How to play It’s a Long Way to the Top by AC/DC
It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll) is one of the iconic early AC/DC hits featuring Bon Scott. A huge hit in Australia in 1975 it went on to be a crowd fave around the world as the band became a global phenomenon. Famous for being the song that put the bagpipes into Rock ‘n’ Roll (yeah, seriously!), It’s a Long Way to the Top is a fantastic electric rhythm guitar track.
Chords : A5 G5 D A6
Why don’t these chords match the recording? The original is tuned up, almost a full semitone. The reason being that bagpipes have a fixed pitch that can’t be altered, meaning the band had to tune to the pipes. The chords in this chart are what is played on the original but the recording is higher than concert pitch.
Pick or Fingers? Use the pick, or forget it! You need a hard, instant attack on the strings to create a bright tone and to place the chords precisely on the beat / off-beat. Hold the pick securely with your thumb-pad flat on 3/4 of the pick, and strike the strings fairly hard to create a strong chord tone. Also, follow the down and up-stroke indications - they are correct.
Acoustic or Electric? Electric guitar, or electric guitar ; your choice . . . Only the electric guitar creates this kind of chord sound; acoustic guitars do not.
What are the crossed strums for? A rhythm-slash with a cross-head is a ‘percussive strum’ - a muted effect made by relaxing the chord fingers just enough to make sure you only hear the blunt percussive sound of the pick striking the muted strings; this a common electric guitar rhythm effect and the percussive strums in the iconic chord riff for It’s a Long Way to the Top are just as important as the chord strums.
How does the timing work? The rhythm riff in It’s a Long Way to the Top is a great example of concise rhythm work. Malcom Young was a revered Rock rhythm player; his rhythms are a huge part of the AC/DC sound. To get into the chart securely, practice the first two bars slowly, counting aloud and feeling the first accented upbeat clearly: “and-1 and 2 and 3 4 and-1 and 2 and 3 4 and“ and so on . . .
Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 2 : to learn more about the bar-chords and rhythm techniques used in It’s a Long Way to the Top see pages 4 - 5, 7, 8 - 9 and 16 - 17
Need a bit of help?
Modern Guitar Chord Styles 2 is a must-have guide to Electric guitar chords and rhythm styles. It teaches you how to read the rhythm slash notation used in our charts (as used in professional theatre & studio charts) and is specially designed to build your strength and stamina with bar-chords, and extend your moveable chords vocabulary. An excellent tutor for the developing electric guitarist.
