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How these famous guitarists learned how to play

August 10, 2022/by Kaley Lynch

Have you ever wondered how your favorite guitarists learned to play? No professional guitarist starts out as an expert – some of the world’s most famous guitarists were self-taught, some took traditional lessons, and some had other musical backgrounds before picking up a guitar.

Here’s how these famous guitarists learned how to play their instruments.

Kurt Cobain

Nirvana frontman and guitarist Kurt Cobain was born into a musical family. His uncle played in a band called The Beachcombers, his aunt Mari played guitar in bands, and his great-uncle was an Irish tenor who was featured in 1930’s King of Jazz. According to Mari, Cobain began singing at the age of two and was singing and playing the piano at four. For his 14th birthday, Cobain’s uncle let him choose between a bike and a used guitar as a gift, and he chose the guitar. He learned songs by Queen and Led Zeppelin before starting to work on his own songs. Cobain was forced to write with his right hand, but he played guitar left-handed.

Slash

Legendary Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Slash originally planned to learn the bass before picking up a guitar.

Slash told Marshall Podcast that he didn’t have either instrument when he showed up for his first music lesson at age ten. His instructor showed him some guitar licks by Cream, and Slash said he realized that was what he wanted to play. The young Slash didn’t enjoy taking lessons, but his teacher promised him that if he learned the basics, he would teach him to play whatever he wanted. The instructor kept his word, and showed Slash how to learn by ear. Slash quit after a few lessons and continued to learn by ear.

Learn Slash’s signature style with the Slash Player Study.

Brian May

Queen guitarist (and astrophysicist) Brian May’s enthusiasm for guitar started early, when his father taught him a few chords on the ukulele. At seven, he was given a Spanish guitar and also started taking piano lessons.

The family didn’t have a lot of money, but Brian’s father had a background in engineering. When Brian was 15, they built an electric guitar together from scratch, creating the “Red Special” that May still uses today. The process took about 18 months, using an 18th century fireplace mantle for the neck, oak for the body, and pearl buttons for the fret markers.

Learn Brian May’s style with the Brian May Player Study.

Jimi Hendrix

According to a 2010 biography about the guitar legend, when Jimi Hendrix was in elementary school, he had a habit of carrying a broom with him and pretending it was a guitar. After a year of this, the school’s social worker took note and requested funding from the school to buy young Hendrix a real guitar. However, the school and Hendrix’s father both refused. Young Hendrix did get his hands on a one-stringed ukulele after finding it in the garbage he and his father were removing from a home during a side job. He was able to teach himself Elvis Presley songs by ear while listening to the radio. The next year, at age 15, Hendrix bought his first acoustic guitar. He played for hours every day, listening to blues artists like B.B. King and Robert Johnson.

Learn Jimi Hendrix’s trademark style with the Jimi Hendrix player study.

John Mayer

According to an LA Times article, young John Mayer became infatuated with the guitar after watching Marty McFly’s performance in Back to The Future. Mayer’s father rented a guitar for him to play when he turned 13, and a Stevie Ray Vaughan cassette tape gifted to him by a neighbor helped Mayer develop his affection for the blues. Mayer took guitar lessons from a guitar shop owner in his Bridgeport, Connecticut hometown. His preoccupation with the instrument concerned his parents so much that they took him to see a psychiatrist, who assured them he was fine.

Learn John Mayer’s technique with the John Mayer Player Study.

Jack White

White Stripes lead singer and guitarist Jack White had older brothers who were in a band, and he played their hand-me-down instruments, including a drum kit he found in the attic. White told 60 Minutes in 2005 that he had planned to become a priest, and was even accepted into a Wisconsin seminary, but he had just gotten a new amplifier and wasn’t sure if he’d be able to bring it with him. Instead, he went to a technical high school and played drums and trombone in a band, and began playing guitar in a band while doing an apprenticeship with a family friend.

Want to get started on your guitar journey? The Fret Zealot apps are the best way to learn guitar with thousands of video lessons, 80,000 song tracks, every chord and scale, 60 alternate tunings, and so much more.

The optional Fret Zealot LED system fits just next to your frets and shows you color coded finger positions to play anything you want.

These are the hardest courses to learn with Fret Zealot

August 3, 2022/by Kaley Lynch

You’ve mastered chords and scales and you’re well on your way to being a guitar star – so what’s next? You can take on a new challenge with one of these advanced skill level courses on the Fret Zealot app!

