AC/DC

Four-To-The-Floor

AC/DC are one of the greatest

rock/metal

bands of ali

Metal

The following

year saw the release of For Those About

time. Formed in Sydney, Australia, in 1973 by brothers

To Rock (We Saiu te You), and in the same year they

Angus Young (lead guitar) and Malcolm Young (rhythm

played to 70,000 people at the massive

quitar). the early incarnation of the band released 'Can

Rock Festival at Castle Donington.

~:;7~0Ul

Monsters

Of

lall::: iildl y8dl

Throughout

the 1980s, the band releasec mOI e

when the Young brothers relocated to Melbourne. There

massive-selling

alburns. including Flick Of The Switch,

they met up with Bon Scott (vocais), Philip Rudd (drums)

Fly On The Wa/l and Who fVlade Who, but they also

and Mark Evans (bass). The early albums

went through

I Sit Next To You G,r::' in

::>j.Jlit

TNT (1975)

and High Voltage (1976) showcased their blend of heavy

blues riffs set against a grinding, straight-ahead

rhythm

During
continued

section. By this time, the band was a hot live act. with

albums.

Angus wearing a school uniform on stage.

Anquss

By 1976, the band had moved to England, where

initially they had a struggle on their hands. High Voltage

more line-up changes.

the '90s,

and to this

day, AC/OC

to release great-sounding,
Their

no-frills

approach,

classic hard rock

combined

dry, natural tone and aggressive

with

guitar style,

have made them one of the biggest-selling

influential

have

and most

metal bands in the world.

was released in the UK in that year, as was the new

aibum Dittv Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, but both did little

Suggested

business due to the burgeoning

Let There Be Rock

popularity of the punk

scene. However, the turning point for the band came

Highway

at their

Back In Black

now-Iegendary

Hammersmith

performance

at London's

Odeon. Following on from this. lhe latter

Listening

To HeI!

For Those About

To Rock (We Selute You)

part of the '70s saw success after success for the band,
with the release of such albums as Let There Be Rock,

Sound Advice

Powerage

Angus

and If You Want Blood, You Got ti.

In 1979, they released the classic album Highway

To HeI!, but in 1980 Bon Scott died due to an excessive
intake

of alcohol.

English
strength

singer

The band found

Brian Johnson,

to strength,

a replacement,

and went

becoming

on from

one of the biggest

is a classic rock guitarist

who relies more on

feel and raw energy than technique.

influences

One of his early

was Chuck Berry, and this is evident in his

playing and also in his live performances.

a lot of pentatonic
tast. aggressive

and blues-scale
vibrato,

Angus uses

ideas, mixed with

and he also likes to move

stadium rock bands in the world. Later that vear. they

around the neck of the guitar a tot. playing fast-picked

released

pentatonic

consisting

the

epic

of another

Back

In Black,

ali-time

the album sold millions

the title

track

classic guitar riff, and

in both the UK and the US.

fingerboard

runs,

so a good

knowledge

and scales is required

his unmistakable

of the

in order to imitate

style. Oon't be too precious

about

43

-.

. ,

w'

"

Giants Of Metal

technique, either, as Anquss style is a little rough

so that the chord changes are smooth, due to the

around the edges, but this does add to the excitement

close voice leadings.

of his solos.
Meanwhile, Malcolm (along with the bass player)

chord changes played against a driving, solid bass

The chorus is pretty straightforward,

with more

is the backbone of the band, holding down simple yet

groove, including the chords of A5, O/A, 05 and G5/0,

incredibly tight riffs. His role in producinq the band's

while the middle-eight

sound is equally as important as his brother's.

Angus is as straightforward when it comes to

simple figure performed on the top three strings.

equipment as he is in his approach to playing, and his

the open B string remains constant. This section

main choice of gear has remained constant throughout

should be performed with the fingers instead of the

section is based around a

Here, the notes on the E and G strings move while

his career. Guitar-wise, it has to be a Gibson SG,

pick. and the volume of the guitar should also be

plugged straight into a Marshall stack, with no pedais

backed down slightly.

in between. For the AC/OC track on the accompanying

The solo is pretty much a pentatonic affair and uses

both B major and B minor pentatonic scales. It relies

CO, I used an Ernie Ball/Musicman Axis Sport running

into the desk via a Marshall JPl

pre-amp. Try to

on some classic blues-rock phrases, plus a couple of

remember that a lot of Anquss crunch comes from

hints towards Anquss early hero, Chuck Berry The

the power-amp stage of his set-up. and his sound is

only problem areas that may occur are some of the

not that saturated. The gu:tar sound here 15also prettv

fast pentatonic sequences. Just remember to slow

dry, with a touch of room reverb.

these down until Vou have them under your fingers.

