# A bitch of a riff!



## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

So, I have this song that I have been playing for about 4 years. There is one little bitch of a riff that I can't still get on a consistent basis. It's an AC/DC song but you already knew that. lol It's the opening riff. Anyone else have this problem? Maybe not this particular song but something else? 

I have isolated this riff and practiced over and over and over. I still keep trying. Who knows, it just may happen one day.

@0:43 is the example. That stupid little easy peasy riff. I shake my head.


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2017)




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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

I love Carl's lessons. I don't really need a lesson. My fingers know where to go but it's getting everything in sync. I am befuddled.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Keep practicing. One of these days, it will all fall in place. You've no doubt see this happen with other riffs, songs in the past.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

Steadfastly said:


> Keep practicing. One of these days, it will all fall in place. You've no doubt see this happen with other riffs, songs in the past.


I have but I was able to conquer the few that I couldn't get in a very short time period not 4 years! WTF


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2017)

Steadfastly said:


> Keep practicing. One of these days, it will all fall in place. You've no doubt see this happen with other riffs, songs in the past.





Lola said:


> I have but I was able to conquer the few that I couldn't get in a very short time period not 4 years! WTF


4 years!? Yeah, what the heck, might as well toss in the towel and move onto another song already. 

As steadly points out .. perseverance. It'll eventually kick in and that 'eureka!' moment will feel great.


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## SaucyJack (Mar 8, 2017)

Play the lick very slow to start and work from there. It'll come along.

Edit: That's how I learn, then I'll leave it alone for a few days and come back to it again.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i would do it with a metronome. start out at half speed, gradually increase each time you perfect doing it at that speed


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## bigboki (Apr 16, 2015)

Lola said:


> I have but I was able to conquer the few that I couldn't get in a very short time period not 4 years! WTF


if you can't make it that means that you learnt it incorrectly and your fingers are stumbling on the same issues over and over again.
You will have to relearn it in a way that will make it possible. It is really hard to relearn something - but you will have to.
Start extremely slowly with the metronome and see if you can optimize some finger movements. Once when it feels comfortable, start increasing tempo.
So let say the slowest 40bpm you play effortlessly 10 times in a row without an error,
then increase speed to 45bpm and again 10 times in a row effortlessly without an error.

Once when you start getting the errors you stop at that tempo let say it is 60bpm.
Then analyze again where is the error and why is t happening.
Then start all over again with 50bpm and start increasing by 2 instead of 5 until is effortlessly.
Once when you play 10 times in a row without error, increase by 2 etc.

Time numbers - you will have to figure out which are correct for you.
The most important thing is as soon as you start hitting errors, you have to stop and back out. If you are making errors - that means you are learning errors and don't do that 

As Jeff Scheetz is saying (True fire courses):
Practice smart, play hard.

yours truly
Bojan


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)




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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

{Hackney accent} Yea, but e's playing at on a propa guitar now, i'n e? {/Hackney accent} 


Sorry, just got finished Series 2 of Peaky Blinders. Everything sounds better like that. LOL


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## sorbz62 (Nov 15, 2011)

High/Deaf said:


> {Hackney accent} Yea, but e's playing at on a propa guitar now, i'n e? {/Hackney accent}
> 
> 
> Sorry, just got finished Series 2 of Peaky Blinders. Everything sounds better like that. LOL



You mean Cockney, you plonker!


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

sorbz62 said:


> You mean Cockney, you plonker!


Don't you mean 'you wanker'?


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## sorbz62 (Nov 15, 2011)

High/Deaf said:


> Don't you mean 'you wanker'?


You see! Yous Canucks really have no idea of the nuance of the English language, innit?! 

Plonker = light hearted jibe equivalent to' fool' in a cheeky way.

Wanker = really bad insult such as 'fucking cocksucking asshole'

Y'see??


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Practice it slowly over and over again. Can't play it fast if you can't play it slow.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

sorbz62 said:


> You see! Yous Canucks really have no idea of the nuance of the English language, innit?!
> 
> Plonker = light hearted jibe equivalent to' fool' in a cheeky way.
> 
> ...


Yep, ah doo. 

I enjoy English slang but probably misunderstand over 50% of it. Especially that bloody rhyme slang, which is just so far over my head. You probably have to be immersed in that from birth to get it.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

I find sometimes I have more success putting a frustrating riff aside for a few months. Often, when I return to it, somewhere along the way, I've learned a skill that makes it easier and when I try it again...bang, I've got it.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I have a lot of trouble with AC/DC myself. I can do a respectable job of it in terms of playing it at bars where the average punter won't know the difference, but when I listen back to the album tracks, I feel like I'm way off.