John Mayer Player Study

Learn the “continuum” of John Mayer’s unique playing style with the John Mayer Player Study! This course will take you through Mayer’s signature fingerstyle patterns, favored chord shapes, and percussive elements to help you nail his catalog in style.

This complete course will walk you through Mayer’s bluesier styles, his lead guitar approach, and how to add licks, chord inversions, and bends to master his style.

Jimi Hendrix Player Study

If you want to play guitar like a legend, this course is for you!

The Jimi Hendrix course will take you through Hendrix’s trademark chords-with-lead style, breaking down his licks and favored chord shapes, so you can incorporate elements of his style in your own playing.

Jimmy Page Player Study

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page defined the band’s sound by blending traditional blues music with new progressive guitar styles! This course covers Page’s legato skills, chord shapes, and use of full scale.

Steve Lukather Player Study

Steve Lukather is the sole continuous founding member of Toto – but he also is a virtuosic guitar player and has contributed licks to albums like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Boz Scaggs’ “Middle Man”. This course will take you through Lukather’s techniques, including fast mixolydian runs, hybrid picking, and “liquid playing”.

Joe Bonamassa – Player Study

American blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa got his start at age 12 opening for B.B. King, and is famous for his fast runs and melodies! This course will teach you Bonamassa’s pentatonic shapes, signature licks, and legato-style playing.

B.B. King Player Study

You can’t learn the blues without studying The King of The Blues! This course takes you through King’s legendary style, including combining the major and minor pentatonic scales, string bending, and staccato picking.

How to find time to practice guitar each day

July 28, 2022/by Kaley Lynch

Picture this – you get home from work, plan to practice guitar for a good amount of time – but then, the laundry needs to be flipped over, the dishes need washing, you have to walk the dog – and by the time you’re finished, it’s time for bed. How often does this happen to you?

Finding time to practice during busy days is tough, but with a few easy strategies, you can work in more time to play – and improve your skills!

Here’s what you can do:

Set reminders for yourself.

Leave a sticky note on the fridge or bathroom mirror to remind you to make some time for guitar! Having a visible reminder will help you think about practicing, even when it’s a little chaotic at home. You can even set an alarm on your phone to alert you when it’s time to step away for a guitar break.

Practice for a shorter time.

You don’t need to devote hours every day to your instrument to get better. Just like physical exercise, any amount of time spent practicing in a day is better than none! If you can find 20 minutes a day to practice, that’s 121 hours per year!

Consistency is key. Try waking up 20 minutes earlier if you’re productive in the mornings, or go to bed 20 minutes later if you’re a night owl. (Don’t forget to use headphones if you live with other people!)

Inspire yourself

Which bands or artists inspire you to play guitar? Listen to a playlist of their songs on your way home or during work to remind yourself why you wanted to pick up a guitar in the first place. And don’t forget – everyone starts somewhere! The best guitarists in the world once had to practice the basics too.

Utilize commercial breaks!

If you watch TV, you can use the commercial breaks as practice opportunities! Run through some scales or a new riff while you’re waiting for your show to return. It’s easier to stay focused for a few minutes at a time than a longer chunk of time.

Try a Fret Zealot course!

Fret Zealot has a huge library of guitar courses, from a Beginner’s Guitar Gym to a Rock and Blues Lead Guitar course. You can study the techniques of greats like Angus Young and Jimi Hendrix or take it easy with a Musical Meditations Course. All of our courses can be taken at your own pace! Check out the full list of available courses here.

Make it fun!

Don’t forget – playing guitar should be fun! You can keep practicing from feeling like a chore by learning songs you want to play – new songs on the radio, favorites from years past, or even songs that you’ve never heard before for a new challenge!

You can find over 3,000 courses and song lessons in the Fret Zealot app, as well as over 80,000 song tracks, every chord and scale, 60 alternative tunings, and so much more!

Want to learn how to play guitar like Carlos Santana?

July 26, 2022/by Kaley Lynch

Want to learn to play guitar like fusion pioneer Carlos Santana? Learning his style will be “Smooth” with the Carlos Santana Player study from Fret Zealot.

This course covers Santana’s signature style, including legato style, playing pentatonic scales and the Dorian mode, and utilizing speed changes.

Background

Carlos Augusto Santana Alves is a ten-time GRAMMY award-winning guitarist who is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – but his first instrument was the violin. Santana, who was born in Jalisco, Mexico, was taught violin at age five and guitar at age eight by his father, who was a mariachi musician.

