruh,, need to get one of those asap!
So Good fun watching this ! Thanks !
Iâve still got the magazine with your article. Good stuff..
You can really here them ring and come to life the way Angus plays it.
Thank you Nick and Sweetwater!
As someone mentioned,..The TONE is FANTASTIC here.
Wooonderfull, what a fun, learning these great Rock Sound Monuments!!!
And this must be done with a SG/ Marshall Rig!!! :):):)
Thank you very much!
Very helpful vidya, thanks!
Best vid iÂŽve seen in a long time ! â„
Saw this, came ready, poised and prepared to call you out, very brave video. But pleased to say you are dead on, for me, out of your chosen songs it's riff raff that trips people up. The octave A. It makes total sense though, it's much more natural to hit that G string on the up stroke after the down stroke open A chord, that's what gives it its skipping boogie feel. Very pleased, no correction necessary.
thank you! Enjoyed this!
Love your humility, man
When you play as a lefty, you're never playing it right.
Ta boom cha...lol. I find it easier to learn from a lefty as it's mirror image and you can work out what they are doing way quicker. Maybe it's just me but that's the way it is... Cheers.
Boom
@@titmusspaultpaul5 As a lefty, I can confirm: That's exactly how I feel. I find it easier to learn when watching a right-handed person playing (99.99% of the times)
Gabriel dos Santos this may be why all right handed guitarist hate leftyâs đ Iâm a lefty but I play right handed. Bat left though
As a lefty i dislike this, but youâre probably right
Thanks man. Some l knew some were new. Big fan of AY and ACâĄDC
Excellent...thanks for resolving the "Riff Riff" issue for me!
Nice chill tutorial, singing the vocal parts along with may be a little more difficult
Great sound mate !
Bravo!!! A Beauty of a video.
Thank you Nick! Thoroughly enjoyed that! \w/
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I was playing them wrong. thanks for showing how to play them right.
I still own that issue of Guitar World magazine! I remember studying that article!
Great vid. What a band! Thanksđ€
Nice video and a great guitar tone! I haven't actually played all these riffs but at least the ones I do play are correct.
I've noticed when people play "Shook Me All Night Long" the lead guitar player doesn't arpeggiate those changes. It sounds mushy when folks just strum it. The arpeggios make it swing.
Great video as always Nick, Hells Bells I learned it on the 9th fret as well. :)
Thank you, Sweetwater!
The guitar tone is perfect!!
Well done! Thank you!
Thanks, Nick!
Also, Grim Reaper kicks ass!
Awesome thanks !
Dude, you rock and this is great
.....you got to jam with Angus?!?! Lucky son...it's like a bucket list you never had on the list but should be in top 3....I can only imagine đ€
I learned hells bells from the magazine you're talking about years ago. It was so much easier than the way my book had it, it just flowed! I taught it to my son when he was nine.
Well, that was fun! Nice vid.
Lol. Very happy to see (hear?) my Guitar World from the 90's has Hells Bells right. Glad to know I learned it correctly from the start
Great lesson, buddy!
SGs are such cool guitars ! The first guitar I ever had was a â64 SG ! Cherry red like yours !
Great video. You play very well.
Very Nice! Your SG Best Guitar đž Period... That's why Angus uses it đ„đ„đ„đ„đ„
I have always played Hells Bells the Third Way... Thanks Nick....
The tone is perfect! As the lesson is.
For someone who idealized Angus growing up playing guitar, I'm pretty happy with myself playing 5 of 6 correctly!
Thank you!
I read that article back in the day!
I like this dude! Thanks!