Angus has a weird sense of rhythm and timing, I find. When I'm playing something like Jailbreak, Back in Black, the solo in You Shook Me, etc. I feel like my hands want to play it a certain way and Angus is playing it completely differently.

It's a matter of breaking-it-down in a way that makes sense to you and learning the riffs, solos, etc. in small chunks. Don't try to learn the whole thing all at once, go bar-by-bar, or note-by-note if you have to.


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## Guest (Apr 5, 2017)

hollowbody said:


> Angus has a weird sense of rhythm and timing, I find.


He has the devil in him, don'cha' know.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

I take it you are talking about the little E minor run down and the bend. I don't have it right either I just noticed the other day when I was listening to a tape of me playing it. I play it slightly different than the books though.


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## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

The only problem with Back in Black I have is the little lick in the opening power chords. I can't start it on time or make the bend sound right. It took me years to get Let There Be Rock right. There is so much touch and feel going on with these brothers over and above knowing the chords.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

My son went out and bought me the ACDC Back in Black Guitar Tablature Edition. What a nice son he is! Lol
Anyhow hardly any of the songs in the book are taught the way everyone teaches it on You tube. I know that some of their songs are done in E flat tuning. It sounds the same for the most part but the fingerings are a way different and some are awkward! 

I am going to play them like on learned them on YouTube. There are some amazing pictures of Angus and the guys in concert! Hell, I would of bought the book for just the pictures alone never mind the tab! I desperately want to cut out the pictures on the book and frame them for ACDC wall but that would ruin the book! Who knows maybe it will be a collectible one day!


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## Moosehead (Jan 6, 2011)

books have to tab it different for copyright or some shit like that. Most books are crap tabs, they might get the right notes but they make it so awkward to play its almost unplayable. Youtube is your friend. Your ear is your bff though.

The lick that gave me the most trouble is about 3/4 of the way through, I still dont think its exact but its that little chromatic B-G#-B-A-B-A#-B and I add a D-C# pull off to start it. Sounds right and the timing works but its different than the guy on the previous page plays it. I think its the last riff in that lesson.


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2017)

Lola said:


> I desperately want to cut out the pictures on the book and frame them for ACDC wall but that would ruin the book!


Do you have a scanner at home/work?
Scan them in and print them off on some photo paper?


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

laristotle said:


> Do you have a scanner at home/work?
> Scan them in and print them off on some photo paper?


Nope but the son does. Good idea! Never even dawned on me! lol

la la la la Lola


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## bigboki (Apr 16, 2015)

Lola said:


> My son went out and bought me the ACDC Back in Black Guitar Tablature Edition. What a nice son he is! Lol
> Anyhow hardly any of the songs in the book are taught the way everyone teaches it on You tube. I know that some of their songs are done in E flat tuning. It sounds the same for the most part but the fingerings are a way different and some are awkward!
> 
> I am going to play them like on learned them on YouTube. There are some amazing pictures of Angus and the guys in concert! Hell, I would of bought the book for just the pictures alone never mind the tab! I desperately want to cut out the pictures on the book and frame them for ACDC wall but that would ruin the book! Who knows maybe it will be a collectible one day!


there are Hal Leonard books called "Authentic Guitar Tab Edition" which should be as authentic as possible.

In Toronto Public Library there is:
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM2466308&R=2466308
*AC/DC - Plug Me In: Guitar Tab*
which I think has easy and nice tab?

hope this helps


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

bigboki said:


> there are Hal Leonard books called "Authentic Guitar Tab Edition" which should be as authentic as possible.
> 
> In Toronto Public Library there is:
> http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM2466308&R=2466308
> ...


I looked it up on Ebay and it's $70~ I am willing to pay that. I want it for my very own. I really don't want to have to borrow it. 

Thanks Bogie for the heads up!


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2017)

Change to folk music.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

if you want to really be frustrated, try the opening lick to "beatin around the bush"


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## bigboki (Apr 16, 2015)

Lola said:


> I looked it up on Ebay and it's $70~ I am willing to pay that. I want it for my very own. I really don't want to have to borrow it.
> 
> Thanks Bogie for the heads up!


I would suggest to borrow it from the library just to see if you like it? If you do - then you can but it. I don't know if you have TPL membership? Let me know and I can get the book for you to check it out 

yours truly
Bojan


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

bigboki said:


> I would suggest to borrow it from the library just to see if you like it? If you do - then you can but it. I don't know if you have TPL membership? Let me know and I can get the book for you to check it out
> 
> yours truly
> Bojan


Sure that would be awesome. Thanks kindly!