Santana was influenced as a child by blues artists like B.B. King and Gábor Szabó, as well as Chicano rock pioneer Ritchie Valens. In the 1950s, he joined bands playing along the Tijuana Strip and developed his sound as a guitarist. After moving with his family to San Francisco in 1961 – which was the birthplace of the burgeoning psychedelic movement – Santana started the Santana Blues Band. Playing a unique blend of Latin-infused rock, African rhythms, salsa, jazz, and blues, the band quickly grew a following in the Golden City. After being signed to Columbia Records, the band performed at the iconic 1969 Woodstock Music Festival – before their debut album was even released.

Style

Santana has had a decades-spanning career, and his signature tone and playing style has evolved over the years. Some features of his playing that have held over time include his use of long, sustained notes sans vibrato, trademark trills, and unique sense of timing – he often plays riffs that are rhythmically complex.

Awards and legacy

Santana has won multiple music awards, including the Billboard Lifetime Achievement and Spirit of Hope awards, two GRAMMY awards and a Latin GRAMMY award for Person of the Year (2004), Kennedy Center Honors, a NAACP image award, and many others. Along with his former wife Deborah King, he co-founded the Milagro Foundation, which supports children who lack resources in arts, education, and health.

Want to learn to play guitar like Dimebag Darrell?

July 13, 2022/by Kaley Lynch

Want to learn to play like Dimebag Darrell of Pantera?

With the Dimebag Darrell Player study from Fret Zealot, you’ll be able to “Walk” in the footsteps of the legendary Pantera and Damageplan guitarist, learning his signature tricks, licks, and techniques.

Background

Darrell Lance Abbott, known by his stage name “Dimebag”, co-founded both bands with his brother, Vinnie Paul. Abbott, the son of a country music producer, started playing guitar at age 12 on a Les Paul-style Hohner that he received on his 12th birthday. Young Abbott was influenced by bands like KISS, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, and Judas Priest.

According to GuitarWorld, at age 14, Abbott entered a guitar contest at a Dallas nightclub, which Dean Zelinsky, founder of Dean Guitars, was judging. “Dimebag blew everyone away,” Zelinsky recalled in a 2010 article.

Pantera was formed in 1981 as a glam metal band. Vinnie Paul accepted an invitation from his high school classmates to start a band, but on the condition that Abbott be allowed to join as well. They released their first album “Metal Magic”, in 1983 when Abbott was 16 years old. After releasing two more albums in the glam metal style, the Abbott brothers started being influenced by bands like Metallica and Slayer, which helped them to develop the groove metal style Pantera is known for.

Style

Abbott used major thirds in his riffs and leads – a technique inspired by Van Halen – which created dissonance with tones in minor keys. He also utilized harmonics to create a signature “squealing” sound, and used alternative tunings throughout his career, including Drop D and down 1 and ½ step tuning.

Legacy

In 2004, while performing with Damageplan in a Columbus, Ohio nightclub, 38-year-old Abbott was fatally shot onstage, as well as the band’s head of security, a fan, and a venue employee. His funeral was attended by thousands of fans and artists, including Eddie Van Halen. Van Halen donated his original black-and-yellow guitar to be included in Abbott’s casket – Abbott had met Van Halen a few weeks earlier and asked him for a replica of the guitar. Abbott was posthumously inducted into Hollywood’s RockWalk in 2007, and was ranked as the most influential metal guitarist of the past 25 years by VH1 in 2015.

Once you learn Abbott’s signature style, you can test drive it with over 90 Pantera tabs on the Fret Zealot app!

@fret_zealot

If you want a wild ride, try learning #CowboysFromHell by Pantera. Here it is full speed on #FretZealot #fyp #GuitarTok #MetalHead #music #GuitarLesson #guitar #metaltok

♬ Cowboys from Hell – Pantera

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Want to play guitar like Brian May of Queen?

Want to play guitar like Angus Young of AC/DC?

Fret Zealot’s summer Spotify playlist

July 11, 2022/by Kaley Lynch

Nothing says “summer” like a playlist full of great warm-weather tracks.

Here’s what the FZ team is listening to this summer.

What songs are you listening to this summer? Tell us on social media!

