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Back in Black

by AC/DC • Lesson #584 • Mar 6, 2025

About This Lesson

In today’s lesson I’ll get you going with AC/DC’s 1980 classic Back in Black. While you can play this on an electric (as the band does), my lesson approaches the song with an acoustic guitar in mind — which absolutely gets the job done. I’ll show you a few ways to tackle the intro & verse riffs, and also breakdown the tricky rhythm of the refrain. This is quite the fun song to get lost in… let’s get to it!

  • 0:00 Overview
  • 0:54 Intro & Verse: Strumming
  • 3:55 Intro & Verse: Riff #1
  • 8:25 Intro & Verse: Riff #2
  • 10:52 Refrain

Practice Notes 3 pages

It includes all of my notes for this lesson, allowing you to follow along at your own pace. You're free to download, print, and share the PDF across your devices.

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Here's a print-friendly PDF I made with all of my practice notes for this lesson. This lets you follow along with everything I show in video tutorial at your own pace.

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Lesson Discussion

Jump in the conversation with other members of the Song Notes community! Post a comment about this lesson, ask a question, or even upload a video of your progress. All skill levels welcome!

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Jump in the conversation with other members of the Song Notes community! Post a comment about this lesson, ask a question, or even upload a video of your progress. All skill levels welcome!

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Slow Play-Along Videos

Here’s a few extra videos, made in thanks to those supporting me with Premium membership here on my Song Notes website. To those showing your support, you have my true thanks and appreciation — and I hope you find these additional videos helpful!

Semi-Simplified Version

Here’s a zoomed-in video of me playing through the intro/verse and refrain sections, with a slow drum beat (72bpm) to keep time. One of the biggest things that makes this “simplified” is how I round some of the sharp edges on the riffs heard during the intro & verse. See my PDF practice notes (above) for a list of all other differences vs. the version below.

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“Full” Version

Here’s another zoomed-in video of me playing through things — this time with the “full” version of the riffs and strumming. This includes the bend during riff #1, the pinky stretch during riff #2, and me favoring power chords during the refrain strumming. Again, see my PDF practice notes (above) for additional details on how this is different from the simpler version.

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Drum Tracks for Extra Practice

Let’s face it, this song is begging for the heavy drums in the background to help keep time. With that in mind, I put together some basic bass drum & snare combos that evoke the AC/DC sound. I’m happy to share these at a few different speeds, which lets you find a tempo that works best per your current comfort level. I recommend starting slow — I use the 72bpm version for my play-along videos above.

Audio practice tracks are only available to members of Song Notes Premium. Already a member? Log in »

Slowest (72bpm) - download, or press the play button below to stream:

Slow (80bpm) - download, or press the play button below to stream:

Mid-tempo (88bpm) - download, or press the play button below to stream:

Full Speed (96bpm) - download, or press the play button below to stream:

Check out this version from Jennel Garcia (who crushes the vocals), along with Sean Daniel playing acoustic guitar in the background. There’s plenty of shots of Sean’s fingers, letting you hear how it sounds from someone who really has it together at full speed.

Looking for Power Chord Help?

In my video tutorial above, I mention a power chord lesson. It’s just about to be released… but my PDF guide is available now! Download it here — it contains a wealth of information about power chords, how to play them, the theory behind them, and some riffs to try. Look for the actual lesson in the next week!

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