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## bigboki (Apr 16, 2015)

Lola said:


> Sure that would be awesome. Thanks kindly!


great. ordered, will let you know when I pick it up

yours Bojan


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2017)

bigboki said:


> I would suggest to borrow it from the library just to see if you like it? If you do - then you can buy it.
> Let me know and I can get the book for you to check it out





Lola said:


> Sure that would be awesome. Thanks kindly!





bigboki said:


> great. ordered, will let you know when I pick it up


Have your son scan/print that one too.
I'm sure that there will pics in there for you to drool over as well.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

laristotle said:


> Have your son scan/print that one too.
> I'm sure that there will pics in there for you to drool over as well.


Wow sorry my brain is on vacation right now! Tax season has twisted my brain a bit! Numbers!


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

cheezyridr said:


> if you want to really be frustrated, try the opening lick to "beatin around the bush"


Holy crap that 's fast but oh man I need and want to learn this! My focus is on some Southern rock delta blues! I can really hear this influence in Anguses playing as well


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

for a good introduction to southern rock, there is none better than the first 3 molly hatchet albums

but the reason i mentioned beatin around the bush is because angus plays it in a kind of weird way. the 2nd & 3rd notes are a slide on the E string, not a hammer on, despite the way it sounds. because the rest of it is mostly pull offs and hammer ons, it is for me a tricky riff to get right.


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2017)

cheezyridr said:


> for a good introduction to southern rock, there is none better than the first 3 molly hatchet albums


f'n'eh bro!


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

cheezyridr said:


> for a good introduction to southern rock, there is none better than the first 3 molly hatchet albums
> 
> but the reason i mentioned beatin around the bush is because angus plays it in a kind of weird way. the 2nd & 3rd notes are a slide on the E string, not a hammer on, despite the way it sounds. because the rest of it is mostly pull offs and hammer ons, it is for me a tricky riff to get right.


Thx Cheezy. Aren't they Canadian?


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

They are from the USofA. Florida! This I did not know!

I just figured out the other guitar player's influences. I can hear Southern rock overtones and just the chord progressions he uses! They have an entirely different sound to them! It makes one say, "ya, that's Southern rock". Lynard Skinaresque so to speak.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

I really like this tune.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

cheezyridr said:


> for a good introduction to southern rock, there is none better than the first 3 molly hatchet albums
> 
> but the reason i mentioned beatin around the bush is because angus plays it in a kind of weird way. the 2nd & 3rd notes are a slide on the E string, not a hammer on, despite the way it sounds. because the rest of it is mostly pull offs and hammer ons, it is for me a tricky riff to get right.


Sounds like a bit of a rip off of "Oh Well", sped up of course


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

And girls with SG's can do it too


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Lola said:


> I really like this tune.


So if you like that you should like this


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

davetcan said:


> Sounds like a bit of a rip off of "Oh Well", sped up of course



it IS very similar! good call


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i kinda like this one, myself. about as southern rock as it gets, outside of skynyrd or the outlaws


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## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

davetcan said:


> So if you like that you should like this


Was going to say the same thing.


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2017)

just to keep it rolling


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## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

I thought this band carried the southern rock torch nicely into the 90's, in what Guitar World called Skynyrd meets Metallica. This is the full album of their major label debut. The first song is what caught my ear when the video was played on Much way back when.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

davetcan said:


> And girls with SG's can do it too


That should be me up there! Me and my SG!

One song that I am totally syncing with is Girls got rhythm! I played it like shit before(2 years ago) but now that I have gone back to it, finally, I am really loving what I hear! This really kicks ass cranked to bleeding ear level at the studio! Lol

Thx everyone for the introduction to Molly Hatchett! I really like them a lot!


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

I am just watching some videos! 

Did you know that ACDC's song High Voltage kicks is literally the chords A C D C! That I didn't know! Just a little bit of trivia for those that are interested!


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

fretzel said:


> I thought this band carried the southern rock torch nicely into the 90's, in what Guitar World called Skynyrd meets Metallica. This is the full album of their major label debut. The first song is what caught my ear when the video was played on Much way back when.


I like their sound a lot! Lot of guitars!


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

OMG This is what stellar Friday nights are made of! I am so damned excited! Looky what I found!


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

It's Thursday night


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Lola said:


> I have but I was able to conquer the few that I couldn't get in a very short time period not 4 years! WTF


Don't really think about it. Just put on the album and groove with the actual recording. You'll get it.


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