Ten classic sports arena anthems

Songs of the Summer through the years

REVIEW: Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar player pack

July 6, 2022/by Kaley Lynch

Shane tried out the Epiphone Les Paul Special-II Player Pack, available from the Fret Zealot store with the Fret Zealot system installed.

Here’s what he thought:

“This Les Paul is a classic and distinguished look from the Epiphone line. It’s a really great introductory instrument to get you in with the classic Les Paul style vibes.

This one is all black, kind of a no-nonsense look all around. It has a glossy finish which I think looks cool. It has a lot of shine to it.

The body is solid alder all the way through and the neck is hard maple, which adds a bit of stability and the fretboard itself is rosewood. It fits in the dark theme and ties it together quite well. Little bit of black binding on the neck with the dot inlays, and in terms of some of the hardware, chrome hardware on the bridge, and then the two Epiphone pickups – 650T on the neck pickup and the 750 T bridge pickup. These are humbucking pickups, they’ve got a bit more output, a bit more of a substantial sound. Everything that you really need to rock. It’s a tried and true rock tone. Humbucking pickups can really deliver on a lot of different styles, so I found them really versatile.

Then in terms of controls it’s very simple . We’ve got the volume control, single tone control, and a three-way position switch which gives you bridge pickup or the neck pickup, or both together.

The Epiphone Player Pack also comes in Heritage Cherry Sunburst.

On the headstock is the Les Paul Special-II cover plate. If you want to adjust the neck, you can take it off. It comes with the hex key needed to make adjustments. The pack comes with the guitar, neck adjustment tool, the Epiphone Electar 10 watt amp,
gig bag, strap, clip-on tuner, and the guitar cable.

Boom, you’re electrified and ready to rock. Of course, when you buy this guitar from the Fret Zealot store, it comes with the Fret Zealot LED system. You just hook it up with the app, and you can view your tabs in real time on the instrument, as well as access thousands of courses so you can learn how to play.

This guitar is an awesome choice for anyone looking for the classic Les Paul shape. It’s a very distinguished look, this one is a classy black color. It also comes in a Vintage Sunburst color. There are two different styles to choose from. You can hook it up with the app and start playing thousands of song with the Fret Zealot app. This guitar is going to serve you well across a variety of genres. I always associate Les Paul with the classic rock and hard rock that you hear from Les Paul style guitars with humbucking pickups just like this one. If that’s what you’re after this guitar could be the choice for you. You can check it out at fretzealot.com.”

Want to play guitar like Brian May of Queen?

June 30, 2022/by Kaley Lynch

Want to play guitar like Brian May of Queen?

We won’t stop you now. With the Brian May Player Study from Fret Zealot, you can learn May’s trademark style, including his use of vibrato, flowing lead, and behind the beat playing.

Background

May co-founded Queen along with Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor in 1970. He had previously played with Taylor in a band called “Smile” while they were in college. Queen went on to become one of the biggest rock bands in the world with songs penned by May, including “We Will Rock You”, “I Want It All”, and “Fat-Bottomed Girls”. Following Mercury’s death in 1991, May continued to perform, both with Queen and on solo projects. American Idol finalist Adam Lambert has taken on the mantle of lead singer for the group since 2011.

Style

Brian May is widely regarded as a guitar virtuoso. He was ranked #26 on Rolling Stone’s 2011 list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Most of his guitar work, both live and in the studio, is done on a guitar he built with his electronics engineer father at age 16. The guitar, called the “Red Special” was made out of wood from an 18th century fireplace, as well as items like buttons, shelf edging, and motorcycle valve springs. He also prefers to use coins to strum, rather than picks. May creates multi-part harmonies in his guitar compositions and uses styles like sweep picking, tremolo, tapping, and slide guitar. He creates unique sounds on the guitar, imitating an orchestra, trombone, piccola, and chimes. Queen used to use a sleeve note on their early albums to let listeners know that no synthesizers were used – it was all guitar.

Academic career

May is not only a star in the music world – he also is a certified star expert. He earned his Ph.D in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007. He held the position of chancellor with Liverpool John Moores University from 2008 to 2013 and was a science team collaborator with NASA’s New Horizons Pluto mission. He’s one of the co-founders of Asteroid Day, and has the asteroid 52665 Brianmay named after him.

When you tap into Brian May’s signature style with the player study course, you can also learn multiple Queen songs with lessons from Fret Zealot.