Try to inject plenty of feel and energy into this one and

Performance Notes

it should ali fali into place.

This track features a driving rhythm and moves

between

Style Notes

the chords of 85 and 85/A against a

thumping B root. performed by the bass. Pay close

attention

to the muted root notes between

Main scales used:

B minor pentatonic - B

the

o E F~A B

B major pentatonic - B O O; F~G~B

chords, and be sure to accent the chords in order to

arrive at the correct sound and feel. The end of the

Fast. aggressive vibrato

verse builds on an E5 chord, after the chords of O/F~

Fast pentatonic sequences

and G5. Very often, the band use inversions of chords

Ory, natural tone

i

I
J

Ii

44

- -."-"-:-:~<::c-.7:,i.T~;T~1~~\~~
..
,o

.. '._",:...:

;>0'0

' '

AC/DC

AC/DC STYLE
j =

12[)

jf

"iI

"J

"iI

O~

"iI

"iI

"J

"iI

O~

"J

with overdrive
MU- - - -'
E
B
G
O
A
E

'-Ar'\
K

MU- - - -'

MU- - - -'

4
4
. 4
4
2---2---2---~~~2---2---

--'

4
4

MU- - - -'

MU

MU
4
4

4
4
4
4
~2---~~2---2---~O---

1.5.9

85

"

85/A

X3

3
2
u

...

MU- - -

..

MU- - - -'

...J

MU-

3
2
o--O--O---O--~O-

..

Z;

"iI

J -'

~
CO

3
-0--0

05

11 ,

tJ

MU
u

3
O

X
2
2

0*

li

11

MU - - - -,

4
4
4
4
2--2--2--0--0--0--2

13

E5

MU - - - -'
E
B
G
O

G5

-.

07:

X
3

3.7.11

85/A

85

--O'"

E
B
G
O
A
E

85

11 ,

@.!

"

85/A

85

li

~.

MU - - - -'

71

B5/A

85

~
MU

MU

4
4
4
4
2---0--0--0--2--2--0--0--

4
4

85/A

85

.~.
._----y"!
.,.

o'"

- -'

MU -4
4

85/A

,--

li

11

---r----

]I

]I

]I

11

"iI

"iI

]I

"iI

]I

li

E~---------~---==~-----;
31--------------------~
r---.. (3)-----3L~~:::t~3 -------------------------1
g 1------6
6_.--161-------8
~~
====:- 81---2--2--2----2----2--2----22--2---2----2----2----2----2B1------3------3

f-----X

E'--------2
15
O
~~

X-==------X

2-----{2)-----3
'-------"
G5---

3)-----O---O---O---O-----O----v

E5

45

Giants Of Metal

.......
1\

.......

