Unit 1: For Those About To Solo

Pentatonic Shapes

Your first task is simply to listen. Be sure to play the track as many times round as you can until you can start to sing the solo back! This style of solo has a really focused phrasing style, which means you'll get little chunks with clear spaces between them, making them very easy to sing. Alongside this, to prepare you for the breakdown of each lick, we can recap our 5 pentatonic shapes. If you know these very well already, jump straight into the next lesson!

Lick 1 & 2

We are starting down the neck for the first two licks, using the first 3 positions of our E minor pentatonic scale. This is a tried and tested concept for Angus Young and an important aspect to grasp about his lead guitar playing:

"...start low, end high!"

You'll see that idea as we go through the solo, and these first two licks set the scene for the whole thing. We begin in the Pentatonic box 2 and 3, utilising the open E string to add a bit of extra "oomph" to the sound. Also, take the time to delve into those subtle bends when in pentatonic box 3. It's the 1/4 note bluesy style bends that will make all the difference when you want to make this sound authentic. As you hit lick 2 we move between boxes 2 and 1, using a blues note to join the two together. This takes us neatly down to the root note, which makes the phrase sound complete!

Lick 3 & 4

We start to work our way up the neck for the next licks, moving very clearly into the next phase of the solo. If you start to consider your solo structure as building different phases, it will massively help.

"Stage 1 was establishing the aggressive sound, in the lower registers... Now we're going to move higher to hit the sweeter sounds as we move into stage 2 of the solo."

In lick 3 we work up the neck, moving through shapes 1, 2, 3 and 4 on the B string. We also use the open E string again to create that extra edge of aggression. As we dive into the screaming lick 4, we firmly root ourselves into box 1 of the pentatonic shape on the 12th fret. This lick is really fast. You'll need to slow this down as it uses 16th note triplets (or sextuplets).

Lick 5 & 6

These next two licks are fantastic examples of how rhythm makes all the difference. We are using fairly standard pentatonic scale licks, but by adding double notes and a very rhythmical sound (almost bouncy), we get some classic Angus Young grooves! You can see why he's able to dance and play at the same time!

In terms of the lick positions, we move from box 1 to box 4, utilising more of the fretboard. Even though we could play both of these licks in one box, using two boxes puts your fingers in unfamiliar places, which can inspire you! Your main focus is to get those bouncy rhythms bang on, as well as the subtle bends and vibrato that is working through the entire track.

Lick 7 & 8

The final two licks kick in as we move to the B5 power-chord underneath, which is the sound of the build-up going into the chorus. We continue to use the E minor pentatonic scale here, using shape 1 again. Remember that the B5 is still in the key of E and is the 5th degree. Although the focus has shifted to this chord, we want the E minor pentatonic (even though we could choose to use a B minor pentatonic / arpeggio / B major etc!) The final lick is a cool nod of the hat to what we will be doing later in this course, combining the major and minor pentatonic! More on that later!