Don’t Stop Me Now

Don’t Stop Me Now didn’t chart very high when it was released as a single in 1979, but time has been very kind to it. The song has become more popular over the years thanks to consistent airplay, use in TV shows, ads, and movies, and through cover versions.

We Will Rock You

A favorite song for sporting events, “We Will Rock You” is usually followed by “We Are the Champions”. They were the last two songs Queen performed at Live Aid in 1985. The song is nearly completely a cappella except for a 30 second solo by May toward the end. The “stamping” effects were made by the band overdubbing the noise of themselves stomping and clapping, and adding delay to make it sound like there were many people participating.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

A song written by Freddie Mercury as a tribute to his musical inspirations, Elvis Presley and Sir Cliff Richard, Mercury said he wrote “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” in five to ten minutes. “I did that on the guitar, which I can’t play for nuts, and in one way it was quite a good thing because I was restricted, knowing only a few chords,” he told Melody Maker magazine in 1981. “It’s a good discipline because I simply had to write within a small framework. I couldn’t work through too many chords and because of that restriction I wrote a good song, I think.”

Bohemian Rhapsody

One of Queen’s biggest songs, Bohemian Rhapsody is a six minute “mock opera”, a combination of three songs Mercury wrote. It has no refraining chorus and multiple “sections”, similar to a suite of classical music or a piece of opera. It was recorded at five different studios over August – September 1975, and the recording technology at the time required them to bounce the tracks over eight generations of 24-track tape – they needed almost 200 tracks for overdubs.

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Songs of the Summer through the years

Songs that became popular – again – through movies and TV

Ten classic sports arena anthems

June 30, 2022/by Kaley Lynch

Sporting events just wouldn’t be as fun without great soundtracks. Whether at the ballpark, a football stadium, a hockey arena, or a basketball game, there are some songs that are guaranteed to get fans out of their seats and cheering along.

Here is a partial list of some of the biggest stadium anthems:

“The Final Countdown” – Europe

Swedish band Europe’s arena anthem “The Final Countdown” was originally supposed to be just a concert opener. Lead singer Joey Tempest wrote the keyboard riff it was based on years before the song was released, and the lyrics were inspired by David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”.

“We Will Rock You” – Queen

“We Will Rock You” is almost fully a cappella, except for Brian May’s guitar solo. The percussive “stomp stomp clap” effect makes it easy for sports fans to join in with the beat. For the studio version of the song, the stamping effects were created by the band’s stomping and clapping, overdubbed and with delay effects added, to make it sound like many people were stomping and clapping along.

“Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne

Osbourne’s debut solo single features an iconic riff and a call to action “All aboard!” that makes it a popular walk-out song for many sports teams. The lyrics are notably dark for a stadium anthem – they refer to the Cold War and the anxiety about annihilation that was prevalent at the time the song was released.

“Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns ‘n Roses

With an iconic guitar riff (courtesy of Slash), this song doubles as a stadium anthem and an intimidating message to the opposing team. According to Stephen Davis’s ‘Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N’ Roses’, Axl Rose said the lyrics were inspired from an encounter he had as an 18-year-old hitchhiker coming to New York, during which a man told him “Do you know where you are? You’re in the jungle, baby!”

“Whoomp! (There It Is)” – Tag Team

‘90s rap duo Tag Team created a stadium smash when they released “Whoomp! (There It Is)” in 1993. A similar song, “Whoot There it Is” was released a month before by Miami’s 95 South – according to a Chicago Tribune article at the time, the phrase “Whoot/Whoomp there it is” was a popular expression among dancers at nightclubs in Miami and Atlanta, where both groups frequented.

“Thunderstruck” by AC/DC

The instantly recognizable riff that starts “Thunderstruck” is certain to turn up the “high voltage” at sports events. The name “Thunderstruck” comes from a childhood toy of the Young brothers. In the liner notes of The Razor’s Edge 2003 re-release, Angus Young said that they were searching for a name for the song when they came up with the “thunder” motif, based on their childhood toy Thunderstreak. “It seemed to have a good ring to it. AC/DC = Power. That’s the basic idea,” he wrote.

“Song 2” – Blur

According to Blur founding member Graham Coxon, “Song 2” started out as a joke on the band’s record label – but the label executives actually liked it. It was originally called “Song 2” as a working title since it was song two on the tracklist, but the name stuck.

