The Best AC/DC Songs for Beginners: 5 TABs to Help You
In the beginning, back in 1955...
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The Best AC/DC Songs for Beginners: 5 TABs to Help You · Source: Ryan Evans / Alamy Stock Photo
These are some of the best AC/DC songs for beginners, highlighting core skills to help you progress on your guitar playing journey.
Best AC/DC Songs:
The Best AC/DC Songs for Beginners: Let There Be Rock!
I don’t know what it is, but AC/DC just manage to captivate something within us all that makes us want to rock! Whether you’re a guitarist or not, blasting You Shook Me All Night Long through your car speakers will never get old.
Maybe it’s Angus Young’s rebellious school boy outfit and devil horns? Or perhaps it’s Bon Scott’s flawless vocal that entices us? Regardless, as beginner guitarists, we want it. All of it.
Here, we’ll be looking at just 5 of their killer tracks that are relatively straightforward to play on guitar. Each of which will provide us with a new skill to either learn or refine.
Back In Black
For our first entry, we’re Back In Black! It’s not the most beginner orientated song in this list, however, it was the first AC/DC song that I ever learnt.
Kicking us off, we want to mute the strings on the guitar and pick downwards. This creates that sound that we hear right at the start of the track. Pick scrapes are a cool way to stand out!
From here, we essentially have a repeated set of chords, E, D & A, followed by two riffs that proceed that progression. The riffs are fairly straightforward. Here, I’ve tabbed the first riff without the pull offs for ease. Although if you wanted to play them, you’d pull off from the 3rd fret of the high E string and then the same fret but on the B string.
Overall, this is a great way to work on your chord changes if you’re just starting out, along with some bonus riffs!
Highway To Hell
All of these songs are well-known. However, Highway To Hell is arguably one of AC/DC’s best karaoke anthems. We’re not here to sing though…
Most of this best beginner AC/DC track works around an A chord. Followed by a G, we alternate the bass note from that G to an F#. This gives the riff some movement, without us having to move our fingers very far.
Now, when you’re practising this one, you’ll want to use a backing track in standard tuning, or 440 Hz. This is because this track was recorded somewhere between E standard and Eb standard tuning. Therefore, it has a slightly bigger and thicker sound as a result of the lowered tuning.
Whole Lotta Rosie
Carrying on with Bon Scott’s vocals, Whole Lotta Rosie is such a naughty AC/DC riff that has the power to get any crowd going. Again, this one is detuned slightly for that thick, crunchy sound.
So, what are we working with this time? Another rock riff in the key of A, because it just sounds so cool! Starting with an open A power chord, we’re going to then pull off from a C note, which is the 3rd fret of the A string. From here, we’ll do the same on the 5th fret, before going back to that C note and then resolving back on the A chord once more.
In between the riffs, we can rest for four beats, otherwise known as a bar. This is where most live audiences shout, ‘Angus, Angus!‘ in the gaps. What’s great about this one is that we can sit on this riff all day, without moving your 1st finger, it just sits on that A chord, ready to rock.
T.N.T.
Our penultimate beginner AC/DC riff comes from the international album, High Voltage. Personally, I would argue that this is the easiest riff on our list, but you’ll have to let us know!
With Angus taking a step back, it’s the late Malcolm Young who plays the bulk of T.N.T. on his trusty Gretsch. Here, we’re working around an E power chord, that is followed by a G, an A and then concluded via a 1/4 step bend on the low E string.
I always describe 1/4 step bends as a tweak, as we’re not really altering the pitch as much as a 1/2 or even a full-step bend. Think of it more as an embellishment, such as vibrato, rather than a full bend. Just be careful, it’s very easy to overcook it, this will really help with your control if you’re still getting the hang of guitar playing.
Thunderstruck
To conclude our look at the best AC/DC songs for beginners, we’re looking at the most challenging piece here. Thunderstruck brings the speed and anger that we’ve so far been missing.
Back with some faithful Brian Johnson this time, we’ll be playing semi-quavers throughout the riff. An entire bar of 16th notes is counted as 1e+a, 2e+a, 3e+a, 4e+a. In English, this means that we can fit 16 notes within the space of 4 beats.
In the music video, Angus is using hammer-ons and pull-offs for dramatic effect. You can technically play this riff like this, but it’ll be much more accurate if you use alternate picking.
Relevant Gear
Killer tracks need killer gear. Quintessential AC/DC, Angus Young wielded a *Gibson SG throughout his time with the band. And may I add, he’s still nailing it today!
Whereas his brother, Malcolm, went with the New York-made *Gretsch to provide unmatched backing for their songs.
Videos:
Further Information:
- Unlock the Secrets of Back In Black on Guitar
- Beginner Guitar Solos
- Must Have Beginner Guitar Pedals
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