o,~~~---

---

--

---

-41- ___ -6-

---

B
G

2c::====:-:--..
-~~

o
A

3-

tl-2~

2
2

~~

E
17

A5

D/A

___ -6-

~2

D/A

A5

.------no

11

--

'-c::====:-:--.. !~=~~
~~l
~

~~~

..
E

fi

--------o

E
B
G

""'---

E
21

fi

-t,

!:

!:

___
u

.--------1

(3)

--

---

0--2

!:

!:

!:

G5

05

!:

11, ___

-----,.

3 ______

G5/D

05

=t 0-"

51
!21-q-::::=:
o
8l

37 -------

oc.,,---,,-

3- --=:::..
"" (3)-3-=---::;:::-

---~

--- --

o'~~"'"

!:

!:

"

~
with fingers
E
B
G

11--11--11--11--11--11--11--11-

I'

-11--11--11--11--11--11--11--11-

o---o---o----o-o---o--o~

-11--11--11--11--11--11--11--11--1

11--11--11--11--11--11-11--11-

A
E
25,29

O----O-O---v

c;-----------

10/

--O-----

---

, 11

~
~

~
~

~
~

~
~

~
~

..

..

..

'E

12---12--12--12--12--12--12--12-

12--12--12--12--12--12--12--12-

14--14--14--14--14--14---14---14-

14--13--1 3--1 3--1 3--13---------.:.

O---O---O-----O(}---{)---v

B
G

o
A
E
27,31

46

~o

AC/DC

"

If.

"-

f--

t.J

II

11--11--11--11--11--11--11--110---------0---0r.
11--11--11--11--11--11--11--11-

-1'1--11--11--11--11--11--11--110--0--0--0-----0--0--0--0-11--11--11--11--11--11--11--11-

A
E
33

J~ j

---0-----

85/~

#I,

85

I
I

.- ~.-

it

fi

e:

e:

e:

e:

.-

.- ~ ~.- ~.- ~.- ~.- ~.-

t.J

12--12---12--12--12--12--12---12{}- O
u
8 :----0--0-G
14--14--14--14--14--14--14--14E

f-12--12--12--12--12--12--12--12f-14----13----13--13--13--13-

D
A

E
35

'--"o

"

"-

f-I

()

---------------------

"-

f--

If.

"-

If.

f--

lIt

"-

f--

lIt

('-

JL

"-

f--

f--

r::-

t.J

11--11--11--11--11--11--11--11---+-11--11--11--11--11--11--11--11-

E
8
G
D

O--O--O-----O-O--O-------O--v

O--O-O----O-O--O--u

.,I

E
37

11

~__
B5/A

B5

t.J

0..11

~.

---------

'l-

----

..li ______

_____0

d__

--

.~.

-------

/..11

--

/"lf

]I
011

<,

E
B

D
A

E
39

-11--11--11--11--11--11--11--11-

11--11--11--11--11--11--11--11-

?9~)
.~_____
m
----

X
2----{z)

31

JI
"iI

11

....---.

~-----r-.- )3
v ____v O!
0--2--2--2--2--2
v

X
3

2--2--2--2

3)--{)---Q--Q--Q--v

E5

47

., ,

' ::'

Giants Of Metal

fI~~

..fy

fy

BU
,=- ,

~
7--7
7--7-~10l-

~~

tJ
..
BU
7--7
7--7

E
B
G

=- ,

9-(11)

11)

BU
7--7
7--7

BU
77-

,-= ,

9-(11)

~7
-7

,-= ,

9-(11)

7--7
7--7

9-(11)

J=Q..
101-

E
41

85

1\

If

1'.

85/A

85

.~

85/A

B5/A

85

----.. ------...

tJ
BU

BSS

E
B
G

(9)/
.
(9)~7

9)
9)

LO

BO

911~~

LB

MlI- - - - ,

PO

---

--

6-{7)-6--4

9)-7

4-

A
E

43

G5

05

E5

-----

vib
fi

~
I

tJ

------

BU

--

.-

I
MU- - -

,<>

<>

7-g---(9)

-------==----- (9)--7-8-9

BU

9-(11)-9------{ 9)--7

7
9

E
45

85/A

85

85/A

B5

85

85/A

'1lb
fi

fi- ~,

~ ~

L-3PO

E
B
G

7
11)

i~

fi-

'----3---'

L- 3-----'

BU

==- ,--.,
1Q-7-1(}{12)
,

fi- < .P ..-..,

PO

,==-

10-7

BU

-= ,...---...,

#'

PO
7

10-7-

___
fi-

fi- <

--fi-

l!

7
10-{12)---1

PO

l!.__.

48

0-7-1Q-{12)-{12)

9-(11)-{11)

/"

D5

gliss

'-----3 ----'

A
47

(L.

G5

E5

AC/DC

1\

r-~---.....

10

tJ

..J

r-~---.....

H
E
B
G

PO

L-

..!::L r:2

00

r-~--....,

r-~----"'"

r-~---.....

H
.--...
~

7-10-7---7-10-7---7-10-7---7-10-7---7-10-7---7-10-7
9
9
9
9

D
A

~
~

E
49

B5

B5/A

B5

~------6--------~ L----6

PO

PO

-----6----~

L-------6--------

PO

PO

L
PO

PO

--~1~---9---7--=1=7--9-7--=10=7--9--7=10=7---9-7=10=7--9-7~O=7~

50

B5/A

B5

B5/A

---

vib
1\

11

gliss

fL

~ =t=

t-

---

vib

fL-------- fL

fL-----fLo

gliss

~.

D
A

12-{14)--12--10
10--12--10

--

-1L

E I
B

12-

f-{(2)

12----{12)
/13-

11

E
51

E5

G5

D5

-----

vib

1\

10

fL

a.

fL!~~~o

gliss

/1':

r-

I'-

";'--"F

+:

r-

I'-

@)

semi harm

B.!}/---.

12-14-6)---416)

12

BU

13

15
/ 16

.1Q.

----

17-{19)-17---{17}----15
16

16

D
A

E
53

B5

B5/A

B5

B5/A

B5

B5/A

Giants Of Metal

8m ,

~l

l>

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

------

loco

vib

,-"I'-

.". ~ I'- .. ":1'-

'---3---'

--BU

..

..:....n

.fi

P8U

7-{17H19)-17-

.---.

8U
f--17-(19)

gliss

-.~

L--3--'
,.

PBU

17-(19)-17-{17){19H

E
B
G

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -,

S
19)
4
"4"

2"

A
E
55

DJF#

50

G5

65