“Seven Nation Army” – White Stripes

“Seven Nation Army”’s instrumental chorus has made it a favorite sports anthem across the world – from soccer matches in Italy to NFL games in the states. It often appears in audience chants, where the crowd sings the riff on the sound “oh”, or inserts the name of a player. It was the theme song for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

“Enter Sandman” – Metallica

“Enter Sandman” was one of the first songs written for Metallica’s eponymous fifth album (released in 1991), and the last to have lyrics. Mariano Rivera, who played for the New York Yankees for 19 seasons, started using “Enter Sandman” as his walk-up song in 1999. Rivera – who sometimes goes by the nickname “Sandman”, used it for 15 seasons and had a 89.7 save percentage in that time.

“Run the World (Girls)” Beyonce

In 2014, then- 13-year-old Mo’ne Davis made history by tossing a full-game shutout in the Little League World Series’ Mid-Atlantic Regional final, leading the Taney Dragons to victory. She used Beyone’s 2011 song “Run the World” as a walk-out anthem. French skater Maé-Bérénice Méité competed at the 2018 Olympics to a medley of Beyonce’s songs, including “Run the World”. The song was also used as the anthem for Great Britain’s women’s soccer match against Brazil in the 2012 London Olympics.

Are there any songs you think belong on this list? Let us know in the comments!

Want to play guitar like Angus Young of AC/DC?

June 23, 2022/by Kaley Lynch

Want to play guitar like Angus Young of AC/DC?

You’ll be “thunderstruck” at how you pick up the groove of Young’s signature playing style with our Angus Young player study course, including his vibrato style, bending, and rhythms.

Background

Angus Young was born in Scotland in 1955, the youngest of eight siblings. Music ran in the family, with most of the children playing at least one instrument. Angus picked up the guitar at five or six, with one lesson from his brother Alexander, and then taught himself. The family immigrated to Australia in 1963, and Angus practiced playing “guitar” on a banjo restrung with six strings. He was eighteen when he, along with his brother, Malcolm, and Colin Burgess, Larry Van Kriedt and Dave Evans formed AC/DC in 1973. Young tried a variety of stage costumes, including Zorro and Spiderman, before settling on his signature schoolboy outfit, which his sister suggested. His playing and stage antics helped make AC/DC one of the most successful hard rock bands in the world. He is the sole constant original member of the group.

Guitars

Young bought his first Gibson SG second-hand around 1970, and he’s been playing them in various forms throughout his career. He has used a modified version of the SG called the Jaydee SG, made specifically for him by Jaydee Guitars. At least two of his SGs featured on-board wireless going into the amplifier, with the circuitry in a hole in the back of the guitar body. This practice was stopped due to the possibility of electrical shorts (from sweat). Young designed an Angus Young SG with Gibson, featuring a pickup designed by Young and lightning bolt inlays on the neck.

Style

Angus Young has said that his musical influences include his brother Malcolm, Chuck Berry, Freddie King, and Muddy Waters. His style is influenced by the blues – major and minor 12-bar blues progressions. AC/DC is often criticized for having songs that are simple, but Young told the Atlanta Gazette in 1979, “It’s just rock and roll. A lot of times we get criticized for it. A lot of music papers come out with: ‘When are they going to stop playing these three chords?’ If you believe you shouldn’t play just three chords it’s pretty silly on their part. To us, the simpler a song is, the better, ’cause it’s more in line with what the person on the street is.”

When you start to channel Young’s signature style with the player study course, there are lots of high-voltage AC/DC song lessons on the Fret Zealot app to learn.

Back in Black

With an unmistakable opening riff, “Back in Black” was written in honor of AC/DC’s former singer Bon Scott who died in 1980.

Hells Bells

This song begins with the tolling of a bell – an actual, 2,000 lb. bronze bell made by John Taylor & Co. Bellfounders in England. The bell sound was recorded in a mobile studio inside of the bell foundry after the tracking sessions for “Back in Black” were complete.

Thunderstuck

One of AC/DC’s most recognizable songs gets its name from a childhood toy of the Young brothers. In the liner notes of The Razor’s Edge 2003 re-release, Young said that they were searching for a name for the song when they came up with the “thunder” motif, based on their childhood toy Thunderstreak. “It seemed to have a good ring to it. AC/DC = Power. That’s the basic idea,” he wrote.

Highway to Hell

“Highway to Hell” is about the exhausting nature of constant touring, which Angus Young referred to as the “Highway to Hell”. Australia’s Canning Highway also was part of the song’s namesake.

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